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Yang Q, Madueke-Laveaux OS, Cun H, Wlodarczyk M, Garcia N, Carvalho KC, Al-Hendy A. Comprehensive Review of Uterine Leiomyosarcoma: Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Targeted Therapy. Cells 2024; 13:1106. [PMID: 38994959 PMCID: PMC11240800 DOI: 10.3390/cells13131106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2024] [Revised: 06/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Uterine leiomyosarcoma (uLMS) is the most common subtype of uterine sarcomas. They have a poor prognosis with high rates of recurrence and metastasis. The five-year survival for uLMS patients is between 25 and 76%, with survival rates approaching 10-15% for patients with metastatic disease at the initial diagnosis. Accumulating evidence suggests that several biological pathways are involved in uLMS pathogenesis. Notably, drugs that block abnormal functions of these pathways remarkably improve survival in uLMS patients. However, due to chemotherapy resistance, there remains a need for novel drugs that can target these pathways effectively. In this review article, we provide an overview of the recent progress in ascertaining the biological functions and regulatory mechanisms in uLMS from the perspective of aberrant biological pathways, including DNA repair, immune checkpoint blockade, protein kinase and intracellular signaling pathways, and the hedgehog pathway. We review the emerging role of epigenetics and epitranscriptome in the pathogenesis of uLMS. In addition, we discuss serum markers, artificial intelligence (AI) combined with machine learning, shear wave elastography, current management and medical treatment options, and ongoing clinical trials for patients with uLMS. Comprehensive, integrated, and deeper insights into the pathobiology and underlying molecular mechanisms of uLMS will help develop novel strategies to treat patients with this aggressive tumor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiwei Yang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | | | - Han Cun
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Marta Wlodarczyk
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacogenomics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha 1B, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Natalia Garcia
- Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA
- Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA
| | - Katia Candido Carvalho
- Laboratório de Ginecologia Estrutural e Molecular (LIM 58), Disciplina de Ginecologia, Departamento deObstetricia e Ginecologia, Hospital das Clinicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Sao Paulo (HCFMUSP), São Paulo 05403-010, Brazil
| | - Ayman Al-Hendy
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
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Zhao Y, Chen Y, Liu R, Liu M, You N, Zhao K, Zhang J, Xu B. Knockdown of ATRX enhances radiosensitivity in glioblastoma. Chin Neurosurg J 2024; 10:19. [PMID: 38898533 PMCID: PMC11186225 DOI: 10.1186/s41016-024-00371-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Glioblastoma are highly malignant type of primary brain tumors. Treatment for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) generally involves surgery combined with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, the development of tumoral chemo- and radioresistance induces complexities in clinical practice. Multiple signaling pathways are known to be involved in radiation-induced cell survival. However, the role of alpha-thalassemia X-linked mutant retardation syndrome (ATRX), a chromatin remodeling protein, in GBM radioresistance remains unclear. METHODS In the present study, the ATRX mutation rate in patients with glioma was obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas, while its expression analyzed using bioinformatics. Datasets were also obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus, and ATRX expression levels following irradiation of GBM were determined. The effects of ATRX on radiosensitivity were investigated using a knockdown assays. RESULTS The present study demonstrated that the ATRX mutation rate in patients with GBM was significantly lower than that in patients with low-grade glioma, and that patients harboring an ATRX mutation exhibited a prolonged survival, compared with to those harboring the wild-type gene. Single-cell RNA sequencing demonstrated that ATRX counts increased 2 days after irradiation, with ATRX expression levels also increasing in U-251MG radioresistant cells. Moreover, the results of in vitro irradiation assays revealed that ATRX expression was increased in U-251MG cells, while ATRX knockdown was associated with increased levels of radiosensitivity. CONCLUSIONS High ATRX expression levels in primary GBM may contribute to high levels of radioresistance. Thus ATRX is a potential target for overcoming the radioresistance in GBM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Zhao
- Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, 100853, China
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Hainan Hospital of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Sanya, 572014, Hainan, China
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Yifei Chen
- Center of Cognition and Brain Science, Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100850, China
| | - Ruoyu Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Minghang Liu
- Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, 100853, China
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Na You
- Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, 100853, China
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Kai Zhao
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Jiashu Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China.
| | - Bainan Xu
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China.
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Traband EL, Hammerlund SR, Shameem M, Narayan A, Ramana S, Tella A, Sobeck A, Shima N. Mitotic DNA Synthesis in Untransformed Human Cells Preserves Common Fragile Site Stability via a FANCD2-Driven Mechanism That Requires HELQ. J Mol Biol 2023; 435:168294. [PMID: 37777152 PMCID: PMC10839910 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2023.168294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/02/2023]
Abstract
Faithful genome duplication is a challenging task for dividing mammalian cells, particularly under replication stress where timely resolution of late replication intermediates (LRIs) becomes crucial prior to cell division. In human cancer cells, mitotic DNA repair synthesis (MiDAS) is described as a final mechanism for the resolution of LRIs to avoid lethal chromosome mis-segregation. RAD52-driven MiDAS achieves this mission in part by generating gaps/breaks on metaphase chromosomes, which preferentially occur at common fragile sites (CFS). We previously demonstrated that a MiDAS mechanism also exists in untransformed and primary human cells, which is RAD52 independent but requires FANCD2. However, the properties of this form of MiDAS are not well understood. Here, we report that FANCD2-driven MiDAS in untransformed human cells: 1) requires a prerequisite step of FANCD2 mono-ubiquitination by a subset of Fanconi anemia (FA) proteins, 2) primarily acts to preserve CFS stability but not to prevent chromosome mis-segregation, and 3) depends on HELQ, which potentially functions at an early step. Hence, FANCD2-driven MiDAS in untransformed cells is built to protect CFS stability, whereas RAD52-driven MiDAS in cancer cells is likely adapted to prevent chromosome mis-segregation at the cost of CFS expression. Notably, we also identified a novel form of MiDAS, which surfaces to function when FANCD2 is absent in untransformed cells. Our findings substantiate the complex nature of MiDAS and a link between its deficiencies and the pathogenesis of FA, a human genetic disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma L Traband
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, Medical School, University of Minnesota at Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota at Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Sarah R Hammerlund
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, Medical School, University of Minnesota at Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota at Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Mohammad Shameem
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota at Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Ananya Narayan
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, Medical School, University of Minnesota at Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Sanjiv Ramana
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, Medical School, University of Minnesota at Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Anika Tella
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, Medical School, University of Minnesota at Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Alexandra Sobeck
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota at Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Masonic Cancer Center, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Naoko Shima
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, Medical School, University of Minnesota at Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Masonic Cancer Center, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
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Nasioudis D, Latif NA, Ko EM, Cory L, Kim SH, Martin L, Simpkins F, Giuntoli R. Next generation sequencing reveals a high prevalence of pathogenic mutations in homologous recombination DNA damage repair genes among patients with uterine sarcoma. Gynecol Oncol 2023; 177:14-19. [PMID: 37611378 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2023.07.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2023] [Revised: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Investigate the incidence of homologous recombination DNA damage response (HR-DDR) genomic alterations among patients with uterine sarcoma. METHODS The American Association for Cancer Research GENIE v13.0 database was accessed and patients with uterine leiomyosarcoma, adenosarcoma, undifferentiated uterine sarcoma, high-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma, low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma, and endometrial stromal sarcoma not otherwise specified were identified. We determined the incidence of pathogenic alterations in the following genes involved in HR-DDR: ATM, ARID1A, ATRX, BAP1, BARD1, BLM, BRCA2, BRCA1, BRIP1, CHEK2, CHEK1, FANCA, FANCC, FANCD2, FANCE, FANCF, FANCG, FANCL, MRE11, NBN, PALB2, RAD50, RAD51, RAD51B, RAD51C, RAD51D, WRN. Data from the OncoKB database, as provided by cBioPortal, was utilized to determine the presence of pathogenic genomic alterations. RESULTS A total of 509 patients contributing with 525 samples were identified. Median patient age at sample collection was 56 years while the majority were White (80.7%). The most common histologic subtype was leiomyosarcoma (63.8%) followed by adenosarcoma (12.3%). The overall incidence of HR-DDR genomic alterations was 28.2%. The most commonly altered genes were ATRX (18.2%), BRCA2 (4%), and RAD51B (2.6%). The highest incidence of HR-DDR genomic alterations was observed among patients with leiomyosarcoma (35.4%), adenosarcoma (27%) and undifferentiated uterine sarcoma (30%), while those with low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma had the lowest (2.9%) incidence. CONCLUSIONS Approximately 1 in 3 patients with uterine sarcoma harbor a pathogenic alteration in HR-DDR genes. Incidence is high among patients with uterine leiomyosarcoma and adenosarcoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitrios Nasioudis
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Nawar A Latif
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Emily M Ko
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lori Cory
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sarah H Kim
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lainie Martin
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Fiona Simpkins
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Robert Giuntoli
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Udroiu I, Marinaccio J, Sgura A. Inhibition of p53 and ATRX increases telomeric recombination in primary fibroblasts. FEBS Open Bio 2023; 13:1683-1698. [PMID: 37499040 PMCID: PMC10476563 DOI: 10.1002/2211-5463.13680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Telomere length can be maintained either by the telomerase enzyme or by alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT), which is based on telomeric recombination. However, both mechanisms are inactive in most human somatic cells. ATRX has been previously identified as an ALT repressor gene. Nonetheless, TP53 is also deficient in most ALT cell lines, and previous works showed that it is an inhibitor of homologous recombination (HR). Despite this, the role of p53 as an ALT repressor has not been previously examined. Therefore, we investigated the effects of p53 and ATRX inhibition on normal human fibroblasts (devoid of any mutation), in the presence or absence of X-ray-induced telomeric damage. Performing immunofluorescence with antibodies for RAD51, H2AX, and TRF1 (for studying HR-mediated DNA damage repair) and CO-FISH (for telomeric sister chromatid exchanges), we observed that HR is a normal mechanism for the repair of telomeric damage, present also in noncancer cells. Moreover, we discovered that telomeric HR, as for HR in general, is significantly inhibited by p53. Indeed, we observed that inhibition of p53 drastically increases telomeric sister chromatid exchanges. We also confirmed that ATRX inhibition increases telomeric recombination. In particular, we observed an increase in crossover products, but a much higher increase in noncrossover products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ion Udroiu
- Dipartimento di Scienze, Università "Roma Tre", Italy
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Rose AM, Goncalves T, Cunniffe S, Geiller HEB, Kent T, Shepherd S, Ratnaweera M, O’Sullivan R, Gibbons R, Clynes D. Induction of the alternative lengthening of telomeres pathway by trapping of proteins on DNA. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:6509-6527. [PMID: 36940725 PMCID: PMC10359465 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Telomere maintenance is a hallmark of malignant cells and allows cancers to divide indefinitely. In some cancers, this is achieved through the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) pathway. Whilst loss of ATRX is a near universal feature of ALT-cancers, it is insufficient in isolation. As such, other cellular events must be necessary - but the exact nature of the secondary events has remained elusive. Here, we report that trapping of proteins (such as TOP1, TOP2A and PARP1) on DNA leads to ALT induction in cells lacking ATRX. We demonstrate that protein-trapping chemotherapeutic agents, such as etoposide, camptothecin and talazoparib, induce ALT markers specifically in ATRX-null cells. Further, we show that treatment with G4-stabilising drugs cause an increase in trapped TOP2A levels which leads to ALT induction in ATRX-null cells. This process is MUS81-endonuclease and break-induced replication dependent, suggesting that protein trapping leads to replication fork stalling, with these forks being aberrantly processed in the absence of ATRX. Finally, we show ALT-positive cells harbour a higher load of genome-wide trapped proteins, such as TOP1, and knockdown of TOP1 reduced ALT activity. Taken together, these findings suggest that protein trapping is a fundamental driving force behind ALT-biology in ATRX-deficient malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna M Rose
- MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Tomas Goncalves
- MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Siobhan Cunniffe
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | | | - Thomas Kent
- MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Sam Shepherd
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | | | - Roderick J O’Sullivan
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Richard J Gibbons
- MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - David Clynes
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
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7
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Tillotson R, Yan K, Ruston J, DeYoung T, Córdova A, Turcotte-Cardin V, Yee Y, Taylor C, Visuvanathan S, Babbs C, Ivakine EA, Sled JG, Nieman BJ, Picketts DJ, Justice MJ. A new mouse model of ATR-X syndrome carrying a common patient mutation exhibits neurological and morphological defects. Hum Mol Genet 2023; 32:2485-2501. [PMID: 37171606 PMCID: PMC10360390 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddad075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
ATRX is a chromatin remodelling ATPase that is involved in transcriptional regulation, DNA damage repair and heterochromatin maintenance. It has been widely studied for its role in ALT-positive cancers, but its role in neurological function remains elusive. Hypomorphic mutations in the X-linked ATRX gene cause a rare form of intellectual disability combined with alpha-thalassemia called ATR-X syndrome in hemizygous males. Clinical features also include facial dysmorphism, microcephaly, short stature, musculoskeletal defects and genital abnormalities. As complete deletion of ATRX in mice results in early embryonic lethality, the field has largely relied on conditional knockout models to assess the role of ATRX in multiple tissues. Given that null alleles are not found in patients, a more patient-relevant model was needed. Here, we have produced and characterized the first patient mutation knock-in model of ATR-X syndrome, carrying the most common causative mutation, R246C. This is one of a cluster of missense mutations located in the chromatin-binding domain and disrupts its function. The knock-in mice recapitulate several aspects of the patient disorder, including craniofacial defects, microcephaly, reduced body size and impaired neurological function. They provide a powerful model for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying ATR-X syndrome and testing potential therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebekah Tillotson
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, The Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
- MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital/Headley Way, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Keqin Yan
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada
| | - Julie Ruston
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, The Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Taylor DeYoung
- Mouse Imaging Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5T 3H7, Canada
| | - Alex Córdova
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada
| | - Valérie Turcotte-Cardin
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada
- Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada
| | - Yohan Yee
- Mouse Imaging Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5T 3H7, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada
| | - Christine Taylor
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, The Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Shagana Visuvanathan
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, The Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Christian Babbs
- MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital/Headley Way, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Evgueni A Ivakine
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, The Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - John G Sled
- Mouse Imaging Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5T 3H7, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada
- Translational Medicine Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, The Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Brian J Nieman
- Mouse Imaging Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5T 3H7, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada
- Translational Medicine Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, The Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
- Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, ON M5G 0A3, Canada
| | - David J Picketts
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada
- Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada
| | - Monica J Justice
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, The Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, Canada
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Liu T, Cui L, He Z, Chen Z, Tao H, Yang J. Epidemiology and nomogram of pediatric and young adulthood osteosarcoma patients with synchronous lung metastasis: A SEER analysis. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0288492. [PMID: 37437020 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Patients with osteosarcoma and synchronous lung metastasis (SLM) have poor survival. This study aimed to explore the epidemiology data and construct a predictive nomogram to identify cases at risk of SLM occurrence among pediatric and young adulthood osteosarcoma patients. METHODS All data were extracted from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 17 registries. The age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) and annual percentage change was evaluated, and reported for the overall population and by age, gender, race, and primary site. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify risk factors associated with SLM occurrence, then significant factors were used to develop the nomogram. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and calibration curve were used to evaluated the predictive power of the nomogram. Survival analysis was assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. Multivariate Cox analysis was used to determine the prognostic factors. RESULTS A total of 278 out of 1965 patients (14.1%) presented with SLM at diagnosis. The ASIR increased significant from 0.46 to 0.66 per 1,000,000 person-years from year 2010 to 2019, with an annual percentage change of 3.5, mainly in patients with age 10-19 years, male and appendicular location. All patients were randomly assigned into train cohort and validation cohort with a spilt of 7:3. In the train cohort, higher tumor grade, bigger tumor size, positive lymph nodes and other site-specific metastases (SSM) were identified as significant risk factors associated with SLM occurrence. Then a nomogram was developed based on the four factors. The AUC and calibration curve in both train and validation cohorts demonstrated that the nomogram had moderate predictive power. The median cancer-specific survival was 25 months. Patients with age 20-39 years, male, positive lymph nodes, other SSM were adverse prognostic factors, while surgery was protective factor. CONCLUSIONS This study performed a comprehensive analysis regarding pediatric and young adulthood osteosarcoma patients had SLM. A visual, clinically operable, and easy-to-interpret nomogram model was developed for predicting the risk of SLM, which could be used in clinic and help clinicians make better decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Liu
- Department of Hand and Foot Surgery, Yiwu Central Hospital, Yiwu, China
| | - Lin Cui
- Emergency Department, The 941st Hospital of the PLA Joint Logistic Support Force, Xining, China
| | - Zongyun He
- Department of Hand and Foot Surgery, Yiwu Central Hospital, Yiwu, China
| | - Zhe Chen
- Department of Hand and Foot Surgery, Yiwu Central Hospital, Yiwu, China
| | - Haibing Tao
- Department of Hand and Foot Surgery, Yiwu Central Hospital, Yiwu, China
| | - Jin Yang
- Department of Hand and Foot Surgery, Yiwu Central Hospital, Yiwu, China
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Pang Y, Chen X, Ji T, Cheng M, Wang R, Zhang C, Liu M, Zhang J, Zhong C. The Chromatin Remodeler ATRX: Role and Mechanism in Biology and Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15082228. [PMID: 37190157 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15082228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The alpha-thalassemia mental retardation X-linked (ATRX) syndrome protein is a chromatin remodeling protein that primarily promotes the deposit of H3.3 histone variants in the telomere area. ATRX mutations not only cause ATRX syndrome but also influence development and promote cancer. The primary molecular characteristics of ATRX, including its molecular structures and normal and malignant biological roles, are reviewed in this article. We discuss the role of ATRX in its interactions with the histone variant H3.3, chromatin remodeling, DNA damage response, replication stress, and cancers, particularly gliomas, neuroblastomas, and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. ATRX is implicated in several important cellular processes and serves a crucial function in regulating gene expression and genomic integrity throughout embryogenesis. However, the nature of its involvement in the growth and development of cancer remains unknown. As mechanistic and molecular investigations on ATRX disclose its essential functions in cancer, customized therapies targeting ATRX will become accessible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Pang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, 150 Jimo Road, Shanghai 200120, China
| | - Xu Chen
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, 150 Jimo Road, Shanghai 200120, China
| | - Tongjie Ji
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, 150 Jimo Road, Shanghai 200120, China
| | - Meng Cheng
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, 150 Jimo Road, Shanghai 200120, China
| | - Rui Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, 150 Jimo Road, Shanghai 200120, China
| | - Chunyu Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, 150 Jimo Road, Shanghai 200120, China
| | - Min Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, 150 Jimo Road, Shanghai 200120, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, 150 Jimo Road, Shanghai 200120, China
- Institute for Advanced Study, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Chunlong Zhong
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, 150 Jimo Road, Shanghai 200120, China
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10
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Clatterbuck Soper SF, Meltzer PS. ATRX/DAXX: Guarding the Genome against the Hazards of ALT. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:genes14040790. [PMID: 37107548 PMCID: PMC10137841 DOI: 10.3390/genes14040790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Proliferating cells must enact a telomere maintenance mechanism to ensure genomic stability. In a subset of tumors, telomeres are maintained not by telomerase, but through a homologous recombination-based mechanism termed Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres or ALT. The ALT process is linked to mutations in the ATRX/DAXX/H3.3 histone chaperone complex. This complex is responsible for depositing non-replicative histone variant H3.3 at pericentric and telomeric heterochromatin but has also been found to have roles in ameliorating replication in repeat sequences and in promoting DNA repair. In this review, we will discuss ways in which ATRX/DAXX helps to protect the genome, and how loss of this complex allows ALT to take hold.
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11
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Aguilera P, López-Contreras AJ. ATRX, a guardian of chromatin. Trends Genet 2023; 39:505-519. [PMID: 36894374 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2023.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Abstract
ATRX (alpha-thalassemia mental retardation X-linked) is one of the most frequently mutated tumor suppressor genes in human cancers, especially in glioma, and recent findings indicate roles for ATRX in key molecular pathways, such as the regulation of chromatin state, gene expression, and DNA damage repair, placing ATRX as a central player in the maintenance of genome stability and function. This has led to new perspectives about the functional role of ATRX and its relationship with cancer. Here, we provide an overview of ATRX interactions and molecular functions and discuss the consequences of its impairment, including alternative lengthening of telomeres and therapeutic vulnerabilities that may be exploited in cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Aguilera
- Centro Andaluz de Biología Molecular y Medicina Regenerativa (CABIMER), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Universidad de Sevilla - Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain.
| | - Andrés J López-Contreras
- Centro Andaluz de Biología Molecular y Medicina Regenerativa (CABIMER), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Universidad de Sevilla - Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain.
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12
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A non-genetic switch triggers alternative telomere lengthening and cellular immortalization in ATRX deficient cells. Nat Commun 2023; 14:939. [PMID: 36805596 PMCID: PMC9941109 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36294-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) is an aberrant DNA recombination pathway which grants replicative immortality to approximately 10% of all cancers. Despite this high prevalence of ALT in cancer, the mechanism and genetics by which cells activate this pathway remain incompletely understood. A major challenge in dissecting the events that initiate ALT is the extremely low frequency of ALT induction in human cell systems. Guided by the genetic lesions that have been associated with ALT from cancer sequencing studies, we genetically engineered primary human pluripotent stem cells to deterministically induce ALT upon differentiation. Using this genetically defined system, we demonstrate that disruption of the p53 and Rb pathways in combination with ATRX loss-of-function is sufficient to induce all hallmarks of ALT and results in functional immortalization in a cell type-specific manner. We further demonstrate that ALT can be induced in the presence of telomerase, is neither dependent on telomere shortening nor crisis, but is rather driven by continuous telomere instability triggered by the induction of differentiation in ATRX-deficient stem cells.
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13
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Proteogenomics of diffuse gliomas reveal molecular subtypes associated with specific therapeutic targets and immune-evasion mechanisms. Nat Commun 2023; 14:505. [PMID: 36720864 PMCID: PMC9889805 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36005-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Diffuse gliomas are devastating brain tumors. Here, we perform a proteogenomic profiling of 213 retrospectively collected glioma tumors. Proteogenomic analysis reveals the downstream biological events leading by EGFR-, IDH1-, TP53-mutations. The comparative analysis illustrates the distinctive features of GBMs and LGGs, indicating CDK2 inhibitor might serve as a promising drug target for GBMs. Further proteogenomic integrative analysis combined with functional experiments highlight the cis-effect of EGFR alterations might lead to glioma tumor cell proliferation through ERK5 medicates nucleotide synthesis process. Proteome-based stratification of gliomas defines 3 proteomic subgroups (S-Ne, S-Pf, S-Im), which could serve as a complement to WHO subtypes, and would provide the essential framework for the utilization of specific targeted therapies for particular glioma subtypes. Immune clustering identifies three immune subtypes with distinctive immune cell types. Further analysis reveals higher EGFR alteration frequencies accounts for elevation of immune check point protein: PD-L1 and CD70 in T-cell infiltrated tumors.
