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Nature Cell Biology Jul 2023Chromatin is dynamically reorganized when DNA replication forks are challenged. However, the process of epigenetic reorganization and its implication for fork stability...
Chromatin is dynamically reorganized when DNA replication forks are challenged. However, the process of epigenetic reorganization and its implication for fork stability is poorly understood. Here we discover a checkpoint-regulated cascade of chromatin signalling that activates the histone methyltransferase EHMT2/G9a to catalyse heterochromatin assembly at stressed replication forks. Using biochemical and single molecule chromatin fibre approaches, we show that G9a together with SUV39h1 induces chromatin compaction by accumulating the repressive modifications, H3K9me1/me2/me3, in the vicinity of stressed replication forks. This closed conformation is also favoured by the G9a-dependent exclusion of the H3K9-demethylase JMJD1A/KDM3A, which facilitates heterochromatin disassembly upon fork restart. Untimely heterochromatin disassembly from stressed forks by KDM3A enables PRIMPOL access, triggering single-stranded DNA gap formation and sensitizing cells towards chemotherapeutic drugs. These findings may help in explaining chemotherapy resistance and poor prognosis observed in patients with cancer displaying elevated levels of G9a/H3K9me3.
Topics: Humans; Histones; Heterochromatin; Chromatin; Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; DNA Replication; Histocompatibility Antigens; Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase; Jumonji Domain-Containing Histone Demethylases
PubMed: 37414849
DOI: 10.1038/s41556-023-01167-z -
Nucleic Acids Research Nov 2023Unscheduled R-loops are a major source of replication stress and DNA damage. R-loop-induced replication defects are sensed and suppressed by ATR kinase, whereas it is...
Unscheduled R-loops are a major source of replication stress and DNA damage. R-loop-induced replication defects are sensed and suppressed by ATR kinase, whereas it is not known whether R-loop itself is actively involved in ATR activation and, if so, how this is achieved. Here, we report that the nuclear form of RNA-editing enzyme ADAR1 promotes ATR activation and resolves genome-wide R-loops, a process that requires its double-stranded RNA-binding domains. Mechanistically, ADAR1 interacts with TOPBP1 and facilitates its loading on perturbed replication forks by enhancing the association of TOPBP1 with RAD9 of the 9-1-1 complex. When replication is inhibited, DNA-RNA hybrid competes with TOPBP1 for ADAR1 binding to promote the translocation of ADAR1 from damaged fork to accumulate at R-loop region. There, ADAR1 recruits RNA helicases DHX9 and DDX21 to unwind R-loops, simultaneously allowing TOPBP1 to stimulate ATR more efficiently. Collectively, we propose that the tempo-spatially regulated assembly of ADAR1-nucleated protein complexes link R-loop clearance and ATR activation, while R-loops crosstalk with blocked replication forks by transposing ADAR1 to finetune ATR activity and safeguard the genome.
Topics: Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins; Cell Cycle Proteins; DNA Replication; DNA-Binding Proteins; R-Loop Structures; RNA; Humans; Animals; Mice
PubMed: 37831098
DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad839 -
Genes & Development Jul 2023It has been known for decades that telomerase extends the 3' end of linear eukaryotic chromosomes and dictates the telomeric repeat sequence based on the template in its... (Review)
Review
It has been known for decades that telomerase extends the 3' end of linear eukaryotic chromosomes and dictates the telomeric repeat sequence based on the template in its RNA. However, telomerase does not mitigate sequence loss at the 5' ends of chromosomes, which results from lagging strand DNA synthesis and nucleolytic processing. Therefore, a second enzyme is needed to keep telomeres intact: DNA polymerase α/Primase bound to Ctc1-Stn1-Ten1 (CST). CST-Polα/Primase maintains telomeres through a fill-in reaction that replenishes the lost sequences at the 5' ends. CST not only serves to maintain telomeres but also determines their length by keeping telomerase from overelongating telomeres. Here we discuss recent data on the evolution, structure, function, and recruitment of mammalian CST-Polα/Primase, highlighting the role of this complex and telomere length control in human disease.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Telomerase; DNA Primase; Telomere-Binding Proteins; Telomere; Telomere Homeostasis; DNA Replication; Mammals
PubMed: 37495394
DOI: 10.1101/gad.350479.123 -
Science (New York, N.Y.) Sep 2023Assembly of the CMG (CDC-45-MCM-2-7-GINS) helicase is the key regulated step during eukaryotic DNA replication initiation. Until now, it was unclear whether metazoa...
