Amplification of mutant BRCA2 gene confers resistance to PARP inhibitor

Breast cancer gene 2 (BRCA2) deleterious mutations confer sensitivity to poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibition due to its critical role in DNA repair. PARP inhibitor Olaparib is now approved and several other PARP inhibitors are now in different stages of clinical trials. Development of resistance to PARP inhibitors limits their clinical utility. The mechanism of resistance remains not fully understood. Here we show that amplification of mutant BRCA2 confers PARP inhibitor resistance. The amplification of mutant BRCA2 gene copies correlates with an increase in mutant BRCA2 expression and an increase in the levels of its interacting proteins PALB2 and RAD51. In addition, homologous recombination mediated DNA repair is rescued in these cells as evidenced by the formation of RAD51 focus formation. The overexpressed mutant BRCA2 is essential for the observed PARP inhibitor resistance because knockdown of its expression is sufficient to re-sensitize these cells to PARP inhibition. Collectively, our results indicate a new mechanism of resistance to PARP inhibitor in BRCA2 mutant cancer cells