Introduction
Desmoplastic small round cell tumors (DSRCTs) are very rare soft tissue sarcomas (STS) with an incidence rate of 0.2–0.5/million. DSRCTs are most often seen in the abdominal cavity of predominantly adolescent and young adult males (Lettieri et al.
2014). Patients often present with extensively disseminated disease at diagnosis, and their tumors are characterized by a t(11;22)(p13;q12) genetic translocation resulting in the oncogenic fusion protein EWS–WT1. The treatment of DSRCTs consists of intensive combination chemotherapy, when possible, surgery—sometimes combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC)—and on indication radiotherapy, including whole abdominal irradiation. These treatments can be toxic and despite the fact that a small subset of patients shows a good response to treatment, this response is relatively short lasting (Hayes-Jordan et al.
2016). Second-line treatment for patients with recurrent disease that have been used are vascular endothelial growth factor (receptor) (VEGF(R))-, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)-, and platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR)-based targeted therapy. These treatments can again induce favorable, however short-lived, responses (Chen and Feng
2019; Italiano et al.
2013; Menegaz et al.
2018; Tarek et al.
2018; Thijs et al.
2010). Overall, treatment results in a 5-year overall survival (OS) rate of 15–25%, which shows the high unmet need for novel treatments in DSRCTs (Bent et al.
2016; Subbiah et al.
2018).
Given the need for novel treatments, we looked towards targeted therapy directed against the DNA damage response (DDR) machinery. The DDR network appears to be a potential target for DSRCTs since the EWSR1–WT1 translocation already involves two DDR network proteins (Gorthi and Bishop
2018; Oji et al.
2015) and the recent detection of multiple mutated genes belonging to the DDR network (Devecchi et al.
2018) by whole-exome sequencing of 6 DSRCT samples. We hypothesize that the presence of aberrations in the DDR pathway will most probably make DSRCTs more vulnerable for additional inhibition of the DDR system.
PARP1 is a key enzyme in the base excision repair (BER) of single-strand DNA breaks (SSBs). PARP1 senses SSBs, and recognition leads to the binding of PARP1 to the DNA and synthesis of poly (ADP-ribose) (pADPr) chains. Both PARP1 and pADPr chains are involved in the recruitment of DNA repair proteins, and pADPr chains mediate the release of PARP1 from the DNA to ensure access of the repair proteins to the damaged site. Inhibition of PARP1 leads to an accumulation of SSBs and trapping of PARP1 to the DNA. Inadequate repair of the SSBs causes double-stranded breaks (DSBs) during DNA replication, and PARP1 trapping prevents the formation of replication forks. Both these effects are lethal to the cell (Lord and Ashworth
2012,
2017). In ES, PARP1 expression is suggested to be regulated by the fusion proteins EWS–FLI1 and EWS–ERG, and a feedback loop is present in which PARP1 promotes the transcriptional activity of the fusion proteins. Single-agent efficacy of the anti-PARP inhibitor olaparib was indeed shown to be dependent on the presence of a EWS fusion since fusion-negative cell lines were not sensitive to treatment (Brenner et al.
2012). As such, PARP inhibition could also have therapeutic potential in the EWS fusion-positive DSRCTs. In addition to PARP1 expression, Schlafen-11 (SLFN11) expression is also regulated by the EWS fusion and has recently been suggested as a biomarker for response to PARP inhibitor-based treatment (Lok et al.
2017; Pietanza et al.
2018; Tang et al.
2015). SLFN11 induces a lethal replication block in cells under replication stress (Murai et al.
2018). Therefore, SLFN11-positive cells are more efficiently killed by treatments that cause replication stress like PARP inhibition (Murai et al.
2019).
Here, we examined PARP1 and SLFN11 expression in clinically derived DSRCT tissue (
n = 16) and PARP inhibitor-based treatment effects in a DSRCT model. Since previous research showed that single-agent PARP-targeted treatment did not elicit high responses in ES patients (Choy et al.
2014; Vormoor and Curtin
2014) and combination treatment using the alkylating agent temozolomide (TMZ) led to a synergistic effect in ES in vitro, a complete tumor regression and reduction of lung metastases in ES in vivo
, and a clinical trial is currently examining the combination (NCT01858168), we examined the combined effect of PARP inhibitor olaparib and TMZ in DSRCTs (Brenner et al.
2012; Engert et al.
2015; Gill et al.
2015; Ordonez et al.
2015; Smith et al.
2015; Stewart et al.
