Proximity labeling identifies a repertoire of site-specific R-loop modulators
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ABSTRACT: R-loops are three stranded nucleic acid structures that accumulate on chromatin in neurological diseases and cancers and that contribute to genome instability. Using a proximity-dependent labeling system, we identified distinct classes of proteins that regulate R-loops in vivo through different mechanisms. We show that ATRX suppresses R-loops by interacting with RNAs and preventing R-loop formation. Our proteomics screen also discovered an unexpected enrichment for proteins containing zinc fingers and homeodomains at R-loops. One of the most consistently enriched proteins at R-loops was activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP), which is frequently mutated in ASD and causal in ADNP syndrome. We find that ADNP is necessary to suppress R-loops in vivo at its genomic targets and that it resolves R-loops in vitro. Furthermore, deletion of the homeodomain severely diminishes R-loop resolution activity in vitro, results in R-loop accumulation at ADNP targets and compromises neuronal differentiation. Notably, patient derived human induced pluripotent stem cells that contain an ADNP syndrome-causing mutation exhibit R-loop and CTCF accumulation at ADNP targets. Our findings point to a specific role for ADNP-mediated R-loop resolution in physiological and pathological neuronal function and, more broadly, to a previously unappreciated role for zinc finger and homeodomain proteins in R-loop regulation, with important implications for developmental disorders and cancers.
INSTRUMENT(S): Q Exactive HF
ORGANISM(S): Homo Sapiens (ncbitaxon:9606)
SUBMITTER: Kavitha Sarma
PROVIDER: MSV000087568 | MassIVE | Thu Jun 03 14:01:00 BST 2021
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PXD026473
REPOSITORIES: MassIVE
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