scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Journal ArticleDOI

Rad51-mediated replication fork reversal is a global response to genotoxic treatments in human cells

02 Mar 2015-Journal of Cell Biology (Rockefeller University Press)-Vol. 208, Iss: 5, pp 563-579
TL;DR: Genotoxic treatments in human cells consistently induce uncoupling of replication forks and their remodeling into four-way junctions by the RAD51 recombinase.
Abstract: Replication fork reversal protects forks from breakage after poisoning of Topoisomerase 1. We here investigated fork progression and chromosomal breakage in human cells in response to a panel of sublethal genotoxic treatments, using other topoisomerase poisons, DNA synthesis inhibitors, interstrand cross-linking inducers, and base-damaging agents. We used electron microscopy to visualize fork architecture under these conditions and analyzed the association of specific molecular features with checkpoint activation. Our data identify replication fork uncoupling and reversal as global responses to genotoxic treatments. Both events are frequent even after mild treatments that do not affect fork integrity, nor activate checkpoints. Fork reversal was found to be dependent on the central homologous recombination factor RAD51, which is consistently present at replication forks independently of their breakage, and to be antagonized by poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase/RECQ1-regulated restart. Our work establishes remodeling of uncoupled forks as a pivotal RAD51-regulated response to genotoxic stress in human cells and as a promising target to potentiate cancer chemotherapy.
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The roles of PARP1 in mediating various aspects of DNA metabolism, such as single-strand break repair, nucleotide excision repair, double-stranded break repair and the stabilization of replication forks, and in modulating chromatin structure are discussed.
Abstract: Cells are exposed to various endogenous and exogenous insults that induce DNA damage, which, if unrepaired, impairs genome integrity and leads to the development of various diseases, including cancer. Recent evidence has implicated poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) in various DNA repair pathways and in the maintenance of genomic stability. The inhibition of PARP1 is therefore being exploited clinically for the treatment of various cancers, which include DNA repair-deficient ovarian, breast and prostate cancers. Understanding the role of PARP1 in maintaining genome integrity is not only important for the design of novel chemotherapeutic agents, but is also crucial for gaining insights into the mechanisms of chemoresistance in cancer cells. In this Review, we discuss the roles of PARP1 in mediating various aspects of DNA metabolism, such as single-strand break repair, nucleotide excision repair, double-strand break repair and the stabilization of replication forks, and in modulating chromatin structure.

928 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This Review considers DSB repair-pathway choice in somatic mammalian cells as a series of ‘decision trees’, and explores how defective pathway choice can lead to genomic instability.
Abstract: The major pathways of DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair are crucial for maintaining genomic stability. However, if deployed in an inappropriate cellular context, these same repair functions can mediate chromosome rearrangements that underlie various human diseases, ranging from developmental disorders to cancer. The two major mechanisms of DSB repair in mammalian cells are non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination. In this Review, we consider DSB repair-pathway choice in somatic mammalian cells as a series of 'decision trees', and explore how defective pathway choice can lead to genomic instability. Stalled, collapsed or broken DNA replication forks present a distinctive challenge to the DSB repair system. Emerging evidence suggests that the 'rules' governing repair-pathway choice at stalled replication forks differ from those at replication-independent DSBs.

713 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This Review examines how the replication stress response that is controlled by the kinase ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR) senses and resolves threats to DNA integrity so that the DNA remains available to read in all of the authors' cells.
Abstract: Replication stress is controlled by the kinase ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR), which senses and resolves threats to DNA integrity. ATR activation is complex and involves a core set of components that recruit ATR to stressed replication forks, stimulate its kinase activity and amplify downstream signalling to maintain the stability of replication forks. One way to preserve a rare book is to lock it away from all potential sources of damage. Of course, an inaccessible book is also of little use, and the paper and ink will continue to degrade with age in any case. Like a book, the information stored in our DNA needs to be read, but it is also subject to continuous assault and therefore needs to be protected. In this Review, we examine how the replication stress response that is controlled by the kinase ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR) senses and resolves threats to DNA integrity so that the DNA remains available to read in all of our cells. We discuss the multiple data that have revealed an elegant yet increasingly complex mechanism of ATR activation. This involves a core set of components that recruit ATR to stressed replication forks, stimulate kinase activity and amplify ATR signalling. We focus on the activities of ATR in the control of cell cycle checkpoints, origin firing and replication fork stability, and on how proper regulation of these processes is crucial to ensure faithful duplication of a challenging genome.

