title: Distinct but Concerted Roles of ATR, DNA-PK, and Chk1 in Countering Replication Stress during S Phase.
abstract: The ATR-Chk1 pathway is critical for DNA damage responses and cell-cycle progression. Chk1 inhibition is more deleterious to cycling cells than ATR inhibition, raising questions about ATR and Chk1 functions in the absence of extrinsic replication stress. Here we show that a key role of ATR in S phase is to coordinate RRM2 accumulation and origin firing. ATR inhibitor (ATRi) induces massive ssDNA accumulation and replication catastrophe in a fraction of early S-phase cells. In other S-phase cells, however, ATRi induces moderate ssDNA and triggers a DNA-PK and Chk1-mediated backup pathway to suppress origin firing. The backup pathway creates a threshold such that ATRi selectively kills cells under high replication stress, whereas Chk1 inhibitor induces cell death at a lower threshold. The levels of ATRi-induced ssDNA correlate with ATRi sensitivity in a panel of cell lines, suggesting that ATRi-induced ssDNA could be predictive of ATRi sensitivity in cancer cells.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Rémi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Buisson
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Boisvert
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Cyril H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Benes
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA; Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. Electronic address: zou.lee@mgh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zou
mesh_terms: D064007:Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D000071877:Checkpoint Kinase 1; D004249:DNA Damage; D004261:DNA Replication; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051747:DNA-Activated Protein Kinase / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000502:physiology*; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D018741:Replication Origin; D012262:Ribonucleoside Diphosphate Reductase / Q000378:metabolism; D016196:S Phase; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C093713:ribonucleotide reductase M2; D012262:Ribonucleoside Diphosphate Reductase; D011494:Protein Kinases; C576597:ATR protein, human; D064007:Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins; C000605867:CHEK1 protein, human; D000071877:Checkpoint Kinase 1; D051747:DNA-Activated Protein Kinase; C497263:PRKDC protein, human