DNA damage and genome instability by G-quadruplex ligands are mediated by R-loops in human cancer cells
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ABSTRACT: G-quadruplexes (G4s) and R-loops are non-canonical DNA structures that can play regulatory functions of basic nuclear processes and can trigger DNA damage and genome instability. We here show that specific G4 ligands can stabilize G4s and simultaneously increase R-loop levels in human cancer cells likely by spreading DNA:RNA heteroduplexes to adjacent regions containing G4 structures. DNA cleavage and DNA damage response induced by G4 ligands were rescued by overexpression of exogenous RNaseH1 in cancer cells independently of BRCA2 status. The data thus show that R-loops are involved in the induction of DNA damage by chemical G4 stabilization. In addition, G4 ligands trigger the formation of micronuclei, particularly in BRCA2-silenced cancer cells, in an R-loop dependent manner. Our results uncover the mechanism of genome instability caused by G4 ligands and can open to the development of unexpected anticancer strategies using G4-targeted agents.
Project description:G4s are built by stacked guanine tetrads connected via Hoogsteen hydrogen bonds and can be formed by intra- or inter-molecular folding of the tetramers. R-loops are three-stranded structures which contain a DNA-RNA hybrid and a displaced single-stranded DNA. Both G4s and R-loops are involved in key biological processes, including transcriptional regulation, replication, genomic instability, class switch recombination in B cells, DNA damage and repair, and telomere maintenance. To understand the transcriptional regulation of G4s and R-loops, we performed the RNA-seq analysis on HEK293 cells treated with the inhibitors of G4 resolving helicase ML216 or NSC617145 and mESCs in which the resolving helicase DHX9 of G4 and R-loop was knockout.
Project description:G-quadruplexes (G4s) are prevalent DNA structures that regulate transcription but also threaten genome stability. How G4 dynamics is controlled remains poorly understood. Here, we report that RNA transcripts govern G4 landscapes through coordinated ‘G-loop’ assembly and disassembly. G-loop assembly involves activation of the ATM and ATR kinases followed by homology-directed invasion of RNA opposite the G4 strand mediated by BRCA2 and RAD51. Disassembly of the G-loop resolves the G4 structure via DHX36-FANCJ-mediated G4 unwinding that triggers nucleolytic incision and subsequent hybrid strand renewal by DNA synthesis. Inhibition of G-loop disassembly causes global G4 and R-loop accumulation, leading to transcriptome dysregulation, replication stress, and genome instability. These findings establish an intricate G-loop assembly-disassembly mechanism that controls G4 landscapes and is essential for cellular homeostasis and survival.
Project description:G-quadruplexes (G4s) are prevalent DNA structures that regulate transcription but also threaten genome stability. How G4 dynamics is controlled remains poorly understood. Here, we report that RNA transcripts govern G4 landscapes through coordinated ‘G-loop’ assembly and disassembly. G-loop assembly involves activation of the ATM and ATR kinases followed by homology-directed invasion of RNA opposite the G4 strand mediated by BRCA2 and RAD51. Disassembly of the G-loop resolves the G4 structure via DHX36-FANCJ-mediated G4 unwinding that triggers nucleolytic incision and subsequent hybrid strand renewal by DNA synthesis. Inhibition of G-loop disassembly causes global G4 and R-loop accumulation, leading to transcriptome dysregulation, replication stress, and genome instability. These findings establish an intricate G-loop assembly-disassembly mechanism that controls G4 landscapes and is essential for cellular homeostasis and survival.
Project description:DNA G-quadruplexes (G4s) are secondary structures with significant roles in regulating genome function and stability. Dysregulation of the dynamic formation of G4s is linked to genomic instability and disease, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we conducted a screen of chromatin-modifying enzymes and identified nine potential inhibitors of G4 formation, including seven that were not previously characterized. Among these, we highlight the role of BAZ2 chromatin remodelers as key suppressors of G4 DNA and G4-related genome instability. Depletion of BAZ2 subunits led to increased G4 formation, especially at transcriptional regulatory elements. BAZ2B was found to associate with G4 loci, suggesting that it plays a direct role in suppressing G4s. While BAZ2-deficient cells exhibited modest genomic instability, treatment with the G4-stabilizing ligand BRACO19 exacerbated double-strand breaks (DSBs), highlighting its utility as a tool to study G4-dependent genome instability. DSB profiling using INDUCE-seq uncovered distinct breakage patterns around G4s, further underscoring the impact of G4s on genome integrity. Notably, we found that within G4s, G repeats were more susceptible to DSBs than loops. These results establish BAZ2 chromatin remodeling complexes as direct regulators of G4 dynamics and provide new insights into G4-dependent genome instability.
