bims-numges 2021-03-28 papers

bims-numges

Biomed News

on Nucleotide metabolism and genome stability

Issue of 2021–03–28
thirty-two papers selected by
Sean Rudd, Karolinska Institutet

DNA damage response protein CHK2 regulates metabolism in liver cancer.
DNA polymerase theta suppresses mitotic crossing over.
PARP activity fine-tunes the DNA replication choreography of Chk1-depleted cells.
Afatinib exerts immunomodulatory effects by targeting the pyrimidine biosynthesis enzyme CAD.
DNA replication origins retain mobile licensing proteins.
Multiple, short protein binding motifs in ORC1 and CDC6 control the initiation of DNA replication.
RAD21 is a driver of chromosome 8 gain in Ewing sarcoma to mitigate replication stress.
Inhibition of guanosine monophosphate synthetase (GMPS) blocks glutamine metabolism and prostate cancer growth.
Nucleoside Analogs Radiosensitize G0 Cells by Activating DNA End Resection and Alternative End-Joining.
Genome-wide analysis of DNA replication and DNA double-strand breaks using TrAEL-seq.
Repriming DNA synthesis: an intrinsic restart pathway that maintains efficient genome replication.
Age and insulin-like growth factor-1 impact PCNA mono-ubiquitination in UVB-irradiated human skin.
Shaping the BRCAness mutational landscape by alternative double-strand break repair, replication stress and mitotic aberrancies.
The capacity of origins to load mcm establishes replication timing patterns.
Phosphoproteomics reveals a distinctive Mec1/ATR signaling response upon DNA end hyper-resection.
The regulation of the DNA damage response at telomeres: focus on kinases.
Cytoplasmic DNA accumulation preferentially triggers cell death of myeloid leukemia cells by interacting with intracellular DNA sensing pathway.
Cancer-specific loss of TERT activation sensitizes glioblastoma to DNA damage.
DNA glycosylase NEIL2 functions in multiple cellular processes.
DNA interstrand cross-links induced by the major oxidative adenine lesion 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoadenine.
Combined inhibition of Aurora-A and ATR kinase results in regression of MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma.
A DNA repair disorder caused by de novo monoallelic DDB1 variants is associated with a neurodevelopmental syndrome.
Serine biosynthesis defect due to haploinsufficiency of PHGDH causes retinal disease.
Adenylosuccinate lyase is oncogenic in colorectal cancer by causing mitochondrial dysfunction and independent activation of NRF2 and mTOR-MYC-axis.
A glutaminase isoform switch drives therapeutic resistance and disease progression of prostate cancer.
Untangling the crosstalk between BRCA1 and R-loops during DNA repair.
CDK9 Inhibitor Induces the Apoptosis of B-Cell Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia by Inhibiting c-Myc-Mediated Glycolytic Metabolism.
Crystal structures of NUDT15 variants enabled by a potent inhibitor reveal the structural basis for thiopurine sensitivity.
Mutagenic mechanisms of cancer-associated DNA polymerase ϵ alleles.
Oncometabolite in cancer: current understanding and challenges.
Enzymatically active apurinic/apyrimidinic endodeoxyribonuclease 1 is released by mammalian cells through exosomes.
Extracellular cGAMP is a cancer cell-produced immunotransmitter involved in radiation-induced anti-cancer immunity.

Cancer Res. 2021 Mar 24. pii: canres.3134.2020. [Epub ahead of print]

DNA damage response protein CHK2 regulates metabolism in liver cancer.

Matteo Lulli, Laura Del Coco, Tommaso Mello, Caecilia Sukowati, Stefania Madiai, Laura Gragnani, Paolo Forte, Francesco Paolo Fanizzi, Antonio Mazzocca, Krista Rombouts, Andrea Galli, Vinicio Carloni.

Defective mitosis with chromosome missegregation can have a dramatic effect on genome integrity by causing DNA damage, activation of the DNA damage response (DDR), and chromosomal instability. Although this is an energy-dependent process, mechanisms linking DDR to cellular metabolism are unknown. Here we show that checkpoint kinase 2 (CHK2), a central effector of DDR, regulates cellular energy production by affecting glycolysis and mitochondrial functions. Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) had increased CHK2 mRNA in blood, which was associated with elevated tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) metabolites. CHK2 controlled expression of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) and intervened with mitochondrial functions. DNA damage and CHK2 promoted SDH activity marked by increased succinate oxidation through the TCA cycle; this was confirmed in a transgenic model of HCC with elevated DNA damage. Mitochondrial analysis identified CHK2-controlled expression of SDH as key in sustaining reactive oxygen species production. Cells with DNA damage and elevated CHK2 relied significantly on glycolysis for ATP production due to dysfunctional mitochondria, which was abolished by CHK2 knockdown. This represents a vulnerability created by the DNA damage response that could be exploited for development of new therapies.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-3134
PLoS Genet. 2021 Mar 22. 17(3): e1009267

DNA polymerase theta suppresses mitotic crossing over.

Juan Carvajal-Garcia, K Nicole Crown, Dale A Ramsden, Jeff Sekelsky.

Polymerase theta-mediated end joining (TMEJ) is a chromosome break repair pathway that is able to rescue the lethality associated with the loss of proteins involved in early steps in homologous recombination (e.g., BRCA1/2). This is due to the ability of polymerase theta (Pol θ) to use resected, 3' single stranded DNA tails to repair chromosome breaks. These resected DNA tails are also the starting substrate for homologous recombination. However, it remains unknown if TMEJ can compensate for the loss of proteins involved in more downstream steps during homologous recombination. Here we show that the Holliday junction resolvases SLX4 and GEN1 are required for viability in the absence of Pol θ in Drosophila melanogaster, and lack of all three proteins results in high levels of apoptosis. Flies deficient in Pol θ and SLX4 are extremely sensitive to DNA damaging agents, and mammalian cells require either Pol θ or SLX4 to survive. Our results suggest that TMEJ and Holliday junction formation/resolution share a common DNA substrate, likely a homologous recombination intermediate, that when left unrepaired leads to cell death. One major consequence of Holliday junction resolution by SLX4 and GEN1 is cancer-causing loss of heterozygosity due to mitotic crossing over. We measured mitotic crossovers in flies after a Cas9-induced chromosome break, and observed that this mutagenic form of repair is increased in the absence of Pol θ. This demonstrates that TMEJ can function upstream of the Holiday junction resolvases to protect cells from loss of heterozygosity. Our work argues that Pol θ can thus compensate for the loss of the Holliday junction resolvases by using homologous recombination intermediates, suppressing mitotic crossing over and preserving the genomic stability of cells.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1009267
J Mol Biol. 2021 Mar 17. pii: S0022-2836(21)00150-9. [Epub ahead of print] 166949

PARP activity fine-tunes the DNA replication choreography of Chk1-depleted cells.

Nicolás Luis Calzetta, Marina Alejandra González Besteiro, Vanesa Gottifredi.

