Abstract 689: BUB1 interferes with the repair of radiation-induced DNA damage to radiosensitize triple-negative breast cancer

Abstract Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is associated with locoregional recurrence and low survival rates. Novel molecular targets are expected to improve the efficacy of radiation therapy (RT) in TNBC. BUB1, a mitotic checkpoint Serine/Threonine-protein kinase is known to impact chromosomal segregation during mitosis. However, its precise role in DNA damage repair in response to RT remains largely unknown. We demonstrated that BUB1 is overexpressed in BC (vs. normal breast) and considerably raised in TNBC with poor survival outcomes using differential gene expression analysis. In multiple TNBC cell lines, cell proliferation assays revealed that pharmacological (BAY1816032) or genomic (CRISPR) ablation of BUB1 was cytotoxic. Using clonogenic survival assays, we observed that BUB1 ablation radiosensitized TNBC cell lines (SUM159, MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468, BT-549) while its ablation did not radiosensitized breast epithelial cells (MCF10A). Furthermore, by depleting endogenous BUB1 (siRNAs and CRISPR) and reintroducing wild-type (WT) or kinase-dead (KD) BUB1, we demonstrated that inhibition of BUB1 kinase function is responsible for the radiosensitization phenotype. BUB1 ablation increased tumor doubling time in SUM159 xenografts when combined with radiation. Ki67 levels were also reduced in these tumors, confirming the efficacy of the combined treatment. BUB1 ablation led to persistent radiation-induced DNA DSB (gH2AX foci) indicating decreased DNA-DSB repair. BLRR assays confirmed that BUB1 impacts the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway. Biochemical analyses showed that BUB1 ablation stabilized total- and phospho- DNAPKcs (S2056) following RT such that half-lives could not be estimated. In contrast, RT alone caused BUB1 stabilization, but pre-treatment with BUB1i and DNAPKi prevented stabilization. To evaluate the recruitment of DDR proteins to the chromatin following RT, soluble nuclear and chromatin-enriched fractionations were performed which illustrated an increase in recruitment of phospho- and total-DNAPK, KAP1, and ATM to chromatin indicating that BUB1 is important in the activation and recruitment of critical NHEJ proteins to DSBs. In addition, BUB1 staining of TNBC TMAs demonstrated significant correlation between BUB1 protein expression with tumor grade and stage in TNBC patients. Our findings demonstrate that ablation of BUB1 sensitizes TNBC cell lines and xenograft to RT and BUB1 mediated radiosensitization may occur through NHEJ. Our results suggest that BUB1 may serve as a novel molecular target for radiosensitization in women with TNBC. Citation Format: Sushmitha Sriramulu, Shivani Thoidingjam, Pin Li, Stephen L. Brown, Farzan Siddiqui, Benjamin Movsas, Michael Green, Corey Speers, Shyam Nyati. BUB1 interferes with the repair of radiation-induced DNA damage to radiosensitize triple-negative breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 689.