Notch/HES1-mediated PARP1 activation: A cell-type specific mechanism for tumor suppression

Notch signaling plays both oncogenic and tumor suppressor roles, depending on cell type. In contrast to T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), where Notch activation promotes leukemogenesis, induction of Notch signaling in B-ALL leads to growth arrest and apoptosis. The Notch target Hairy/Enhancer of Split1 (HES1) is sufficient to reproduce this tumor suppressor phenotype in B-ALL, however the mechanism is not yet known. Here we report that HES1 regulates pro-apoptotic signals via the novel interacting protein Poly ADP-Ribose Polymerase1 (PARP1) in a cell type-specific manner. The interaction of HES1 with PARP1 inhibits HES1 function, induces PARP1 activation and results in PARP1 cleavage in B-ALL. HES1-induced PARP1 activation leads to self-ADP ribosylation of PARP1, consumption of NAD+, diminished ATP levels, and translocation of the Apoptosis Inducing Factor (AIF) from mitochondria to the nucleus, resulting in apoptosis in B-ALL, but not T-ALL. Importantly, induction of Notch signaling via the Notch agonist peptide DSL can reproduce these events and leads to BALL apoptosis. The novel interaction of HES1 and PARP1 in B-ALL modulates the function of the HES1 transcriptional complex and signals through PARP1 to induce apoptosis. This mechanism reveals a cell type-specific pro-apoptotic pathway which may lead to Notch agonist-based cancer therapeutics.

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Kannan S, Fang W, Song G, Mullighan CG, Hammitt R, McMurray J, Zweidler-McKay PA