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Emerging data demonstrate homologous recombination (HR) defects in castration-resistant prostate cancers, rendering these tumours sensitive to PARP inhibition. Here we demonstrate a direct requirement for the androgen receptor (AR) to maintain HR gene expression and HR activity in prostate cancer. We show that PARP-mediated repair pathways are upregulated in prostate cancer following androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT). Furthermore, upregulation of PARP activity is essential for the survival of prostate cancer cells and we demonstrate a synthetic lethality between ADT and PARP inhibition in vivo. Our data suggest that ADT can functionally impair HR prior to the development of castration resistance and that, this potentially could be exploited therapeutically using PARP inhibitors in combination with androgen-deprivation therapy upfront in advanced or high-risk prostate cancer.Tumours with homologous recombination (HR) defects become sensitive to PARPi. Here, the authors show that androgen receptor (AR) regulates HR and AR inhibition activates the PARP pathway in vivo, thus inhibition of both AR and PARP is required for effective treatment of high risk prostate cancer.

Repair of DNA double-strand breaks is crucial for maintaining genome integrity and is governed by post-translational modifications such as protein ubiquitylation. Here, we establish that the deubiquitylating enzyme USP4 promotes DNA-end resection and DNA repair by homologous recombination. We also report that USP4 interacts with CtIP and the MRE11-RAD50-NBS1 (MRN) complex and is required for CtIP recruitment to DNA damage sites. Furthermore, we show that USP4 is ubiquitylated on multiple sites including those on cysteine residues and that deubiquitylation of these sites requires USP4 catalytic activity and is required for USP4 to interact with CtIP/MRN and to promote CtIP recruitment and DNA repair. Lastly, we establish that regulation of interactor binding by ubiquitylation occurs more generally among USP-family enzymes. Our findings thus identify USP4 as a novel DNA repair regulator and invoke a model in which ubiquitin adducts regulate USP enzyme interactions and functions., (Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are perhaps the most toxic of all DNA lesions, with defects in the DNA-damage response to DSBs being associated with various human diseases. Although it is known that DSB repair pathways are tightly regulated by ubiquitylation, we do not yet have a comprehensive understanding of how deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) function in DSB responses. Here, by carrying out a multidimensional screening strategy for human DUBs, we identify several with hitherto unknown links to DSB repair, the G2/M DNA-damage checkpoint and genome-integrity maintenance. Phylogenetic analyses reveal functional clustering within certain DUB subgroups, suggesting evolutionally conserved functions and/or related modes of action. Furthermore, we establish that the DUB UCHL5 regulates DSB resection and repair by homologous recombination through protecting its interactor, NFRKB, from degradation. Collectively, our findings extend the list of DUBs promoting the maintenance of genome integrity, and highlight their potential as therapeutic targets for cancer.