Project description:The A-type lamins (lamin A/C), encoded by the LMNA gene, are important structural components of the nuclear lamina. LMNA mutations lead to degenerative disorders known as laminopathies, including the premature aging disease Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome. In addition, altered lamin A/C expression is found in various cancers. Reports indicate that lamin A/C plays a role in DNA double strand break repair, but a role in DNA base excision repair (BER) has not been described. We provide evidence for reduced BER efficiency in lamin A/C-depleted cells (Lmna null MEFs and lamin A/C-knockdown U2OS). The mechanism involves impairment of the APE1 and POLβ BER activities, partly effectuated by associated reduction in poly-ADP-ribose chain formation. Also, Lmna null MEFs displayed reduced expression of several core BER enzymes (PARP1, LIG3 and POLβ). Absence of Lmna led to accumulation of 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG) lesions, and to an increased frequency of substitution mutations induced by chronic oxidative stress including GC>TA transversions (a fingerprint of 8-oxoG:A mismatches). Collectively, our results provide novel insights into the functional interplay between the nuclear lamina and cellular defenses against oxidative DNA damage, with implications for cancer and aging.
Project description:The A-type lamins (lamin A/C), encoded by the Lmna gene, are important structural components of the nuclear lamina. Lmna mutations lead to degenerative disorders, including the premature aging disease Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS). In addition, altered lamin A/C expression is found in various cancers. Reports indicate that lamin A/C plays a role in DNA double strand break repair, but a role in DNA base excision repair (BER) has not been described. We provide evidence for reduced BER efficiency in lamin A/C-depleted cells. The mechanism involves impairment of the APE1 and POLβ enzyme activities in BER. Also, Lmna null mouse fibroblasts displayed reduced expression of several core BER enzymes (PARP1, LIG3, and POLβ). Moreover, the robustness of APE1 and POLβ activities and the rate of BER were enhanced by lamin A/C-augmented poly(ADP-ribose) polymer formation (PARylation). Finally, we report that HGPS fibroblasts are defective in BER. Collectively, our results provide novel insights into the functional interplay between the nuclear lamina and cellular defenses against oxidative DNA damage, with implications for human cancer and aging.
Project description:The A-type lamins (lamin A/C), encoded by the Lmna gene, are important structural components of the nuclear lamina. Lmna mutations lead to degenerative disorders, including the premature aging disease Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS). In addition, altered lamin A/C expression is found in various cancers. Reports indicate that lamin A/C plays a role in DNA double strand break repair, but a role in DNA base excision repair (BER) has not been described. We provide evidence for reduced BER efficiency in lamin A/C-depleted cells. The mechanism involves impairment of the APE1 and POLβ enzyme activities in BER. Also, Lmna null mouse fibroblasts displayed reduced expression of several core BER enzymes (PARP1, LIG3, and POLβ). Moreover, the robustness of APE1 and POLβ activities and the rate of BER were enhanced by lamin A/C-augmented poly(ADP-ribose) polymer formation (PARylation). Finally, we report that HGPS fibroblasts are defective in BER. Collectively, our results provide novel insights into the functional interplay between the nuclear lamina and cellular defenses against oxidative DNA damage, with implications for human cancer and aging.
Project description:Each day, approximately 20,000 oxidative lesions form in the DNA of every nucleated human cell. The base excision repair (BER) enzymes that repair these lesions must function in a chromatin milieu. We have determined that the DNA glycosylase hNTH1, apurinic endonuclease (APE), and DNA polymerase ? (Pol ?), which catalyze the first three steps in BER, are able to process their substrates in both 601- and 5S ribosomal DNA (rDNA)-based nucleosomes. hNTH1 formed a discrete ternary complex that was displaced by the addition of APE, suggesting an orderly handoff of substrates from one enzyme to the next. In contrast, DNA ligase III?-XRCC1, which completes BER, was appreciably active only at concentrations that led to nucleosome disruption. Ligase III?-XRCC1 was also able to bind and disrupt nucleosomes containing a single base gap and, because of this property, enhanced both its own activity and that of Pol ? on nucleosome substrates. Collectively, these findings provide insights into rate-limiting steps that govern BER in chromatin and reveal a unique role for ligase III?-XRCC1 in enhancing the efficiency of the final two steps in the BER of lesions in nucleosomes.