2014). TMZ has been described in a few case reports to be administered to DSRCT patients in combination with irinotecan. Umeda et al. administered TMZ at 120 mg/m
2 during the first 5 days of four 28-day cycles. A partial response of the bone metastasis and pineal body was observed; whereas, the cerebellar lesions showed stable disease (Umeda et al.
2016). Hayes-Jordan et al. presented 2 cases that were treated with TMZ and irinotecan (6 cycles), one showed a decrease of tumor mass and the other showed stable disease (Hayes-Jordan et al.
2007).
In another case report, temozolomide was administered in combination with irinotecan (12 cycles) to a child with DSRCT after extensive neoadjuvant chemotherapy treatment, cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic peritoneal perfusion with cisplatin. Afterwards, abdominal radiation with simultaneous temozolomide (100 mg/m
2/day × 5) was given. Due to the extensive multimodal treatment, the specific effect of temozolomide could not be filtered out (Aguilera et al.
2008).
The combination of TMZ with olaparib has not been described for DSRCTs. Current clinical examination of combination treatment often combines a maximal tolerated dose (MTD) of each compound; however, drug synergy between compounds might make it possible to reduce the dosage necessary to generate antitumor effect. Since the use of low dosages may be able to reduce the level of toxicities encountered in patients, we specifically examined low-dose combination treatment regimens.
Materials and methods
PARP1 and SLFN11 expression in patient-derived DSRCT tumor tissue
Clinically derived DSRCT tumors were assessed for PARP1 (16/16) and SLFN11 (12/16) expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Table
1 shows the patient characteristics. PARP1 and SLFN11 IHC were performed on 4-µm-thick, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) whole-slide tissue sections and a tissue microarray (TMA) (core size 1 mm) of DSRCT tumor material. Tonsil tissue and lymphocytes served as a positive control for PARP1 and SLFN11, respectively (Fig. S1). Sections were deparaffinized in xylol and rehydrated through a graded ethanol into water series. Antigen retrieval was performed by heating the slides in EDTA buffer, pH 9 for 10–20 min at 100 °C. Endogenous peroxidase activity was blocked with 3% H
2O
2 in distilled water for 10 min at room temperature (RT). Subsequently, sections were incubated with monoclonal rabbit anti-PARP1 antibody (1/800, clone E102, Abcam) or monoclonal rabbit anti-SLFN11 antibody (1/100, clone D8W1B, Cell Signaling Technology) in antibody diluent in a humidified chamber overnight at 4 °C. Next, tissue sections were incubated with poly-HRP-GAMs/Rb IgG (ImmunoLogic) in EnVision™ FLEX Wash Buffer (Dako) (1:1) for 30 min at RT. Antibody binding was visualized using the EnVision™ FLEX Substrate Working Solution (Dako) for 10 min at RT. Finally, slides were counterstained with haematoxylin, dehydrated and coverslipped. Slides were scored for PARP1 expression by two independent observers and consensus nuclear scores were given as negative (−) or positive (+) with a minimum cut-off at 50% of tumor cells, based on the paper of Grignani et al. (
2018). Similar scoring methods were used for SLFN11. The study was performed in accordance with the Code of Conduct of the Federation of Medical Scientific Societies in the Netherlands.
Table 1
Patient characteristics and PARP1/SLFN11 expression in DSRCT tumor tissue
DSRCT (n = 16) | Gender |
| Male | 11 (69) |
| Female | 5 (31) |
| Age at diagnosis |
| < 18 years | 4 (25) |
≥ 18 years | 12 (75) |
| Translocation |
| EWSR1–WT1 | 16 (100) |
| Metastases |
| Yes | 10 (63) |
| Unknown | 6 (38) |
| Primary/post-treatment resection |
| Primary | 10 (63) |
| Post-treatment | 6 (38) |
| Follow-up data available |
| OS | 13 (81) |
| EFS | 2 (13) |
| PARP1 expression |
| ≥ 50% cells | 16 (100) |
| < 50% cells | 0 (0) |
| SLFN11 expression (n = 12) |
| ≥ 50% cells | 11 (92) |
| < 50% cells | 1 (8) |
Cell lines, cell culture and compounds
The only established DSRCT cell line, JN-DSRCT-1 (EWSR1-WT1), was generously provided by Dr. Janet Shipley (Institute of Cancer Research, UK). JN-DSRCT-1 was cultured in DMEM/F12 GlutaMAX™ medium (Gibco, ThermoFisher, Breda, NL) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (Gibco) and 1% penicillin–streptomycin (Lonza, Breda, NL). Cells were cultured in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2/95% air at 37 °C. PARP inhibitor olaparib and TMZ were purchased from SelleckChem (Munich, Germany) and were diluted in DMSO for in vitro experiments. TMZ and olaparib were diluted in 10% DMSO in saline (intraperitoneal injection) and in 0.5% hydroxypropyl methylcellulose/0.2% Tween-80 in sterile water (oral gavage) for in vivo use, respectively.