526 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The study of the putative in vivo roles of recently identified eukaryotic factors in fork remodelling promises to shed new light on mechanisms of genome maintenance and to provide novel attractive targets for cancer therapy.
Abstract: The remodelling of replication forks into four-way junctions following replication perturbation, known as fork reversal, was hypothesized to promote DNA damage tolerance and repair during replication. Albeit conceptually attractive, for a long time fork reversal in vivo was found only in prokaryotes and specific yeast mutants, calling its evolutionary conservation and physiological relevance into question. Based on the recent visualization of replication forks in metazoans, fork reversal has emerged as a global, reversible and regulated process, with intriguing implications for replication completion, chromosome integrity and the DNA damage response. The study of the putative in vivo roles of recently identified eukaryotic factors in fork remodelling promises to shed new light on mechanisms of genome maintenance and to provide novel attractive targets for cancer therapy.

388 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
27 Jun 2018-Nature
TL;DR: Inhibition of PARP is shown to accelerate the speed of replication fork elongation, which prevents fork stalling and induces DNA damage, with implications for genomic instability and cancer treatment and a better understanding of the mechanism of fork speed control.
Abstract: Accurate replication of DNA requires stringent regulation to ensure genome integrity. In human cells, thousands of origins of replication are coordinately activated during S phase, and the velocity of replication forks is adjusted to fully replicate DNA in pace with the cell cycle1. Replication stress induces fork stalling and fuels genome instability2. The mechanistic basis of replication stress remains poorly understood despite its emerging role in promoting cancer2. Here we show that inhibition of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) increases the speed of fork elongation and does not cause fork stalling, which is in contrast to the accepted model in which inhibitors of PARP induce fork stalling and collapse3. Aberrant acceleration of fork progression by 40% above the normal velocity leads to DNA damage. Depletion of the treslin or MTBP proteins, which are involved in origin firing, also increases fork speed above the tolerated threshold, and induces the DNA damage response pathway. Mechanistically, we show that poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation) and the PCNA interactor p21Cip1 (p21) are crucial modulators of fork progression. PARylation and p21 act as suppressors of fork speed in a coordinated regulatory network that is orchestrated by the PARP1 and p53 proteins. Moreover, at the fork level, PARylation acts as a sensor of replication stress. During PARP inhibition, DNA lesions that induce fork arrest and are normally resolved or repaired remain unrecognized by the replication machinery. Conceptually, our results show that accelerated replication fork progression represents a general mechanism that triggers replication stress and the DNA damage response. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanism of fork speed control, with implications for genomic (in)stability and rational cancer treatment.

323 citations

References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
14 Apr 2005-Nature
TL;DR: BRCA1 or BRCA2 dysfunction unexpectedly and profoundly sensitizes cells to the inhibition of PARP enzymatic activity, resulting in chromosomal instability, cell cycle arrest and subsequent apoptosis, illustrating how different pathways cooperate to repair damage.
Abstract: BRCA1 and BRCA2 are important for DNA double-strand break repair by homologous recombination, and mutations in these genes predispose to breast and other cancers. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is an enzyme involved in base excision repair, a key pathway in the repair of DNA single-strand breaks. We show here that BRCA1 or BRCA2 dysfunction unexpectedly and profoundly sensitizes cells to the inhibition of PARP enzymatic activity, resulting in chromosomal instability, cell cycle arrest and subsequent apoptosis. This seems to be because the inhibition of PARP leads to the persistence of DNA lesions normally repaired by homologous recombination. These results illustrate how different pathways cooperate to repair damage, and suggest that the targeted inhibition of particular DNA repair pathways may allow the design of specific and less toxic therapies for cancer.

5,650 citations


"Rad51-mediated replication fork rev..." refers background in this paper

  • ...…effects of PARP inhibitors on several chemotherapeutic treatments (Rouleau et al., 2010; Ray Chaudhuri et al., 2012) and may also provide alternative mechanistic explanations for the observed synthetic lethality of PARP inhibition and HR defects (Farmer et al., 2005; Neelsen and Lopes, 2015)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
06 Jun 2003-Science
TL;DR: The data suggest that RPA-coated ssDNA is the critical structure at sites of DNA damage that recruits the ATR-ATRIP complex and facilitates its recognition of substrates for phosphorylation and the initiation of checkpoint signaling.
Abstract: The function of the ATR (ataxia-telangiectasia mutated- and Rad3-related)-ATRIP (ATR-interacting protein) protein kinase complex is crucial for the cellular response to replication stress and DNA damage. Here, we show that replication protein A (RPA), a protein complex that associates with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), is required for the recruitment of ATR to sites of DNA damage and for ATR-mediated Chk1 activation in human cells. In vitro, RPA stimulates the binding of ATRIP to ssDNA. The binding of ATRIP to RPA-coated ssDNA enables the ATR-ATRIP complex to associate with DNA and stimulates phosphorylation of the Rad17 protein that is bound to DNA. Furthermore, Ddc2, the budding yeast homolog of ATRIP, is specifically recruited to double-strand DNA breaks in an RPA-dependent manner. A checkpoint-deficient mutant of RPA, rfa1-t11, is defective for recruiting Ddc2 to ssDNA both in vivo and in vitro. Our data suggest that RPA-coated ssDNA is the critical structure at sites of DNA damage that recruits the ATR-ATRIP complex and facilitates its recognition of substrates for phosphorylation and the initiation of checkpoint signaling.