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14
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Geiller HEB, Harvey A, Jones RE, Grimstead JW, Cleal K, Hendrickson EA, Baird DM. ATRX modulates the escape from a telomere crisis. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010485. [PMID: 36350851 PMCID: PMC9678338 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomerase activity is the principal telomere maintenance mechanism in human cancers, however 15% of cancers utilise a recombination-based mechanism referred to as alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) that leads to long and heterogenous telomere length distributions. Loss-of-function mutations in the Alpha Thalassemia/Mental Retardation Syndrome X-Linked (ATRX) gene are frequently found in ALT cancers. Here, we demonstrate that the loss of ATRX, coupled with telomere dysfunction during crisis, is sufficient to initiate activation of the ALT pathway and that it confers replicative immortality in human fibroblasts. Additionally, loss of ATRX combined with a telomere-driven crisis in HCT116 epithelial cancer cells led to the initiation of an ALT-like pathway. In these cells, a rapid and precise telomeric elongation and the induction of C-circles was observed; however, this process was transient and the telomeres ultimately continued to erode such that the cells either died or the escape from crisis was associated with telomerase activation. In both of these instances, telomere sequencing revealed that all alleles, irrespective of whether they were elongated, were enriched in variant repeat types, that appeared to be cell-line specific. Thus, our data show that the loss of ATRX combined with telomere dysfunction during crisis induces the ALT pathway in fibroblasts and enables a transient activation of ALT in epithelial cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helene E. B. Geiller
- Division of Cancer and Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Adam Harvey
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Rhiannon E. Jones
- Division of Cancer and Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Julia W. Grimstead
- Division of Cancer and Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Kez Cleal
- Division of Cancer and Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Eric A. Hendrickson
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Duncan M. Baird
- Division of Cancer and Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff, United Kingdom
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15
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Stilp AC, Scherer M, König P, Fürstberger A, Kestler HA, Stamminger T. The chromatin remodeling protein ATRX positively regulates IRF3-dependent type I interferon production and interferon-induced gene expression. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010748. [PMID: 35939517 PMCID: PMC9387936 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The chromatin remodeling protein alpha thalassemia/mental retardation syndrome X-linked (ATRX) is a component of promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies (PML-NBs) and thereby mediates intrinsic immunity against several viruses including human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). As a consequence, viruses have evolved different mechanisms to antagonize ATRX, such as displacement from PML-NBs or degradation. Here, we show that depletion of ATRX results in an overall impaired antiviral state by decreasing transcription and subsequent secretion of type I IFNs, which is followed by reduced expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). ATRX interacts with the transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) and associates with the IFN-β promoter to facilitate transcription. Furthermore, whole transcriptome sequencing revealed that ATRX is required for efficient IFN-induced expression of a distinct set of ISGs. Mechanistically, we found that ATRX positively modulates chromatin accessibility specifically upon IFN signaling, thereby affecting promoter regions with recognition motifs for AP-1 family transcription factors. In summary, our study uncovers a novel co-activating function of the chromatin remodeling factor ATRX in innate immunity that regulates chromatin accessibility and subsequent transcription of interferons and ISGs. Consequently, ATRX antagonization by viral proteins and ATRX mutations in tumors represent important strategies to broadly compromise both intrinsic and innate immune responses. ATRX is a member of a family of chromatin remodeling proteins required for deposition of the histone variant H3.3 at specific genomic regions. This is important to maintain silencing at these sites. Furthermore, ATRX represents a component of PML nuclear bodies (PML-NBs) which are considered as enigmatic nuclear protein accumulations exhibiting a tight link to cell-intrinsic restriction of viral infections. Previous studies demonstrated that many viruses target ATRX by either displacement or degradation. So far, it is believed that this serves to alleviate ATRX-instituted silencing of viral gene expression. Our results reveal a novel and unexpectedly broad function of ATRX as a co-activator of the innate immune response. We show that ATRX is required for both DNA and RNA sensing pathways to activate interferon (IFN) gene expression as well as for upregulation of a distinct set of interferon-stimulated genes. Assessment of chromatin accessibility detected that IFN acts as a switch to regulate the function of ATRX in heterochromatin remodeling. ATRX positively modulates chromatin accessibility specifically upon IFN signaling, thereby affecting promoter regions with recognition motifs for AP-1 family transcription factors. Loss of ATRX due to viral infection or due to tumor mutations may thus broadly compromise cellular innate immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Myriam Scherer
- Institute of Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
| | - Patrick König
- Institute of Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
| | - Axel Fürstberger
- Institute of Medical Systems Biology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Hans A. Kestler
- Institute of Medical Systems Biology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Thomas Stamminger
- Institute of Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
- * E-mail:
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16
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de Nonneville A, Salas S, Bertucci F, Sobinoff AP, Adélaïde J, Guille A, Finetti P, Noble JR, Churikov D, Chaffanet M, Lavit E, Pickett HA, Bouvier C, Birnbaum D, Reddel RR, Géli V. TOP3A amplification and ATRX inactivation are mutually exclusive events in pediatric osteosarcomas using ALT. EMBO Mol Med 2022; 14:e15859. [PMID: 35920001 PMCID: PMC9549729 DOI: 10.15252/emmm.202215859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Revised: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
In some types of cancer, telomere length is maintained by the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) mechanism. In many ALT cancers, the α-thalassemia/mental retardation syndrome X-linked (ATRX) gene is mutated leading to the conclusion that the ATRX complex represses ALT. Here, we report that most high-grade pediatric osteosarcomas maintain their telomeres by ALT, and that the majority of these ALT tumors are ATRX wild-type (wt) and instead carry an amplified 17p11.2 chromosomal region containing TOP3A. We found that TOP3A was overexpressed in the ALT-positive ATRX-wt tumors consistent with its amplification. We demonstrated the functional significance of these results by showing that TOP3A overexpression in ALT cancer cells countered ATRX-mediated ALT inhibition and that TOP3A knockdown disrupted the ALT phenotype in ATRX-wt cells. Moreover, we report that TOP3A is required for proper BLM localization and promotes ALT DNA synthesis in ALT cell lines. Collectively, our results identify TOP3A as a major ALT player and potential therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre de Nonneville
- Marseille Cancer Research Centre (CRCM), Inserm U1068, CNRS UMR7258, Institut Paoli‐Calmettes, Team « Telomere and Chromatin ». Equipe labellisée Ligue Nationale Contre Le CancerAix‐Marseille UnivMarseilleFrance,Cancer Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Children's Medical Research InstituteUniversity of SydneyWestmeadNSWAustralia,Predictive Oncology Laboratory, Marseille Cancer Research Centre (CRCM), Inserm U1068, CNRS UMR7258, Institut Paoli‐CalmettesAix‐Marseille UniversityMarseilleFrance,Department of Medical Oncology, CRCM, CNRS, INSERM, Institut Paoli‐CalmettesAix‐Marseille UnivMarseilleFrance
| | - Sébastien Salas
- Department of Medical OncologyAssistance Publique Hôpitaux de Marseille ‐ Timone HospitalMarseilleFrance
| | - François Bertucci
- Predictive Oncology Laboratory, Marseille Cancer Research Centre (CRCM), Inserm U1068, CNRS UMR7258, Institut Paoli‐CalmettesAix‐Marseille UniversityMarseilleFrance,Department of Medical Oncology, CRCM, CNRS, INSERM, Institut Paoli‐CalmettesAix‐Marseille UnivMarseilleFrance
| | - Alexander P Sobinoff
- Telomere Length Regulation Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Children's Medical Research InstituteUniversity of SydneyWestmeadNSWAustralia
| | - José Adélaïde
- Predictive Oncology Laboratory, Marseille Cancer Research Centre (CRCM), Inserm U1068, CNRS UMR7258, Institut Paoli‐CalmettesAix‐Marseille UniversityMarseilleFrance
| | - Arnaud Guille
- Predictive Oncology Laboratory, Marseille Cancer Research Centre (CRCM), Inserm U1068, CNRS UMR7258, Institut Paoli‐CalmettesAix‐Marseille UniversityMarseilleFrance
| | - Pascal Finetti
- Predictive Oncology Laboratory, Marseille Cancer Research Centre (CRCM), Inserm U1068, CNRS UMR7258, Institut Paoli‐CalmettesAix‐Marseille UniversityMarseilleFrance
| | - Jane R Noble
- Cancer Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Children's Medical Research InstituteUniversity of SydneyWestmeadNSWAustralia
| | - Dimitri Churikov
- Marseille Cancer Research Centre (CRCM), Inserm U1068, CNRS UMR7258, Institut Paoli‐Calmettes, Team « Telomere and Chromatin ». Equipe labellisée Ligue Nationale Contre Le CancerAix‐Marseille UnivMarseilleFrance
| | - Max Chaffanet
- Predictive Oncology Laboratory, Marseille Cancer Research Centre (CRCM), Inserm U1068, CNRS UMR7258, Institut Paoli‐CalmettesAix‐Marseille UniversityMarseilleFrance
| | - Elise Lavit
- Department of Medical OncologyAssistance Publique Hôpitaux de Marseille ‐ Timone HospitalMarseilleFrance
| | - Hilda A Pickett
- Telomere Length Regulation Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Children's Medical Research InstituteUniversity of SydneyWestmeadNSWAustralia
| | - Corinne Bouvier
- Department of PathologyAssistance Publique Hôpitaux de Marseille ‐ Timone HospitalMarseilleFrance
| | - Daniel Birnbaum
- Predictive Oncology Laboratory, Marseille Cancer Research Centre (CRCM), Inserm U1068, CNRS UMR7258, Institut Paoli‐CalmettesAix‐Marseille UniversityMarseilleFrance
| | - Roger R Reddel
- Cancer Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Children's Medical Research InstituteUniversity of SydneyWestmeadNSWAustralia
| | - Vincent Géli
- Marseille Cancer Research Centre (CRCM), Inserm U1068, CNRS UMR7258, Institut Paoli‐Calmettes, Team « Telomere and Chromatin ». Equipe labellisée Ligue Nationale Contre Le CancerAix‐Marseille UnivMarseilleFrance
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17
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Saxena S, Zou L. Hallmarks of DNA replication stress. Mol Cell 2022; 82:2298-2314. [PMID: 35714587 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2022.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 55.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Faithful DNA replication is critical for the maintenance of genomic integrity. Although DNA replication machinery is highly accurate, the process of DNA replication is constantly challenged by DNA damage and other intrinsic and extrinsic stresses throughout the genome. A variety of cellular stresses interfering with DNA replication, which are collectively termed replication stress, pose a threat to genomic stability in both normal and cancer cells. To cope with replication stress and maintain genomic stability, cells have evolved a complex network of cellular responses to alleviate and tolerate replication problems. This review will focus on the major sources of replication stress, the impacts of replication stress in cells, and the assays to detect replication stress, offering an overview of the hallmarks of DNA replication stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sneha Saxena
- Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Lee Zou
- Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA; Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
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18
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Nacev BA, Sanchez-Vega F, Smith SA, Antonescu CR, Rosenbaum E, Shi H, Tang C, Socci ND, Rana S, Gularte-Mérida R, Zehir A, Gounder MM, Bowler TG, Luthra A, Jadeja B, Okada A, Strong JA, Stoller J, Chan JE, Chi P, D'Angelo SP, Dickson MA, Kelly CM, Keohan ML, Movva S, Thornton K, Meyers PA, Wexler LH, Slotkin EK, Glade Bender JL, Shukla NN, Hensley ML, Healey JH, La Quaglia MP, Alektiar KM, Crago AM, Yoon SS, Untch BR, Chiang S, Agaram NP, Hameed MR, Berger MF, Solit DB, Schultz N, Ladanyi M, Singer S, Tap WD. Clinical sequencing of soft tissue and bone sarcomas delineates diverse genomic landscapes and potential therapeutic targets. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3405. [PMID: 35705560 PMCID: PMC9200818 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30453-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The genetic, biologic, and clinical heterogeneity of sarcomas poses a challenge for the identification of therapeutic targets, clinical research, and advancing patient care. Because there are > 100 sarcoma subtypes, in-depth genetic studies have focused on one or a few subtypes. Herein, we report a comparative genetic analysis of 2,138 sarcomas representing 45 pathological entities. This cohort is prospectively analyzed using targeted sequencing to characterize subtype-specific somatic alterations in targetable pathways, rates of whole genome doubling, mutational signatures, and subtype-agnostic genomic clusters. The most common alterations are in cell cycle control and TP53, receptor tyrosine kinases/PI3K/RAS, and epigenetic regulators. Subtype-specific associations include TERT amplification in intimal sarcoma and SWI/SNF alterations in uterine adenosarcoma. Tumor mutational burden, while low compared to other cancers, varies between and within subtypes. This resource will improve sarcoma models, motivate studies of subtype-specific alterations, and inform investigations of genetic factors and their correlations with treatment response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin A Nacev
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- The Laboratory of Chromatin Biology and Epigenetics, The Rockefeller University, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Francisco Sanchez-Vega
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Shaleigh A Smith
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Cristina R Antonescu
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Evan Rosenbaum
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Hongyu Shi
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Cerise Tang
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology Graduate Program, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Nicholas D Socci
- Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Bioinformatics Core, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Satshil Rana
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | | | - Ahmet Zehir
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Mrinal M Gounder
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Timothy G Bowler
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Anisha Luthra
- Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Bhumika Jadeja
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Azusa Okada
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Jonathan A Strong
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Jake Stoller
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Jason E Chan
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Ping Chi
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Sandra P D'Angelo
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Mark A Dickson
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Ciara M Kelly
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Mary Louise Keohan
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Sujana Movva
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Katherine Thornton
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Paul A Meyers
- Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Leonard H Wexler
- Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Emily K Slotkin
- Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Julia L Glade Bender
- Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Neerav N Shukla
- Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Martee L Hensley
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - John H Healey
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Michael P La Quaglia
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Kaled M Alektiar
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Aimee M Crago
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Sam S Yoon
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Brian R Untch
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Sarah Chiang
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Narasimhan P Agaram
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Meera R Hameed
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Michael F Berger
- Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - David B Solit
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Nikolaus Schultz
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Marc Ladanyi
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA
| | - Samuel Singer
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA.
