Abstract B072: Induction of PARP7 creates a vulnerability for growth inhibition by RBN2397 in prostate cancer cells
Authors: Yang Chunsong , Wierbilowicz Krzysztof , Dworak Natalia M. , Bae Song Yi , Tengse Sachi B. , Abianeh Nicki , Drake Justin M. , Abbas Tarek , Ratan Aakrosh , Wotton David , Paschal Bryce M. 
Published: June 2023

The ADP-ribosyltransferase PARP7 modulates protein function by conjugating ADP-ribose to the side chains of acceptor amino acids. PARP7 has been shown to affect gene expression in prostate cancer cells and certain other cell types by mechanisms that include transcription factor ADP-ribosylation. Here, we use a recently developed catalytic inhibitor to PARP7, RBN2397 (NCT04053673), to study the effects of PARP7 inhibition in androgen receptor-positive (AR+) and androgen receptor-negative (AR-) prostate cancer cells. Ribon Therapeutics developed RBN2397 as a first-in-class mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase inhibitor, and showed that it blocks PARP7 negative regulation of TBK1 [1]. We find that RBN2397 has nanomolar potency for inhibiting androgen-induced ADP-ribosylation of the androgen receptor. RBN2397 inhibits the growth of prostate cancer cells in culture when cells are treated with ligands that activate the androgen receptor (PC3-AR, VCaP, CWR22Rv1), or the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (PC3, DU145, NCI-H660), and induce PARP7 expression. We show that the growth inhibitory effects of RBN2397 are distinct from its enhancement of interferon signaling recently shown to promote tumor immunogenicity in lung cancer models [1]. Chemical inhibitors to PARP1 exert effects on cells by blocking enzyme function, but also via cytotoxic effects attributed to stabilizing PARP1-chromatin interactions in a process termed trapping [2]. Drug-induced trapping of PARP1 can be detected biochemically by immunoblotting the detergent-resistant chromatin fraction. We found that RBN2397 treatment of AR+ and AR- prostate cancer cells induces biochemical trapping of PARP7 within the nucleus, which was also detected by confocal microscopy. Potential therapeutic benefits of RBN2397 are likely to depend on the level of PARP7 expression, given its induction is necessary for growth inhibitory effects of RBN2397 in cell culture. As a first step towards evaluating whether PARP7 levels in human prostate cancer may be actionable with RBN2397, we used computational methods to analyze PARP7 gene expression data from primary prostate tumors and metastatic AR+ and AR- prostate tumors. To assess PARP7 mRNA levels, we used data from the online resource recount3, which uniformly reprocesses publicly available RNA-seq datasets using a Monorail analysis pipeline. Using the level of PARP7 expression in VCaP cells that confers sensitivity to RBN2397 as a threshold, 50% of primary tumors, 41% of metastatic AR- and 11% of AR+ tumors are predicted to have PARP7 expression levels that are sufficient for a response to RBN2397. Because RBN2397 can inhibit the growth of castration-resistant and neuroendocrine prostate cancer cells, PARP7 may be an actionable target in advanced prostate cancer. 1. Gozgit, J.M., et al., PARP7 negatively regulates the Type I interferon response in cancer cells and its inhibition triggers antitumor immunity. Cancer Cell, 2021. 39(9): p. 1214-1226 e10 2. Murai, J., et al., Trapping of PARP1 and PARP2 by Clinical PARP Inhibitors. Cancer Res, 2012. 72(21): p. 5588-99.

Citation Format: Chunsong Yang, Krzysztof Wierbilowicz, Natalia M. Dworak, Song Yi Bae, Sachi B. Tengse, Nicki Abianeh, Justin M. Drake, Tarek Abbas, Aakrosh Ratan, David Wotton, Bryce M. Paschal. Induction of PARP7 creates a vulnerability for growth inhibition by RBN2397 in prostate cancer cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Advances in Prostate Cancer Research; 2023 Mar 15-18; Denver, Colorado. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B072.