  Checkpoint Kinase 1 (Chk1) prevents DNA damage by adjusting the replication choreography in the face of replication stress. Chk1 depletion provokes slow and asymmetrical fork movement, yet the signals governing such changes remain unclear. We sought to investigate whether poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs), key players of the DNA damage response, intervene in the DNA replication of Chk1-depleted cells. We demonstrate that PARP inhibition selectively alleviates the reduced fork elongation rates, without relieving fork asymmetry in Chk1-depleted cells. While the contribution of PARPs to fork elongation is not unprecedented, we found that their role in Chk1-depleted cells extends beyond fork movement. PARP-dependent fork deceleration induced mild dormant origin firing upon Chk1 depletion, augmenting the global rates of DNA synthesis. Thus, we have identified PARPs as novel regulators of replication fork dynamics in Chk1-depleted cells.

Keywords:  checkpoint; fork elongation; fork reversal; origin firing; replication barrier

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmb.2021.166949
Cancer Res. 2021 Mar 26. pii: canres.3436.2020. [Epub ahead of print]

Afatinib exerts immunomodulatory effects by targeting the pyrimidine biosynthesis enzyme CAD.

Hsin-Fang Tu, Chun-Jung Ko, Ching-Tai Lee, Cheng-Fan Lee, Shao-Wei Lan, Hsin-Hsien Lin, Hsin-Ying Lin, Chia-Chi Ku, Der-Yen Lee, I-Chun Chen, Ya-Hui Chuang, Francisco Del Caño-Ochoa, Santiago Ramón-Maiques, Chao-Chi Ho, Ming-Shyue Lee, Geen-Dong Chang.

Current clinical trials of combined EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies show no additional effect. This raises questions regarding whether EGFR-TKIs attenuate ICB-enhanced CD8+ T lymphocyte function. Here we show that the EGFR-TKI afatinib suppresses CD8+ T lymphocyte proliferation, and we identify CAD, a key enzyme of de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis, to be a novel afatinib target. Afatinib reduced tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte numbers in Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC)-bearing mice. Early afatinib treatment inhibited CD8+ T lymphocyte proliferation in NSCLC patients, but their proliferation unexpectedly rebounded following long-term treatment. This suggests a transient immunomodulatory effect of afatinib on CD8+ T lymphocytes. Sequential treatment of afatinib with anti-PD1 immunotherapy substantially enhanced therapeutic efficacy in MC38 and LLC-bearing mice, while simultaneous combination therapy showed only marginal improvement over each single treatment. These results suggest that afatinib can suppress CD8+ T lymphocyte proliferation by targeting CAD, proposing a timing window for combined therapy that may prevent the dampening of ICB efficacy by EGFR-TKIs.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-3436
Nat Commun. 2021 Mar 26. 12(1): 1908

DNA replication origins retain mobile licensing proteins.

Humberto Sánchez, Kaley McCluskey, Theo van Laar, Edo van Veen, Filip M Asscher, Belén Solano, John F X Diffley, Nynke H Dekker.

DNA replication in eukaryotes initiates at many origins distributed across each chromosome. Origins are bound by the origin recognition complex (ORC), which, with Cdc6 and Cdt1, recruits and loads the Mcm2-7 (MCM) helicase as an inactive double hexamer during G1 phase. The replisome assembles at the activated helicase in S phase. Although the outline of replisome assembly is understood, little is known about the dynamics of individual proteins on DNA and how these contribute to proper complex formation. Here we show, using single-molecule optical trapping and confocal microscopy, that yeast ORC is a mobile protein that diffuses rapidly along DNA. Origin recognition halts this search process. Recruitment of MCM molecules in an ORC- and Cdc6-dependent fashion results in slow-moving ORC-MCM intermediates and MCMs that rapidly scan the DNA. Following ATP hydrolysis, salt-stable loading of MCM single and double hexamers was seen, both of which exhibit salt-dependent mobility. Our results demonstrate that effective helicase loading relies on an interplay between protein diffusion and origin recognition, and suggest that MCM is stably loaded onto DNA in multiple forms.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22216-x
Mol Cell. 2021 Mar 13. pii: S1097-2765(21)00171-4. [Epub ahead of print]

Multiple, short protein binding motifs in ORC1 and CDC6 control the initiation of DNA replication.

Manzar Hossain, Kuhulika Bhalla, Bruce Stillman.

  The initiation of DNA replication involves cell cycle-dependent assembly and disassembly of protein complexes, including the origin recognition complex (ORC) and CDC6 AAA+ ATPases. We report that multiple short linear protein motifs (SLiMs) within intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) in ORC1 and CDC6 mediate cyclin-CDK-dependent and independent protein-protein interactions, conditional on the cell cycle phase. A domain within the ORC1 IDR is required for interaction between the ORC1 and CDC6 AAA+ domains in G1, whereas the same domain prevents CDC6-ORC1 interaction during mitosis. Then, during late G1, this domain facilitates ORC1 destruction by a SKP2-cyclin A-CDK2-dependent mechanism. During G1, the CDC6 Cy motif cooperates with cyclin E-CDK2 to promote ORC1-CDC6 interactions. The CDC6 IDR regulates self-interaction by ORC1, thereby controlling ORC1 protein levels. Protein phosphatase 1 binds directly to a SLiM in the ORC1 IDR, causing ORC1 de-phosphorylation upon mitotic exit, increasing ORC1 protein, and promoting pre-RC assembly.

Keywords:  CDC6; DNA replication; PP1 phosphatase; cell division cycle; cyclin-dependent protein kinases; initiation; liquid-liquid phase transition; origin recognition complex; protein degradation; short linear protein motifs

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2021.03.003
Genes Dev. 2021 Mar 25.

RAD21 is a driver of chromosome 8 gain in Ewing sarcoma to mitigate replication stress.

Xiaofeng A Su, Duanduan Ma, James V Parsons, John M Replogle, James F Amatruda, Charles A Whittaker, Kimberly Stegmaier, Angelika Amon.

  Aneuploidy, defined as whole-chromosome gain or loss, causes cellular stress but, paradoxically, is a frequent occurrence in cancers. Here, we investigate why ∼50% of Ewing sarcomas, driven by the EWS-FLI1 fusion oncogene, harbor chromosome 8 gains. Expression of the EWS-FLI1 fusion in primary cells causes replication stress that can result in cellular senescence. Using an evolution approach, we show that trisomy 8 mitigates EWS-FLI1-induced replication stress through gain of a copy of RAD21. Low-level ectopic expression of RAD21 is sufficient to dampen replication stress and improve proliferation in EWS-FLI1-expressing cells. Conversely, deleting one copy in trisomy 8 cells largely neutralizes the fitness benefit of chromosome 8 gain and reduces tumorgenicity of a Ewing sarcoma cancer cell line in soft agar assays. We propose that RAD21 promotes tumorigenesis through single gene copy gain. Such genes may explain some recurrent aneuploidies in cancer.