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA.
| | - William D Tap
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA.
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, NY, USA.
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19
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Zapata G, Yan K, Picketts DJ. Generation of a mouse model of the neurodevelopmental disorder with dysmorphic facies and distal limb anomalies (NEDDFL) syndrome. Hum Mol Genet 2022; 31:3405-3421. [PMID: 35604347 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddac119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Heterozygous variants in BPTF cause the neurodevelopmental disorder with dysmorphic facies and distal limb anomalies (NEDDFL) syndrome (MIM#617755) characterized by intellectual disability (ID), speech delay, and postnatal microcephaly. BPTF functions within NURF, a complex comprising SNF2L, an ISWI chromatin remodeling protein encoded by the SMARCA1 gene. Surprisingly, ablation of Smarca1 resulted in mice with enlarged brains, a direct contrast to the phenotype of NEDDFL patients. To model the NEDDFL syndrome, we generated forebrain-specific Bptf knockout (Bptf cKO) mice. Bptf cKO mice were born in normal Mendelian ratios, survived to adulthood but were smaller in size with severe cortical hypoplasia. Prolonged progenitor cell cycle length and a high incidence of cell death reduced neuronal output. Cortical lamination was also disrupted with reduced proportions of deep layer neurons, and neuronal maturation defects that impaired the acquisition of distinct cell fates (eg. Ctip2+ neurons). RNAseq and pathway analysis identified altered expression of fate-determining transcription factors, and biological pathways involved in neural development, apoptotic signaling, and amino acid biosynthesis. Dysregulated genes were enriched for Myc binding sites, a known BPTF transcriptional co-factor. We propose Bptf cKO mice as a valuable model for further study of the NEDDFL syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerardo Zapata
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1H 8L6.,Departments of Biochemistry, Microbiology, & Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1H8M5
| | - Keqin Yan
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1H 8L6
| | - David J Picketts
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1H 8L6.,Departments of Biochemistry, Microbiology, & Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1H8M5.,Departments of Biochemistry, Microbiology, & Immunology, Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1H8M5.,Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1H8M5
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20
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van Gerven MR, Bozsaky E, Matser YAH, Vosseberg J, Taschner-Mandl S, Koster J, Tytgat GAM, Molenaar JJ, van den Boogaard M. The mutational spectrum of ATRX aberrations in neuroblastoma and the associated patient and tumor characteristics. Cancer Sci 2022; 113:2167-2178. [PMID: 35384159 PMCID: PMC9207354 DOI: 10.1111/cas.15363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumor in children. The chromatin remodeler ATRX is frequently mutated in high‐risk patients with a poor prognosis. Although many studies have reported ATRX aberrations and the associated clinical characteristics in neuroblastoma, a comprehensive overview is currently lacking. In this study, we extensively characterize the mutational spectrum of ATRX aberrations in neuroblastoma tumors reported in previous studies and present an overview of patient and tumor characteristics. We collected the data of a total of 127 neuroblastoma patients and three cell lines with ATRX aberrations originating from 20 papers. We subdivide the ATRX aberrations into nonsense, missense, and multiexon deletions (MEDs) and show that 68% of them are MEDs. Of these MEDs, 75% are predicted to be in‐frame. Furthermore, we identify a missense mutational hotspot region in the helicase domain. We also confirm that all three ATRX mutation types are more often identified in patients diagnosed at an older age, but still approximately 40% of the patients are aged 5 years or younger at diagnosis. Surprisingly, we found that 11q deletions are enriched in neuroblastomas with ATRX deletions compared to a reference cohort, but not in neuroblastomas with ATRX point mutations. Taken together, our data emphasizes a distinct ATRX mutation spectrum in neuroblastoma, which should be considered when studying molecular phenotypes and therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eva Bozsaky
- Tumor biology group, St Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, Vienna, Austria
| | - Yvette A H Matser
- Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Julian Vosseberg
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | | | - Jan Koster
- Department of Oncogenomics, Amsterdam UMC, location AMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Jan J Molenaar
- Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, the Netherlands.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
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21
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Dall GV, Hamilton A, Ratnayake G, Scott C, Barker H. Interrogating the Genomic Landscape of Uterine Leiomyosarcoma: A Potential for Patient Benefit. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14061561. [PMID: 35326717 PMCID: PMC8946513 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14061561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Uterine leiomyosarcoma (uLMS) is a rare and aggressive gynaecological malignancy. Surgical removal and chemotherapy are commonly used to treat uLMS, but recurrence rates are high. Over the last few decades, clarification of the genomic landscape of uLMS has revealed a number of recurring mutations, including TP53, RB1, ATRX, PTEN, and MED12. Such genomic aberrations are difficult to target therapeutically or are actively targeted in other malignancies, and their potential as targets for the treatment of uLMS remains largely unexplored. Recent identification of deficiencies in homologous recombination in a minority of these tumours, however, has provided a rationale for investigation of PARP inhibitors in this sub-set. Here, we review these mutations and the evidence for therapeutic avenues that may be applied in uLMS. We also provide a comprehensive background on diagnosis and current therapeutic strategies as well as reviewing preclinical models of uLMS, which may be employed not only in testing emerging therapies but also in understanding this challenging and deadly disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Genevieve V. Dall
- Walter and Eliza Hall, Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia; (C.S.); (H.B.)
- Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia;
- Correspondence:
| | - Anne Hamilton
- Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia;
- Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Royal Women’s Hospital, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia;
| | | | - Clare Scott
- Walter and Eliza Hall, Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia; (C.S.); (H.B.)
- Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia;
- Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Royal Women’s Hospital, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia;
| | - Holly Barker
- Walter and Eliza Hall, Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia; (C.S.); (H.B.)
- Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia;
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22
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Lu R, Pickett HA. Telomeric replication stress: the beginning and the end for alternative lengthening of telomeres cancers. Open Biol 2022; 12:220011. [PMID: 35259951 PMCID: PMC8905155 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.220011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures that cap the ends of linear chromosomes. Telomeric DNA comprises terminal tracts of G-rich tandem repeats, which are inherently difficult for the replication machinery to navigate. Structural aberrations that promote activation of the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) pathway of telomere maintenance exacerbate replication stress at ALT telomeres, driving fork stalling and fork collapse. This form of telomeric DNA damage perpetuates recombination-mediated repair pathways and break-induced telomere synthesis. The relationship between replication stress and DNA repair is tightly coordinated for the purpose of regulating telomere length in ALT cells, but has been shown to be experimentally manipulatable. This raises the intriguing possibility that induction of replication stress can be used as a means to cause toxic levels of DNA damage at ALT telomeres, thereby selectively disrupting the viability of ALT cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Lu
- Telomere Length Regulation Unit, Children's Medical Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia
| | - Hilda A. Pickett
- Telomere Length Regulation Unit, Children's Medical Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia
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23
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Impact of Chromatin Dynamics and DNA Repair on Genomic Stability and Treatment Resistance in Pediatric High-Grade Gliomas. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13225678. [PMID: 34830833 PMCID: PMC8616465 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13225678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Pediatric high-grade gliomas (pHGGs) are the leading cause of mortality in pediatric neuro-oncology, due in great part to treatment resistance driven by complex DNA repair mechanisms. pHGGs have recently been divided into molecular subtypes based on mutations affecting the N-terminal tail of the histone variant H3.3 and the ATRX/DAXX histone chaperone that deposits H3.3 at repetitive heterochromatin loci that are of paramount importance to the stability of our genome. This review addresses the functions of H3.3 and ATRX/DAXX in chromatin dynamics and DNA repair, as well as the impact of mutations affecting H3.3/ATRX/DAXX on treatment resistance and how the vulnerabilities they expose could foster novel therapeutic strategies. Abstract Despite their low incidence, pediatric high-grade gliomas (pHGGs), including diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPGs), are the leading cause of mortality in pediatric neuro-oncology. Recurrent, mutually exclusive mutations affecting K27 (K27M) and G34 (G34R/V) in the N-terminal tail of histones H3.3 and H3.1 act as key biological drivers of pHGGs. Notably, mutations in H3.3 are frequently associated with mutations affecting ATRX and DAXX, which encode a chaperone complex that deposits H3.3 into heterochromatic regions, including telomeres. The K27M and G34R/V mutations lead to distinct epigenetic reprogramming, telomere maintenance mechanisms, and oncogenesis scenarios, resulting in distinct subgroups of patients characterized by differences in tumor localization, clinical outcome, as well as concurrent epigenetic and genetic alterations. Contrasting with our understanding of the molecular biology of pHGGs, there has been little improvement in the treatment of pHGGs, with the current mainstays of therapy—genotoxic chemotherapy and ionizing radiation (IR)—facing the development of tumor resistance driven by complex DNA repair pathways. Chromatin and nucleosome dynamics constitute important modulators of the DNA damage response (DDR). Here, we summarize the major DNA repair pathways that contribute to resistance to current DNA damaging agent-based therapeutic strategies and describe the telomere maintenance mechanisms encountered in pHGGs. We then review the functions of H3.3 and its chaperones in chromatin dynamics and DNA repair, as well as examining the impact of their mutation/alteration on these processes. Finally, we discuss potential strategies targeting DNA repair and epigenetic mechanisms as well as telomere maintenance mechanisms, to improve the treatment of pHGGs.
