Targeted Radiosensitization by the Chk1 Inhibitor SAR-020106

Purpose: To explore the activity of a potent Chk1 inhibitor (SAR-020106) in combination with radiation. Methods and Materials: Colony and mechanistic in vitro assays and a xenograft in vivo model. Results: SAR-020106 suppressed-radiation-induced G2/M arrest and reduced clonogenic survival only in p53-deficient tumor cells. SAR-020106 promoted mitotic entry following irradiation in all cell lines, but p53-deficient cells were likely to undergo apoptosis or become aneuploid, while p53 wild-type cells underwent a postmitotic G1 arrest followed by subsequent normal cell cycle re-entry. Following combined treatment with SAR-020106 and radiation, homologous-recombination-mediated DNA damage repair was inhibited in all cell lines. A significant increase in the number of pan-γH2AX-staining apoptotic cells was observed only in p53-deficient cell lines. Efficacy was confirmed in vivo in a clinically relevant human head-and-neck cell carcinoma xenograft model. Conclusion: The Chk1 inhibitor SAR-020106 is a potent radiosensitizer in tumor cell lines defective in p53 signaling.