[PARP1 inhibitors: contemporary attempts at their use in anticancer therapy and future perspective]

Current cancer therapies are based mainly on the use of compounds that cause DNA damage. Unfortunately, even the combination therapies do not give rewarding effects, due to the high efficiency of DNA damage repair mechanisms in tumor cells. Therefore, the present studies should be focused on proteins that are involved in DNA repair systems. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 is an example of a protein commonly known as an enzyme that plays a role in the detection of DNA damage and repair. Activation of PARP1 in response to DNA damage leads to poly-ADP-ribosylation of proteins contributing to DNA repair systems, therefore facilitating the maintenance of genome stability. On the other hand, inhibition of PARP1 enzyme results in the accumulation of DNA damage, which in turn contributes to cell death. Studies on inhibitors of PARP1 are still ongoing, and some of them are currently in the third phase of clinical trials. To date, only one representative of the PARP1 inhibitors, called olaparib, has been approved for anti-cancer therapy in the EU and the USA. Moreover, a growing body of evidence indicates a role of this protein in various intracellular processes such as bioenergetics, proliferation, regulation of gene expression, cell death as well as immunoregulation. A number of different intracellular processes regulated by PARP1 give rise to potential wider use of PARP1 inhibitors in treatment of other diseases, including immune or autoimmune disorders.