Assembly of the CMG (CDC-45-MCM-2-7-GINS) helicase is the key regulated step during eukaryotic DNA replication initiation. Until now, it was unclear whether metazoa require additional factors that are not present in yeast. In this work, we show that DNSN-1, the ortholog of human DONSON, functions during helicase assembly in a complex with MUS-101/TOPBP1. DNSN-1 is required to recruit the GINS complex to chromatin, and a cryo-electron microscopy structure indicates that DNSN-1 positions GINS on the MCM-2-7 helicase motor (comprising the six MCM-2 to MCM-7 proteins), by direct binding of DNSN-1 to GINS and MCM-3, using interfaces that we show are important for initiation and essential for viability. These findings identify DNSN-1 as a missing link in our understanding of DNA replication initiation, suggesting that initiation defects underlie the human disease syndrome that results from DONSON mutations.
Topics: Animals; Caenorhabditis elegans; Cell Cycle Proteins; Cryoelectron Microscopy; DNA Replication; Minichromosome Maintenance Proteins; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; Protein Domains
PubMed: 37590372
DOI: 10.1126/science.adi4932 -
Nature Apr 2024An important advance in cancer therapy has been the development of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors for the treatment of homologous recombination...
An important advance in cancer therapy has been the development of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors for the treatment of homologous recombination (HR)-deficient cancers. PARP inhibitors trap PARPs on DNA. The trapped PARPs are thought to block replisome progression, leading to formation of DNA double-strand breaks that require HR for repair. Here we show that PARP1 functions together with TIMELESS and TIPIN to protect the replisome in early S phase from transcription-replication conflicts. Furthermore, the synthetic lethality of PARP inhibitors with HR deficiency is due to an inability to repair DNA damage caused by transcription-replication conflicts, rather than by trapped PARPs. Along these lines, inhibiting transcription elongation in early S phase rendered HR-deficient cells resistant to PARP inhibitors and depleting PARP1 by small-interfering RNA was synthetic lethal with HR deficiency. Thus, inhibiting PARP1 enzymatic activity may suffice for treatment efficacy in HR-deficient settings.
Topics: Humans; DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; DNA Replication; Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors; Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases; Recombinational DNA Repair; S Phase; Transcription, Genetic; Neoplasms; Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase-1
PubMed: 38509368
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07217-2 -
Molecular Cell Jan 2024Genome damage and transcription are intimately linked. Tens to hundreds of thousands of DNA lesions arise in each cell each day, many of which can directly or indirectly... (Review)
Review
Genome damage and transcription are intimately linked. Tens to hundreds of thousands of DNA lesions arise in each cell each day, many of which can directly or indirectly impede transcription. Conversely, the process of gene expression is itself a source of endogenous DNA lesions as a result of the susceptibility of single-stranded DNA to damage, conflicts with the DNA replication machinery, and engagement by cells of topoisomerases and base excision repair enzymes to regulate the initiation and progression of gene transcription. Although such processes are tightly regulated and normally accurate, on occasion, they can become abortive and leave behind DNA breaks that can drive genome rearrangements, instability, or cell death.
Topics: Humans; DNA Damage; DNA Replication; DNA Repair; DNA; Genome; Genomic Instability; Transcription, Genetic
PubMed: 38103560
DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.11.014 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Aug 2023Zoonotic poxviruses such as mpox virus (MPXV) continue to threaten public health safety since the eradication of smallpox. Vaccinia virus (VACV), the prototypic poxvirus...
Zoonotic poxviruses such as mpox virus (MPXV) continue to threaten public health safety since the eradication of smallpox. Vaccinia virus (VACV), the prototypic poxvirus used as the vaccine strain for smallpox eradication, is the best-characterized member of the poxvirus family. VACV encodes a serine protease inhibitor 1 (SPI-1) conserved in all orthopoxviruses, which has been recognized as a host range factor for modified VACV Ankara (MVA), an approved smallpox vaccine and a promising vaccine vector. FAM111A (family with sequence similarity 111 member A), a nuclear protein that regulates host DNA replication, was shown to restrict the replication of a VACV SPI-1 deletion mutant (VACV-ΔSPI-1) in human cells. Nevertheless, the detailed antiviral mechanisms of FAM111A were unresolved. Here, we show that FAM111A is a potent restriction factor for VACV-ΔSPI-1 and MVA. Deletion of FAM111A rescued the replication of MVA and VACV-ΔSPI-1 and overexpression of FAM111A significantly reduced viral DNA replication and virus titers but did not affect viral early gene expression. The antiviral effect of FAM111A necessitated its trypsin-like protease domain and DNA-binding domain but not the PCNA-interacting motif. We further identified that FAM111A translocated into the cytoplasm upon VACV infection by degrading the nuclear pore complex via its protease activity, interacted with VACV DNA-binding protein I3, and promoted I3 degradation through autophagy. Moreover, SPI-1 from VACV, MPXV, or lumpy skin disease virus was able to antagonize FAM111A by prohibiting its nuclear export. Our findings reveal the detailed mechanism by which FAM111A inhibits VACV and provide explanations for the immune evasive function of VACV SPI-1.