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24
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Akter J, Katai Y, Sultana P, Takenobu H, Haruta M, Sugino RP, Mukae K, Satoh S, Wada T, Ohira M, Ando K, Kamijo T. Loss of p53 suppresses replication stress-induced DNA damage in ATRX-deficient neuroblastoma. Oncogenesis 2021; 10:73. [PMID: 34743173 PMCID: PMC8572175 DOI: 10.1038/s41389-021-00363-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Revised: 10/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic aberrations are present in the ATRX gene in older high-risk neuroblastoma (NB) patients with very poor clinical outcomes. Its loss-of-function (LoF) facilitates the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) pathway in tumor cells and is strongly linked to replication stress (RS) and DNA damage through G-quadruplex (G4) DNA secondary structures. However, limited information is available on ATRX alteration-related NB tumorigenesis. We herein knocked out (KO) ATRX in MYCN-amplified (NGP) and MYCN single copy (SK-N-AS) NB cells with wild-type (wt) and truncated TP53 at the C terminus, respectively, using CRISPR/Cas9 technologies. The loss of ATRX increased DNA damage and G4 formation related to RS in TP53 wt isogenic ATRX KO NGP cells, but not in SK-N-AS clones. A gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) showed that the gene sets related to DNA double-strand break repair, negative cell cycle regulation, the G2M checkpoint, and p53 pathway activation were enriched in NGP clones. The accumulation of DNA damage activated the ATM/CHK2/p53 pathway, leading to cell cycle arrest in NGP clones. Interestingly, ATRX loss did not induce RS related to DNA damage response (DDR) in TP53-truncated SK-N-AS cells. p53 inactivation abrogated cell cycle arrest and reduced G4 accumulation in NGP clones. The loss of p53 also induced G4 DNA helicases or Fanconi anemia group D2 protein (FANCD2) with ATRX deficiency, suggesting that ATRX maintained genome integrity and p53 deficiency attenuated RS-induced DNA damage in NB cells featuring inactivated ATRX by regulating DNA repair mechanisms and replication fork stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesmin Akter
- Research Institute for Clinical Oncology, Saitama Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan
| | - Yutaka Katai
- Research Institute for Clinical Oncology, Saitama Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan
| | - Parvin Sultana
- Research Institute for Clinical Oncology, Saitama Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan.,Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Biology, Department of Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Saitama, Japan
| | - Hisanori Takenobu
- Research Institute for Clinical Oncology, Saitama Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan
| | - Masayuki Haruta
- Research Institute for Clinical Oncology, Saitama Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan
| | - Ryuichi P Sugino
- Research Institute for Clinical Oncology, Saitama Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan
| | - Kyosuke Mukae
- Research Institute for Clinical Oncology, Saitama Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan
| | - Shunpei Satoh
- Research Institute for Clinical Oncology, Saitama Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan
| | - Tomoko Wada
- Research Institute for Clinical Oncology, Saitama Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan
| | - Miki Ohira
- Research Institute for Clinical Oncology, Saitama Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan
| | - Kiyohiro Ando
- Research Institute for Clinical Oncology, Saitama Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan
| | - Takehiko Kamijo
- Research Institute for Clinical Oncology, Saitama Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan. .,Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Biology, Department of Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Saitama, Japan.
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25
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Kent T, Clynes D. Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres: Lessons to Be Learned from Telomeric DNA Double-Strand Break Repair. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:1734. [PMID: 34828344 PMCID: PMC8619803 DOI: 10.3390/genes12111734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Revised: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The study of the molecular pathways underlying cancer has given us important insights into how breaks in our DNA are repaired and the dire consequences that can occur when these processes are perturbed. Extensive research over the past 20 years has shown that the key molecular event underpinning a subset of cancers involves the deregulated repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) at telomeres, which in turn leads to telomere lengthening and the potential for replicative immortality. Here we discuss, in-depth, recent major breakthroughs in our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning this pathway known as the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). We explore how this gives us important insights into how DSB repair at telomeres is regulated, with relevance to the cell-cycle-dependent regulation of repair, repair of stalled replication forks and the spatial regulation of DSB repair.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Kent
- Molecular Haematology Unit, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, The MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK;
| | - David Clynes
- Department of Oncology, The MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
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26
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Delbarre E, Janicki SM. Modulation of H3.3 chromatin assembly by PML: A way to regulate epigenetic inheritance. Bioessays 2021; 43:e2100038. [PMID: 34423467 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202100038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Revised: 08/04/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Although the promyelocytic leukemia (PML) protein is renowned for regulating a wide range of cellular processes and as an essential component of PML nuclear bodies (PML-NBs), the mechanisms through which it exerts its broad physiological impact are far from fully elucidated. Here, we review recent studies supporting an emerging view that PML's pleiotropic effects derive, at least partially, from its role in regulating histone H3.3 chromatin assembly, a critical epigenetic mechanism. These studies suggest that PML maintains heterochromatin organization by restraining H3.3 incorporation. Examination of PML's contribution to H3.3 chromatin assembly in the context of the cell cycle and PML-NB assembly suggests that PML represses heterochromatic H3.3 deposition during S phase and that transcription and SUMOylation regulate PML's recruitment to heterochromatin. Elucidating PML' s contributions to H3.3-mediated epigenetic regulation will provide insight into PML's expansive influence on cellular physiology and open new avenues for studying oncogenesis linked to PML malfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erwan Delbarre
- Faculty of Health Sciences, OsloMet-Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway
| | - Susan M Janicki
- Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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27
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Raghunandan M, Yeo JE, Walter R, Saito K, Harvey AJ, Ittershagen S, Lee EA, Yang J, Hoatlin ME, Bielinsky AK, Hendrickson EA, Schärer O, Sobeck A. Functional cross talk between the Fanconi anemia and ATRX/DAXX histone chaperone pathways promotes replication fork recovery. Hum Mol Genet 2021; 29:1083-1095. [PMID: 31628488 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddz250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Revised: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 10/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Fanconi anemia (FA) is a chromosome instability syndrome characterized by increased cancer predisposition. Specifically, the FA pathway functions to protect genome stability during DNA replication. The central FA pathway protein, FANCD2, locates to stalled replication forks and recruits homologous recombination (HR) factors such as CtBP interacting protein (CtIP) to promote replication fork restart while suppressing new origin firing. Here, we identify alpha-thalassemia retardation syndrome X-linked (ATRX) as a novel physical and functional interaction partner of FANCD2. ATRX is a chromatin remodeler that forms a complex with Death domain-associated protein 6 (DAXX) to deposit the histone variant H3.3 into specific genomic regions. Intriguingly, ATRX was recently implicated in replication fork recovery; however, the underlying mechanism(s) remained incompletely understood. Our findings demonstrate that ATRX forms a constitutive protein complex with FANCD2 and protects FANCD2 from proteasomal degradation. ATRX and FANCD2 localize to stalled replication forks where they cooperate to recruit CtIP and promote MRE11 exonuclease-dependent fork restart while suppressing the firing of new replication origins. Remarkably, replication restart requires the concerted histone H3 chaperone activities of ATRX/DAXX and FANCD2, demonstrating that coordinated histone H3 variant deposition is a crucial event during the reinitiation of replicative DNA synthesis. Lastly, ATRX also cooperates with FANCD2 to promote the HR-dependent repair of directly induced DNA double-stranded breaks. We propose that ATRX is a novel functional partner of FANCD2 to promote histone deposition-dependent HR mechanisms in S-phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Raghunandan
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Jung Eun Yeo
- Center for Genomic Integrity (CGI), Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Ryan Walter
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Kai Saito
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Adam J Harvey
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Stacie Ittershagen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Eun-A Lee
- Center for Genomic Integrity (CGI), Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Jihyeon Yang
- Center for Genomic Integrity (CGI), Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Maureen E Hoatlin
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Anja K Bielinsky
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Eric A Hendrickson
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Orlando Schärer
- Center for Genomic Integrity (CGI), Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Ulsan, Republic of Korea.,School of Life Sciences, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Alexandra Sobeck
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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28
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Hydroxyurea-The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12071096. [PMID: 34356112 PMCID: PMC8304116 DOI: 10.3390/genes12071096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Hydroxyurea (HU) is mostly referred to as an inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) and as the agent that is commonly used to arrest cells in the S-phase of the cycle by inducing replication stress. It is a well-known and widely used drug, one which has proved to be effective in treating chronic myeloproliferative disorders and which is considered a staple agent in sickle anemia therapy and—recently—a promising factor in preventing cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease. The reversibility of HU-induced replication inhibition also makes it a common laboratory ingredient used to synchronize cell cycles. On the other hand, prolonged treatment or higher dosage of hydroxyurea causes cell death due to accumulation of DNA damage and oxidative stress. Hydroxyurea treatments are also still far from perfect and it has been suggested that it facilitates skin cancer progression. Also, recent studies have shown that hydroxyurea may affect a larger number of enzymes due to its less specific interaction mechanism, which may contribute to further as-yet unspecified factors affecting cell response. In this review, we examine the actual state of knowledge about hydroxyurea and the mechanisms behind its cytotoxic effects. The practical applications of the recent findings may prove to enhance the already existing use of the drug in new and promising ways.
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29
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Teng YC, Sundaresan A, O'Hara R, Gant VU, Li M, Martire S, Warshaw JN, Basu A, Banaszynski LA. ATRX promotes heterochromatin formation to protect cells from G-quadruplex DNA-mediated stress. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3887. [PMID: 34162889 PMCID: PMC8222256 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24206-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
ATRX is a tumor suppressor that has been associated with protection from DNA replication stress, purportedly through resolution of difficult-to-replicate G-quadruplex (G4) DNA structures. While several studies demonstrate that loss of ATRX sensitizes cells to chemical stabilizers of G4 structures, the molecular function of ATRX at G4 regions during replication remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that ATRX associates with a number of the MCM replication complex subunits and that loss of ATRX leads to G4 structure accumulation at newly synthesized DNA. We show that both the helicase domain of ATRX and its H3.3 chaperone function are required to protect cells from G4-induced replicative stress. Furthermore, these activities are upstream of heterochromatin formation mediated by the histone methyltransferase, ESET, which is the critical molecular event that protects cells from G4-mediated stress. In support, tumors carrying mutations in either ATRX or ESET show increased mutation burden at G4-enriched DNA sequences. Overall, our study provides new insights into mechanisms by which ATRX promotes genome stability with important implications for understanding impacts of its loss on human disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Ching Teng
- Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Children's Medical Center Research Institute, Harold. C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Aishwarya Sundaresan
- Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Children's Medical Center Research Institute, Harold. C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Ryan O'Hara
- Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Children's Medical Center Research Institute, Harold. C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Vincent U Gant
- Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Children's Medical Center Research Institute, Harold. C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Minhua Li
- Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Children's Medical Center Research Institute, Harold. C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Sara Martire
- Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Children's Medical Center Research Institute, Harold. C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Jane N Warshaw
- Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Children's Medical Center Research Institute, Harold. C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Amrita Basu
- Department of Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Laura A Banaszynski
- Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Children's Medical Center Research Institute, Harold. C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
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Garbarino J, Eckroate J, Sundaram RK, Jensen RB, Bindra RS. Loss of ATRX confers DNA repair defects and PARP inhibitor sensitivity. Transl Oncol 2021; 14:101147. [PMID: 34118569 PMCID: PMC8203843 DOI: 10.1016/j.tranon.2021.101147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Drug screen shows that ATRX KO leads to PARP inhibitor sensitivity in glioma cells. PARPi leads to greater levels of replication stress in ATRX KO cells than WT. IDH1 R132H and ATRX KO have similar levels of PARP inhibitor sensitivity. ATRi and PARPi have greater synergy in ATRX KO cells.