Cell viability and wound healing assay
Cell viability was assessed by MTS assays. All cells were seeded at 5000 cells per 100 μl/well. Cells were allowed to adhere and treated with varying drug concentrations for 120 h, based on the estimated growth rate of JN-DSRCT-1 cells. MTS solution (CellTiter 96 Aqueous Solution Cell Proliferation Assay, Promega, WI, USA) was added (10 µl) and plates were incubated for 2 h at 37 °C. Extinction was measured at 490 nm (iMark Microplate Absorbance Reader, Bio-Rad, CA, USA). IC50 values were calculated using GraphPad Prism Version 5.03 software.
Effects of treatment on cell migration were assessed by wound healing assays as previously described (van Erp et al.
2017). Cell migration is depicted in relative gap size: gap size at
tN/gap size at
t0 (
tN = hours of treatment,
t0 = start of treatment). Differences in gap size were analyzed by 2-way ANOVA with Bonferroni posttest,
p value < 0.05 was considered significant (*< 0.05, **< 0.01, ***< 0.001).
Drug synergy and combination index
Drug synergy of combined olaparib and TMZ treatment was assessed as previously described (van Erp et al.
2017). All drug concentrations were simultaneously combined in a non-constant ratio, and the combination index (CI) and dose reduction index (DRI) were calculated using CompuSyn software. In general, combinations with a CI value < 1.0 are considered synergistic; however, a distinction in the level of drug synergy can be made (Table 4; Chou
2006). Two distinctions were relevant for this paper: CI between 0.7–0.9: slight to moderate synergism, and CI between 0.3–0.7: synergism. Differences in cell viability following combination treatment were analyzed by 2-way ANOVA with Bonferroni posttest using GraphPad Prism Version 5.03 software,
p value < 0.05 was considered significant (*< 0.05, **< 0.01, ***< 0.001).
Cell cycle, Western Blot and apoptosis analysis
Cell-cycle analysis was performed using propidium iodide (PI) flow cytometry. Cells were treated for 24 h with vehicle, 1.25-µM olaparib, 25-µM TMZ (low-dose TMZ), 100-µM TMZ (high-dose TMZ) or simultaneous 1.25-µM olaparib and 25-µM (low-dose) or 100-µM (high-dose) TMZ combination treatment. Cells were collected and incubated overnight on ice at 4 °C in a PI solution [sodium-citrate dihydrate solution (1 g/l), RNAse A (0.1 mg/ml), PI (20 µg/ml), Triton-X (0.1%)] and the cell cycle phases were assessed using the CytoFlex flow cytometer (Beckman-Coulter, CA, USA) and FlowJo version 10.0. Experiments were repeated in triplicate and p values were calculated by 2-way ANOVA with Bonferroni posttest.
Western Blot analysis was performed as previously described (van Erp et al.
2017). Monoclonal rabbit anti-PARP1 (PARP1, 1:2000; cat. #9542), anti-caspase-3 (casp3, 1:1000; cat. #9662), anti-phosphorylated H2AX (ser319) (γH2AX, 1:1000, cat. #9718), anti-phosphorylated Chk1 (pChk1 Ser317/345, 1:1000; cat. #12302/2348) and anti-phosphorylated Chk2 (pChk2 Thr68, 1:500; cat. #2197) were purchased from Cell Signaling Technology (Danvers, MA, USA). Loading control monoclonal mouse anti-α-tubulin (1:1000, cat. #A11126) or anti-GAPDH (1:10,000, cat. #Ab8245) were purchased from Thermo Scientific (Breda, NL) and Abcam (Cambridge, UK), respectively.
The level of apoptotic cells was measured using the Annexin-V/PI double-staining apoptosis assay (Biovision Cat. #1001–200, CA, USA). Cell culture medium was supplemented with CaCl2 (final concentration 15 mM) and the cells were subsequently incubated with Annexin-V-FITC and PI. The number of apoptotic cells was measured using the CytoFLEX flow cytometer and the percentage of early (Annexin-V positive/PI negative) and late (Annexin-V/PI positive) apoptotic cells was calculated using FlowJo version 10.0.
