scholarly journals Mechanistic modelling and Bayesian inference elucidates the variable dynamics of double-strand break repair

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Woods ◽  
C.P. Barnes

AbstractDNA double-strand breaks are lesions that form during metabolism, DNA replication and exposure to mutagens. When a double-strand break occurs one of a number of repair mechanisms is recruited, all of which have differing propensities for mutational events. Despite DNA repair being of crucial importance, the relative contribution of these mechanisms and their regulatory interactions remain to be fully elucidated. Understanding these mutational processes will have a profound impact on our knowledge of genomic instability, with implications across health, disease and evolution. Here we present a new method to model the combined activation of non-homologous end joining, single strand annealing and alternative end joining, following exposure to ionizing radiation. We use Bayesian statistics to integrate eight biological data sets of double-strand break repair curves under varying genetic knockouts and confirm that our model is predictive by re-simulating and comparing to additional data. Analysis of the model suggests that there are at least three disjoint modes of repair, which we assign as fast, slow and intermediate. Our results show that when multiple data sets are combined, the rate for intermediate repair is variable amongst genetic knockouts. Further analysis suggests that the ratio between slow and intermediate repair depends on the presence or absence of DNA-PKcs and Ku70, which implies that non-homologous end joining and alternative end joining are not independent. Finally, we consider the proportion of double-strand breaks within each mechanism as a time series and predict activity as a function of repair rate. We outline how our insights can be directly tested using imaging and sequencing techniques and conclude that there is evidence of variable dynamics in alternative repair pathways. Our approach is an important step towards providing a unifying theoretical framework for the dynamics of DNA repair processes.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lior Onn ◽  
Miguel Portillo ◽  
Stefan Ilic ◽  
Gal Cleitman ◽  
Daniel Stein ◽  
...  

AbstractDNA double strand breaks are the most deleterious type of DNA damage. In this work, we show that SIRT6 directly recognizes DNA damage through a tunnel-like structure, with high affinity for double strand breaks. It relocates to sites of damage independently of signalling and known sensors and activates downstream signalling cascades for double strand break repair by triggering ATM recruitment, H2AX phosphorylation and the recruitment of proteins of the Homologous Recombination and Non-Homologous End Joining pathways. Our findings indicate that SIRT6 plays a previously uncharacterized role as DNA damage sensor, which is critical for initiating the DNA damage response (DDR). Moreover, other Sirtuins share some DSB binding capacity and DDR activation. SIRT6 activates the DDR, before the repair pathway is chosen, and prevents genomic instability. Our findings place SIRT6 at the top of the DDR and pave the road to dissect the contributions of distinct double strand break sensors in downstream signalling.


2009 ◽  
Vol 106 (37) ◽  
pp. 15762-15767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha G. Zeitlin ◽  
Norman M. Baker ◽  
Brian R. Chapados ◽  
Evi Soutoglou ◽  
Jean Y. J. Wang ◽  
...  

The histone H3 variant CENP-A is required for epigenetic specification of centromere identity through a loading mechanism independent of DNA sequence. Using multiphoton absorption and DNA cleavage at unique sites by I-SceI endonuclease, we demonstrate that CENP-A is rapidly recruited to double-strand breaks in DNA, along with three components (CENP-N, CENP-T, and CENP-U) associated with CENP-A at centromeres. The centromere-targeting domain of CENP-A is both necessary and sufficient for recruitment to double-strand breaks. CENP-A accumulation at DNA breaks is enhanced by active non-homologous end-joining but does not require DNA-PKcs or Ligase IV, and is independent of H2AX. Thus, induction of a double-strand break is sufficient to recruit CENP-A in human and mouse cells. Finally, since cell survival after radiation-induced DNA damage correlates with CENP-A expression level, we propose that CENP-A may have a function in DNA repair.


Author(s):  
Roopa Thapar

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are deleterious lesions that are generated in response to ionizing radiation or replication fork collapse that can lead to genomic instability and cancer.  Eukaryotes have evolved two major pathways, namely homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) to repair DSBs.  Whereas the roles of protein-DNA interactions in HR and NHEJ have been fairly well defined, the functions of small and long non-coding RNAs and RNA-DNA hybrids in the DNA damage response is just beginning to be elucidated.  This review summarizes recent discoveries on the identification of non-coding RNAs and RNA-mediated regulation of DSB repair


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terrence Hanscom ◽  
Mitch McVey

Double-strand breaks are one of the most deleterious DNA lesions. Their repair via error-prone mechanisms can promote mutagenesis, loss of genetic information, and deregulation of the genome. These detrimental outcomes are significant drivers of human diseases, including many cancers. Mutagenic double-strand break repair also facilitates heritable genetic changes that drive organismal adaptation and evolution. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms of various error-prone DNA double-strand break repair processes and the cellular conditions that regulate them, with a focus on alternative end joining. We provide examples that illustrate how mutagenic double-strand break repair drives genome diversity and evolution. Finally, we discuss how error-prone break repair can be crucial to the induction and progression of diseases such as cancer.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 521-521
Author(s):  
David L. Caudell ◽  
Abdul Gafoor A. Puthiyaveetil

