npg DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are critical lesions that can result in cell death or a wide variety of genetic alterations including large-or small-scale deletions, loss of heterozygosity, translocations, and chromosome loss. DSBs are repaired by non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR), and defects in these pathways cause genome instability and promote tumorigenesis. DSBs arise from endogenous sources including reactive oxygen species generated during cellular metabolism, collapsed replication forks, and nucleases, and from exogenous sources including ionizing radiation and chemicals that directly or indirectly damage DNA and are commonly used in cancer therapy. The DSB repair pathways appear to compete for DSBs, but the balance between them differs widely among species, between different cell types of a single species, and during different cell cycle phases of a single cell type. Here we review the regulatory factors that regulate DSB repair by NHEJ and HR in yeast and higher eukaryotes. These factors include regulated expression and phosphorylation of repair proteins, chromatin modulation of repair factor accessibility, and the availability of homologous repair templates. While most DSB repair proteins appear to function exclusively in NHEJ or HR, a number of proteins influence both pathways, including the MRE11/RAD50/NBS1(XRS2) complex, BRCA1, histone H2AX, PARP-1, RAD18, DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs), and ATM. DNA-PKcs plays a role in mammalian NHEJ, but it also influences HR through a complex regulatory network that may involve crosstalk with ATM, and the regulation of at least 12 proteins involved in HR that are phosphorylated by DNA-PKcs and/or ATM.

No abstract

The repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) is critical for maintaining genome stability. Eukaryotic cells repair DSBs using both non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR). How chromatin structure is altered in response to DSBs and how such alterations influence DSB repair processes are important questions. In vertebrates, phosphorylation of the histone variant H2A.X (γ-H2A) occurs rapidly after formation of DSBs 1 , spreads over megabase chromatin domains, and is required for stable accumulation of DNA repair proteins at DNA damage foci 2 . In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, phosphorylation of the two major H2A species is also signaled by DSB formation, spreading ∼40 Kb in either direction from a DSB 3 . Here we show that near a DSB γ-H2A is followed by loss of histones H2B and H3 and increased sensitivity of chromatin to digestion by micrococcal nuclease. However, γ-H2A and nucleosome loss occur independently of one another. The DNA damage sensor MRX (Mre11-Rad50-Xrs2) 4 is required for histone eviction, which additionally depends on the ATP-dependent nucleosome-remodeling complex, INO80 5 . The repair protein Rad51 6 shows delayed recruitment to a DSB in the absence of histone loss, suggesting that MRX-dependent nucleosome remodeling regulates the accessibility of factors with direct roles in DNA damage repair by HR. We propose that MRX regulates two pathways of chromatin changes, including nucleosome displacement, required for efficient recruitment of HR proteins, and γ-H2A, which modulates checkpoint responses to DNA damage 2 .To elucidate the chromatin pathways leading to DSB repair in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we employed a MATα haploid strain that lacks HMR and HML donor sequences and carries a galactose-inducible HO gene 7 . In this strain, HO endonuclease introduces a DSB at MAT that can only be repaired by NHEJ, although the major HR proteins are recruited to the break site 6 . We analyzed chromatin structure along 12-20 Kb encompassing the DSB by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) followed by real-time PCR, which provided sensitive measurement of the kinetics and spatial distribution of chromatin changes and recruitment of repair proteins around the break site.Budding yeast H2A is phosphorylated on serine 129 by the ATM/ATR homologs Tel1/ Mec1 8 . In agreement with a recent report 3 , we found that γ-H2A accumulated rapidly and extensively on either side of the DSB, and that γ-H2A levels were lower close to the DSB relative to 6 Kb distant (Figure 1a; Supplementary Figure 3a). These latter results suggested a loss in nucleosome integrity near the DSB. The nucleosome consists of 146 bp of DNA wrapped ∼two times around a histone octamer comprising an (H3/H4) 2 tetramer and two H2A/H2B dimers. To determine if nucleosome stability was altered at the DSB, we performed ChIP in strains expressing either Flag-H2B or Flag-H3. The levels of both histones decreased 60-90 min after HO induction and were reduced three-fold by 120 min (Figure 1a) loss of both histones suggests that ...