Keywords:  DNA damage; Ewing sarcoma; RAD21; aneuploidy; cohesin; replication stress; trisomy 8

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1101/gad.345454.120
J Pathol. 2021 Mar 26.

Inhibition of guanosine monophosphate synthetase (GMPS) blocks glutamine metabolism and prostate cancer growth.

Qian Wang, Yi F Guan, Sarah E Hancock, Kanu Wahi, Michelle van Geldermalsen, Blake K Zhang, Angel Pang, Rajini Nagarajah, Blossom Mak, Natasha Freidman, Lisa G Horvath, Nigel Turner, Jeff Holst.

  Glutamine is a critical nutrient in cancer, however its contribution to purine metabolism in prostate cancer has not previously been determined. Guanosine monophosphate synthetase (GMPS) acts in the de novo purine biosynthesis pathway, utilizing a glutamine amide to synthesize the guanine nucleotide. This study demonstrates that GMPS mRNA expression correlates with Gleason score in prostate cancer samples, while high GMPS expression was associated with decreased rates of overall and disease/progression-free survival. Pharmacological inhibition or knockdown of GMPS significantly decreased cell growth in both LNCaP and PC-3 prostate cancer cells. We utilized 15 N-(amide)-glutamine and U-13 C5 -glutamine metabolomics to dissect the pathways involved, and despite similar growth inhibition by GMPS knockdown, we show unique metabolic effects across each cell line. Using a PC-3 xenograft mouse model, tumor growth was also significantly decreased after GMPS knockdown, highlighting the importance of glutamine metabolism and providing support for GMPS as a therapeutic target in prostate cancer. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Keywords:  GMPS; cell growth; glutamine; immunohistochemistry; knockdown; metabolism; metabolomics; prostate cancer; purine; xenograft

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/path.5665
Radiat Res. 2021 Mar 23.

Nucleoside Analogs Radiosensitize G0 Cells by Activating DNA End Resection and Alternative End-Joining.

Simon Magin, Prabodha Meher, George Iliakis.

Alternative end-joining (alt-EJ) is a DNA end resection-dependent, error-prone pathway utilized by vertebrate cells to repair DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), but its engagement is linked to chromosomal translocations and genomic instability. Here, we report that when proliferating cells are exposed to ionizing radiation, treatment with nucleoside analogs (NAs) causes strong radiosensitization by increasing engagement of alt-EJ, while at the same time suppressing homologous recombination (HR) in S- and G2-phase cells. This NA-mediated pathway shift may reflect a passive compensatory engagement of alt-EJ following HR suppression that is specific for S- and G2-phase cells, and/or the direct activation of alt-EJ throughout the cell cycle. To distinguish between these possibilities, we utilize here a cell culture model that exploits genetic and cell cycle-dependent inactivation of DSB repair pathways, to exclusively study alt-EJ and its modulation by NAs in murine and human cell lines. To this end, we allow LIG4-/--deficient cells to accumulate in G1/G0 phase by transfer to serum-deprived media and obtain cells deficient in c-NHEJ owing to the genetic LIG4 knockout, deficient in HR owing to the absence of S- or G2-phase cells, and compromised in their ability to carry out alt-EJ owing to their accumulation in G0. We find that in these cells irradiation and treatment with the NA, β-arabinofuranosyladenine (araA), and to a lesser degree with other NAs, promptly activates suppressed alt-EJ that now functions at levels approximating those of c-NHEJ in wild-type cells. Results at high dose (20 Gy) generated using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) are corroborated by results at low dose (1 Gy) generated by scoring 53BP1 foci. Strikingly, araA treatment activates a normally undetectable DNA-end-resection at DSBs, which requires ATR activity, but proceeds unimpeded after CtIP knockdown. Treatment with araA increases the formation of chromosomal aberrations and enhances radiation-induced cell killing. The results support direct stimulation of resection by NAs and alt-EJ as a mechanism of their documented radiosensitizing potential. We propose that this stimulation also occurs in repair-proficient cells and that it occurs throughout the cell cycle. It may therefore be harnessed to develop protocols combining NAs with radiation to treat human cancer.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1667/RADE-20-00195.1
PLoS Biol. 2021 Mar 24. 19(3): e3000886

Genome-wide analysis of DNA replication and DNA double-strand breaks using TrAEL-seq.

Neesha Kara, Felix Krueger, Peter Rugg-Gunn, Jonathan Houseley.

Faithful replication of the entire genome requires replication forks to copy large contiguous tracts of DNA, and sites of persistent replication fork stalling present a major threat to genome stability. Understanding the distribution of sites at which replication forks stall, and the ensuing fork processing events, requires genome-wide methods that profile replication fork position and the formation of recombinogenic DNA ends. Here, we describe Transferase-Activated End Ligation sequencing (TrAEL-seq), a method that captures single-stranded DNA 3' ends genome-wide and with base pair resolution. TrAEL-seq labels both DNA breaks and replication forks, providing genome-wide maps of replication fork progression and fork stalling sites in yeast and mammalian cells. Replication maps are similar to those obtained by Okazaki fragment sequencing; however, TrAEL-seq is performed on asynchronous populations of wild-type cells without incorporation of labels, cell sorting, or biochemical purification of replication intermediates, rendering TrAEL-seq far simpler and more widely applicable than existing replication fork direction profiling methods. The specificity of TrAEL-seq for DNA 3' ends also allows accurate detection of double-strand break sites after the initiation of DNA end resection, which we demonstrate by genome-wide mapping of meiotic double-strand break hotspots in a dmc1Δ mutant that is competent for end resection but not strand invasion. Overall, TrAEL-seq provides a flexible and robust methodology with high sensitivity and resolution for studying DNA replication and repair, which will be of significant use in determining mechanisms of genome instability.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000886
Nucleic Acids Res. 2021 Mar 21. pii: gkab176. [Epub ahead of print]

Repriming DNA synthesis: an intrinsic restart pathway that maintains efficient genome replication.

Lewis J Bainbridge, Rebecca Teague, Aidan J Doherty.

To bypass a diverse range of fork stalling impediments encountered during genome replication, cells possess a variety of DNA damage tolerance (DDT) mechanisms including translesion synthesis, template switching, and fork reversal. These pathways function to bypass obstacles and allow efficient DNA synthesis to be maintained. In addition, lagging strand obstacles can also be circumvented by downstream priming during Okazaki fragment generation, leaving gaps to be filled post-replication. Whether repriming occurs on the leading strand has been intensely debated over the past half-century. Early studies indicated that both DNA strands were synthesised discontinuously. Although later studies suggested that leading strand synthesis was continuous, leading to the preferred semi-discontinuous replication model. However, more recently it has been established that replicative primases can perform leading strand repriming in prokaryotes. An analogous fork restart mechanism has also been identified in most eukaryotes, which possess a specialist primase called PrimPol that conducts repriming downstream of stalling lesions and structures. PrimPol also plays a more general role in maintaining efficient fork progression. Here, we review and discuss the historical evidence and recent discoveries that substantiate repriming as an intrinsic replication restart pathway for maintaining efficient genome duplication across all domains of life.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkab176
J Biol Chem. 2021 Mar 19. pii: S0021-9258(21)00348-3. [Epub ahead of print] 100570

Age and insulin-like growth factor-1 impact PCNA mono-ubiquitination in UVB-irradiated human skin.

