Person:

Price, Brendan

The complexity of chromatin architecture presents a significant barrier to the ability of the DNA repair machinery to access and repair DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Consequently, remodeling of the chromatin landscape adjacent to DSBs is vital for efficient DNA repair. Here, we demonstrate that DNA damage destabilizes nucleosomes within chromatin regions that correspond to the (\gamma)-H2AX domains surrounding DSBs. This nucleosome destabilization is an active process requiring the ATPase activity of the p400 SWI/SNF ATPase and histone acetylation by the Tip60 acetyltransferase. p400 is recruited to DSBs by a mechanism that is independent of ATM but requires mdc1. Further, the destabilization of nucleosomes by p400 is required for the RNF8-dependent ubiquitination of chromatin, and for the subsequent recruitment of brca1 and 53BP1 to DSBs. These results identify p400 as a novel DNA damage response protein and demonstrate that p400-mediated alterations in nucleosome and chromatin structure promote both chromatin ubiquitination and the accumulation of brca1 and 53BP1 at sites of DNA damage.

Introduction: Ionizing radiation (IR) is a widely used approach to cancer therapy, ranking second only to surgery in rate of utilization. Responses of cancer patients to radiotherapy depend in part on the intrinsic radiosensitivity of the tumor cells. Thus, promoting tumor cell sensitivity to IR could significantly enhance the treatment outcome and quality of life for patients. Methods: Mammary tumor cells were treated by a 16-base phosphodiester-linked oligonucleotide homologous to the telomere G-rich sequence TTAGGG (T-oligo: GGTTAGGTGTAGGTTT) or a control-oligo (the partial complement, TAACCCTAACCCTAAC) followed by IR. The inhibition of tumor cell growth in vitro was assessed by cell counting and clonogenic cell survival assay. The tumorigenesis of tumor cells after various treatments was measured by tumor growth in mice. The mechanism underlying the radiosensitization by T-oligo was explored by immunofluorescent determination of phosphorylated histone H2AX ((\gamma)H2AX) foci, (\beta)-galactosidase staining, comet and Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP Nick End Labeling (TUNEL) assays. The efficacy of the combined treatment was assessed in a spontaneous murine mammary tumor model. Results: Pretreatment of tumor cells with T-oligo for 24 hours in vitro enhanced both senescence and apoptosis of irradiated tumor cells and reduced clonogenic potential. Radiosensitization by T-oligo was associated with increased formation and/or delayed resolution of (\gamma)H2AX DNA damage foci and fragmented DNA. T-oligo also caused radiosensitization in two in vivo mammary tumor models. Indeed, combined T-oligo and IR-treatment in vivo led to a substantial reduction in tumor growth. Of further significance, treatment with T-oligo and IR led to synergistic inhibition of the growth of spontaneous mammary carcinomas. Despite these profound antitumor properties, T-oligo and IR caused no detectable side effects under our experimental conditions. Conclusions: Pretreatment with T-oligo sensitizes mammary tumor cells to radiation in both in vitro and in vivo settings with minimal or no normal tissue side effects.

Background: The p53 protein is activated by genotoxic stress, oncogene expression and during senescence, p53 transcriptionally activates genes involved in growth arrest and apoptosis. p53 activation is regulated by post-translational modification, including phosphorylation of the N-terminal transactivation domain. Here, we have examined how Glycogen Synthase Kinase (GSK3), a protein kinase involved in tumorigenesis, differentiation and apoptosis, phosphorylates and regulates p53. Results: The 2 isoforms of GSK3, GSK3α and GSK3β, phosphorylate the sequence Ser-X-X-X-Ser(P) when the C-terminal serine residue is already phosphorylated. Several p53 kinases were examined for their ability to create GSK3 phosphorylation sites on the p53 protein. Our results demonstrate that phosphorylation of serine 37 of p53 by DNA-PK creates a site for GSK3β phosphorylation at serine 33 in vitro. GSK3α did not phosphorylate p53 under any condition. GSK3β increased the transcriptional activity of the p53 protein in vivo. Mutation of either serine 33 or serine 37 of p53 to alanine blocked the ability of GSK3β to regulate p53 transcriptional activity. GSK3β is therefore able to regulate p53 function in vivo. p53's transcriptional activity is commonly increased by DNA damage. However, GSK3β kinase activity was inhibited in response to DNA damage, suggesting that GSK3β regulation of p53 is not involved in the p53-DNA damage response. Conclusions: GSK3β can regulate p53's transcriptional activity by phosphorylating serine 33. However, GSK3β does not appear to be part of the p53-DNA damage response pathway. Instead, GSK3β may provide the link between p53 and non-DNA damage mechanisms for p53 activation.