Caspase inhibition and RT-qPCR
To examine caspase-dependent apoptosis, cell viability was assessed in the absence and presence of 50-µM pan-caspase inhibitor zVAD.FMK (MedChemExpress, Sollentuna, Sweden). Cell viability was assessed by MTS assay. Experiments were repeated in duplicate and p values were calculated by Student’s t test using GraphPad Prism Version 5.03 software, p value < 0.05 was considered significant (**< 0.01).
Gene expression was assessed by RT-qPCR. Cells were treated with 24-h single-agent or simultaneous combination treatment. Trizol-based RNA isolation was followed by cDNA synthesis (iScript cDNA synthesis kit, BioRad, CA, USA) and SYBR green-based qPCR. Primer sequences for the pro-apoptotic proteins BAX, BAK and BID are described in Table S1.
In vivo therapy experiment
Male CB-17/lcr-Prkdcscid/Rj SCID mice (6–8 weeks) were subcutaneously injected with 5 × 106 JN-DSRCT-1 cells in a 1:1 culture medium: Matrigel® Matrix (Corning, NY, USA) solution. The mice were randomly divided into the four treatment groups once the tumor size reached 0.3 cm3. Treatment consisted of 28 days of either vehicle (n = 5), single-agent olaparib (50 mg/kg twice daily; n = 5), single-agent TMZ (25 mg/kg for 5 days twice daily with 2 days rest; n = 5) or olaparib and TMZ combination treatment (twice daily 50 mg/kg olaparib with 5 days twice daily 25 mg/kg TMZ; n = 4). All compounds were color coded ensuring blinding throughout the experiment. Tumor growth was monitored by caliper measurements in three dimensions [length (l), width (w) and height (h); all maximum diameter] twice weekly. Tumor size was calculated using the formula: 4/3π × l/2 × w/2 × h/2. Mice were euthanized on day 28. If the relative tumor volume was < 50% of the start volume at day 28, the experiment was extended for half of the affected mice for another 28 days. The mice were kept without further treatment to determine the duration of tumor regression upon treatment withdrawal. Tumor sizes are depicted as relative tumor volume (RTV) ± standard error of the mean (SEM) [RTV = tumor volume at any time (Vt)/tumor volume at t = 0 (Vt0)]. Differences in tumor volume were calculated by Student’s t test using GraphPad Prism Version 5.03 software, p value < 0.05 was considered significant (*< 0.05, **< 0.01, ***< 0.001). After excision of the tumor, H&E staining was used to assess tissue damage and tumor vasculature post-treatment.
Conclusion
DNA repair is essential to maintain genomic stability and cellular survival. Inhibition of DNA repair proteins was shown to enhance antitumor effects of chemotherapeutic agents in various models in a preclinical setting, and has recently shown encouraging clinical results (Baz et al.
2016; Grignani et al.
2018; Han et al.
2018; Kashyap et al.
2018). DSRCTs are currently almost always incurable. Despite initial favorable responses to ES-based multimodal treatment and second-line treatment, nearly all patients will eventually relapse. The rarity of DSRCTs makes research into this sarcoma subtype difficult, and there is an unmet need for novel treatment options. In the current study, we show for the first time that DSRCT tumor tissue shows a high level of PARP1 and SLFN11 expression, that DSRCT cells have a similar sensitivity profile to the PARP inhibitor olaparib as previously observed in ES cells and that combination treatment of olaparib with the alkylating agent TMZ leads to drug synergy and enhanced antitumor effects in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, the antitumor effects were already observed using low drug dosages. We consider our data of importance for the future treatment of DSRCT patients and suggest the inclusion of this patient group in current and future clinical trials addressing PARP-based combination treatments, including, but not limited to, the alkylating agent TMZ. In addition, the observed potentiating effect of olaparib on TMZ efficacy suggests that in particular, low-dose drug combinations are of interest for further clinical evaluation.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Dutch charities “Stichting Bergh in het Zadel voor de Kankerbestrijding”, “Honderd-Duizend-keer-een-Tientje (HDKT)” and “Vrienden van Stef” for their support of this project. Their contribution made it possible for us to conduct our research. We also thank Dr. Pete Houghton for providing the ES cell lines. Finally, we thank the department of internal medicine, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, and in particular Mr. Cor Jacobs, for his assistance with the flow cytometry. Finally, we thank Mr. Gerben Franssen and the biotechnicians of the Radboudumc Animal Research Facility for their help with the animal experiments.
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