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Werner syndrome is genetically linked to mutations in WRN that encodes a DNA helicase-nuclease believed to operate at stalled replication forks. Using a newly identified small-molecule inhibitor of WRN helicase (NSC 617145), we investigated the role of WRN in the interstrand cross-link (ICL) response in cells derived from patients with Fanconi anemia, a hereditary disorder characterized by bone marrow failure and cancer. In FA-D2−/− cells, NSC 617145 acted synergistically with very low concentrations of mitomycin C to inhibit proliferation in a WRN-dependent manner and induce double-strand breaks (DSB) and chromosomal abnormalities. Under these conditions, ataxia–telangiectasia mutated activation and accumulation of DNA-dependent protein kinase, catalytic subunit pS2056 foci suggested an increased number of DSBs processed by nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ). Rad51 foci were also elevated in FA-D2−/− cells exposed to NSC 617145 and mitomycin C, suggesting that WRN helicase inhibition interferes with later steps of homologous recombination at ICL-induced DSBs. Thus, when the Fanconi anemia pathway is defective, WRN helicase inhibition perturbs the normal ICL response, leading to NHEJ activation. Potential implication for treatment of Fanconi anemia–deficient tumors by their sensitization to DNA cross-linking agents is discussed. Cancer Res; 73(17); 5497–507. ©2013 AACR.

Werner syndrome is a hereditary disorder characterized by the early onset of age-related symptoms, including cancer. The absence of a p53-WRN helicase interaction may disrupt the signal to direct S-phase cells into apoptosis for programmed cell death and contribute to the pronounced genomic instability and cancer predisposition in Werner syndrome cells. Results from coimmunoprecipitation studies indicate that WRN is associated with replication protein A (RPA) and p53 in vivo before and after treatment with the replication inhibitor hydroxyurea or γ-irradiation that introduces DNA strand breaks. Analysis of the protein interactions among purified recombinant WRN, RPA, and p53 proteins indicate that all three protein pairs bind with similar affinity in the low nanomolar range. In vitro studies show that p53 inhibits RPA-stimulated WRN helicase activity on an 849-bp M13 partial duplex substrate. p53 also inhibited WRN unwinding of a short (19-bp) forked duplex substrate in the absence of RPA. WRN unwinding of the forked duplex substrate was specific, because helicase inhibition mediated by p53 was retained in the presence of excess competitor DNA and was significantly reduced or absent in helicase reactions catalyzed by a WRN helicase domain fragment lacking the p53 binding site or the human RECQ1 DNA helicase, respectively. p53 effectively inhibited WRN helicase activity on model DNA substrate intermediates of replication/repair, a 5′ ssDNA flap structure and a synthetic replication fork. Regulation of WRN helicase activity by p53 is likely to play an important role in genomic integrity surveillance, a vital function in the prevention of tumor progression.