scholarly journals Initiation of DNA interstrand cross-link repair in humans: the nucleotide excision repair system makes dual incisions 5' to the cross-linked base and removes a 22- to 28-nucleotide-long damage-free strand.

1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 6822-6830 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Bessho ◽  
D Mu ◽  
A Sancar

Most DNA repair mechanisms rely on the redundant information inherent to the duplex to remove damaged nucleotides and replace them with normal ones, using the complementary strand as a template. Interstrand cross-links pose a unique challenge to the DNA repair machinery because both strands are damaged. To study the repair of interstrand cross-links by mammalian cells, we tested the activities of cell extracts of wild-type or excision repair-defective rodent cell lines and of purified human excision nuclease on a duplex with a site-specific cross-link. We found that in contrast to monoadducts, which are removed by dual incisions bracketing the lesion, the cross-link causes dual incisions, both 5' to the cross-link in one of the two strands. The net result is the generation of a 22- to 28-nucleotide-long gap immediately 5' to the cross-link. This gap may act as a recombinogenic signal to initiate cross-link removal.

2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 2446-2454 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mu ◽  
Tadayoshi Bessho ◽  
Lubomir V. Nechev ◽  
David J. Chen ◽  
Thomas M. Harris ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT DNA interstrand cross-links are induced by many carcinogens and anticancer drugs. It was previously shown that mammalian DNA excision repair nuclease makes dual incisions 5′ to the cross-linked base of a psoralen cross-link, generating a gap of 22 to 28 nucleotides adjacent to the cross-link. We wished to find the fates of the gap and the cross-link in this complex structure under conditions conducive to repair synthesis, using cell extracts from wild-type and cross-linker-sensitive mutant cell lines. We found that the extracts from both types of strains filled in the gap but were severely defective in ligating the resulting nick and incapable of removing the cross-link. The net result was a futile damage-induced DNA synthesis which converted a gap into a nick without removing the damage. In addition, in this study, we showed that the structure-specific endonuclease, the XPF-ERCC1 heterodimer, acted as a 3′-to-5′ exonuclease on cross-linked DNA in the presence of RPA. Collectively, these observations shed some light on the cellular processing of DNA cross-links and reveal that cross-links induce a futile DNA synthesis cycle that may constitute a signal for specific cellular responses to cross-linked DNA.


2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 713-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Wang ◽  
Carolyn A. Peterson ◽  
Huyong Zheng ◽  
Rodney S. Nairn ◽  
Randy J. Legerski ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs) block the strand separation necessary for essential DNA functions such as transcription and replication and, hence, represent an important class of DNA lesion. Since both strands of the double helix are affected in cross-linked DNA, it is likely that conservative recombination using undamaged homologous regions as a donor may be required to repair ICLs in an error-free manner. However, in Escherichia coli and yeast, recombination-independent mechanisms of ICL repair have been identified in addition to recombinational repair pathways. To study the repair mechanisms of interstrand cross-links in mammalian cells, we developed an in vivo reactivation assay to examine the removal of interstrand cross-links in cultured cells. A site-specific psoralen cross-link was placed between the promoter and the coding region to inactivate the expression of green fluorescent protein or luciferase genes from reporter plasmids. By monitoring the reactivation of the reporter gene, we showed that a single defined psoralen cross-link was removed in repair-proficient cells in the absence of undamaged homologous sequences, suggesting the existence of an ICL repair pathway that is independent of homologous recombination. Mutant cell lines deficient in the nucleotide excision repair pathway were examined and found to be highly defective in the recombination-independent repair of ICLs, while mutants deficient in homologous recombination were found to be proficient. Mutation analysis of plasmids recovered from transfected cells showed frequent base substitutions at or near positions opposing a cross-linked thymidine residue. Based on these results, we suggest a distinct pathway for DNA interstrand cross-link repair involving nucleotide excision repair and a putative lesion bypass mechanism.


