Serine/Threonine Kinase CHEK1-Dependent Transcriptional Regulation of RAD54L Promotes Proliferation and Radio Resistance in Glioblastoma

Accumulating evidence indicates that Checkpoint kinase 1 (CHEK1) plays an essential role in tumor cells and that it could induce cell proliferation and could be related to prognosis in multiple types of cancer. However, the biological role and molecular mechanism of CHEK1 in GBM still remain unclear. In this study, we identified that CHEK1 expression was enriched in glioblastoma (GBM) tumors and was functionally required for tumor proliferation and that its expression was associated to poor prognosis in GBM patients. Mechanically, CHEK1 induced radio resistance in GBM cells, and CHEK1 knockdown increased cell apoptosis when combined with radiotherapy via regulation of the DNA repair/recombination protein 54L (RAD54L) expression. Therapeutically, we found that CHEK1 inhibitor attenuated tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, CHEK1 promotes proliferation, induces radio resistance in GBM, and could become a potential therapeutic target for GBM.