Colomer Montañà, Carlota, 1990-Margalef González, Pol, 1985-Villanueva, AlbertoVert, AnnaPecharroman, IreneSolé, LauraGonzález-Farré, MónicaAlonso, JosuneMontagut Viladot, ClaraMartínez Iniesta, MaríaBertran, JoanBorràs, EvaIglesias, MarSabidó Aguadé, Eduard, 1981-Bigas Salvans, AnnaBoulton, Simon J.Espinosa Blay, Lluís2019-10-312019-10-312019Colomer C, Margalef P, Villanueva A, Vert A, Pecharroman I, Solé L et al. IKKα kinase regulates the DNA damage response and drives chemo-resistance in cancer. Mol Cell. 2019;75(4):669-82. DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2019.05.0361097-2765http://hdl.handle.net/10230/42573Phosphorylated IKKalpha(p45) is a nuclear active form of the IKKalpha kinase that is induced by the MAP kinases BRAF and TAK1 and promotes tumor growth independent of canonical NF-¿B signaling. Insights into the sources of IKKalpha(p45) activation and its downstream substrates in the nucleus remain to be defined. Here, we discover that IKKalpha(p45) is rapidly activated by DNA damage independent of ATM-ATR, but dependent on BRAF-TAK1-p38-MAPK, and is required for robust ATM activation and efficient DNA repair. Abolishing BRAF or IKKalpha activity attenuates ATM, Chk1, MDC1, Kap1, and 53BP1 phosphorylation, compromises 53BP1 and RIF1 co-recruitment to sites of DNA lesions, and inhibits 53BP1-dependent fusion of dysfunctional telomeres. Furthermore, IKKalpha or BRAF inhibition synergistically enhances the therapeutic potential of 5-FU and irinotecan to eradicate chemotherapy-resistant metastatic human tumors in vivo. Our results implicate BRAF and IKKalpha kinases in the DDR and reveal a combination strategy for cancer treatment.application/pdfeng© 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2019.05.036ATMBRAFDNA-damage RepairIKKCancer treatmentCombination therapyOrtho-xenograftsPatient-derived organoidsPhosphorylationTherapy resistanceinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess