Although PARP inhibitors can induce the formation of DSBs, cells have evolved several pathways to repair DSBs, among which HR is one of the most important. In cells with intact HR, such as
BRCA1/2 wild-type cells,
BRCA1 is involved in the end resection of DSBs, generating ssDNA and providing a template for HR repair.
BRCA1 also regulates the recruitment of other repair factors to ensure efficient repair progression. Compared to BRCA1, BRCA2 facilitates this process by binding to RAD51, which helps stabilize its accumulation on ssDNA, promoting homologous pairing and completing the repair. The combined actions of BRCA1 and BRCA2 ensure the accuracy and efficiency of HR, thereby preventing cell death from PARP inhibitors. However, HR repair is defective in
BRCA1/2 mutant cells or cells exhibiting a BRCAness phenotype. As a result, DSBs induced by PARP inhibitors cannot be repaired through the HR pathway. Instead, these cells rely on the error-prone NHEJ repair mechanism, resulting in further accumulation of DNA damage and ultimately leading to cell death. This phenomenon, known as synthetic lethality (
Figure 1), accounts for the potent antitumor effects of PARP inhibitors in
BRCA1/2-mutant and BRCAness-like tumors
5.