Alpha Thalassemia/Mental Retardation Syndrome X-Linked (ATRX) is mutated frequently in gliomas and represents a potential target for cancer therapies. ATRX is known to function as a histone chaperone that helps incorporate histone variant, H3.3, into the genome. Studies have implicated ATRX in key DNA damage response (DDR) pathways but a distinct role in DNA repair has yet to be fully elucidated. To further investigate the function of ATRX in the DDR, we created isogenic wild-type (WT) and ATRX knockout (KO) model cell lines using CRISPR-based gene targeting. These studies revealed that loss of ATRX confers sensitivity to poly(ADP)-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, which was linked to an increase in replication stress, as detected by increased activation of the ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR) signaling axis. ATRX mutations frequently co-occur with mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 and -2 (IDH1/2), and the latter mutations also induce HR defects and PARP inhibitor sensitivity. We found that the magnitude of PARP inhibitor sensitivity was equal in the context of each mutation alone, although no further sensitization was observed in combination, suggesting an epistatic interaction. Finally, we observed enhanced synergistic tumor cell killing in ATRX KO cells with ATR and PARP inhibition, which is commonly seen in HR-defective cells. Taken together, these data reveal that ATRX may be used as a molecular marker for DDR defects and PARP inhibitor sensitivity, independent of IDH1/2 mutations. These data highlight the important role of common glioma-associated mutations in the regulation of DDR, and novel avenues for molecularly guided therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Garbarino
- Department of Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Jillian Eckroate
- Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Ranjini K Sundaram
- Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Ryan B Jensen
- Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
| | - Ranjit S Bindra
- Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
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Chen Y, Liu R, Wang W, Wang C, Zhang N, Shao X, He Q, Ying M. Advances in targeted therapy for osteosarcoma based on molecular classification. Pharmacol Res 2021; 169:105684. [PMID: 34022396 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2021.105684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Osteosarcoma, a highly malignant tumor, is characterized by widespread and recurrent chromosomal and genetic abnormalities. In recent years, a number of elaborated sequencing analyses have made it possible to cluster the osteosarcoma based on the identification of candidate driver genes and develop targeted therapy. Here, we reviewed recent next-generation genome sequencing studies and advances in targeted therapies for osteosarcoma based on molecular classification. First, we stratified osteosarcomas into ten molecular subtypes based on genetic changes. And we analyzed potential targeted therapies for osteosarcoma based on the identified molecular subtypes. Finally, the development of targeted therapies for osteosarcoma investigated in clinical trials were further summarized and discussed. Therefore, we indicated the importance of molecular classification on the targeted therapy for osteosarcoma. And the stratification of patients based on the genetic characteristics of osteosarcoma will help to obtain a better therapeutic response to targeted therapies, bringing us closer to the era of personalized medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingqian Chen
- Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Runzhi Liu
- Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chen Wang
- Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ning Zhang
- Department of Orthopedics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xuejing Shao
- Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Qiaojun He
- Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Meidan Ying
- Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou 310052, China; Institute of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
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The Multiple Facets of ATRX Protein. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13092211. [PMID: 34062956 PMCID: PMC8124985 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13092211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The gene encoding for the epigenetic regulator ATRX is gaining a prominent position among the most important oncosuppressive genes of the human genome. ATRX gene somatic mutations are found across a number of diverse cancer types, suggesting its relevance in tumor induction and progression. In the present review, the multiple activities of ATRX protein are described in the light of the most recent literature available highlighting its multifaceted role in the caretaking of the human genome. Abstract ATRX gene codifies for a protein member of the SWI-SNF family and was cloned for the first time over 25 years ago as the gene responsible for a rare developmental disorder characterized by α-thalassemia and intellectual disability called Alpha Thalassemia/mental Retardation syndrome X-linked (ATRX) syndrome. Since its discovery as a helicase involved in alpha-globin gene transcriptional regulation, our understanding of the multiple roles played by the ATRX protein increased continuously, leading to the recognition of this multifaceted protein as a central “caretaker” of the human genome involved in cancer suppression. In this review, we report recent advances in the comprehension of the ATRX manifold functions that encompass heterochromatin epigenetic regulation and maintenance, telomere function, replicative stress response, genome stability, and the suppression of endogenous transposable elements and exogenous viral genomes.
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Mukherjee J, Pandita A, Kamalakar C, Johannessen TC, Ohba S, Tang Y, Dalle-Ore CL, Bjerkvig R, Pieper RO. RETRACTED: A subset of PARP inhibitors induces lethal telomere fusion in ALT-dependent tumor cells. Sci Transl Med 2021; 13:13/592/eabc7211. [PMID: 33952676 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abc7211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2020] [Revised: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
About 10% of all tumors, including most lower-grade astrocytoma, rely on the alternative lengthening of telomere (ALT) mechanism to resolve telomeric shortening and avoid limitations on their growth. Here, we found that dependence on the ALT mechanism made cells hypersensitive to a subset of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi). We found that this hypersensitivity was not associated with PARPi-created genomic DNA damage as in most PARPi-sensitive populations but rather with PARPi-induced telomere fusion. Mechanistically, we determined that PARP1 was recruited to the telomeres of ALT-dependent cells as part of a DNA damage response. By recruiting MRE11 and BRCC3 to stabilize TRF2 at the ends of telomeres, PARP1 blocked chromosomal fusion. Exposure of ALT-dependent tumor cells to a subset of PARPi induced a conformational change in PARP1 that limited binding to MRE11 and BRCC3 and delayed release of the TRF2-mediated block on lethal telomeric fusion. These results therefore provide a basis for PARPi treatment of ALT-dependent tumors, as well as establish chromosome fusion as a biomarker of their activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joydeep Mukherjee
- Department of Neurosurgery and The Brain Tumor Center, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Ajay Pandita
- Core Diagnostics, 3535 Breakwater Avenue, Hayward, CA 94545, USA
| | - Chatla Kamalakar
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Tor-Christian Johannessen
- The Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Brain Tumor Research Centre, Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Jonas Lies Vei 91, 5019, Bergen, Norway
| | - Shigeo Ohba
- Department of Neurosurgery, Fujita Health University, Toyoake 4701192, Aichi, Japan
| | - Yongjian Tang
- Department of Neurosurgery and The Brain Tumor Center, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Cecilia L Dalle-Ore
- Department of Neurosurgery and The Brain Tumor Center, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Rolf Bjerkvig
- The Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Brain Tumor Research Centre, Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Jonas Lies Vei 91, 5019, Bergen, Norway.,Department of Oncology, Luxembourg Institute of Health, 84, Val Fleuri, L-1526, Luxembourg
| | - Russell O Pieper
- Department of Neurosurgery and The Brain Tumor Center, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
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Tye S, Ronson GE, Morris JR. A fork in the road: Where homologous recombination and stalled replication fork protection part ways. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2021; 113:14-26. [PMID: 32653304 PMCID: PMC8082280 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2020.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Revised: 07/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
In response to replication hindrances, DNA replication forks frequently stall and are remodelled into a four-way junction. In such a structure the annealed nascent strand is thought to resemble a DNA double-strand break and remodelled forks are vulnerable to nuclease attack by MRE11 and DNA2. Proteins that promote the recruitment, loading and stabilisation of RAD51 onto single-stranded DNA for homology search and strand exchange in homologous recombination (HR) repair and inter-strand cross-link repair also act to set up RAD51-mediated protection of nascent DNA at stalled replication forks. However, despite the similarities of these pathways, several lines of evidence indicate that fork protection is not simply analogous to the RAD51 loading step of HR. Protection of stalled forks not only requires separate functions of a number of recombination proteins, but also utilises nucleases important for the resection steps of HR in alternative ways. Here we discuss how fork protection arises and how its differences with HR give insights into the differing contexts of these two pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Tye
- Section of Structural and Synthetic Biology, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - George E Ronson
- University of Birmingham, College of Medical Dental Schools, Institute of Cancer and Genomics Sciences, Birmingham Centre for Genome Biology, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Joanna R Morris
- University of Birmingham, College of Medical Dental Schools, Institute of Cancer and Genomics Sciences, Birmingham Centre for Genome Biology, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
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Hydroxyurea and Caffeine Impact pRb-like Protein-Dependent Chromatin Architecture Profiles in Interphase Cells of Vicia faba. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22094572. [PMID: 33925461 PMCID: PMC8123844 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22094572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The survival of cells depends on their ability to replicate correctly genetic material. Cells exposed to replication stress can experience a number of problems that may lead to deregulated proliferation, the development of cancer, and/or programmed cell death. In this article, we have induced prolonged replication arrest via hydroxyurea (HU) treatment and also premature chromosome condensation (PCC) by co-treatment with HU and caffeine (CF) in the root meristem cells of Vicia faba. We have analyzed the changes in the activities of retinoblastoma-like protein (RbS807/811ph). Results obtained from the immunocytochemical detection of RbS807/811ph allowed us to distinguish five unique activity profiles of pRb. We have also performed detailed 3D modeling using Blender 2.9.1., based on the original data and some final conclusions. 3D models helped us to visualize better the events occurring within the nuclei and acted as a high-resolution aid for presenting the results. We have found that, despite the decrease in pRb activity, its activity profiles were mostly intact and clearly recognizable, with some local alterations that may correspond to the increased demand in transcriptional activity. Our findings suggest that Vicia faba’s ability to withstand harsh environments may come from its well-developed and highly effective response to replication stress.
