A genome-wide siRNA screen for regulators of tumor suppressor p53 activity in human non-small cell lung cancer cells identifies components of the RNA splicing machinery as targets for anticancer treatment.

Reinstating wild-type tumor suppressor p53 activity could be a valuable option for the treatment of cancer. To contribute to development of new treatment options for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we performed genome-wide siRNA screens for determinants of p53 activity in NSCLC cells. We identified many genes not previously known to be involved in regulating p53 activity. Silencing p53 pathway inhibitor genes was associated with loss of cell viability. The largest functional gene cluster influencing p53 activity was mRNA splicing. Prominent p53 activation was observed upon silencing of specific spliceosome components, rather than by general inhibition of the spliceosome. Ten genes were validated as inhibitors of p53 activity in multiple NSCLC cell lines: genes encoding the Ras pathway activator SOS1, the zinc finger protein TSHZ3, the mitochondrial membrane protein COX16, and the spliceosome components SNRPD3, SF3A3, SF3B1, SF3B6, XAB2, CWC22, and HNRNPL. Silencing these genes generally increased p53 levels, with distinct effects on CDKN1A expression, induction of cell cycle arrest and cell death. Silencing spliceosome components was associated with alternative splicing of MDM4 mRNA, which could contribute to activation of p53. In addition, silencing splice factors was particularly effective in killing NSCLC cells, albeit in a p53-independent manner. Interestingly, silencing SNRPD3 and SF3A3 exerted much stronger cytotoxicity to NSCLC cells than to lung fibroblasts, suggesting that these genes could represent useful therapeutic targets.

Whole genome RNAi screens reveal a critical role of REV3 in coping with replication stress.

REV3, the catalytic subunit of translesion polymerase zeta (polζ), is commonly associated with DNA damage bypass and repair. Despite sharing accessory subunits with replicative polymerase δ, very little is known about the role of polζ in DNA replication. We previously demonstrated that inhibition of REV3 expression induces persistent DNA damage and growth arrest in cancer cells. To reveal determinants of this sensitivity and obtain insights into the cellular function of REV3, we performed whole human genome RNAi library screens aimed at identification of synthetic lethal interactions with REV3 in A549 lung cancer cells. The top confirmed hit was RRM1, the large subunit of ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), a critical enzyme of de novo nucleotide synthesis. Treatment with the RNR-inhibitor hydroxyurea (HU) synergistically increased the fraction of REV3-deficient cells containing single stranded DNA (ssDNA) as indicated by an increase in replication protein A (RPA). However, this increase was not accompanied by accumulation of the DNA damage marker γH2AX suggesting a role of REV3 in counteracting HU-induced replication stress (RS). Consistent with a role of REV3 in DNA replication, increased RPA staining was confined to HU-treated S-phase cells. Additionally, we found genes related to RS to be significantly enriched among the top hits of the synthetic sickness/lethality (SSL) screen further corroborating the importance of REV3 for DNA replication under conditions of RS.

Analysis of small-sample clinical genomics studies using multi-parameter shrinkage: application to high-throughput RNA interference screening.

High-throughput (HT) RNA interference (RNAi) screens are increasingly used for reverse genetics and drug discovery. These experiments are laborious and costly, hence sample sizes are often very small. Powerful statistical techniques to detect siRNAs that potentially enhance treatment are currently lacking, because they do not optimally use the amount of data in the other dimension, the feature dimension. We introduce ShrinkHT, a Bayesian method for shrinking multiple parameters in a statistical model, where 'shrinkage' refers to borrowing information across features. ShrinkHT is very flexible in fitting the effect size distribution for the main parameter of interest, thereby accommodating skewness that naturally occurs when siRNAs are compared with controls. In addition, it naturally down-weights the impact of nuisance parameters (e.g. assay-specific effects) when these tend to have little effects across siRNAs. We show that these properties lead to better ROC-curves than with the popular limma software. Moreover, in a 3 + 3 treatment vs control experiment with 'assay' as an additional nuisance factor, ShrinkHT is able to detect three (out of 960) significant siRNAs with stronger enhancement effects than the positive control. These were not detected by limma. In the context of gene-targeted (conjugate) treatment, these are interesting candidates for further research.

Affordable luciferase reporter assay for cell-based high-throughput screening.

The firefly luciferase gene is commonly used in cell-based reporter assays. Convenient luciferase assay reagents for use in high-throughput screening (HTS) are commercially available. However, the high cost of these reagents is not within the means of some academic laboratories. Therefore, we set out to develop an affordable luciferase assay reagent applicable in an HTS format using simple liquid-handling steps. The reagent was homemade from individual chemical components and optimized for luminescence intensity and stability. We determined the minimal concentrations of the most expensive components, dithiothreitol (DTT) and D-luciferin, resulting in a total assay reagent cost of less than 1 cent per sample. Signal stability was maximized by omission of coenzyme A and reduction of DTT concentration. The assay was validated in a high-throughput setting using two cancer cell lines carrying a p53-dependent luciferase reporter construct and siRNAs modulating p53 transcriptional activity. Induction of p53 activity by silencing PPM1D or SYVN1 and reduction of p53 activity by silencing p53 remained constant over a 2-h measurement period, with good assay quality (Z' factors mostly above 0.5). Hence, the luciferase assay described herein can be used for affordable reporter readout in cell-based HTS.