BRCA1 and BRCA2 are essential for the repair of double-strand DNA breaks, and alterations in these genes are a hallmark of breast and ovarian carcinomas. Other functionally related genes may also play important roles in carcinogenesis. Amplification of EMSY, a putative BRCAness gene, has been suggested to impair DNA damage repair by suppressing BRCA2 function. We employed direct repeat GFP (DR-GFP) and RAD51 foci formation assays to show that EMSY overexpression impairs the repair of damaged DNA, suggesting that EMSY belongs to the family of BRCAness proteins. We also identified a novel phospho-site at threonine 207 (T207) and demonstrated its role in EMSY-driven suppression of DNA damage repair. In vitro kinase assays established that protein kinase A (PKA) directly phosphorylates the T207 phospho-site. Immunoprecipitation experiments suggest that EMSY-driven suppression of DNA damage repair is a BRCA2-independent process. The data also suggest that EMSY amplification is a BRCAness feature, and may help to expand the population of patients who could benefit from targeted therapies that are also effective in BRCA1/2-mutant cancers.

PURPOSE OF STUDY: EMSY, a putative DNA damage repair gene, is amplified in over 10% of high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) cases. EMSY overexpression has been hypothesized to antagonize BRCA2 via direct interaction and compromise the homology-directed repair (HDR) of DNA double strand breaks. EMSY's role as a transcription factor has been described in a protein kinase AKT1 phosphorylation-dependent manner. The purpose of this study was to decipher EMSY's role in HDR and to assess the importance of its phosphorylation in this context. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES: We measured HDR activity in several cell lines (U2OS osteosarcoma, H1299 non-small cell lung carcinoma and OVCAR8 HGSOC) using the DR-GFP reporter assay and RAD51 foci assessment. Endogenous immunoprecipitations (IPs) were performed with low stringency lysis buffer and protein A/G-plus agarose. V5-tagged EMSY constructs were made using the Invitrogen's Gateway TOPO cloning system. These constructs were further used to create EMSY phospho-mutants. Cells were transfected by either electroporation or FuGene reagent. For the in vitro kinase assays, EMSY constructs were sub-cloned and expressed in BL21 STAR bacteria and purified using Invitrogen's Champion pET102 Expression kit. Recombinant protein kinases were obtained from Active Motif and CellSignaling. Forskolin and H-89 were obtained from Santa Cruz Biotechnology. SUMMARY OF THE DATA: EMSY overexpression resulted in decreased HDR activity in all three DR-GFP cell lines, thus supporting the hypothesis that EMSY overexpression impairs HDR. V5-tagged EMSY overexpressing and endogenous immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated no interaction between EMSY and BRCA2, suggesting EMSY's role in HDR to be BRCA2-independent. We confirmed that EMSY is phosphorylated by AKT1 at serine 209 phospho-site and identified a previously unknown phospho-site at threonine 207. We identified protein kinase A (PKA) as a kinase targeting EMSY T207. Furthermore, by performing both DR-GFP assay and RAD51 foci assessment in OVCAR8 cells that overexpress WT EMSY or either phospho-mutant, we demonstrated that mutant EMSY-S209A affects HDR activity similar to the WT EMSY while EMSY-T207A does not. This suggests the importance of PKA and the T207 phospho site for the EMSY-driven HDR suppression. CONCLUSIONS: EMSY-overexpressing cells show decreased HDR activity, demonstrating EMSY's relevance to the HDR pathway. Our data support the notion that EMSY-driven HDR impairment is BRCA2-interaction-independent and challenges the currently held impression that EMSY overexpression mimics the BRCA2-depleted phenotype via direct interaction. We found a new phospho-site at EMSY T207 and identified PKA as a targeting kinase. Phosphorylation of EMSY at T207, but not S209 phospho-site is necessary for EMSY-driven suppression of HDR. We suggest that an increase in EMSY's T207 phosphorylation in patients bearing EMSY-amplified tumors could enhance BRCAness and render these patients more sensitive to drugs effective in HDR-impaired setting, such as PARP inhibitors. Citation Format: Petar Jelinic, Laura A. Eccles, Jill Tseng, Paulina Cybulska, Simon N. Powell, Douglas A. Levine. THE EMSY THREONINE 207 PHOSPHO–SITE IS REQUIRED FOR EMSY–DRIVEN SUPPRESSION OF DNA DAMAGE REPAIR [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 11th Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium; Sep 12-13, 2016; Seattle, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2017;23(11 Suppl):Abstract nr MIP-062.