Mechanism of broad-spectrum Cas9 inhibition by AcrIIA11

Mobile genetic elements evade CRISPR-Cas adaptive immunity by encoding anti-CRISPR proteins (Acrs). Acrs inactivate CRISPR-Cas systems via diverse mechanisms but are generally specific for a narrow subset of Cas nucleases that share high sequence similarity. Here, we demonstrate that AcrIIA11 inhibits diverse Cas9 sub-types in vitro and human cells. Single-molecule fluorescence imaging reveals that AcrIIA11 interferes with the first steps of target search by reducing S. aureus Cas9′s diffusion on non-specific DNA. DNA cleavage is inhibited because the AcrIIA11:Cas9 complex is kinetically trapped at PAM-rich decoy sites, preventing Cas9 from reaching its target. This work establishes that DNA trapping can be used to inhibit a broad spectrum of Cas9 orthologs in vitro and during mammalian genome editing.

EGFR amplification predicted selective sensitivity to PARP inhibitors with high PARP-DNA trapping potential in human GBM.

2047 Background: Poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) is an enzyme critical for regulating a variety of DNA damage repair mechanisms such as BER/SSBR, and PARP inhibitors have been shown to have single agent activity in breast and ovarian cancer patients with BRCA ½ mutations. However, PARP inhibitor such as veliparib has limited single agent activity in GBM and identifying markers predicting sensitivity is critical to select individuals or certain groups of patients for PARP inhibitor therapy. Methods: Potency and selectivity of PARP inhibitors were analyzed in a panel of glioma stem cells (GSCs) with varying genetic background. In vivo anti-tumor activity was evaluated in xenograft models. Results: In this study, we report that PARP inhibitor, talazoparib, showed strong single-agent cytotoxicity and remarkable selective activity in glioma stem cells (GSCs). This single agent activity was strongly correlated with EGFR amplification. GSCs with EGFR amplification (which occurs in about 45% of GBMs) showed higher oxidative base damage, DNA breaks, and genomic instability than non-amplified GSCs. To sustain the elevated basal oxidative stress, EGFR-amplified GSCs had increased basal expression of DNA repair proteins. As a result of blocked DNA damage repair by talazoparib treatment, DNA damage accumulated and lead to increased PARP-DNA complexes, which was then trapped by talazoparib and resulted in high toxicity. The PARP-DNA trapping function of PARPi is essential as olaparib and veliparib, two PARP inhibitors with weak DNA-PARP trapping potential did not show sensitivity in GSCs. In contrast, Pamiparib, another PARP inhibitor with similar PARP-DNA trapping ability to that of talazoparib, showed selective sensitivity in EGFR-amplified GSC. Conclusions: Our data showed that EGFR amplified GSCs with higher basal DNA damage exhibited therapeutic vulnerability to PARP inhibitors with high PARP-DNA trapping ability, and that EGFR amplification is a potential selection or predictive biomarker for PARP inhibitor therapy in GBM.

Dissociation rate compensation mechanism for budding yeast pioneer transcription factors

Nucleosomes restrict the occupancy of most transcription factors (TF) by reducing binding and accelerating dissociation, while a small group of TFs have high affinities to nucleosome-embedded sites and facilitate nucleosome displacement. To understand this process mechanistically, we investigated two Saccharomyces cerevisiae TFs, Reb1 and Cbf1. We show that these factors bind to their sites within nucleosomes with similar binding affinities as to naked DNA, trapping a partially unwrapped nucleosome without histone eviction. Both the binding and dissociation rates of Reb1 and Cbf1 are significantly slower at the nucleosomal sites relative to those for naked DNA, demonstrating that the high affinities are achieved by increasing the dwell time on nucleosomes in order to compensate for reduced binding. Reb1 also shows slow migration rate in the yeast nuclei. These properties are similar to those of human pioneer factors (PFs), suggesting that the mechanism of nucleosome targeting is conserved from yeast to humans.

Dissociation rate compensation mechanism for budding yeast pioneer transcription factors

Nucleosomes restrict the occupancy of most transcription factors (TF) by reducing binding and accelerating dissociation, while a small group of TFs have high affinities to nucleosome-embedded sites and facilitate nucleosome displacement. To mechanistically understand this process, we investigated two S. cerevisiae TFs, Reb1 and Cbf1. We show these factors bind their sites within nucleosomes with similar affinities to naked DNA, trapping a partially unwrapped nucleosome without histone eviction. Both the binding and dissociation rates of Reb1 and Cbf1 are significantly slower at the nucleosomal sites relative to DNA, demonstrating that the high affinities are achieved by increasing the dwell time on nucleosomes to compensate for reduced binding. Reb1 also shows slow migration rate in the yeast nuclei. These properties are similar to human pioneer factors (PFs), suggesting the mechanism of nucleosome targeting is conserved from yeast to human.