Topics: Animals; Cattle; Humans; Vaccinia virus; Serine Proteinase Inhibitors; Vaccinia; Viral Proteins; Smallpox; DNA Replication; Host Specificity; DNA, Viral; Virus Replication; Poxviridae; Receptors, Virus
PubMed: 37607234
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2304242120 -
Molecular Cell Oct 2023Mitotic DNA synthesis (MiDAS) is an unusual form of DNA replication that occurs during mitosis. Initially, MiDAS was characterized as a process associated with... (Review)
Review
Mitotic DNA synthesis (MiDAS) is an unusual form of DNA replication that occurs during mitosis. Initially, MiDAS was characterized as a process associated with intrinsically unstable loci known as common fragile sites that occurs after cells experience DNA replication stress (RS). However, it is now believed to be a more widespread "salvage" mechanism that is called upon to complete the duplication of any under-replicated genomic region. Emerging data suggest that MiDAS is a DNA repair process potentially involving two or more pathways working in parallel or sequentially. In this review, we introduce the causes of RS, regions of the human genome known to be especially vulnerable to RS, and the strategies used to complete DNA replication outside of S phase. Additionally, because MiDAS is a prominent feature of aneuploid cancer cells, we will discuss how targeting MiDAS might potentially lead to improvements in cancer therapy.
Topics: Humans; S Phase; DNA Replication; DNA Repair; Mitosis; Virus Replication
PubMed: 37716351
DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.08.023 -
FEMS Microbiology Reviews Nov 2023Mitochondrial DNA replication is an essential process in most eukaryotes. Similar to the diversity in mitochondrial genome size and organization in the different... (Review)
Review
Mitochondrial DNA replication is an essential process in most eukaryotes. Similar to the diversity in mitochondrial genome size and organization in the different eukaryotic supergroups, there is considerable diversity in the replication process of the mitochondrial DNA. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of mitochondrial DNA replication and the associated factors in trypanosomes with a focus on Trypanosoma brucei, and provide a new model of minicircle replication for this protozoan parasite. The model assumes the mitochondrial DNA (kinetoplast DNA, kDNA) of T. brucei to be loosely diploid in nature and the replication of the genome to occur at two replication centers at the opposing ends of the kDNA disc (also known as antipodal sites, APS). The new model is consistent with the localization of most replication factors and in contrast to the current model, it does not require the assumption of an unknown sorting and transport complex moving freshly replicated DNA to the APS. In combination with the previously proposed sexual stages of the parasite in the insect vector, the new model provides a mechanism for maintenance of the mitochondrial genetic diversity.
Topics: DNA, Kinetoplast; Genome, Mitochondrial; DNA Replication; DNA, Mitochondrial; Mitochondria; Protozoan Proteins
PubMed: 36449697
DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuac047 -
Nature Communications Dec 2023DNA polymerase (DNAP) can correct errors in DNA during replication by proofreading, a process critical for cell viability. However, the mechanism by which an erroneously...
DNA polymerase (DNAP) can correct errors in DNA during replication by proofreading, a process critical for cell viability. However, the mechanism by which an erroneously incorporated base translocates from the polymerase to the exonuclease site and the corrected DNA terminus returns has remained elusive. Here, we present an ensemble of nine high-resolution structures representing human mitochondrial DNA polymerase Gamma, Polγ, captured during consecutive proofreading steps. The structures reveal key events, including mismatched base recognition, its dissociation from the polymerase site, forward translocation of DNAP, alterations in DNA trajectory, repositioning and refolding of elements for primer separation, DNAP backtracking, and displacement of the mismatched base into the exonuclease site. Altogether, our findings suggest a conserved 'bolt-action' mechanism of proofreading based on iterative cycles of DNAP translocation without dissociation from the DNA, facilitating primer transfer between catalytic sites. Functional assays and mutagenesis corroborate this mechanism, connecting pathogenic mutations to crucial structural elements in proofreading steps.
Topics: Humans; DNA Replication; DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase; DNA; Exonucleases
PubMed: 38151585
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44198-8