Rebekah J Hutcherson, Ryan D Gabbard, Amber J Castellanos, Jeffrey B Travers, Michael G Kemp.

  Non-melanoma skin cancers occur primarily in individuals over the age of 60 and are characterized by an abundance of ultraviolet (UV) signature mutations in keratinocyte DNA. Though geriatric skin removes UV photoproducts from DNA less efficiently than young adult skin, it is not known whether the utilization of other pro-survival but potentially mutagenic DNA damage tolerance systems such as translesion synthesis (TLS) is altered in older individuals. Using mono-ubiquitination of the replicative DNA polymerase clamp protein PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen) as a biochemical marker of TLS pathway activation, we find that UVB exposure of skin from individuals over the age of 65 results in a higher level of PCNA mono-ubiquitination than in the skin of young adults. Furthermore, based on previous reports showing a role for deficient insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) signaling in altered UVB DNA damage responses in geriatric human skin, we find that both pharmacological inhibition of the IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) and deprivation of IGF-1 potentiates UVB-induced PCNA mono-ubiquitination in both human skin ex vivo and keratinocytes in vitro. Interestingly, though the TLS DNA polymerase Pol eta can accurately replicate the major photoproducts induced in DNA by UV radiation, we find that it fails to accumulate on chromatin in the absence of IGF-1R signaling and that this phenotype is correlated with increased mutagenesis in keratinocytes in vitro. Thus, altered IGF-1/IGF-1R signaling in geriatric skin may predispose epidermal keratinocytes to carry out a more mutagenic form of DNA synthesis following UVB exposure.

Keywords:  DNA damage; DNA damage response; DNA repair; DNA replication; UV radiation; cancer; proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA); skin; translesion synthesis; ubiquitin

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100570
Nucleic Acids Res. 2021 Mar 21. pii: gkab151. [Epub ahead of print]

Shaping the BRCAness mutational landscape by alternative double-strand break repair, replication stress and mitotic aberrancies.

Colin Stok, Yannick P Kok, Nathalie van den Tempel, Marcel A T M van Vugt.

Tumours with mutations in the BRCA1/BRCA2 genes have impaired double-stranded DNA break repair, compromised replication fork protection and increased sensitivity to replication blocking agents, a phenotype collectively known as 'BRCAness'. Tumours with a BRCAness phenotype become dependent on alternative repair pathways that are error-prone and introduce specific patterns of somatic mutations across the genome. The increasing availability of next-generation sequencing data of tumour samples has enabled identification of distinct mutational signatures associated with BRCAness. These signatures reveal that alternative repair pathways, including Polymerase θ-mediated alternative end-joining and RAD52-mediated single strand annealing are active in BRCA1/2-deficient tumours, pointing towards potential therapeutic targets in these tumours. Additionally, insight into the mutations and consequences of unrepaired DNA lesions may also aid in the identification of BRCA-like tumours lacking BRCA1/BRCA2 gene inactivation. This is clinically relevant, as these tumours respond favourably to treatment with DNA-damaging agents, including PARP inhibitors or cisplatin, which have been successfully used to treat patients with BRCA1/2-defective tumours. In this review, we aim to provide insight in the origins of the mutational landscape associated with BRCAness by exploring the molecular biology of alternative DNA repair pathways, which may represent actionable therapeutic targets in in these cells.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkab151
PLoS Genet. 2021 Mar 25. 17(3): e1009467

The capacity of origins to load mcm establishes replication timing patterns.

Livio Dukaj, Nicholas Rhind.

Loading of the MCM replicative helicase at origins of replication is a highly regulated process that precedes DNA replication in all eukaryotes. The stoichiometry of MCM loaded at origins has been proposed to be a key determinant of when those origins initiate replication during S phase. Nevertheless, the genome-wide regulation of MCM loading stoichiometry and its direct effect on replication timing remain unclear. In order to investigate why some origins load more MCM than others, we perturbed MCM levels in budding yeast cells and, for the first time, directly measured MCM levels and replication timing in the same experiment. Reduction of MCM levels through degradation of Mcm4, one of the six obligate components of the MCM complex, slowed progression through S phase and increased sensitivity to replication stress. Reduction of MCM levels also led to differential loading at origins during G1, revealing origins that are sensitive to reductions in MCM and others that are not. Sensitive origins loaded less MCM under normal conditions and correlated with a weak ability to recruit the origin recognition complex (ORC). Moreover, reduction of MCM loading at specific origins of replication led to a delay in their replication during S phase. In contrast, overexpression of MCM had no effects on cell cycle progression, relative MCM levels at origins, or replication timing, suggesting that, under optimal growth conditions, cellular MCM levels are not limiting for MCM loading. Our results support a model in which the loading capacity of origins is the primary determinant of MCM stoichiometry in wild-type cells, but that stoichiometry is controlled by origins' ability to recruit ORC and compete for MCM when MCM becomes limiting.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1009467
EMBO J. 2021 Mar 25. e104566

Phosphoproteomics reveals a distinctive Mec1/ATR signaling response upon DNA end hyper-resection.

Ethan J Sanford, William J Comstock, Vitor M Faça, Stephanie C Vega, Robert Gnügge, Lorraine S Symington, Marcus B Smolka.

  The Mec1/ATR kinase is crucial for genome maintenance in response to a range of genotoxic insults, but it remains unclear how it promotes context-dependent signaling and DNA repair. Using phosphoproteomic analyses, we uncovered a distinctive Mec1/ATR signaling response triggered by extensive nucleolytic processing (resection) of DNA ends. Budding yeast cells lacking Rad9, a checkpoint adaptor and an inhibitor of resection, exhibit a selective increase in Mec1-dependent phosphorylation of proteins associated with single-strand DNA (ssDNA) transactions, including the ssDNA-binding protein Rfa2, the translocase/ubiquitin ligase Uls1, and the Sgs1-Top3-Rmi1 (STR) complex that regulates homologous recombination (HR). Extensive Mec1-dependent phosphorylation of the STR complex, mostly on the Sgs1 helicase subunit, promotes an interaction between STR and the DNA repair scaffolding protein Dpb11. Fusion of Sgs1 to phosphopeptide-binding domains of Dpb11 strongly impairs HR-mediated repair, supporting a model whereby Mec1 signaling regulates STR upon hyper-resection to influence recombination outcomes. Overall, the identification of a distinct Mec1 signaling response triggered by hyper-resection highlights the multi-faceted action of this kinase in the coordination of checkpoint signaling and HR-mediated DNA repair.