2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 2388-2397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nianxiang Zhang ◽  
Xiaoyan Lu ◽  
Xiaoshan Zhang ◽  
Carolyn A. Peterson ◽  
Randy J. Legerski

ABSTRACT The removal of interstrand cross-links (ICLs) from DNA in higher eucaryotes is not well understood. Here, we show that processing of psoralen ICLs in mammalian cell extracts is dependent upon the mismatch repair complex hMutSβ but is not dependent upon the hMutSα complex or hMlh1. The processing of psoralen ICLs is also dependent upon the nucleotide excision repair proteins Ercc1 and Xpf but not upon other components of the excision stage of this pathway or upon Fanconi anemia proteins. Products formed during the in vitro reaction indicated that the ICL has been removed or uncoupled from the cross-linked substrate in the mammalian cell extracts. Finally, the hMutSβ complex is shown to specifically bind to psoralen ICLs, and this binding is stimulated by the addition of PCNA. Thus, a novel pathway for processing ICLs has been identified in mammalian cells which involves components of the mismatch repair and nucleotide excision repair pathways.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Maryam Imani Nejad

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Abasic (Ap) sites are a common form of DNA lesion that occur endogenously 50,000-200,000 per cell per day in mammals. The alkylation of the guanine and adenine residues by the alkylating agents such as nitrogen mustards also induces the formation of Ap sites in genomic DNA. Our group recently showed that Ap sites can forge DNA-DNA interstrand cross-links in some sequences via reaction of the Ap aldehyde residue with the exocyclic amino groups of nucleobases, such as adenine and guanine, on the opposing strand of the DNA duplex. The earlier work in the group revealed that formation of these covalent bridges between two DNA strands is highly sequence- dependent. Although interstrand cross-links are one of the most deleterious types of cellular DNA damage, the availability of synthetic DNA duplexes containing chemically well-defined, site-specific interstrand cross-links has been proven to be a valuable tool in biological chemistry and medicine. We prepared and characterized a new Ap-derived interstrand cross-link. In another project, we use these remarkable cross-linking reactions for the covalent capture of disease-relevant single nucleotide polymorphism by using a protein nanopore technology. The complex mechanisms underlying cross-link repair in cells and limited availability of stable and defined cross-link are two major reasons why repair pathways of these lesions are not yet well understood. By preparing a variety of Ap-derived cross-links, we studied the role of a base excision repair DNA glycosylase, NEIL3 in unhooking the lesions.


2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (13) ◽  
pp. 4728-4737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Lambert ◽  
Sarah J. Mason ◽  
Louise J. Barber ◽  
John A. Hartley ◽  
Jackie A. Pearce ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Drugs that produce covalent interstrand cross-links (ICLs) in DNA remain central to the treatment of cancer, but the cell cycle checkpoints activated by ICLs have received little attention. We have used the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, to elucidate the checkpoint responses to the ICL-inducing anticancer drugs nitrogen mustard and mitomycin C. First we confirmed that the repair pathways acting on ICLs in this yeast are similar to those in the main organisms studied to date (Escherichia coli, budding yeast, and mammalian cells), principally nucleotide excision repair and homologous recombination. We also identified and disrupted the S. pombe homologue of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae SNM1/PSO2 ICL repair gene and found that this activity is required for normal resistance to cross-linking agents, but not other forms of DNA damage. Survival and biochemical analysis indicated a key role for the “checkpoint Rad” family acting through the chk1-dependent DNA damage checkpoint in the ICL response. Rhp9-dependent phosphorylation of Chk1 correlates with G2 arrest following ICL induction. In cells able to bypass the G2 block, a second-cycle (S-phase) arrest was observed. Only a transient activation of the Cds1 DNA replication checkpoint factor occurs following ICL formation in wild-type cells, but this is increased and persists in G2 arrest-deficient mutants. This likely reflects the fraction of cells escaping the G2 damage checkpoint and arresting in the subsequent S phase due to ICL replication blocks. Disruption of cds1 confers increased resistance to ICLs, suggesting that this second-cycle S-phase arrest might be a lethal event.