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Abstract
Cancer is a complex disease characterized by loss of cellular homeostasis through genetic and epigenetic alterations. Emerging evidence highlights a role for histone variants and their dedicated chaperones in cancer initiation and progression. Histone variants are involved in processes as diverse as maintenance of genome integrity, nuclear architecture and cell identity. On a molecular level, histone variants add a layer of complexity to the dynamic regulation of transcription, DNA replication and repair, and mitotic chromosome segregation. Because these functions are critical to ensure normal proliferation and maintenance of cellular fate, cancer cells are defined by their capacity to subvert them. Hijacking histone variants and their chaperones is emerging as a common means to disrupt homeostasis across a wide range of cancers, particularly solid tumours. Here we discuss histone variants and histone chaperones as tumour-promoting or tumour-suppressive players in the pathogenesis of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dan Filipescu
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
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Cabral JM, Cushman CH, Sodroski CN, Knipe DM. ATRX limits the accessibility of histone H3-occupied HSV genomes during lytic infection. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009567. [PMID: 33909709 PMCID: PMC8109836 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Revised: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Histones are rapidly loaded on the HSV genome upon entry into the nucleus of human fibroblasts, but the effects of histone loading on viral replication have not been fully defined. We showed recently that ATRX is dispensable for de novo deposition of H3 to HSV genomes after nuclear entry but restricted infection through maintenance of viral heterochromatin. To further investigate the roles that ATRX and other histone H3 chaperones play in restriction of HSV, we infected human fibroblasts that were systematically depleted of nuclear H3 chaperones. We found that the ATRX/DAXX complex is unique among nuclear H3 chaperones in its capacity to restrict ICP0-null HSV infection. Only depletion of ATRX significantly alleviated restriction of viral replication. Interestingly, no individual nuclear H3 chaperone was required for deposition of H3 onto input viral genomes, suggesting that during lytic infection, H3 deposition may occur through multiple pathways. ChIP-seq for total histone H3 in control and ATRX-KO cells infected with ICP0-null HSV showed that HSV DNA is loaded with high levels of histones across the entire viral genome. Despite high levels of H3, ATAC-seq analysis revealed that HSV DNA is highly accessible, especially in regions of high GC content, and is not organized largely into ordered nucleosomes during lytic infection. ATRX reduced accessibility of viral DNA to the activity of a TN5 transposase and enhanced accumulation of viral DNA fragment sizes associated with nucleosome-like structures. Together, these findings support a model in which ATRX restricts viral infection by altering the structure of histone H3-loaded viral chromatin that reduces viral DNA accessibility for transcription. High GC rich regions of the HSV genome, especially the S component inverted repeats of the HSV-1 genome, show increased accessibility, which may lead to increased ability to transcribe the IE genes encoded in these regions during initiation of infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph M. Cabral
- Department of Microbiology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Program in Virology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Camille H. Cushman
- Program in Virology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Catherine N. Sodroski
- Department of Microbiology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Program in Virology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - David M. Knipe
- Department of Microbiology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Program in Virology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
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Cook A, Bernstein E. A strike against indolent neuroblastoma. EBioMedicine 2020; 60:103000. [PMID: 32977162 PMCID: PMC7516059 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.103000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
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Martire S, Banaszynski LA. The roles of histone variants in fine-tuning chromatin organization and function. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2020; 21:522-541. [PMID: 32665685 PMCID: PMC8245300 DOI: 10.1038/s41580-020-0262-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 200] [Impact Index Per Article: 50.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Histones serve to both package and organize DNA within the nucleus. In addition to histone post-translational modification and chromatin remodelling complexes, histone variants contribute to the complexity of epigenetic regulation of the genome. Histone variants are characterized by a distinct protein sequence and a selection of designated chaperone systems and chromatin remodelling complexes that regulate their localization in the genome. In addition, histone variants can be enriched with specific post-translational modifications, which in turn can provide a scaffold for recruitment of variant-specific interacting proteins to chromatin. Thus, through these properties, histone variants have the capacity to endow specific regions of chromatin with unique character and function in a regulated manner. In this Review, we provide an overview of recent advances in our understanding of the contribution of histone variants to chromatin function in mammalian systems. First, we discuss new molecular insights into chaperone-mediated histone variant deposition. Next, we discuss mechanisms by which histone variants influence chromatin properties such as nucleosome stability and the local chromatin environment both through histone variant sequence-specific effects and through their role in recruiting different chromatin-associated complexes. Finally, we focus on histone variant function in the context of both embryonic development and human disease, specifically developmental syndromes and cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Martire
- Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Children's Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Laura A Banaszynski
- Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Children's Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
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George SL, Lorenzi F, King D, Hartlieb S, Campbell J, Pemberton H, Toprak UH, Barker K, Tall J, da Costa BM, van den Boogaard ML, Dolman MEM, Molenaar JJ, Bryant HE, Westermann F, Lord CJ, Chesler L. Therapeutic vulnerabilities in the DNA damage response for the treatment of ATRX mutant neuroblastoma. EBioMedicine 2020; 59:102971. [PMID: 32846370 PMCID: PMC7452577 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.102971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Revised: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In neuroblastoma, genetic alterations in ATRX, define a distinct poor outcome patient subgroup. Despite the need for new therapies, there is a lack of available models and a dearth of pre-clinical research. METHODS To evaluate the impact of ATRX loss of function (LoF) in neuroblastoma, we utilized CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to generate neuroblastoma cell lines isogenic for ATRX. We used these and other models to identify therapeutically exploitable synthetic lethal vulnerabilities associated with ATRX LoF. FINDINGS In isogenic cell lines, we found that ATRX inactivation results in increased DNA damage, homologous recombination repair (HRR) defects and impaired replication fork processivity. In keeping with this, high-throughput compound screening showed selective sensitivity in ATRX mutant cells to multiple PARP inhibitors and the ATM inhibitor KU60019. ATRX mutant cells also showed selective sensitivity to the DNA damaging agents, sapacitabine and irinotecan. HRR deficiency was also seen in the ATRX deleted CHLA-90 cell line, and significant sensitivity demonstrated to olaparib/irinotecan combination therapy in all ATRX LoF models. In-vivo sensitivity to olaparib/irinotecan was seen in ATRX mutant but not wild-type xenografts. Finally, sustained responses to olaparib/irinotecan therapy were seen in an ATRX deleted neuroblastoma patient derived xenograft. INTERPRETATION ATRX LoF results in specific DNA damage repair defects that can be therapeutically exploited. In ATRX LoF models, preclinical sensitivity is demonstrated to olaparib and irinotecan, a combination that can be rapidly translated into the clinic. FUNDING This work was supported by Christopher's Smile, Neuroblastoma UK, Cancer Research UK, and the Royal Marsden Hospital NIHR BRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sally L George
- Paediatric Tumour Biology, Division of Clinical Studies, The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5NG, United Kingdom; Children and Young People's Unit, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5PT United Kingdom.
| | - Federica Lorenzi
- Paediatric Tumour Biology, Division of Clinical Studies, The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5NG, United Kingdom
| | - David King
- Academic Unit of Molecular Oncology, Sheffield Institute for Nucleic Acids (SInFoNiA), Department of Oncology and Metabolism, University of Sheffield, Beech Hill Road, Sheffield S10 2RX, United Kingdom
| | - Sabine Hartlieb
- Neuroblastoma Genomics, Hopp Children`s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ) & German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - James Campbell
- Bioinformatics Core Facility, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom
| | - Helen Pemberton
- CRUK Gene Function Laboratory and Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Research London, SW3 6JB, United Kingdom
| | - Umut H Toprak
- Neuroblastoma Genomics, Hopp Children`s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ) & German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Karen Barker
- Paediatric Tumour Biology, Division of Clinical Studies, The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5NG, United Kingdom
| | - Jennifer Tall
- Paediatric Tumour Biology, Division of Clinical Studies, The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5NG, United Kingdom
| | - Barbara Martins da Costa
- Paediatric Tumour Biology, Division of Clinical Studies, The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5NG, United Kingdom
| | | | - M Emmy M Dolman
- Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Cancer, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Jan J Molenaar
- Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Cancer, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Helen E Bryant
- Academic Unit of Molecular Oncology, Sheffield Institute for Nucleic Acids (SInFoNiA), Department of Oncology and Metabolism, University of Sheffield, Beech Hill Road, Sheffield S10 2RX, United Kingdom
| | - Frank Westermann
- Neuroblastoma Genomics, Hopp Children`s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ) & German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christopher J Lord
- CRUK Gene Function Laboratory and Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Research London, SW3 6JB, United Kingdom
| | - Louis Chesler
- Paediatric Tumour Biology, Division of Clinical Studies, The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5NG, United Kingdom; Children and Young People's Unit, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5PT United Kingdom
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Joseph SA, Taglialatela A, Leuzzi G, Huang JW, Cuella-Martin R, Ciccia A. Time for remodeling: SNF2-family DNA translocases in replication fork metabolism and human disease. DNA Repair (Amst) 2020; 95:102943. [PMID: 32971328 DOI: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2020.102943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2020] [Revised: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/26/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Over the course of DNA replication, DNA lesions, transcriptional intermediates and protein-DNA complexes can impair the progression of replication forks, thus resulting in replication stress. Failure to maintain replication fork integrity in response to replication stress leads to genomic instability and predisposes to the development of cancer and other genetic disorders. Multiple DNA damage and repair pathways have evolved to allow completion of DNA replication following replication stress, thus preserving genomic integrity. One of the processes commonly induced in response to replication stress is fork reversal, which consists in the remodeling of stalled replication forks into four-way DNA junctions. In normal conditions, fork reversal slows down replication fork progression to ensure accurate repair of DNA lesions and facilitates replication fork restart once the DNA lesions have been removed. However, in certain pathological situations, such as the deficiency of DNA repair factors that protect regressed forks from nuclease-mediated degradation, fork reversal can cause genomic instability. In this review, we describe the complex molecular mechanisms regulating fork reversal, with a focus on the role of the SNF2-family fork remodelers SMARCAL1, ZRANB3 and HLTF, and highlight the implications of fork reversal for tumorigenesis and cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A Joseph
- Department of Genetics and Development, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Angelo Taglialatela
- Department of Genetics and Development, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Giuseppe Leuzzi
- Department of Genetics and Development, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jen-Wei Huang
- Department of Genetics and Development, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Raquel Cuella-Martin
- Department of Genetics and Development, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Alberto Ciccia
- Department of Genetics and Development, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
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42
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Timpano S, Picketts DJ. Neurodevelopmental Disorders Caused by Defective Chromatin Remodeling: Phenotypic Complexity Is Highlighted by a Review of ATRX Function. Front Genet 2020; 11:885. [PMID: 32849845 PMCID: PMC7432156 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.00885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to determine the genetic etiology of intellectual disability (ID) and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) has improved immensely over the last decade. One prevailing metric from these studies is the large percentage of genes encoding epigenetic regulators, including many members of the ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling enzyme family. Chromatin remodeling proteins can be subdivided into five classes that include SWI/SNF, ISWI, CHD, INO80, and ATRX. These proteins utilize the energy from ATP hydrolysis to alter nucleosome positioning and are implicated in many cellular processes. As such, defining their precise roles and contributions to brain development and disease pathogenesis has proven to be complex. In this review, we illustrate that complexity by reviewing the roles of ATRX on genome stability, replication, and transcriptional regulation and how these mechanisms provide key insight into the phenotype of ATR-X patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Timpano
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - David J. Picketts
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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43
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Kent T, Gracias D, Shepherd S, Clynes D. Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres in Pediatric Cancer: Mechanisms to Therapies. Front Oncol 2020; 9:1518. [PMID: 32039009 PMCID: PMC6985284 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2019.01518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Achieving replicative immortality is a crucial step in tumorigenesis and requires both bypassing cell cycle checkpoints and the extension of telomeres, sequences that protect the distal ends of chromosomes during replication. In the majority of cancers this is achieved through the enzyme telomerase, however a subset of cancers instead utilize a telomerase-independent mechanism of telomere elongation-the Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) pathway. Recent work has aimed to decipher the exact mechanism that underlies this pathway. To this end, this pathway has now been shown to extend telomeres through exploitation of DNA repair machinery in a unique process that may present a number of druggable targets. The identification of such targets, and the subsequent development or repurposing of therapies to these targets may be crucial to improving the prognosis for many ALT-positive cancers, wherein mean survival is lower than non-ALT counterparts and the cancers themselves are particularly unresponsive to standard of care therapies. In this review we summarize the recent identification of many aspects of the ALT pathway, and the therapies that may be employed to exploit these new targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Kent
- MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Deanne Gracias
- Department of Oncology, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Samuel Shepherd
- Department of Oncology, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - David Clynes
