Wee1 Kinase: A Potential Target to Overcome Tumor Resistance to Therapy

During the cell cycle, DNA suffers several lesions that need to be repaired prior to entry into mitosis to preserve genome integrity in daughter cells. Toward this aim, cells have developed complex enzymatic machinery, the so-called DNA damage response (DDR), which is able to repair DNA, temporarily stopping the cell cycle to provide more time to repair, or if the damage is too severe, inducing apoptosis. This DDR mechanism is considered the main source of resistance to DNA-damaging therapeutic treatments in oncology. Recently, cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are a small subset of tumor cells, were identified as tumor-initiating cells. CSCs possess self-renewal potential and persistent tumorigenic capacity, allowing for tumor re-growth and relapse. Compared with cancer cells, CSCs are more resistant to therapeutic treatments. Wee1 is the principal gatekeeper for both G2/M and S-phase checkpoints, where it plays a key role in cell cycle regulation and DNA damage repair. From this perspective, Wee1 inhibition might increase the effectiveness of DNA-damaging treatments, such as radiotherapy, forcing tumor cells and CSCs to enter into mitosis, even with damaged DNA, leading to mitotic catastrophe and subsequent cell death.