2,632 citations


"Rad51-mediated replication fork rev..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Excess ssDNA at replication forks has been linked to ATR activation (Zou and Elledge, 2003), whereas the formation of a new DNA end at regressed arms may potentially activate ATM in the absence of DSBs....

    [...]

  • ...been linked to excess ssDNA at RIs (Zou and Elledge, 2003)....

    [...]

  • ...Structural determinants of ATR and ATM activation upon genotoxic treatments in human cells Activation of the ATR-mediated replication checkpoint has been linked to excess ssDNA at RIs (Zou and Elledge, 2003)....

    [...]

  • ...Very similar observations on ssDNA accumulation at replication intermediates (RIs) were made on the untransformed human epithelial cell line RPE-1 treated with a subset of the genotoxic agents (Fig....

    [...]

  • ...Overall, ATR activation in our experimental conditions does not directly mirror the extent of replication interference, nor the amount of ssDNA detected at RIs (Table 1), and likely reflects yet-undefined signaling determinants that escape systematic cell-based and single-molecule analyses....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Evidence that cancer and diseases of aging are two sides of the DNAdamage problem is presented, followed by an account of the derailment of genome guardian mechanisms in cancer and of how this cancerspecific phenomenon can be exploited for treatment.
Abstract: NA damage has emerged as a major culprit in cancer and many diseases related to aging. The stability of the genome is supported by an intricate machinery of repair, damage tolerance, and checkpoint pathways that counteracts DNA damage. In addition, DNA damage and other stresses can trigger a highly conserved, anticancer, antiaging survival response that suppresses metabolism and growth and boosts defenses that maintain the integrity of the cell. Induction of the survival response may allow interventions that improve health and extend the life span. Recently, the first candidate for such interventions, rapamycin (also known as sirolimus), has been identified. 1 Compromised repair systems in tumors also offer opportunities for intervention, making it possible to attack malignant cells in which maintenance of the genome has been weakened. Time-dependent accumulation of damage in cells and organs is associated with gradual functional decline and aging. 2 The molecular basis of this phenomenon is unclear, 3-5 whereas in cancer, DNA alterations are the major culprit. In this review, I present evidence that cancer and diseases of aging are two sides of the DNAdamage problem. An examination of the importance of DNA damage and the systems of genome maintenance in relation to aging is followed by an account of the derailment of genome guardian mechanisms in cancer and of how this cancerspecific phenomenon can be exploited for treatment.

1,917 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the kinase ATR (ATM- and Rad3-related) stabilizes and helps to restart stalled replication forks, avoiding the generation of DNA damage and genome instability.
Abstract: Replication stress is a complex phenomenon that has serious implications for genome stability, cell survival and human disease. Generation of aberrant replication fork structures containing single-stranded DNA activates the replication stress response, primarily mediated by the kinase ATR (ATM- and Rad3-related). Along with its downstream effectors, ATR stabilizes and helps to restart stalled replication forks, avoiding the generation of DNA damage and genome instability. Understanding this response may be key to diagnosing and treating human diseases caused by defective responses to replication stress.

1,492 citations


"Rad51-mediated replication fork rev..." refers background in this paper

  • ...It is likely that the length of these ssDNA regions reflects how strongly each treatment interferes with in genome stability and cancer (León-Ortiz et al., 2014; Zeman and Cimprich, 2014; Neelsen and Lopes, 2015)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The components of the end resection machinery, the role of end structure, and the cell-cycle phase on resection and the interplay of end processing with NHEJ are reviewed.
Abstract: DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are cytotoxic lesions that can result in mutagenic events or cell death if left unrepaired or repaired inappropriately. Cells use two major pathways for DSB repair: nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR). The choice between these pathways depends on the phase of the cell cycle and the nature of the DSB ends. A critical determinant of repair pathway choice is the initiation of 5′-3′ resection of DNA ends, which commits cells to homology-dependent repair, and prevents repair by classical NHEJ. Here, we review the components of the end resection machinery, the role of end structure, and the cell-cycle phase on resection and the interplay of end processing with NHEJ.

1,363 citations


"Rad51-mediated replication fork rev..." refers background in this paper

  • ...RAD51, which then drives homology-directed strand invasion (Symington and Gautier, 2011)....

    [...]