- Department of Oncology, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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44
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Mahmud I, Liao D. DAXX in cancer: phenomena, processes, mechanisms and regulation. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 47:7734-7752. [PMID: 31350900 PMCID: PMC6735914 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Revised: 07/05/2019] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
DAXX displays complex biological functions. Remarkably, DAXX overexpression is a common feature in diverse cancers, which correlates with tumorigenesis, disease progression and treatment resistance. Structurally, DAXX is modular with an N-terminal helical bundle, a docking site for many DAXX interactors (e.g. p53 and ATRX). DAXX's central region folds with the H3.3/H4 dimer, providing a H3.3-specific chaperoning function. DAXX has two functionally critical SUMO-interacting motifs. These modules are connected by disordered regions. DAXX's structural features provide a framework for deciphering how DAXX mechanistically imparts its functions and how its activity is regulated. DAXX modulates transcription through binding to transcription factors, epigenetic modifiers, and chromatin remodelers. DAXX's localization in the PML nuclear bodies also plays roles in transcriptional regulation. DAXX-regulated genes are likely important effectors of its biological functions. Deposition of H3.3 and its interactions with epigenetic modifiers are likely key events for DAXX to regulate transcription, DNA repair, and viral infection. Interactions between DAXX and its partners directly impact apoptosis and cell signaling. DAXX's activity is regulated by posttranslational modifications and ubiquitin-dependent degradation. Notably, the tumor suppressor SPOP promotes DAXX degradation in phase-separated droplets. We summarize here our current understanding of DAXX's complex functions with a focus on how it promotes oncogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iqbal Mahmud
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, UF Health Cancer Center, University of Florida College of Medicine, 1333 Center Drive, Gainesville, FL 32610-0235, USA
| | - Daiqing Liao
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, UF Health Cancer Center, University of Florida College of Medicine, 1333 Center Drive, Gainesville, FL 32610-0235, USA
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45
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Alvarez-Saavedra M, Yan K, De Repentigny Y, Hashem LE, Chaudary N, Sarwar S, Yang D, Ioshikhes I, Kothary R, Hirayama T, Yagi T, Picketts DJ. Snf2h Drives Chromatin Remodeling to Prime Upper Layer Cortical Neuron Development. Front Mol Neurosci 2019; 12:243. [PMID: 31680852 PMCID: PMC6811508 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2019.00243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Alterations in the homeostasis of either cortical progenitor pool, namely the apically located radial glial (RG) cells or the basal intermediate progenitors (IPCs) can severely impair cortical neuron production. Such changes are reflected by microcephaly and are often associated with cognitive defects. Genes encoding epigenetic regulators are a frequent cause of intellectual disability and many have been shown to regulate progenitor cell growth, including our inactivation of the Smarca1 gene encoding Snf2l, which is one of two ISWI mammalian orthologs. Loss of the Snf2l protein resulted in dysregulation of Foxg1 and IPC proliferation leading to macrocephaly. Here we show that inactivation of the closely related Smarca5 gene encoding the Snf2h chromatin remodeler is necessary for embryonic IPC expansion and subsequent specification of callosal projection neurons. Telencephalon-specific Smarca5 cKO embryos have impaired cell cycle kinetics and increased cell death, resulting in fewer Tbr2+ and FoxG1+ IPCs by mid-neurogenesis. These deficits give rise to adult mice with a dramatic reduction in Satb2+ upper layer neurons, and partial agenesis of the corpus callosum. Mice survive into adulthood but molecularly display reduced expression of the clustered protocadherin genes that may further contribute to altered dendritic arborization and a hyperactive behavioral phenotype. Our studies provide novel insight into the developmental function of Snf2h-dependent chromatin remodeling processes during brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matías Alvarez-Saavedra
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Departamento de Biología Celular y Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Keqin Yan
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Yves De Repentigny
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Lukas E. Hashem
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Nidhi Chaudary
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Shihab Sarwar
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Doo Yang
- Departments of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Ilya Ioshikhes
- Departments of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Rashmi Kothary
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Departments of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Teruyoshi Hirayama
- KOKORO-Biology Group, Integrated Biology Laboratories, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
- Department of Anatomy and Developmental Neurobiology, Tokushima University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Tokushima, Japan
| | - Takeshi Yagi
- KOKORO-Biology Group, Integrated Biology Laboratories, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
| | - David J. Picketts
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Departments of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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46
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Bryan TM. Mechanisms of DNA Replication and Repair: Insights from the Study of G-Quadruplexes. Molecules 2019; 24:E3439. [PMID: 31546714 PMCID: PMC6804030 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24193439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2019] [Revised: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 09/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
G-quadruplexes are four-stranded guanine-rich structures that have been demonstrated to occur across the genome in humans and other organisms. They provide regulatory functions during transcription, translation and immunoglobulin gene rearrangement, but there is also a large amount of evidence that they can present a potent barrier to the DNA replication machinery. This mini-review will summarize recent advances in understanding the many strategies nature has evolved to overcome G-quadruplex-mediated replication blockage, including removal of the structure by helicases or nucleases, or circumventing the deleterious effects on the genome through homologous recombination, alternative end-joining or synthesis re-priming. Paradoxically, G-quadruplexes have also recently been demonstrated to provide a positive role in stimulating the initiation of DNA replication. These recent studies have not only illuminated the many roles and consequences of G-quadruplexes, but have also provided fundamental insights into the general mechanisms of DNA replication and its links with genetic and epigenetic stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracy M Bryan
- Children's Medical Research Institute, University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia.
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47
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Young KG, Yan K, Picketts DJ. C3aR signaling and gliosis in response to neurodevelopmental damage in the cerebellum. J Neuroinflammation 2019; 16:135. [PMID: 31272467 PMCID: PMC6610970 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-019-1530-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Conditional ablation of the Smarca5 gene in mice severely impairs the postnatal growth of the cerebellum and causes an ataxic phenotype. Comparative gene expression studies indicated that complement-related proteins were upregulated in the cerebellum of Smarca5 mutant mice. Complement proteins play critical roles within innate immune signaling pathways and, in the brain, are produced by glial cells under both normal and pathological conditions. The C3 complement protein-derived signaling peptide, C3a, has been implicated in contributing to both tissue damage and repair in conditions such as multiple sclerosis and stroke. Here, we investigated whether C3a receptor (C3aR) signaling promoted damage or repair in the developing cerebellum of Smarca5 mutant mice. METHODS Brain and cerebellum lysates from single Smarca5 conditional knockout (Smarca5 cKO) mice, C3aR1 KO mice, or double mutant mice were used for qRT-PCR and immunoblotting to assess the contribution of C3aR to the Smarca5 cKO brain pathology. Immunohistochemistry was used to characterize alterations to astroglia and phagocyte cells in the developing cerebellum of each of the genotypes. RESULTS C3aR signaling was observed to limit gliosis and promote granule neuron survival during postnatal cerebellar development. In Smarca5 cKO mice, disorganized astroglia with increased GFAP expression develops concurrently with cerebellar granule neuron loss and phagocyte invasion over the first 10 days following birth. Potential ligand precursors of C3aR-VGF and C3-were found to have upregulated expression and/or altered processing during this time. Phagocytes (microglia and macrophages) in both the control and Smarca5 mutant mice were the only cells observed to express C3aR. Loss of C3aR in the Smarca5 cKO cerebellum resulted in increased numbers of apoptotic cells and early phagocyte invasion into the external granule cell layer, as well as an exacerbated disorganization of the Bergmann glia. The loss of C3aR expression also attenuated an increase in the expression of the efferocytosis-related protein, MerTK, whose transcript was upregulated ~ 2.5-fold in the Smarca5 mutant cerebellum at P10. CONCLUSIONS This data indicates that C3aR can play an important role in limiting astrogliosis and regulating phagocyte phenotypes following developmental cell loss in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin G Young
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L6, Canada.,Present address: Therapeutic Products Directorate, Health Canada, 1600 Scott St, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0K9, Canada
| | - Keqin Yan
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L6, Canada
| | - David J Picketts
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L6, Canada. .,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8M5, Canada. .,Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8M5, Canada.
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48
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Shastrula PK, Sierra I, Deng Z, Keeney F, Hayden JE, Lieberman PM, Janicki SM. PML is recruited to heterochromatin during S phase and represses DAXX-mediated histone H3.3 chromatin assembly. J Cell Sci 2019; 132:jcs.220970. [PMID: 30796101 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.220970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2018] [Accepted: 02/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The incorporation of the histone H3 variant, H3.3, into chromatin by the H3.3-specific chaperone DAXX and the ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling factor ATRX is a critical mechanism for silencing repetitive DNA. DAXX and ATRX are also components of promyelocytic nuclear bodies (PML-NBs), which have been identified as sites of H3.3 chromatin assembly. Here, we use a transgene array that can be visualized in single living cells to investigate the mechanisms that recruit PML-NB proteins (i.e. PML, DAXX, ATRX, and SUMO-1, SUMO-2 and SUMO-3) to heterochromatin and their functions in H3.3 chromatin assembly. We show that DAXX and PML are recruited to the array through distinct SUMOylation-dependent mechanisms. Additionally, PML is recruited during S phase and its depletion increases H3.3 deposition. Since this effect is abrogated when PML and DAXX are co-depleted, it is likely that PML represses DAXX-mediated H3.3 chromatin assembly. Taken together, these results suggest that, at heterochromatin, PML-NBs coordinate H3.3 chromatin assembly with DNA replication, which has important implications for understanding how transcriptional silencing is established and maintained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prashanth Krishna Shastrula
- The Wistar Institute, 3601 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.,University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Department of Biological Sciences, 600 South 43rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Isabel Sierra
- The Wistar Institute, 3601 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Zhong Deng
- The Wistar Institute, 3601 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Frederick Keeney
- The Wistar Institute, 3601 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - James E Hayden
- The Wistar Institute, 3601 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Paul M Lieberman
- The Wistar Institute, 3601 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Susan M Janicki
- The Wistar Institute, 3601 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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Wang Y, Yang J, Wild AT, Wu WH, Shah R, Danussi C, Riggins GJ, Kannan K, Sulman EP, Chan TA, Huse JT. G-quadruplex DNA drives genomic instability and represents a targetable molecular abnormality in ATRX-deficient malignant glioma. Nat Commun 2019; 10:943. [PMID: 30808951 PMCID: PMC6391399 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-08905-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2018] [Accepted: 02/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Mutational inactivation of ATRX (α-thalassemia mental retardation X-linked) represents a defining molecular alteration in large subsets of malignant glioma. Yet the pathogenic consequences of ATRX deficiency remain unclear, as do tractable mechanisms for its therapeutic targeting. Here we report that ATRX loss in isogenic glioma model systems induces replication stress and DNA damage by way of G-quadruplex (G4) DNA secondary structure. Moreover, these effects are associated with the acquisition of disease-relevant copy number alterations over time. We then demonstrate, both in vitro and in vivo, that ATRX deficiency selectively enhances DNA damage and cell death following chemical G4 stabilization. Finally, we show that G4 stabilization synergizes with other DNA-damaging therapies, including ionizing radiation, in the ATRX-deficient context. Our findings reveal novel pathogenic mechanisms driven by ATRX deficiency in glioma, while also pointing to tangible strategies for drug development. ATRX deficiency is linked to genomic stability in cancer cells. Here, the authors show that ATRX inactivation induces G-quadruplex formation, leading to genome-wide DNA damage, and the use of G-quadruplex stabilisers can be exploited therapeutically in ATRX deficient gliomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxiang Wang
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Jie Yang
- Department of Radation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Aaron T Wild
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Wei H Wu
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Rachna Shah
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Carla Danussi
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Gregory J Riggins
- Departments of Neurosurgery, Oncology, and Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21231, USA
| | - Kasthuri Kannan
- Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Erik P Sulman
- Department of Radation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Department of Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Timothy A Chan
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA.,Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Jason T Huse
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. .,Department of Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
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50
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Abstract
The maintenance of genome stability in eukaryotic cells relies on accurate and efficient replication along each chromosome following every cell division. The terminal position, repetitive sequence, and structural complexities of the telomeric DNA make the telomere an inherently difficult region to replicate within the genome. Thus, despite functioning to protect genome stability mammalian telomeres are also a source of replication stress and have been recognized as common fragile sites within the genome. Telomere fragility is exacerbated at telomeres that rely on the Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) pathway. Like common fragile sites, ALT telomeres are prone to chromosome breaks and are frequent sites of recombination suggesting that ALT telomeres are subjected to chronic replication stress. Here, we will review the features of telomeric DNA that challenge the replication machinery and also how the cell overcomes these challenges to maintain telomere stability and ensure the faithful duplication of the human genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Mason-Osann
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Cancer Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Himabindu Gali
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Cancer Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Rachel Litman Flynn
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Medicine, Cancer Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
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