2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (13) ◽  
pp. 5776-5787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura J. Niedernhofer ◽  
Hanny Odijk ◽  
Magda Budzowska ◽  
Ellen van Drunen ◽  
Alex Maas ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Interstrand cross-links (ICLs) are an extremely toxic class of DNA damage incurred during normal metabolism or cancer chemotherapy. ICLs covalently tether both strands of duplex DNA, preventing the strand unwinding that is essential for polymerase access. The mechanism of ICL repair in mammalian cells is poorly understood. However, genetic data implicate the Ercc1-Xpf endonuclease and proteins required for homologous recombination-mediated double-strand break (DSB) repair. To examine the role of Ercc1-Xpf in ICL repair, we monitored the phosphorylation of histone variant H2AX (γ-H2AX). The phosphoprotein accumulates at DSBs, forming foci that can be detected by immunostaining. Treatment of wild-type cells with mitomycin C (MMC) induced γ-H2AX foci and increased the amount of DSBs detected by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Surprisingly, γ-H2AX foci were also induced in Ercc1 −/− cells by MMC treatment. Thus, DSBs occur after cross-link damage via an Ercc1-independent mechanism. Instead, ICL-induced DSB formation required cell cycle progression into S phase, suggesting that DSBs are an intermediate of ICL repair that form during DNA replication. In Ercc1 −/− cells, MMC-induced γ-H2AX foci persisted at least 48 h longer than in wild-type cells, demonstrating that Ercc1 is required for the resolution of cross-link-induced DSBs. MMC triggered sister chromatid exchanges in wild-type cells but chromatid fusions in Ercc1 −/− and Xpf mutant cells, indicating that in their absence, repair of DSBs is prevented. Collectively, these data support a role for Ercc1-Xpf in processing ICL-induced DSBs so that these cytotoxic intermediates can be repaired by homologous recombination.


Blood ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 114 (22) ◽  
pp. 3196-3196
Author(s):  
Pan Zhang ◽  
Deepa Sridharan ◽  
Michael Acosta ◽  
Muriel Lambert

Abstract Abstract 3196 Poster Board III-133 The hereditary bone marrow failure disorder, Fanconi anemia (FA), is characterized by a markedly increased incidence of acute myelogenous leukemia, diverse congenital abnormalities and a defect in ability to repair DNA interstrand cross-links. We have previously shown that in FA cells there is a deficiency in the structural protein nonerythroid a spectrin (aSpII), which is involved in repair of DNA interstrand cross-links and binds to cross-linked DNA. aSpII co-localizes in nuclear foci with FANCA and the cross-link repair protein, XPF, after normal human cells are damaged with a DNA interstrand cross-linking agent. One of the FA proteins which is thought to play an important role in the repair of DNA interstrand cross-links is FANCD2, which is known to form nuclear foci after cross-link damage. The present study was undertaken in order to get a better understanding of the relationship between aSpII and FANCD2, whether they interact with each other during the DNA repair process and co-localize in damage-induced nuclear foci. Immunofluorescence microscopy was carried out to determine whether these proteins co-localized in nuclear foci after cells were damaged with a DNA interstrand cross-linking agent, 8-methylpsoralen plus UVA light (8-MOP) or mitomycin C (MMC). Time course measurements showed that FANCD2 foci were first visible at 2 hours after damage and increased up to 16 hours and were still present at 72 hours after damage. This time course of foci formation correlated with levels of monoubiquitination of FANCD2. Measurement of gH2AX foci formation showed that the time course of foci formation was similar to that of FANCD2 measured up to 72 hours post damage. In contrast, aSpII foci were first visible between 8-10 hours after damage. The number of these foci peaked at 16 hours and by 24 hours foci were no longer observed. Co-localization studies showed that there was little co-localization of the FANCD2 and aSpII foci over this time course. This indicates that these two proteins may be involved in different steps in the DNA interstrand cross-link repair process. Based on models that have been proposed for the role of FANCD2 in the repair of DNA interstrand cross-links, we propose that, after DNA damage, FANCD2 localizes at DNA replication forks stalled at sites of interstrand cross-links and aids in the assembly of proteins at this site. This is followed by localization of aSpII and XPF and other proteins involved in the initial incision steps in DNA interstrand cross-link repair where they play a role in the unhooking of the cross-link. FANCD2 is then involved in subsequent steps in the repair process, which involve homologous recombination. Thus two proteins, FANCD2 and aSpII, both of which have been shown to be critical for the DNA interstrand cross-link repair process may be involved in different or distinct steps in this repair process. Deficiencies in these proteins would impact on DNA interstrand cross-link repair and, as we have shown for aIISp, would have an adverse effect on the genomic stability of FA cells. . Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2007 ◽  
Vol 283 (3) ◽  
pp. 1275-1281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura A. Fisher ◽  
Mika Bessho ◽  
Tadayoshi Bessho