Project description:DNA G-quadruplexes (G4s) are secondary structures with significant roles in regulating genome function and stability. Dysregulation of the dynamic formation of G4s is linked to genomic instability and disease, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we conducted a screen of chromatin-modifying enzymes and identified nine potential inhibitors of G4 formation, including seven that were not previously characterized. Among these, we highlight the role of BAZ2 chromatin remodelers as key suppressors of G4 DNA and G4-related genome instability. Depletion of BAZ2 subunits led to increased G4 formation, especially at transcriptional regulatory elements. BAZ2B was found to associate with G4 loci, suggesting that it plays a direct role in suppressing G4s. While BAZ2-deficient cells exhibited modest genomic instability, treatment with the G4-stabilizing ligand BRACO19 exacerbated double-strand breaks (DSBs), highlighting its utility as a tool to study G4-dependent genome instability. DSB profiling using INDUCE-seq uncovered distinct breakage patterns around G4s, further underscoring the impact of G4s on genome integrity. Notably, we found that within G4s, G repeats were more susceptible to DSBs than loops. These results establish BAZ2 chromatin remodeling complexes as direct regulators of G4 dynamics and provide new insights into G4-dependent genome instability.
Project description:DNA G-quadruplexes (G4s) are secondary structures with significant roles in regulating genome function and stability. Dysregulation of the dynamic formation of G4s is linked to genomic instability and disease, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we conducted a screen of chromatin-modifying enzymes and identified nine potential inhibitors of G4 formation, including seven that were not previously characterized. Among these, we highlight the role of BAZ2 chromatin remodelers as key suppressors of G4 DNA and G4-related genome instability. Depletion of BAZ2 subunits led to increased G4 formation, especially at transcriptional regulatory elements. BAZ2B was found to associate with G4 loci, suggesting that it plays a direct role in suppressing G4s. While BAZ2-deficient cells exhibited modest genomic instability, treatment with the G4-stabilizing ligand BRACO19 exacerbated double-strand breaks (DSBs), highlighting its utility as a tool to study G4-dependent genome instability. DSB profiling using INDUCE-seq uncovered distinct breakage patterns around G4s, further underscoring the impact of G4s on genome integrity. Notably, we found that within G4s, G repeats were more susceptible to DSBs than loops. These results establish BAZ2 chromatin remodeling complexes as direct regulators of G4 dynamics and provide new insights into G4-dependent genome instability.
Project description:G-quadruplexes (G4s) are noncanonical DNA secondary structures formed through the self-association of guanines, and they are distributed widely across the genome. G4 participates in multiple biological processes including gene transcription, and G4-targeted ligands serve as potential therapeutic agents for DNA-targeted therapies. However, genome-wide studies of the exact roles of G4s in transcriptional regulation are still lacking. We found that drug-induced promoter-proximal RNA polymerase II pausing promotes nearby G4 formation, and oppositely, G4 stabilization by G4-targeted ligands globally reduces RNA polymerase II occupancy at gene promoters as well as nascent RNA synthesis. To study the underlying mechanisms by which native G4 affects transcriptional regulation, we annealed the biotin-labeled core promoter DNA to form G4s and performed pull-down assays with nuclear extraction proteins in the presence or absence of TMPyP4. Mass spectrometry analysis was performed to identify the interacting proteins with G4-forming core promoter DNA.
Project description:G-quadruplex (G4) are four‑stranded DNA secondary structures that form in guanine‑rich regions of the genome, which can enhance or repress gene expression. An R-loop is a special triple-stranded nucleic acid structure formed when nascent RNA invades double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) during transcription. G-loops are constituted by one or more DNA G4 on one strand and a stable RNA/DNA hybrid on the other. We developed the HepG4-seq for mapping the native G4s and the HBD-seq for mapping native R-loops. We combined the HepG4-seq and HBD-seq to profile the genomic native G-loops, which are regions co-occupied by both native G4s and R-loops, in both HEK293 cells and mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs).
Project description:Single-stranded genomic DNA can fold into G-quadruplex (G4) structures or form DNA:RNA hybrids (R loops). Recent evidence suggests that such non-canonical DNA structures affect gene expression, DNA methylation, replication fork progression and genome stability. When and how G4 structures form and are resolved remains unclear. Here we report the use of Cleavage Under Targets and Tagmentation (CUT&Tag) for mapping native G4 in mammalian cell lines at high resolution and low background. Mild native conditions used for the procedure retain more G4 structures and provide a higher signal-to-noise ratio than ChIP-based methods. We determine the G4 landscape of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC), discovering G4 formation at active and poised promoters and enhancers. We discover that the presence of G4 motifs and G4 structures distinguishes active and primed enhancers in mESCs. Further performing R-loop CUT&Tag, we demonstrate the widespread co-occurence of single-stranded DNA, G4s and R loops, suggesting an intricate interrelation of non-canonical DNA structures, transcription and the formation and turnover of G4s.
Project description:DNA G-quadruplexes (G4s) have been identified as important biological targets for transcriptional, translational, and epigenetic regulation. The stabilisation of G4s with small molecule ligands has emerged as a technique to regulate gene expression and as a potential therapeutic approach for human diseases. Here, we demonstrate that ligand stabilisation of G4s causes altered chromatin accessibility dependant on the targeting specificity of the molecule. In particular, stabilisation of a target G4 using the highly specific GTC365 ligand resulted in differential accessibility of 61 genomic regions, while the broad targeted GQC-05 ligand stabilised many G4s and induced a global shift towards increased accessibility of gene promoter regions. Interestingly, while we observed distinct effects of each ligand on RNA expression levels and the induction of DNA double-stranded breaks, both ligands modified DNA damage response pathways. Our work represents the dual possibility of G4-stabilising ligands for specific or global chromatin modulation via unique targeting characteristics.