Replication-dependent cytotoxicity and Spartan-mediated repair of trapped PARP1–DNA complexes

The antitumor activity of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPis) has been ascribed to PARP trapping, which consists in tight DNA–protein complexes. Here we demonstrate that the cytotoxicity of talazoparib and olaparib results from DNA replication. To elucidate the repair of PARP1–DNA complexes associated with replication in human TK6 and chicken DT40 lymphoblastoid cells, we explored the role of Spartan (SPRTN), a metalloprotease associated with DNA replication, which removes proteins forming DPCs. We find that SPRTN-deficient cells are hypersensitive to talazoparib and olaparib, but not to veliparib, a weak PARP trapper. SPRTN-deficient cells exhibit delayed clearance of trapped PARP1 and increased replication fork stalling upon talazoparib and olaparib treatment. We also show that SPRTN interacts with PARP1 and forms nuclear foci that colocalize with the replicative cell division cycle 45 protein (CDC45) in response to talazoparib. Additionally, SPRTN is deubiquitinated and epistatic with translesion synthesis (TLS) in response to talazoparib. Our results demonstrate that SPRTN is recruited to trapped PARP1 in S-phase to assist in the excision and replication bypass of PARP1–DNA complexes.