Project description:Deficiencies in the BRCA1 tumor suppressor gene are the main cause of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. BRCA1 is involved in the Homologous Recombination DNA repair pathway, and, together with BARD1, forms a heterodimer with ubiquitin E3 activity. The relevance of the BRCA1/BARD1 ubiquitin E3 activity for tumor suppression and DNA repair remains controversial and most efforts aimed to identify BRCA1/BARD1 ubiquitination substrates rely on indirect evidence. Here, we observed that the BRCA1/BARD1 ubiquitin E3 activity was not required for Homologous Recombination or resistance to Olaparib. Using TULIP2 methodology, which enables the direct identification of E3-specific ubiquitination substrates, we identified substrates for BRCA1/BARD1. PCNA is ubiquitinated by BRCA1/BARD1 in unperturbed conditions independently of RAD18, avoiding the formation of ssDNA gaps during DNA replication and promoting replication fork stability upon replication stress, solving the controversy about the function of BRCA1/BARD1 E3 activity in Homologous Recombination.
Project description:Deficiencies in the BRCA1 tumor suppressor gene are the main cause of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. BRCA1 is involved in the Homologous Recombination DNA repair pathway, and, together with BARD1, forms a heterodimer with ubiquitin E3 activity. The relevance of the BRCA1/BARD1 ubiquitin E3 activity for tumor suppression and DNA repair remains controversial and most efforts aimed to identify BRCA1/BARD1 ubiquitination substrates rely on indirect evidence. Here, we observed that the BRCA1/BARD1 ubiquitin E3 activity was not required for Homologous Recombination or resistance to Olaparib. Using TULIP2 methodology, which enables the direct identification of E3-specific ubiquitination substrates, we identified substrates for BRCA1/BARD1. We found that PCNA is ubiquitinated by BRCA1/BARD1 in unperturbed conditions independently of RAD18. PCNA ubiquitination by BRCA1/BARD1 avoids the formation of ssDNA gaps during DNA replication and promotes continuous DNA synthesis. These results address the controversy about the function of BRCA1/BARD1 E3 activity in Homologous Recombination.
Project description:Brca1 is required for DNA repair by homologous recombination (HR) and normal embryonic development. Here we report that deletion of the DNA damage responsefactor 53BP1 overcomes embryonic lethality in Brca1-nullizygous mice, and rescues HR deficiency, as measured by hypersensitivity to PARP (polyADPribose polymerase) inhibition. However, Brca1,53BP1 double-deficient cells are hypersensitive to DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICLs), indicating that BRCA1 has an additional role in DNA cross-link repair that is distinct from HR. Disruption of the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) factor, Ku, promotes DNA repair in Brca1-deficient cells; however deletion of either Ku or 53BP1 exacerbates genomic instability in cells lacking FANCD2, a mediator of the Fanconi Anemia pathway for ICL repair. Brca1 therefore has two separate roles in ICL repair, whereas FANCD2 provides a key activity that can not be bypassed by ablation of 53BP1 or Ku. B cells were stimulated to undergo class switch recombination in vitro. Chromatin from B cells was harvested 72 hours post-stimulation and used for RPA ChIP to study the extent of resection of DNA DSBs.
Project description:53BP1 regulates DNA end-joining in lymphocytes, diversifying immune antigen receptors. This involves nucleosome-bound 53BP1 at DNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs) recruiting RIF1 and shieldin, a poorly understood DNA-binding complex. The 53BP1-RIF1-shieldin axis is pathological in BRCA1-mutated cancers, blocking homologous recombination (HR) and driving illegitimate non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ). However, how this axis regulates DNA end-joining and HR suppression remains unresolved. We investigated shieldin and its interplay with CST, a complex recently implicated in 53BP1-dependent activities. Immunophenotypically, mice lacking shieldin or CST are equivalent, with class-switch recombination co-reliant on both complexes. DNA damage-responsive signalling promotes shieldin-CST interaction, demonstrating shieldin as a DSB-specific CST adaptor. Furthermore, DNA polymerase ζ functions downstream of shieldin, establishing DNA fill-in synthesis as the physiological function of shieldin-CST. Lastly, 53BP1 suppresses HR and promotes NHEJ in BRCA1-deficient cells independently of shieldin. These findings showcase the resilience of the 53BP1 pathway, achieved through the collaboration of chromatin-bound 53BP1 complexes and DNA end-processing effector proteins.
