Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) enhances olaparib activity by targeting homologous recombination DNA repair in ovarian cancer

•SAHA downregulates homologous recombination pathway genes in ovarian cancer cells.•Formation of RAD51 foci is inhibited by SAHA alone and combined with olaparib.•Anti-tumor effects of olaparib in vitro and in vivo are enhanced by SAHA.

ObjectivesApproximately 50% of serous epithelial ovarian cancers (EOC) contain molecular defects in homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair pathways. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) have efficacy in HR-deficient, but not in HR-proficient, EOC tumors as a single agent. Our goal was to determine whether the histone deacetylase inhibitor, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), can sensitize HR-proficient ovarian cancer cells to the PARPi AZD-2281 (olaparib).MethodsOvarian cancer cell lines (SKOV-3, OVCAR-8, NCI/ADR-Res, UWB1.289 BRCA1null and UWB1.289 + BRCA1 wild-type) were treated with saline vehicle, olaparib, SAHA or olaparib/SAHA. Sulforhodamine B (SRB) assessed cytotoxicity and immunofluorescence and Western blot assays assessed markers of apoptosis (cleaved PARP) and DNA damage (pH2AX and RAD51). Drug effects were also tested in SKOV-3 xenografts in Nude mice. Affymetrix microarray experiments were performed in vehicle and SAHA-treated SKOV-3 cells.ResultsIn a microarray analysis, SAHA induced coordinated down-regulation of HR pathway genes, including RAD51 and BRCA1. Nuclear co-expression of RAD51 and pH2AX, a marker of efficient HR repair, was reduced approximately 40% by SAHA treatment alone and combined with olaparib. SAHA combined with olaparib induced apoptosis and pH2AX expression to a greater extent than either drug alone. Olaparib reduced cell viability at increasing concentrations and SAHA enhanced these effects in 4 of 5 cell lines, including BRCA1 null and wild-type cells, in vitro and in SKOV-3 xenografts in vivo.ConclusionsThese results provide preclinical rationale for targeting DNA damage response pathways by combining small molecule PARPi with HDACi as a mechanism for reducing HR efficiency in ovarian cancer.