Chromosomal rearrangements are essential events in the pathogenesis of both malignant and nonmalignant disorders, yet the factors affecting their formation are incompletely understood. Here we develop a zinc-finger nuclease translocation reporter and screen for factors that modulate rearrangements in human cells. We identify UBC9 and RAD50 as suppressors and 53BP1, DDB1 and poly(ADP)ribose polymerase 3 (PARP3) as promoters of chromosomal rearrangements across human cell types. We focus on PARP3 as it is dispensable for murine viability and has druggable catalytic activity. We find that PARP3 regulates G quadruplex (G4) DNA in response to DNA damage, which suppresses repair by nonhomologous end-joining and homologous recombination. Chemical stabilization of G4 DNA in PARP3−/− cells leads to widespread DNA double-strand breaks and synthetic lethality. We propose a model in which PARP3 suppresses G4 DNA and facilitates DNA repair by multiple pathways.

The n-terminal tail of histone H4 recruits repair proteins, including 53BP1, to DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) and undergoes dynamic acetylation during DSB repair. However, how H4 acetylation (H4Ac) recruits repair proteins and reorganizes chromatin during DNA repair is unclear. Here, we show that the bromodomain protein BRD2 is recruited to DSBs. This recruitment requires binding of BRD2’s tandem bromodomains to H4Ac, which is generated at DSBs by the Tip60/KAT5 acetyltransferase. Binding of BRD2 to H4Ac protects the underlying acetylated chromatin from attack by histone deacetylases and allows acetylation to spread along the flanking chromatin. However, BRD2 recruitment is spatially restricted to a chromatin domain extending only 2 kb either side of the DSB, and BRD2 does not spread into the chromatin domains flanking the break. Instead, BRD2 facilitates recruitment of a second bromodomain protein, ZMYND8, which spreads along the flanking chromatin, but is excluded from the DSB region. This creates a spatially restricted H4Ac/BRD2 domain which reorganizes chromatin at DSBs, limits binding of the L3MBTL1 repressor and promotes 53BP1 binding, while limiting end-resection of DSBs. BRD2 therefore creates a restricted chromatin environment surrounding DSBs which facilitates DSB repair and which is framed by extensive ZMYND8 domains on the flanking chromatin.

Repairing DNA breaks within the complexity of the cell chromatin is challenging. In this issue, Gong et al. (2017. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201611135) identify the histone demethylase KDM5A as a critical editor of the cells’ “histone code” that is required to recruit DNA repair complexes to DNA breaks.

Abstract CHD1 is a conserved chromatin remodeling enzyme required for development and linked to prostate cancer in adults, yet its role in human cells is poorly understood. Here, we show that targeted disruption of the CHD1 gene in human cells leads to a defect in early double-strand break (DSB) repair via homologous recombination (HR), resulting in hypersensitivity to ionizing radiation as well as PARP and PTEN inhibition. CHD1 knockout cells show reduced H2AX phosphorylation (γH2AX) and foci formation as well as impairments in CtIP recruitment to the damaged sites. Chromatin immunoprecipitation following a single DSB shows that the reduced levels of γH2AX accumulation at DSBs in CHD1-KO cells are due to both a global reduction in H2AX incorporation and poor retention of H2AX at the DSBs. We also identified a unique N-terminal region of CHD1 that inhibits the DNA binding, ATPase, and chromatin assembly and remodeling activities of CHD1. CHD1 lacking the N terminus was more active in rescuing the defects in γH2AX formation and CtIP recruitment in CHD1-KO cells than full-length CHD1, suggesting the N terminus is a negative regulator in cells. Our data point to a role for CHD1 in the DSB repair process and identify a novel regulatory region of the protein.

Ape1 is the major apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonuclease activity in mammalian cells, and a key factor in base-excision repair of DNA. High expression or aberrant subcellular distribution of Ape1 has been detected in many cancer types, correlated with drug response, tumor prognosis, or patient survival. Here we present evidence that Ape1 facilitates BRCA1-mediated homologous recombination repair (HR), while counteracting error-prone non-homologous end joining of DNA double-strand breaks. Furthermore, Ape1, coordinated with checkpoint kinase Chk2, regulates drug response of glioblastoma cells. Suppression of Ape1/Chk2 signaling in glioblastoma cells facilitates alternative means of damage site recruitment of HR proteins as part of a genomic defense system. Through targeting “HR-addicted” temozolomide-resistant glioblastoma cells via a chemical inhibitor of Rad51, we demonstrated that targeting HR is a promising strategy for glioblastoma therapy. Our study uncovers a critical role for Ape1 in DNA repair pathway choice, and provides a mechanistic understanding of DNA repair-supported chemoresistance in glioblastoma cells.