Purpose: Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) are known to induce radiosensitization. However, the exact mechanisms of radiosensitization remain unclear. We previously reported that PARPi may have a unique radiosensitizing effect to enhance β-components of the linear-quadratic model. The aim of this study was to evaluate PARPi in combination with high-dose-per-fraction radiotherapy and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of its radiosensitization.

Materials and methods: Radiosensitizing effects of PARPi PJ34, olaparib, and veliparib were measured using a colony-forming assay in the human cancer cell lines, HCT116, NCI-H460, and HT29. Six different radiation dose fractionation schedules were examined by tumor regrowth assay using three-dimensional multicellular spheroids of HCT116, NCI-H460, SW620, and HCT15. The mechanisms of radiosensitization were analyzed by measuring DNA double-strand breaks (DSB), DNA damage responses, chromosomal translocations, cellular senescence, and cell cycle analysis.

Results: Olaparib and PJ34 were found to show radiosensitization preferentially at higher radiation doses per fraction. Similar results were obtained using a mouse model bearing human tumor xenografts. A kinetic analysis of DNA damage responses and repairs showed that olaparib and PJ34 reduced the homologous recombination activity. However, a neutral comet assay showed that PJ34 treatment did not affect the physical rejoining of DNA-DSBs induced by ionizing radiation. Cell cycle analysis revealed that olaparib and PJ34 strikingly increased G1 tetraploid cells following irradiation, leading to premature senescence. The C-banding analysis of metaphase spreads showed that olaparib and PJ34 significantly increased ionizing radiation-induced dicentric chromosomes. The data suggests that PARPi olaparib and PJ34 altered the choice of DNA-DSB repair pathways rather than reducing the total amount of DNA-DSB repair, which resulted in increased repair errors. Increased quadratic misrepair was one of the mechanisms of PARP-mediated radiosensitization, preferentially at the higher dose range compared to the lower dose range.

Conclusion: PARPi may be a promising candidate to combine with stereotactic hypofractionated radiotherapy, aiming at high-dose region-directed radiosensitization.