Quantitative analysis of biochemical processes in living cells at a single-molecule level : a case of olaparib–PARP1 (DNA repair protein) interactions

Karpińska, Aneta and Pilz, Marta and Buczkowska, Joanna and Zuk, Pawel and Kucharska, Karolina and Magiera, Gaweł and Kwapiszewska, Karina and Holyst, Robert (2021) Quantitative analysis of biochemical processes in living cells at a single-molecule level : a case of olaparib–PARP1 (DNA repair protein) interactions. Analyst, 146 (23). pp. 7131-7143. ISSN 0003-2654

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Abstract

Quantitative description of biochemical processes inside living cells and at single-molecule levels remains a challenge at the forefront of modern instrumentation and spectroscopy. This paper demonstrates such single-cell, single-molecule analyses performed to study the mechanism of action of olaparib – an up-to-date, FDA-approved drug for germline-BRCA mutated metastatic breast cancer. We characterized complexes formed with PARPi-FL – fluorescent analog of olaparib in vitro and in cancer cells using the advanced fluorescent-based method: Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) combined with a length-scale dependent cytoplasmic/nucleoplasmic viscosity model. We determined in vitro olaparib–PARP1 equilibrium constant (6.06 × 108 mol L−1). In the cell nucleus, we distinguished three states of olaparib: freely diffusing drug (24%), olaparib–PARP1 complex (50%), and olaparib–PARP1–RNA complex (26%). We show olaparib accumulation in 3D spheroids, where intracellular concentration is twofold higher than in 2D cells. Moreover, olaparib concentration was tenfold higher (506 nmol L−1 vs. 57 nmol L−1) in cervical cancer (BRCA1 high abundance) than in breast cancer cells (BRCA1 low abundance) but with a lower toxic effect. Thus we confirmed that the amount of BRCA1 protein in the cells is a better predictor of the therapeutic effect of olaparib than its penetration into cancer tissue. Our single-molecule and single-cell approach give a new perspective of drug action in living cells. FCS provides a detailed in vivo insight, valuable in drug development and targeting.