The molecular mechanism by which foreign DNA integrates into the human genome is poorly understood yet critical to many disease processes, including retroviral infection and carcinogenesis, and to gene therapy. We hypothesized that the mechanism of genomic integration may be similar to transposition in lower organisms. We identified a protein, termed Metnase, that has a SET domain and a transposase͞nuclease domain. Metnase methylates histone H3 lysines 4 and 36, which are associated with open chromatin. Metnase increases resistance to ionizing radiation and increases nonhomologous end-joining repair of DNA doublestrand breaks. Most significantly, Metnase promotes integration of exogenous DNA into the genomes of host cells. Therefore, Metnase is a nonhomologous end-joining repair protein that regulates genomic integration of exogenous DNA and establishes a relationship among histone modification, DNA repair, and integration. The data suggest a model wherein Metnase promotes integration of exogenous DNA by opening chromatin and facilitating joining of DNA ends. This study demonstrates that eukaryotic transposase domains can have important cell functions beyond transposition of genetic elements.DNA repair ͉ histone methylation

Given its significant role in the maintenance of genomic stability, histone methylation has been postulated to regulate DNA repair. Histone methylation mediates localization of 53BP1 to a DNA double-strand break (DSB) during homologous recombination repair, but a role in DSB repair by nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) has not been defined. By screening for histone methylation after DSB induction by ionizing radiation we found that generation of dimethyl histone H3 lysine 36 (H3K36me2) was the major event.Using a novel human cell system that rapidly generates a single defined DSB in the vast majority of cells, we found that the DNA repair protein Metnase (also SETMAR), which has a SET histone methylase domain, localized to an induced DSB and directly mediated the formation of H3K36me2 near the induced DSB. This dimethylation of H3K36 improved the association of early DNA repair components, including NBS1 and Ku70, with the induced DSB, and enhanced DSB repair. In addition, expression of JHDM1a (an H3K36me2 demethylase) or histone H3 in which K36 was mutated to A36 or R36 to prevent H3K36me2 formation decreased the association of early NHEJ repair components with an induced DSB and decreased DSB repair. Thus, these experiments define a histone methylation event that enhances DNA DSB repair by NHEJ.double-strand break | I-Sce-I | chromatin immunoprecipitation | MRN complex | mathematical modeling H istone methylation is highly regulated by a family of proteins termed histone methylases, which usually share a SET domain (1-3). Histone methylation plays a key role in chromatin remodeling and as such regulates transcription, replication, cell differentiation, genome stability, and apoptosis (1-3). Because of its role in replication and genome stability, histone methylation has been hypothesized to play an important role in DNA repair. DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are a cytotoxic form of DNA damage that disrupts many of the cellular functions regulated by histone methylation described above (4-6). Previous reports indicate that histone methylation may be important in DNA DSB repair by homologous recombination: The DSB repair component 53BP1, which is required for proper homologous recombination, is recruited to sites of damage by methylated histone H3 lysine 79 (H3K79) and histone H4 lysine 20 (H4K20) (7-9). However, neither H3K79 nor H4K20 methylation is induced by DNA damage (9), so other histone methylation events at sites of DNA damage have been sought. In addition, a mechanism by which histone methylation might regulate NHEJ DSB repair has yet to be defined. In this study, a survey of histone methylation events after DSB induction revealed that the major immediate H3 methylation event is H3K36me2.Metnase is a DNA DSB repair component that is a fusion of a SET histone methylase domain with a nuclease domain and a domain from a member of the transposase/integrase family (10-14). We showed previously that Metnase enhances nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) repair of, and survival after, DNA DSBs, and that its SET dom...

Mammalian cells are able to repair chromosomal double-strand breaks (DSBs) both by homologous recombination and by mechanisms that require little or no homology. Although spontaneous homologous recombination is rare, DSBs will stimulate recombination by 2 to 3 orders of magnitude when homology is provided either from exogenous DNA in gene-targeting experiments or from a repeated chromosomal sequence. Using a gene-targeting assay in mouse embryonic stem cells, we now investigate the effect of heterology on recombinational repair of DSBs. Cells were cotransfected with an endonuclease expression plasmid to induce chromosomal DSBs and with substrates containing up to 1.2% heterology from which to repair the DSBs. We find that heterology decreases the efficiency of recombinational repair, with 1.2% sequence divergence resulting in an approximately sixfold reduction in recombination. Gene conversion tract lengths were examined in 80 recombinants. Relatively short gene conversion tracts were observed, with 80% of the recombinants having tracts of 58 bp or less. These results suggest that chromosome ends in mammalian cells are generally protected from extensive degradation prior to recombination. Gene conversion tracts that were long (up to 511 bp) were continuous, i.e., they contained an uninterrupted incorporation of the silent mutations. This continuity suggests that these long tracts arose from extensive degradation of the ends or from formation of heteroduplex DNA which is corrected with a strong bias in the direction of the unbroken strand.