Project description:The BRCA1 tumor suppressor gene encodes a multi-domain protein for which several functions have been described. These include a key role in homologous recombination repair (HRR) of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), which is shared with two other high-risk hereditary breast cancer suppressors, BRCA2 and PALB2. Although both BRCA1 and BRCA2 interact with PALB2, BRCA1 missense variants affecting its PALB2-interacting coiled-coil domain are considered sequence variants of uncertain clinical significance (VUS). Using genetically engineered mice, we now show that a BRCA1 coiled-coil domain VUS, Brca1 p.L1363P, disrupting the interaction with PALB2 leads to embryonic lethality and loss of breast cancer suppression. Brca1 p.L1363P mammary tumors develop with a similar latency as Brca1-null tumors, but show different histopathological features and more stable DNA copy number profiles. Nevertheless, Brca1 p.L1363P mammary tumors are HRR-incompetent and responsive to cisplatin and PARP inhibition.
Project description:The BRCA1 tumor suppressor gene encodes a multi-domain protein for which several functions have been described. These include a key role in homologous recombination repair (HRR) of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), which is shared with two other high-risk hereditary breast cancer suppressors, BRCA2 and PALB2. Although both BRCA1 and BRCA2 interact with PALB2, BRCA1 missense variants affecting its PALB2-interacting coiled-coil domain are considered sequence variants of uncertain clinical significance (VUS). Using genetically engineered mice, we now show that a BRCA1 coiled-coil domain VUS, Brca1 p.L1363P, disrupting the interaction with PALB2 leads to embryonic lethality and loss of breast cancer suppression. Brca1 p.L1363P mammary tumors develop with a similar latency as Brca1-null tumors, but show different histopathological features and more stable DNA copy number profiles. Nevertheless, Brca1 p.L1363P mammary tumors are HRR-incompetent and responsive to cisplatin and PARP inhibition.
Project description:Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging regulators of genomic stability and human disease. However, the molecular mechanisms by which nuclear lncRNAs directly contribute to DNA damage responses remain largely unknown. Using RNA antisense purification coupled with quantitative mass spectrometry (RAP-qMS), we found that the lncRNA BGL3 binds to PARP1 and BARD1, exhibiting unexpected roles in homologous recombination. Mechanistically, BGL3 is recruited to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by PARP1 at an early time point, which requires its interaction with the DNA-binding domain of PARP1. BGL3 also binds the C-terminal BRCT domain and an internal region (amino acids 127-424) of BARD1, which mediates interaction of the BRCA1/BARD1 complex with its binding partners such as HP1γ and RAD51, resulting in BRCA1/BARD1 retention at DSBs. Cells depleted for BGL3 displayed genomic instability and were sensitive to DNA-damaging reagents.
Project description:The 53BP1-RIF1 pathway antagonizes resection of DNA broken ends and confers PARP inhibitor sensitivity on BRCA1-mutated tumors. However, it is unclear how this pathway suppresses initiation of resection. Here, we identify ASF1 as a partner of RIF1 via an interacting manner similar to its interactions with histone chaperones CAF-1 and HIRA. ASF1 is recruited to distal chromatin flanking DNA breaks by 53BP1-RIF1 and promotes non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) using its histone chaperone activity. Epistasis analysis shows that ASF1 acts in the same NHEJ pathway as RIF1, but via a parallel pathway with the shieldin complex, which suppresses resection after initiation. Moreover, defects in end resection and homologous recombination (HR) in BRCA1-deficient cells are largely suppressed by ASF1 deficiency. Mechanistically, ASF1 compacts adjacent chromatin by heterochromatinization to protect broken DNA ends from BRCA1-mediated resection. Taken together, our findings identified a RIF1-ASF1 histone chaperone complex that promotes changes in high-order chromatin structure to stimulate the NHEJ pathway for DSB repair.
Project description:Brca1 is required for DNA repair by homologous recombination (HR) and normal embryonic development. Here we report that deletion of the DNA damage responsefactor 53BP1 overcomes embryonic lethality in Brca1-nullizygous mice, and rescues HR deficiency, as measured by hypersensitivity to PARP (polyADPribose polymerase) inhibition. However, Brca1,53BP1 double-deficient cells are hypersensitive to DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICLs), indicating that BRCA1 has an additional role in DNA cross-link repair that is distinct from HR. Disruption of the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) factor, Ku, promotes DNA repair in Brca1-deficient cells; however deletion of either Ku or 53BP1 exacerbates genomic instability in cells lacking FANCD2, a mediator of the Fanconi Anemia pathway for ICL repair. Brca1 therefore has two separate roles in ICL repair, whereas FANCD2 provides a key activity that can not be bypassed by ablation of 53BP1 or Ku.
Project description:HS-10502 is a Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1)-specific selective inhibitor. The purpose if this study is to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), and efficacy of HS-10502 in subjects with homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene mutant or homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) positive advanced solid tumors.