Abstract Abstract 521 Chromosomal translocations are hallmark features of hematologic malignancies that often require collaborating mutations for malignant transformation. These secondary mutations can occur spontaneously, or rather, be induced by the primary translocation. Mutations can occur as a result of DNA damage and misrepair with DNA double strand breaks being one of the most serious types of cell damage. Double strand breaks are classically repaired by the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) mechanism and impaired NHEJ has been shown to promote mutagenesis. Transgenic mice expressing the myeloid leukemic fusion gene NUP98-HOXD13 (NHD13) develop Myelodysplastic syndrome and progress to acute leukemia after acquiring secondary mutations. Our studies have shown that B lymphocyte development and class switch recombination are impaired in stimulated B lymphocytes from NHD13 mice. Based on this, we used in vitro class switch recombination (CSR) to delineate the DNA break induction and repair mechanisms in NHD13 B lymphocytes. Naïve B lymphocytes were harvested from wild type (WT) and NHD13 spleens and cultured in the presence of E.coli Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and IL-4 to induce CSR. The DNA break induction pattern was determined using phosphorylated H2AX labeling combined with confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. Our results showed that NHD13 B lymphocytes had a comparable break induction pattern, but significantly reduced DNA repair. Analysis of the cell cycle pattern of stimulated B cells at 24 hour intervals showed cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase at 72 hours following stimulation—a hallmark feature of impaired DNA break repair. We analyzed the expression of classical NHEJ and alternative end joining factors including Ku70, Ku80, DNA Protein Kinase catalytic subunit (DNAPKcs), Xrcc4, DNA ligase 4, Ligase 1, and Ligase 3. Our results showed reduced expression of DNAPKcs, Ligase 4 and Xrcc4 in NHD13 B lymphocytes at 72 hours following stimulation, suggesting that cells failed to initiate NHEJ-mediated DNA repair. Our results suggest that a myeloid leukemic gene can impair the DNA repair mechanism and may indirectly promote mutations necessary for malignant transformation. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delisa E Clay ◽  
Heidi S Bretscher ◽  
Erin Jezuit ◽  
Korie Bush ◽  
Donald T Fox

Cycling cells must respond to double-strand breaks (DSBs) to avoid genome instability. Mis-segregation of chromosomes with DSBs during mitosis results in micronuclei, aberrant structures linked to disease. How cells respond to DSBs during mitosis is incompletely understood. We previously showed that Drosophila papillar cells lack DSB checkpoints (as observed in many cancer cells). Here, we show that papillar cells still recruit early-acting repair machinery (Mre11 and RPA3) to DSBs. This machinery persists as foci on DSBs as cells enter mitosis. Repair foci are resolved in a step-wise manner during mitosis. Repair signaling kinetics at DSBs depends on both monoubiquitination of the Fanconi Anemia (FA) protein Fancd2 and the alternative end- joining protein DNA Polymerase Theta. Disruption of either or both of these factors causes micronuclei after DNA damage, which disrupts intestinal organogenesis. This study reveals a mechanism for how cells with inactive DSB checkpoints can respond to DNA damage that persists into mitosis.


2007 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
pp. 663-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kendra L. Cann ◽  
Geoffrey G. Hicks

DNA double-strand breaks occur frequently in cycling cells, and are also induced by exogenous sources, including ionizing radiation. Cells have developed integrated double-strand break response pathways to cope with these lesions, including pathways that initiate DNA repair (either via homologous recombination or nonhomologous end joining), the cell-cycle checkpoints (G1–S, intra-S phase, and G2–M) that provide time for repair, and apoptosis. However, before any of these pathways can be activated, the damage must first be recognized. In this review, we will discuss how the response of mammalian cells to DNA double-strand breaks is regulated, beginning with the activation of ATM, the pinnacle kinase of the double-strand break signalling cascade.


Molecules ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 2789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roopa Thapar

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are deleterious lesions that are generated in response to ionizing radiation or replication fork collapse that can lead to genomic instability and cancer. Eukaryotes have evolved two major pathways, namely homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) to repair DSBs. Whereas the roles of protein-DNA interactions in HR and NHEJ have been fairly well defined, the functions of small and long non-coding RNAs and RNA-DNA hybrids in the DNA damage response is just beginning to be elucidated. This review summarizes recent discoveries on the identification of non-coding RNAs and RNA-mediated regulation of DSB repair.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajay Kumar Sharma ◽  
Priyanka Shaw ◽  
Aman Kalonia ◽  
M.H. Yashavarddhan ◽  
Pankaj Chaudhary ◽  
...  

Radiation is one of the causative agents for the induction of DNA damage in biological systems. There is various possibility of radiation exposure that might be natural, man-made, intentional, or non-intentional. Published literature indicates that radiation mediated cell death is primarily due to DNA damage that could be a single-strand break, double-strand breaks, base modification, DNA protein cross-links. The double-strand breaks are lethal damage due to the breakage of both strands of DNA. Mammalian cells are equipped with strong DNA repair pathways that cover all types of DNA damage. One of the predominant pathways that operate DNA repair is a non-homologous end-joining pathway (NHEJ) that has various integrated molecules that sense, detect, mediate, and repair the double-strand breaks. Even after a well-coordinated mechanism, there is a strong possibility of mutation due to the flexible nature in joining the DNA strands. There are alternatives to NHEJ pathways that can repair DNA damage. These pathways are alternative NHEJ pathways and single-strand annealing pathways that also displayed a role in DNA repair. These pathways are not studied extensively, and many reports are showing the relevance of these pathways in human diseases. The chapter will very briefly cover the radiation, DNA repair, and Alternative repair pathways in the mammalian system. The chapter will help the readers to understand the basic and applied knowledge of radiation mediated DNA damage and its repair in the context of extensively studied NHEJ pathways and unexplored alternative NHEJ pathways.


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