The processing of stalled forks caused by DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs) has been proposed to be an important step in initiating mammalian ICL repair. To investigate a role of the XPF-ERCC1 complex in this process, we designed a model substrate DNA with a single psoralen ICL at a three-way junction (Y-shaped DNA), which mimics a stalled fork structure. We found that the XPF-ERCC1 complex makes an incision 5′ to a psoralen lesion on Y-shaped DNA in a damage-dependent manner. Furthermore, the XPF-ERCC1 complex generates an ICL-specific incision on the 3′-side of an ICL. The ICL-specific 3′-incision, along with the 5′-incision, on the cross-linked Y-shaped DNA resulted in the separation of the two cross-linked strands (the unhooking of the ICL) and the induction of a double strand break near the cross-linked site. These results implicate the XPF-ERCC1 complex in initiating ICL repair by unhooking the ICL, which simultaneously induces a double strand break at a stalled fork.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jacqueline Gamboa Varela

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] DNA is the central molecule of biology as it stores the genetic information for cells to properly function and develop. Modifications to the DNA can stall cellular processes such as replication and transcription, leading the cell to recruit repair machinery or in some cases undergo apoptosis. Interstrand cross-links are particularly significant types of DNA damage because they prevent strand separation required for replication and transcription. Cross-links involve bonding between the two strands of DNA. The rate and mechanism of cross-link repair in cells are not well understood. A significant challenge in the study of cross-link repair is the synthesis of chemically well-defined DNA cross-links. Here we summarize the preparation of cross-links derived from the hydrazone formation between a non-natural nucleobase N4-aminocytidine and abasic sites in duplex DNA. The cross-link was generated rapidly and in high yield. The cross-link is stable under physiological conditions but, interestingly, can be reversibly dissociated and re-formed by thermal cycling between 20-80 [degrees]C. We provided evidence that the cross-link is stable against multiple agents and the cross-link is reversible. We used this chemistry to prepare structurally diverse cross-links for the utilization in cross-link repair studies. Overall, we developed a synthetic cross-link that is easily and rapidly prepared from commercially available reagents in high yields, at defined locations in duplexed DNA.


1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 5619-5630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Li ◽  
Carolyn A. Peterson ◽  
Xiaoyan Lu ◽  
Ping Wei ◽  
Randy J. Legerski

ABSTRACT Mammalian cell extracts have been shown to carry out damage-specific DNA repair synthesis induced by a variety of lesions, including those created by UV and cisplatin. Here, we show that a single psoralen interstrand cross-link induces DNA synthesis in both the damaged plasmid and a second homologous unmodified plasmid coincubated in the extract. The presence of the second plasmid strongly stimulates repair synthesis in the cross-linked plasmid. Heterologous DNAs also stimulate repair synthesis to variable extents. Psoralen monoadducts and double-strand breaks do not induce repair synthesis in the unmodified plasmid, indicating that such incorporation is specific to interstrand cross-links. This induced repair synthesis is consistent with previous evidence indicating a recombinational mode of repair for interstrand cross-links. DNA synthesis is compromised in extracts from mutants (deficient in ERCC1, XPF, XRCC2, and XRCC3) which are all sensitive to DNA cross-linking agents but is normal in extracts from mutants (XP-A, XP-C, and XP-G) which are much less sensitive. Extracts from Fanconi anemia cells exhibit an intermediate to wild-type level of activity dependent upon the complementation group. The DNA synthesis deficit in ERCC1- and XPF-deficient extracts is restored by addition of purified ERCC1-XPF heterodimer. This system provides a biochemical assay for investigating mechanisms of interstrand cross-link repair and should also facilitate the identification and functional characterization of cellular proteins involved in repair of these lesions.


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