Keywords:  Dpb11; Mec1; Sgs1; homologous recombination; resection

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.2020104566
Biochem Soc Trans. 2021 Mar 26. pii: BST20200856. [Epub ahead of print]

The regulation of the DNA damage response at telomeres: focus on kinases.

Michela Galli, Chiara Frigerio, Maria Pia Longhese, Michela Clerici.

  The natural ends of linear chromosomes resemble those of accidental double-strand breaks (DSBs). DSBs induce a multifaceted cellular response that promotes the repair of lesions and slows down cell cycle progression. This response is not elicited at chromosome ends, which are organized in nucleoprotein structures called telomeres. Besides counteracting DSB response through specialized telomere-binding proteins, telomeres also prevent chromosome shortening. Despite of the different fate of telomeres and DSBs, many proteins involved in the DSB response also localize at telomeres and participate in telomere homeostasis. In particular, the DSB master regulators Tel1/ATM and Mec1/ATR contribute to telomere length maintenance and arrest cell cycle progression when chromosome ends shorten, thus promoting a tumor-suppressive process known as replicative senescence. During senescence, the actions of both these apical kinases and telomere-binding proteins allow checkpoint activation while bulk DNA repair activities at telomeres are still inhibited. Checkpoint-mediated cell cycle arrest also prevents further telomere erosion and deprotection that would favor chromosome rearrangements, which are known to increase cancer-associated genome instability. This review summarizes recent insights into functions and regulation of Tel1/ATM and Mec1/ATR at telomeres both in the presence and in the absence of telomerase, focusing mainly on discoveries in budding yeast.

Keywords:   Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; Mec1/ATR; Tel1/ATM; checkpoint; replicative senescence; telomeres

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20200856
Cell Death Dis. 2021 Mar 26. 12(4): 322

Cytoplasmic DNA accumulation preferentially triggers cell death of myeloid leukemia cells by interacting with intracellular DNA sensing pathway.

Tomohisa Baba, Takeshi Yoshida, Yamato Tanabe, Tatsunori Nishimura, Soji Morishita, Noriko Gotoh, Atsushi Hirao, Rikinari Hanayama, Naofumi Mukaida.

Accumulating evidence indicates the presence of cytoplasmic DNAs in various types of malignant cells, and its involvement in anti-cancer drug- or radiotherapy-mediated DNA damage response and replication stress. However, the pathophysiological roles of cytoplasmic DNAs in leukemias remain largely unknown. We observed that during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in mouse myeloid leukemia models, double-stranded (ds)DNAs were constitutively secreted in the form of extracellular vesicles (EVs) from myeloid leukemia cells and were transferred to the donor cells to dampen their hematopoietic capabilities. Subsequent analysis of cytoplasmic DNA dynamics in leukemia cells revealed that autophagy regulated cytoplasmic dsDNA accumulation and subsequent redistribution into EVs. Moreover, accumulated cytoplasmic dsDNAs activated STING pathway, thereby reducing leukemia cell viability through reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Pharmaceutical inhibition of autophagosome formation induced cytoplasmic DNA accumulation, eventually triggering cytoplasmic DNA sensing pathways to exert cytotoxicity, preferentially in leukemia cells. Thus, manipulation of cytoplasmic dsDNA dynamics can be a novel and potent therapeutic strategy for myeloid leukemias.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-021-03587-x
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Mar 30. pii: e2008772118. [Epub ahead of print]118(13):

Cancer-specific loss of TERT activation sensitizes glioblastoma to DNA damage.

Alexandra M Amen, Christof Fellmann, Katarzyna M Soczek, Shawn M Ren, Rachel J Lew, Gavin J Knott, Jesslyn E Park, Andrew M McKinney, Andrew Mancini, Jennifer A Doudna, Joseph F Costello.

  Most glioblastomas (GBMs) achieve cellular immortality by acquiring a mutation in the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter. TERT promoter mutations create a binding site for a GA binding protein (GABP) transcription factor complex, whose assembly at the promoter is associated with TERT reactivation and telomere maintenance. Here, we demonstrate increased binding of a specific GABPB1L-isoform-containing complex to the mutant TERT promoter. Furthermore, we find that TERT promoter mutant GBM cells, unlike wild-type cells, exhibit a critical near-term dependence on GABPB1L for proliferation, notably also posttumor establishment in vivo. Up-regulation of the protein paralogue GABPB2, which is normally expressed at very low levels, can rescue this dependence. More importantly, when combined with frontline temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy, inducible GABPB1L knockdown and the associated TERT reduction led to an impaired DNA damage response that resulted in profoundly reduced growth of intracranial GBM tumors. Together, these findings provide insights into the mechanism of cancer-specific TERT regulation, uncover rapid effects of GABPB1L-mediated TERT suppression in GBM maintenance, and establish GABPB1L inhibition in combination with chemotherapy as a therapeutic strategy for TERT promoter mutant GBM.

Keywords:  CRISPR; TERT; cancer; glioblastoma; temozolomide

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2008772118
Prog Biophys Mol Biol. 2021 Mar 19. pii: S0079-6107(21)00026-2. [Epub ahead of print]

DNA glycosylase NEIL2 functions in multiple cellular processes.

Altaf H Sarker, Priscilla K Cooper, Tapas K Hazra.

  Cell survival largely depends on the faithful maintenance of genetic material since genomic DNA is constantly exposed to genotoxicants from both endogenous and exogenous sources. The evolutionarily conserved base excision repair (BER) pathway is critical for maintaining genome integrity by eliminating highly abundant and potentially mutagenic oxidized DNA base lesions. BER is a multistep process, which is initiated with recognition and excision of the DNA base lesion by a DNA glycosylase, followed by DNA end processing, gap filling and finally sealing of the nick. Besides genome maintenance by global BER, DNA glycosylases have been found to play additional roles, including preferential repair of oxidized lesions from transcribed genes, modulation of the immune response, participation in active DNA demethylation and maintenance of the mitochondrial genome. Central to these functions is the DNA glycosylase NEIL2. Its loss results in increased accumulation of oxidized base lesions in the transcribed genome, triggers an immune response and causes early neurodevelopmental defects, thus emphasizing the multitasking capabilities of this repair protein. Here we review the specialized functions of NEIL2 and discuss the consequences of its absence both in vitro and in vivo.

Keywords:  BER; Cancer; DNA glycosylase NEIL2; Demethylation; Inflammation; TC-BER

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2021.03.003
Nat Commun. 2021 Mar 26. 12(1): 1897

DNA interstrand cross-links induced by the major oxidative adenine lesion 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoadenine.

Aaron L Rozelle, Young Cheun, Caroline K Vilas, Myong-Chul Koag, Seongmin Lee.

