The PI3K/mTOR Inhibitor Ompalisib Suppresses Nonhomologous End Joining and Sensitizes Cancer Cells to Radio- and Chemotherapy

As the predominant pathway for the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSB), non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) attenuates the efficacy of cancer treatment which relies on the introduction of DSBs, such as radiotherapy and genotoxic drugs. Identifying novel NHEJ inhibitors is of great importance for improving the therapeutic efficiency of radio- or chemotherapy. Here we miniaturized our recently developed NHEJ detecting system into a 96-well plate-based format and interrogated an FDA approved drug library containing 1732 compounds. A collection of novel hits were considered to be potential DSB repair inhibitors at the noncytotoxic concentration. We identified omipalisib as an efficient sensitizer for DNA damage-induced cell death in vitro. Furthermore, in vitro analysis uncovered the repressive effect of omipalisib on the phosphorylation of DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit induced by ionizing radiation and doxorubicin, which led to the suppression of NHEJ pathway.

Automated summary

NHEJ, the predominant pathway for DNA repair, needs inhibitors to enhance the efficacy of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Through screening, omipalisib was identified as an effective sensitizer for cell death induced by DNA damage, suppressing the NHEJ pathway.