DNA damage encountered by DNA replication forks poses risks of genome destabilization, a precursor to carcinogenesis. Damage checkpoint systems cause cell cycle arrest, promote repair and induce programed cell death when damage is severe. Checkpoints are critical parts of the DNA damage response network that act to suppress cancer. DNA damage and perturbation of replication machinery causes replication stress, characterized by accumulation of single-stranded DNA bound by replication protein A (RPA), which triggers activation of ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3 related (ATR) and phosphorylation of the RPA32, subunit of RPA, leading to Chk1 activation and arrest. DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) [a kinase related to ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and ATR] has well characterized roles in DNA double-strand break repair, but poorly understood roles in replication stress-induced RPA phosphorylation. We show that DNA-PKcs mutant cells fail to arrest replication following stress, and mutations in RPA32 phosphorylation sites targeted by DNA-PKcs increase the proportion of cells in mitosis, impair ATR signaling to Chk1 and confer a G2/M arrest defect. Inhibition of ATR and DNA-PK (but not ATM), mimic the defects observed in cells expressing mutant RPA32. Cells expressing mutant RPA32 or DNA-PKcs show sustained H2AX phosphorylation in response to replication stress that persists in cells entering mitosis, indicating inappropriate mitotic entry with unrepaired damage.

DNA damage repair is crucial for the maintenance of genome integrity and cancer suppression. We found that loss of the mouse transcription factor YY1 resulted in polyploidy and chromatid aberrations, which are signatures of defects in homologous recombination. Further biochemical analyses identified a YY1 complex comprising components of the evolutionarily conserved INO80 chromatin-remodeling complex. Notably, RNA interference-mediated knockdown of YY1 and INO80 increased cellular sensitivity toward DNA-damaging agents. Functional assays revealed that both YY1 and INO80 are essential in homologous recombination-based DNA repair (HRR), which was further supported by the finding that YY1 preferentially bound a recombination-intermediate structure in vitro. Collectively, these observations reveal a link between YY1 and INO80 and roles for both in HRR, providing new insight into mechanisms that control the cellular response to genotoxic stress.Genomic instability is a hallmark of cancer development and progression. Defects in DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair are believed to be responsible for chromosomal rearrangements and can be rectified by homologous recombination, which is particularly active in the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle, or by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ), active in G1 phase 1,2 . Homologous recombination is an important mechanism for the repair of damaged chromosomes and damaged replication forks, and for several other aspects of chromosome maintenance 3 . Furthermore, impairment of homologous recombination is probably one of the underlying causes of breast, ovarian and other cancers 4,5 . INO80, a member of the Snf2p family of DNA-dependent ATPases, has been shown to positively regulate homologous recombination in a number of organisms [6][7][8] . The Ino80 complex is evolutionarily conserved, and components of the complex have been identified in mammalian cells 9 induces phosphorylation of histone H2A, and the yeast INO80 complex is known to be recruited directly to DSBs through an interaction with the phosphorylated histone H2A 7,8,10,11 ; however, the precise function of INO80 in DSB repair and its recruitment to the damage site are not completely understood 12 .Yin Yang-1 (YY1) is a zinc finger-containing Polycomb group (PcG) transcription factor that is essential in development [13][14][15][16] . Recently, a number of studies have shown that loss of YY1 increases the p53 protein level 17,18 , raising the possibility that YY1 may contribute to the regulation of genomic integrity. To investigate this possibility, we used genetic, biochemical and proteomic approaches. We discovered essential roles for YY1 in the cellular response to genotoxic stress and in the maintenance of chromosomal stability. Furthermore, we found multiple lines of evidence that link YY1 and the ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling complex INO80 in DNA repair. We identified a YY1 complex containing components of the INO80 complex and confirmed this interaction of YY1 with components of the INO80 complex by ad...