Oxidative damage to DNA generates 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine (oxoG) and 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoadenine (oxoA) as two major lesions. Despite the comparable prevalence of these lesions, the biological effects of oxoA remain poorly characterized. Here we report the discovery of a class of DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs) involving oxidized nucleobases. Under oxidative conditions, oxoA, but not oxoG, readily reacts with an opposite base to produce ICLs, highlighting a latent alkylating nature of oxoA. Reactive halogen species, one-electron oxidants, and the myeloperoxidase/H2O2/Cl- system induce oxoA ICLs, suggesting that oxoA-mediated cross-links may arise endogenously. Nucleobase analog studies suggest C2-oxoA is covalently linked to N2-guanine and N3-adenine for the oxoA-G and oxoA-A ICLs, respectively. The oxoA ICLs presumably form via the oxidative activation of oxoA followed by the nucleophilic attack by an opposite base. Our findings provide insights into oxoA-mediated mutagenesis and contribute towards investigations of oxidative stress-induced ICLs and oxoA-based latent alkylating agents.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22273-2
Nat Cancer. 2021 Mar;2(3): 312-326

Combined inhibition of Aurora-A and ATR kinase results in regression of MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma.

Isabelle Roeschert, Evon Poon, Anton G Henssen, Heathcliff Dorado Garcia, Marco Gatti, Celeste Giansanti, Yann Jamin, Carsten P Ade, Peter Gallant, Christina Schülein-Völk, Petra Beli, Mark Richards, Mathias Rosenfeldt, Matthias Altmeyer, John Anderson, Angelika Eggert, Matthias Dobbelstein, Richard Bayliss, Louis Chesler, Gabriele Büchel, Martin Eilers.

Amplification of MYCN is the driving oncogene in a subset of high-risk neuroblastoma. The MYCN protein and the Aurora-A kinase form a complex during S phase that stabilizes MYCN. Here we show that MYCN activates Aurora-A on chromatin, which phosphorylates histone H3 at serine 10 in S phase, promotes the deposition of histone H3.3 and suppresses R-loop formation. Inhibition of Aurora-A induces transcription-replication conflicts and activates the Ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3 related (ATR) kinase, which limits double-strand break accumulation upon Aurora-A inhibition. Combined inhibition of Aurora-A and ATR induces rampant tumor-specific apoptosis and tumor regression in mouse models of neuroblastoma, leading to permanent eradication in a subset of mice. The therapeutic efficacy is due to both tumor cell-intrinsic and immune cell-mediated mechanisms. We propose that targeting the ability of Aurora-A to resolve transcription-replication conflicts is an effective therapy for MYCN-driven neuroblastoma (141 words).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-020-00171-8
Am J Hum Genet. 2021 Mar 16. pii: S0002-9297(21)00091-4. [Epub ahead of print]

A DNA repair disorder caused by de novo monoallelic DDB1 variants is associated with a neurodevelopmental syndrome.

Care4Rare Canada Consortium

  The DNA damage-binding protein 1 (DDB1) is part of the CUL4-DDB1 ubiquitin E3 ligase complex (CRL4), which is essential for DNA repair, chromatin remodeling, DNA replication, and signal transduction. Loss-of-function variants in genes encoding the complex components CUL4 and PHIP have been reported to cause syndromic intellectual disability with hypotonia and obesity, but no phenotype has been reported in association with DDB1 variants. Here, we report eight unrelated individuals, identified through Matchmaker Exchange, with de novo monoallelic variants in DDB1, including one recurrent variant in four individuals. The affected individuals have a consistent phenotype of hypotonia, mild to moderate intellectual disability, and similar facies, including horizontal or slightly bowed eyebrows, deep-set eyes, full cheeks, a short nose, and large, fleshy and forward-facing earlobes, demonstrated in the composite face generated from the cohort. Digital anomalies, including brachydactyly and syndactyly, were common. Three older individuals have obesity. We show that cells derived from affected individuals have altered DDB1 function resulting in abnormal DNA damage signatures and histone methylation following UV-induced DNA damage. Overall, our study adds to the growing family of neurodevelopmental phenotypes mediated by disruption of the CRL4 ubiquitin ligase pathway and begins to delineate the phenotypic and molecular effects of DDB1 misregulation.

Keywords:  CRL4; DDB1; intellectual disability; mutation

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2021.03.007
Nat Metab. 2021 Mar;3(3): 366-377

Serine biosynthesis defect due to haploinsufficiency of PHGDH causes retinal disease.

Kevin Eade, Marin L Gantner, Joseph A Hostyk, Takayuki Nagasaki, Sarah Giles, Regis Fallon, Sarah Harkins-Perry, Michelle Baldini, Esther W Lim, Lea Scheppke, Michael I Dorrell, Carolyn Cai, Evan H Baugh, Charles J Wolock, Martina Wallace, Rebecca B Berlow, David B Goldstein, Christian M Metallo, Martin Friedlander, Rando Allikmets.

Macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel) is a progressive, late-onset retinal degenerative disease linked to decreased serum levels of serine that elevate circulating levels of a toxic ceramide species, deoxysphingolipids (deoxySLs); however, causal genetic variants that reduce serine levels in patients have not been identified. Here we identify rare, functional variants in the gene encoding the rate-limiting serine biosynthetic enzyme, phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH), as the single locus accounting for a significant fraction of MacTel. Under a dominant collapsing analysis model of a genome-wide enrichment analysis of rare variants predicted to impact protein function in 793 MacTel cases and 17,610 matched controls, the PHGDH gene achieves genome-wide significance (P = 1.2 × 10-13) with variants explaining ~3.2% of affected individuals. We further show that the resulting functional defects in PHGDH cause decreased serine biosynthesis and accumulation of deoxySLs in retinal pigmented epithelial cells. PHGDH is a significant locus for MacTel that explains the typical disease phenotype and suggests a number of potential treatment options.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-021-00361-3
Theranostics. 2021 ;11(9): 4011-4029

Adenylosuccinate lyase is oncogenic in colorectal cancer by causing mitochondrial dysfunction and independent activation of NRF2 and mTOR-MYC-axis.

Stephanie Taha-Mehlitz, Gaia Bianco, Mairene Coto-Llerena, Venkatesh Kancherla, Glenn R Bantug, John Gallon, Caner Ercan, Federica Panebianco, Serenella Eppenberger-Castori, Marco von Strauss, Sebastian Staubli, Martin Bolli, Ralph Peterli, Matthias S Matter, Luigi M Terracciano, Markus von Flüe, Charlotte K Y Ng, Savas D Soysal, Otto Kollmar, Salvatore Piscuoglio.

