DNA damage response to the Mdm2 inhibitor Nutlin-3

Mdm2 inhibitors represent a promising class of p53 activating compounds that may be useful in cancer treatment and prevention. However, the consequences of pharmacological p53 activation are not entirely clear. We observed that Nutlin-3 triggered a DNA damage response in azoxymethane-induced mouse AJ02-NM0 colon cancer cells, characterized by the phosphorylation of H2AX (at Ser-139) and p53 (at Ser-15). The DNA damage response was highest in cells showing robust p53 stabilization, it could be triggered by the active but not the inactive Nutlin-3 enantiomer, and it was also activated by another pharmacological Mdm2 inhibitor (Caylin-1). Quantification of γH2AX-positive cells following Nutlin-3 exposure showed that approximately 17% of cells in late S and G2/M were mounting a DNA damage response (compared to a ∼50% response to 5-fluorouracil). Nutlin-3 treatment caused the formation of double-strand DNA strand breaks, promoted the formation of micronuclei, accentuated strand breakage induced by doxorubicin and sensitized the mouse colon cancer cells to DNA break-inducing topoisomerase II inhibitors. Although the HCT116 colon cancer cells did not mount a significant DNA damage response following Nutlin-3 treatment, Nutlin-3 enhanced the DNA damage response to the nucleotide synthesis inhibitor hydroxyurea in a p53-dependent manner. Finally, p21 deletion also sensitized HCT116 cells to the Nutlin-3-induced DNA damage response, suggesting that cell cycle checkpoint abnormalities may promote this response. We propose that p53 activation by Mdm2 inhibitors can result in the slowing of double-stranded DNA repair. Although this effect may suppress illegitimate homologous recombination repair, it may also increase the risk of clastogenic events.

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