Abstract 3862: IGFBP3 promotes resistance to olaparib via modulating EGFR signaling in advanced prostate cancer
Authors: Leslie Amy R. , Ning Shu , D'Abronzo Leandro S. , Armstrong Cameron , Sharifi Masuda , Schaaf Zachary A. , Lou Wei , Evans Christopher P. , Chen Hong-Wu , Lombard Alan , Gao Allen C. 
Published: June 2023

Background: Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is an incurable disease and a leading cause of cancer death in men worldwide. Olaparib (Lynparza) was among the first PARP inhibitors (PARPi) approved for the treatment of CRPC tumors harboring DNA repair defects. However, clinical resistance to PARPi’s has been documented. The mechanisms underlying resistance to PARPi’s remain elusive. To study acquired resistance, we developed olaparib-resistant LN-OlapR and 2B-OlapR cell lines generated through chronic olaparib treatment of the olaparib-sensitive cell lines LNCaP and C4-2B, respectively. RNA-seq revealed IGFBP3 is overexpressed in both OlapR cell lines. IGFBP3 overexpression is correlated with poor clinical outcome and is thought to participate in DNA repair pathways. IGFBP3 plays a key role in nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) repair through a ternary complex with EGFR and DNA-PKcs. The IGFBP3/EGFR signaling axis is thought to modulate NHEJ repair and could have implications for PARPi sensitivity. We hypothesize that increased IGFBP3 expression promotes PARPi resistance by enhancing DNA repair capacity.

Methods: RNA-sequencing and gene set enrichment analysis were used to determine the expression profile changes in resistant cells compared to parental cells. Real time PCR and western blots confirmed the expression of DNA damage repair genes such as γH2AX, EGFR, and DNA-PKcs. ELISA was used to determine IGFBP3 secretion. RNAi was used to inhibit IGFBP3 and EGFR expression. Gefitinib was used to inhibit EGFR activity. Cell viability assays were used to assess cell growth.

Results: Transcriptomic profiling revealed that IGFBP3 is highly expressed in resistant models. We verified increased levels of IGFBP3 RNA and protein in both OlapR models. We found that RNAi inhibition of IGFBP3 increases γH2AX and cleaved-PARP protein levels in the resistant models, which suggests accumulation of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) leading to genomic instability and cell death. We discovered increased phosphorylation of EGFR and DNA-PKcs in the resistant cells. Furthermore, silencing/inhibiting IGFBP3 and EGFR reduces OlapR cell viability and resensitizes resistant cells to treatment.

Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that inhibiting IGFBP3 and EGFR aids in PARPi sensitivity in the resistant setting. Future work will utilize OlapR models to study how the IGFBP3/EGFR/DNA-PKcs protein complex promotes the development of resistance. Understanding the role of IGFBP3 in PARPi resistance will enhance our ability to re-sensitize resistant CRPC to PARPi therapeutics.

Citation Format: Amy R. Leslie, Shu Ning, Leandro S. D'Abronzo, Cameron Armstrong, Masuda Sharifi, Zachary A. Schaaf, Wei Lou, Christopher P. Evans, Hong-Wu Chen, Alan Lombard, Allen C. Gao. IGFBP3 promotes resistance to olaparib via modulating EGFR signaling in advanced prostate cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 3862.