  Rationale: Adenylosuccinate lyase (ADSL) is an essential enzyme for de novo purine biosynthesis. Here we sought to investigate the putative role of ADSL in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) carcinogenesis and response to antimetabolites. Methods: ADSL expression levels were assessed by immunohistochemistry or retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset. The effects of ADSL silencing or overexpression were evaluated on CRC cell proliferation, cell migration and cell-cycle. In vivo tumor growth was assessed by the chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). Transfected cell lines or patient-derived organoids (PDO) were treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) and drug response was correlated with ADSL expression levels. Metabolomic and transcriptomic profiling were performed to identify dysregulated pathways and ADSL downstream effectors. Mitochondrial respiration and glycolytic capacity were measured using Seahorse; mitochondrial membrane potential and the accumulation of ROS were measured by FACS using MitoTracker Red and MitoSOX staining, respectively. Activation of canonical pathways was assessed by immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting. Results: ADSL expression is significantly increased in CRC tumors compared to non-tumor tissue. ADSL-high CRCs show upregulation of genes involved in DNA synthesis, DNA repair and cell cycle. Accordingly, ADSL overexpression accelerated progression through the cell cycle and significantly increased proliferation and migration in CRC cell lines. Additionally, ADSL expression increased tumor growth in vivo and sensitized CRCs to 6-MP in vitro, ex vivo (PDOs) and in vivo (CAM model). ADSL exerts its oncogenic function by affecting mitochondrial function via alteration of the TCA cycle and impairment of mitochondrial respiration. The KEAP1-NRF2 and mTORC1-cMyc axis are independently activated upon ADSL overexpression and may favor the survival and proliferation of ROS-accumulating cells, favoring DNA damage and tumorigenesis. Conclusions: Our results suggest that ADSL is a novel oncogene in CRC, modulating mitochondrial function, metabolism and oxidative stress, thus promoting cell cycle progression, proliferation and migration. Our results also suggest that ADSL is a predictive biomarker of response to 6-mercaptopurine in the pre-clinical setting.

Keywords:  ADSL; colorectal cancer; fumarate; mTOR-MYC-axis; mitochondria

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7150/thno.50051
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Mar 30. pii: e2012748118. [Epub ahead of print]118(13):

A glutaminase isoform switch drives therapeutic resistance and disease progression of prostate cancer.

Lingfan Xu, Yu Yin, Yanjing Li, Xufeng Chen, Yan Chang, Hong Zhang, Juan Liu, James Beasley, Patricia McCaw, Haoyue Zhang, Sarah Young, Jeff Groth, Qianben Wang, Jason W Locasale, Xia Gao, Dean G Tang, Xuesen Dong, Yiping He, Daniel George, Hailiang Hu, Jiaoti Huang.

  Cellular metabolism in cancer is significantly altered to support the uncontrolled tumor growth. How metabolic alterations contribute to hormonal therapy resistance and disease progression in prostate cancer (PCa) remains poorly understood. Here we report a glutaminase isoform switch mechanism that mediates the initial therapeutic effect but eventual failure of hormonal therapy of PCa. Androgen deprivation therapy inhibits the expression of kidney-type glutaminase (KGA), a splicing isoform of glutaminase 1 (GLS1) up-regulated by androgen receptor (AR), to achieve therapeutic effect by suppressing glutaminolysis. Eventually the tumor cells switch to the expression of glutaminase C (GAC), an androgen-independent GLS1 isoform with more potent enzymatic activity, under the androgen-deprived condition. This switch leads to increased glutamine utilization, hyperproliferation, and aggressive behavior of tumor cells. Pharmacological inhibition or RNA interference of GAC shows better treatment effect for castration-resistant PCa than for hormone-sensitive PCa in vitro and in vivo. In summary, we have identified a metabolic function of AR action in PCa and discovered that the GLS1 isoform switch is one of the key mechanisms in therapeutic resistance and disease progression.

Keywords:  GAC; glutaminase; prostate cancer; therapeutic resistance

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2012748118
Nucleic Acids Res. 2021 Mar 23. pii: gkab178. [Epub ahead of print]

Untangling the crosstalk between BRCA1 and R-loops during DNA repair.

Marta San Martin Alonso, Sylvie M Noordermeer.

R-loops are RNA:DNA hybrids assembled during biological processes but are also linked to genetic instability when formed out of their natural context. Emerging evidence suggests that the repair of DNA double-strand breaks requires the formation of a transient R-loop, which eventually must be removed to guarantee a correct repair process. The multifaceted BRCA1 protein has been shown to be recruited at this specific break-induced R-loop, and it facilitates mechanisms in order to regulate R-loop removal. In this review, we discuss the different potential roles of BRCA1 in R-loop homeostasis during DNA repair and how these processes ensure faithful DSB repair.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkab178
Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 ;9 641271

CDK9 Inhibitor Induces the Apoptosis of B-Cell Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia by Inhibiting c-Myc-Mediated Glycolytic Metabolism.

Wen-Li Huang, Tuersunayi Abudureheman, Jing Xia, Lei Chu, Hang Zhou, Wei-Wei Zheng, Neng Zhou, Rong-Yi Shi, Ming-Hao Li, Jian-Min Zhu, Kai Qing, Chao Ji, Kai-Wei Liang, Sa Guo, Gang Yin, Cai-Wen Duan.

  B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (B-ALL), a common blood cancer in children, leads to high mortality. Cyclin-dependent kinase 9 inhibitor (CDK9i) effectively attenuates acute myeloid leukemia and chronic lymphoblastic leukemia by inducing apoptosis and inhibiting cell proliferation. However, the effect of CDK9i on B-ALL cells and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we showed that CDK9i induced the apoptosis of B-ALL cells in vitro by activating the apoptotic pathways. In addition, CDK9i restrained the glycolytic metabolism of B-ALL cells, and CDK9i-induced apoptosis was enhanced by co-treatment with glycolysis inhibitors. Furthermore, CDK9i restained the glycolysis of B-ALL cell lines by markedly downregulating the expression of glucose transporter type 1 (GLUT1) and the key rate-limiting enzymes of glycolysis, such as hexokinase 2 (HK2) and lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA). Moreover, cell apoptosis was rescued in B-ALL cells with over-expressed c-Myc after treatment with CDK9i, which is involved in the enhancement of glycolytic metabolism. In summary, our findings suggest that CDK9 inhibitors induce the apoptosis of B-ALL cells by inhibiting c-Myc-mediated glycolytic metabolism, thus providing a new strategy for the treatment of B-ALL.

Keywords:  B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia; CDK9 inhibitors; c-Myc; cell apoptosis; glycolysis

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2021.641271
J Biol Chem. 2021 Mar 19. pii: S0021-9258(21)00346-X. [Epub ahead of print] 100568

Crystal structures of NUDT15 variants enabled by a potent inhibitor reveal the structural basis for thiopurine sensitivity.

Daniel Rehling, Si Min Zhang, Ann-Sofie Jemth, Tobias Koolmeister, Adam Throup, Olov Wallner, Emma Scaletti, Takaya Moriyama, Rina Nishii, Jonathan Davies, Matthieu Desroses, Sean G Rudd, Martin Scobie, Evert Homan, Ulrika Warpman Berglund, Jun J Yang, Thomas Helleday, Pål Stenmark.

