The Role of BAZ2-dependent Chromatin Remodeling in Suppressing G4 DNA Structures and Associated Genomic Instability [G4]
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ABSTRACT: 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) form throughout the genome and influence important cellular processes, but their deregulation can challenge DNA replication fork progression and threaten genome stability. Here, we demonstrate an unexpected, dual role for the dsDNA translocase HLTF in G4 metabolism. First, we find that HLTF is enriched at G4s in the human genome and suppresses G4 accumulation throughout the cell cycle using its ATPase activity. This function of HLTF affects telomere maintenance by restricting alternative lengthening of telomeres, a process stimulated by G4s. We also show that HLTF and MSH2, a mismatch repair factor that binds G4s, act in independent pathways to suppress G4s and to promote resistance to G4 stabilization. In a second, distinct role, HLTF restrains DNA synthesis upon G4 stabilization by suppressing PrimPol-dependent repriming. Together, the dual functions of HLTF in the G4 response prevent DNA damage and potentially mutagenic replication to safeguard genome stability.
Project description:DNA secondary structures are important for fundamental genome functions such as transcription and replication1. The G-quadruplex (G4) structural motif has been linked to gene regulation2,3 and genome instability4,5 and may be important to cancer development and other diseases6-8. Recently, ~700,000 discrete G4s have been observed in naked human single-stranded genomic DNA using G4-seq, a high-throughput sequencing technique that detects structural features in vitro.9 It is of vital importance to investigate G4 structures within an endogenous chromatin context, which until now remained elusive10,11. Herein, we address this via the development of G4 ChIP-seq, an antibody-based G4 chromatin immunoprecipitation and high-throughput sequencing approach. We identified ~10,000 endogenous G4 structures and show that G4s are predominantly seen in regulatory, nucleosome-depleted, chromatin regions. G4s were enriched in the promoters and 5âUTR regions of highly transcribed genes, particularly in genes related to cancer and in somatic copy number amplifications, such as MYC. Reorganization of the chromatin landscape using a histone deacetylase inhibitor, resulted in de novo G4 formation in new and more prominent regulatory, nucleosome-depleted regions associated with increased transcriptional output. Our findings suggest a striking relationship between promoter nucleosome-depleted regions, G4 formation and elevated transcriptional activity. Comparison between normal human epidermal keratinocytes and their immortalized counterparts revealed a ï¾7-fold greater G4 abundance in immortalized cells, of which 80 % were found in regulatory, nucleosome-depleted regions common to both cell types. Consequently, cells exhibiting more G4s displayed significantly increased transcriptional output and were more sensitive to growth inhibition by a small molecule G4 ligand. Overall, our results provide new mechanistic insights into where and when DNA adopts G4 structure in vivo. Our findings show for the first time that regulatory, nucleosome-depleted chromatin and transcriptional states predominantly shape the endogenous G4 DNA landscape. Two cell lines, treated with entinostat or untreated, analyzed to detect gene expression differences, presence of G-Qudruplexes and chromatin state. Each combination of conditions replicated in duplicates or triplicates.
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) 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:Four stranded DNA G-quadruplex (G4) structures are common features of the human genome that are primarily found in active promoters associated with elevated transcription. Here, we explore the relationship between the folding of G4s in promoters, transcription and chromatin state. Transcriptional inhibition by DRB or by triptolide reveals that promoter G4 formation, as assessed G4 ChIP-seq, is not reliant on transcriptional activity. Establishing a link between G4 formation and chromatin accessibility, we demonstrate that chromatin compaction leads to loss of promoter G4s accompanied by a corresponding loss of RNA polymerase II (Pol II). Furthermore, pre-treatment of cells with a G4-stabilising ligand can mitigate Pol II loss at promoters induced by chromatin compaction. Overall, our findings show that G4 formation is fostered in accessible chromatin and does not require active transcription. Furthermore, our findings suggest that G4s have a role to recruit Pol II to promote transcription.
Project description:G-rich DNA sequences can form four-stranded G-quadruplex (G4) secondary structures and are linked to fundamental biological processes such as transcription, replication and telomere maintenance. G4s are also implicated in promoting genome instability, cancer and other diseases. Here, we describe a detailed G4 ChIP-seq method that robustly enables the determination of G4 structure formation genome-wide in chromatin. This protocol adapts traditional ChIP-seq for the detection of DNA secondary structures through the use of a G4-structure-specific phage display antibody with refinements in chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing. Beginning with chromatin isolation and antibody preparation the entire protocol can be completed in less than 1 week including computational analysis.
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.