The Role of 53BP1 and its Phosphorylation in the DNA Damage Response

The tumour suppressor p53-binding protein 1 (53BP1) is phosphorylated following DNA double strand breaks (DSBs); however, little is understood about the upstream signaling pathways that control this phosphorylation. Additionally, it is not known how these processes combine with 53BP1 to control the survival of cells following DNA damage such as that imparted by ionizing radiation (IR), which is the basis of radiotherapy. In this thesis, I have shown that 53BP1 is phosphorylated specifically in S-phase cells, but not relocalized to intranuclear foci, in response to severe oxygen stress. This occurs with only partial dependence on the ATM kinase (Chapter 2). Following IR, I find that both ATM and DNA-PKcs contribute to intranuclear phosphorylated 53BP1 foci, but that this phosphorylation is independent of proximal signaling molecules that control the localization of 53BP1 to initial DSBs (Chapter 3). Furthermore, I show that 53BP1 loss confers sensitivity to IR and this can be further augmented by inhibition of ATM and DNA-PKcs kinases suggesting that there are both 53BP1-dependent and -independent pathways of survival from IR (Chapter 4). These findings may have important implications for molecular pathology and personalized medicine as 53BP1 has recently been found to be activated or lost in subsets of human tumours. I have collaborated to initiate the development of a novel system to interrogate the implications of 53BP1 loss as traditional siRNA approaches in human cancer cells were not feasible (Chapter 5 and Appendix 2). This system can be used in vivo as tumour xenografts to further understand how 53BP1 and the tumour microenvironment interact endogenously and in response to IR. I also present the possibility and proof of concept for the use of 53BP1 as a biomarker in primary human prostate cancer tissue where little is known about 53BP1 biology (Chapter 5).Ph