The enzyme NUDT15 efficiently hydrolyses the active metabolites of thiopurine drugs, which are routinely used for treating cancer and inflammatory diseases. Loss-of-function variants in NUDT15 are strongly associated with thiopurine intolerance, such as leukopenia, and pre-emptive NUDT15 genotyping has been clinically implemented to personalize thiopurine dosing. However, understanding the molecular consequences of these variants has been difficult, as no structural information was available for NUDT15 proteins encoded by clinically actionable pharmacogenetic variants due to their inherent instability. Recently, the small molecule NUDT15 inhibitor TH1760 has been shown to sensitize cells to thiopurines, through enhanced accumulation of 6-thio-guanine in DNA. Building upon this, we herein report the development of the potent and specific NUDT15 inhibitor, TH7755. TH7755 demonstrates a greatly improved cellular target engagement and 6-thioguanine potentiation compared to TH1760, while showing no cytotoxicity on its own. This potent inhibitor also stabilized NUDT15, enabling analysis by X-ray crystallography. We have determined high-resolution structures of the clinically relevant NUDT15 variants Arg139Cys, Arg139His, Val18Ile and V18_V19insGlyVal. These structures provide clear insights into the structural basis for the thiopurine intolerance phenotype observed in patients carrying these pharmacogenetic variants. These findings will aid in predicting the effects of new NUDT15 sequence variations yet to be discovered in the clinic.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100568
Nucleic Acids Res. 2021 Mar 25. pii: gkab160. [Epub ahead of print]

Mutagenic mechanisms of cancer-associated DNA polymerase ϵ alleles.

Mareike Herzog, Elisa Alonso-Perez, Israel Salguero, Jonas Warringer, David J Adams, Stephen P Jackson, Fabio Puddu.

A single amino acid residue change in the exonuclease domain of human DNA polymerase ϵ, P286R, is associated with the development of colorectal cancers, and has been shown to impart a mutator phenotype. The corresponding Pol ϵ allele in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (pol2-P301R), was found to drive greater mutagenesis than an entirely exonuclease-deficient Pol ϵ (pol2-4), an unexpected phenotype of ultra-mutagenesis. By studying the impact on mutation frequency, type, replication-strand bias, and sequence context, we show that ultra-mutagenesis is commonly observed in yeast cells carrying a range of cancer-associated Pol ϵ exonuclease domain alleles. Similarities between mutations generated by these alleles and those generated in pol2-4 cells indicate a shared mechanism of mutagenesis that yields a mutation pattern similar to cancer Signature 14. Comparison of POL2 ultra-mutator with pol2-M644G, a mutant in the polymerase domain decreasing Pol ϵ fidelity, revealed unexpected analogies in the sequence context and strand bias of mutations. Analysis of mutational patterns unique to exonuclease domain mutant cells suggests that backtracking of the polymerase, when the mismatched primer end cannot be accommodated in the proofreading domain, results in the observed insertions and T>A mutations in specific sequence contexts.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkab160
Cancer Res. 2021 Mar 24. pii: canres.3730.2020. [Epub ahead of print]

Oncometabolite in cancer: current understanding and challenges.

Yang Liu, Chunzhang Yang.

Oncometabolites are pathognomonic hallmarks in human cancers, including glioma, leukemia, neuroendocrine tumors, and renal cancer. Oncometabolites are aberrantly accumulated from disrupted Krebs cycle and affect the catalytic activity of α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases. Oncometabolites indicate distinct cancer-related patterns ranging from oncogenesis and metabolism to therapeutic resistance. Here we discuss the current understanding of oncometabolites as well as the controversies and challenges associated with oncometabolite-driven cancers. New insights into the relationship between cancer and oncometabolites will elucidate novel therapeutic avenues for improved cancer treatment.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-3730
J Biol Chem. 2021 Mar 19. pii: S0021-9258(21)00347-1. [Epub ahead of print] 100569

Enzymatically active apurinic/apyrimidinic endodeoxyribonuclease 1 is released by mammalian cells through exosomes.

Giovanna Mangiapane, Isabella Parolini, Kristel Conte, Matilde Clarissa Malfatti, Jessica Corsi, Massimo Sanchez, Agostina Pietrantoni, Vito G D'Agostino, Gianluca Tell.

  The apurinic/apyrimidinic endodeoxyribonuclease 1 (APE1), the main AP-endonuclease of the DNA base excision repair pathway, is a key molecule of interest to researchers due to its unsuspected roles in different non-repair activities, such as: i) adaptive cell response to genotoxic stress, ii) regulation of gene expression and iii) processing of microRNAs, which make it an excellent drug target for cancer treatment. We and others recently demonstrated that APE1 can be secreted in the extracellular environment, and that serum APE1 may represent a novel prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular and non-small cell lung cancers. However, the mechanism by which APE1 is released extracellularly was not described before. Here, using three different approaches for exosomes isolation: commercial kit, nickel based isolation and ultracentrifugation methods and various mammalian cell lines, we elucidated the mechanisms responsible for APE1 secretion. We demonstrated that APE1 p37 and p33 forms are actively secreted through extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes from different mammalian cell lines. We then observed that APE1 p33 form is generated by proteasomal-mediated degradation and is enzymatically active in EVs. Finally, we revealed that the p33 form of APE1 accumulates in EVs upon genotoxic treatment by cisplatin and doxorubicin, compounds commonly found in chemotherapy pharmacological treatments. Taken together, these findings provide for the first time evidence that a functional Base Excision Repair protein is delivered through exosomes in response to genotoxic stresses, shedding new light into the complex non canonical biological functions of APE1 and opening new intriguing perspectives on its role in cancer biology.

Keywords:  Apurinic/apyrimidinic endodeoxyribonuclease 1; Base excision repair biomarker; exosomes; extracellular vesicles; genotoxic damage; proteasome

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100569
Nat Cancer. 2020 Feb;1(2): 184-196

Extracellular cGAMP is a cancer cell-produced immunotransmitter involved in radiation-induced anti-cancer immunity.

Jacqueline A Carozza, Volker Böhnert, Khanh C Nguyen, Gemini Skariah, Kelsey E Shaw, Jenifer A Brown, Marjan Rafat, Rie von Eyben, Edward E Graves, Jeffrey S Glenn, Mark Smith, Lingyin Li.

2'3'-cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) is an intracellular second messenger that is synthesized in response to cytosolic double-stranded DNA and activates the innate immune STING pathway. Our previous discovery of its extracellular hydrolase ENPP1 hinted at the existence of extracellular cGAMP. Here, we detected that cGAMP is continuously exported but then efficiently cleared by ENPP1, explaining why it has previously escaped detection. By developing potent, specific, and cell impermeable ENPP1 inhibitors, we found that cancer cells continuously export cGAMP in culture at steady state and at higher levels when treated with ionizing radiation (IR). In mouse tumors, depletion of extracellular cGAMP decreased tumor-associated immune cell infiltration and abolished the curative effect of IR. Boosting extracellular cGAMP with ENPP1 inhibitors synergized with IR to delay tumor growth. In conclusion, extracellular cGAMP is an anti-cancer immunotransmitter that could be harnessed to treat cancers with low immunogenicity.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-020-0028-4