On-target and Off-target Activities of RAG Are Restricted by Topological Chromatin Domains
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ABSTRACT: RAG initiates V(D)J recombination in developing lymphocytes by generating "on-target" DNA double-stranded breaks at bona fide recombination signal sequence (RSS) pairs. We now employ RAG-generated DNA breaks in endogenous or ectopically-inserted RSS pairs as bait to identify huge numbers of RAG "off-target" sites. These off-target DNA breaks occur across convergent CTCF-binding element (CBE)-flanked loop domains containing the bait RSS pairs. Such off-target cleavage occurs at the simple CAC motif that defines the RSS cleavage-site and shows orientation-dependence best explained by a two-dimensional tracking mechanism. Deletion of the CBE-based IGCR1 IgH regulatory element disrupts antibody IgH recombination domains and, correspondingly, alters distributions of RAG on- and off-targets across the IgH locus. RAG off-targets frequently involved in chromosomal translocations occur in convergent RSS pairs at enhancer regions within a loop. Our findings reveal how RAG is developmentally focused and re-focused in lymphocytes and implicate mechanisms by which chromatin domains harness biological processes within them.
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE73007 | GEO | 2015/09/15
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA295978
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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