Project description:DNA replication stress is an established driver of cancer-associated chromosomal rearrangements. Replication stress perturbs the duplication of late-replicating loci and activates a mitotic DNA repair pathway (termed MiDAS) for completion of replication. We here investigated RAD51-independent MiDAS.
Project description:Multiple replication abnormalities cause cells lacking BRCA2 to enter mitosis with under-replicated DNA and to activate mitotic DNA synthesis (MiDAS). However, the precise position of these MiDAS sites, as well as their origin, remains unknown. Here we labelled mitotic nascent DNA and performed high-throughput sequencing to identify at high-resolution the sites where MiDAS occurs in the absence of BRCA2. This approach revealed 150 genomic loci affected by MiDAS, which map within regions replicating during early S-phase and are therefore distinct from the aphidicolin-induced common fragile sites. Moreover, these sites largely localise near early firing origins and within genes transcribed in early S, suggesting that they stem from transcription-replication conflicts (TCRs). Inhibiting transcription with 5,6-dichloro-1-β-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole (DRB) during early S-phase abrogates MiDAS. Strikingly, MiDAS sites co-localise with genomic loci where R-loops form in unchallenged conditions, suggesting that R-loop accumulation caused by BRCA2 inactivation leads to DNA lesion which are repaired by MiDAS. RAD52 is required in this process, as its abrogation in BRCA2-deficient cells reduces the rate of MiDAS and causes DNA damage accumulation in G1. Furthermore, MiDAS sites triggered by BRCA2 inactivation are hotspots for genomic rearrangement in BRCA2-mutated breast tumours. These results indicate that BRCA2 acts in early S-phase to protect TRC- and R-loop-induced DNA lesions, thereby preventing them from becoming a source of genomic instability and tumorigenesis.
Project description:DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) accumulate in mitosis in response to DNA replication stress or deficiency in breast cancer susceptibility type 1 and 2 (BRCA1/2). This is a critical threat to genome stability as the classical DSB repair pathways non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR) are repressed(1-7). Instead, mitotic repair relies on the processes of microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ) or mitotic DNA synthesis (MiDAS), but how these pathways are coordinated and regulated remains unclear. Here, we reveal that the CIP2A-TOPBP1 axis orchestrates DSB repair in mitosis by promoting CDK1-driven phosphorylation of SLX4 at Thr1260, recruiting the SMX complex to promote MiDAS. In addition, the CIP2A-TOPBP1 axis regulates mitotic Polθ recruitment and MMEJ. This dual mechanism ensures coordinated DSBs repair by integrating spatial control of TOPBP1-CIP2A chromatin recruitment with the temporal regulation provided by mitotic kinases, thereby preserving genome stability. These findings provide new insights into DSB repair dynamics in mitosis and offer a mechanistic rationale for the synthetic lethality of CIP2A in BRCA1/2-deficient tumors through the simultaneous impairment of break induced replication (BIR)-like MiDAS and MMEJ, which are genetically redundant pathways to HR.
Project description:Deregulation of origin firing and licensing, shortage of deoxyribonucleotides in the cell and interference between transcription and replication are among the causes of DNA replication stress in cancer cells. This leads in various ways (notably, through common fragile sites expression and uncomplete replication of late-replicating regions of the genome during S phase) to the necessity of finishing DNA replication in mitosis by a mechanisms called Mitotic DNA synthesis (MiDAS), which is related to Break-Induced Replication (BIR). Even if it is of primary importance for cancer cells, the molecular mechanism of MiDAS, and generally of BIR, is not yet well understood. Recently, the third subunit of the eukaryotic DNA polymerase delta (POLD3) has been recognized as a key player of BIR, though its role is not yet clear. In this work, using a protocol established in our group to map at high resolution newly replicated DNA at MiDAS sites, we provide new insights into the molecular role of POLD3 in this repair mechanism. In particular, by analyzing MiDAS in mutant HeLa clones lacking the PCNA-interacting domain of POLD3, we demonstrate that the interaction between POLD3 and PCNA is required for coordinating leading and lagging strand synthesis in MiDAS. This work represents an important step forward towards the comprehension of the molecular mechansisms of Mitotic DNA synthesis, the full understanding of which is of primary importance for the possible development of novel cancer therapies targeting BIR-related pathways.
Project description:Human U2OS cells were stimulated with selective agonist SDF-1 of atypical chemokine receptor 3 (ACKR3) for 24 hours. Extracellular vesicles were isolated from U2OS cell culture media. Total RNAs were purified from extracellular vesicle samples. We used TaqMan Low Density Arrays to quantitate miRNA expression in extracellular vesicles secreted by U2OS cells after GPCR activation.
Project description:RAD51 is a highly conserved DNA repair protein and is indispensable for the execution of homologous recombination, thereby participating in maintaining genomic stability. Since constitutive Rad51 knockout mice exhibit embryonic lethality, the physiological functions of RAD51, and the consequences of lacking it, are largely unknown. We herein demonstrated a critical role of RAD51 in postnatal liver development and regeneration. RAD51 is highly expressed during liver development and during regeneration following hepatectomy and hepatic injury, and is also elevated in liver-related diseases. We generated hepatocyte-specific Rad51 deletion mouse model (Rad51-CKO) to evaluate the function of RAD51 in liver development and regeneration.RAD51 deletion in postnatal hepatocytes results in aborted mitosis, global polyploidization, oxidative stress and cellular senescence. Remarkable liver fibrosis occurs as early as in 3-month-old Rad51fl/fl; Alb-Cre+/+ mice.The senescence-associated secretory phenotype in the livers of Rad51-CKO mice creates a niche that favors the activation and propagation of hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) in which Rad51 is spared due to lack of Alb-Cre expression. The Rad51 functional HPCs and immature hepatocytes can thus proliferate vigorously, acquire increased malignancy, and eventually give rise to HCC. Our results thus demonstrate a novel function of RAD51 in liver development, homeostasis and tumorigenesis. The RAD51-CKO mice represent a unique genetic model for premature liver senescence, fibrosis, impaired regeneration and hepatocellular carcinogenesis.