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Tambe A, MacCarthy T, Pavri R. Interpretable deep learning reveals the role of an E-box motif in suppressing somatic hypermutation of AGCT motifs within human immunoglobulin variable regions. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1407470. [PMID: 38863710 PMCID: PMC11165027 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1407470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Somatic hypermutation (SHM) of immunoglobulin variable (V) regions by activation induced deaminase (AID) is essential for robust, long-term humoral immunity against pathogen and vaccine antigens. AID mutates cytosines preferentially within WRCH motifs (where W=A or T, R=A or G and H=A, C or T). However, it has been consistently observed that the mutability of WRCH motifs varies substantially, with large variations in mutation frequency even between multiple occurrences of the same motif within a single V region. This has led to the notion that the immediate sequence context of WRCH motifs contributes to mutability. Recent studies have highlighted the potential role of local DNA sequence features in promoting mutagenesis of AGCT, a commonly mutated WRCH motif. Intriguingly, AGCT motifs closer to 5' ends of V regions, within the framework 1 (FW1) sub-region1, mutate less frequently, suggesting an SHM-suppressing sequence context. Methods Here, we systematically examined the basis of AGCT positional biases in human SHM datasets with DeepSHM, a machine-learning model designed to predict SHM patterns. This was combined with integrated gradients, an interpretability method, to interrogate the basis of DeepSHM predictions. Results DeepSHM predicted the observed positional differences in mutation frequencies at AGCT motifs with high accuracy. For the conserved, lowly mutating AGCT motifs in FW1, integrated gradients predicted a large negative contribution of 5'C and 3'G flanking residues, suggesting that a CAGCTG context in this location was suppressive for SHM. CAGCTG is the recognition motif for E-box transcription factors, including E2A, which has been implicated in SHM. Indeed, we found a strong, inverse relationship between E-box motif fidelity and mutation frequency. Moreover, E2A was found to associate with the V region locale in two human B cell lines. Finally, analysis of human SHM datasets revealed that naturally occurring mutations in the 3'G flanking residues, which effectively ablate the E-box motif, were associated with a significantly increased rate of AGCT mutation. Discussion Our results suggest an antagonistic relationship between mutation frequency and the binding of E-box factors like E2A at specific AGCT motif contexts and, therefore, highlight a new, suppressive mechanism regulating local SHM patterns in human V regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhik Tambe
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Thomas MacCarthy
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Rushad Pavri
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna, Austria
- Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, School of Immunology & Microbial Sciences, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
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Schrader CE, Williams T, Pechhold K, Linehan EK, Tsuchimoto D, Nakabeppu Y. APE2 Promotes AID-Dependent Somatic Hypermutation in Primary B Cell Cultures That Is Suppressed by APE1. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY (BALTIMORE, MD. : 1950) 2023; 210:1804-1814. [PMID: 37074207 PMCID: PMC10234595 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2100946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/20/2023]
Abstract
Somatic hypermutation (SHM) is necessary for Ab diversification and involves error-prone DNA repair of activation-induced cytidine deaminase-induced lesions in germinal center (GC) B cells but can also cause genomic instability. GC B cells express low levels of the DNA repair protein apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonuclease (APE)1 and high levels of its homolog APE2. Reduced SHM in APE2-deficient mice suggests that APE2 promotes SHM, but these GC B cells also exhibit reduced proliferation that could impact mutation frequency. In this study, we test the hypothesis that APE2 promotes and APE1 suppresses SHM. We show how APE1/APE2 expression changes in primary murine spleen B cells during activation, impacting both SHM and class-switch recombination (CSR). High levels of both APE1 and APE2 early after activation promote CSR. However, after 2 d, APE1 levels decrease steadily with each cell division, even with repeated stimulation, whereas APE2 levels increase with each stimulation. When GC-level APE1/APE2 expression was engineered by reducing APE1 genetically (apex1+/-) and overexpressing APE2, bona fide activation-induced cytidine deaminase-dependent VDJH4 intron SHM became detectable in primary B cell cultures. The C terminus of APE2 that interacts with proliferating cell nuclear Ag promotes SHM and CSR, although its ATR-Chk1-interacting Zf-GRF domain is not required. However, APE2 does not increase mutations unless APE1 is reduced. Although APE1 promotes CSR, it suppresses SHM, suggesting that downregulation of APE1 in the GC is required for SHM. Genome-wide expression data compare GC and cultured B cells and new models depict how APE1 and APE2 expression and protein interactions change during B cell activation and affect the balance between accurate and error-prone repair during CSR and SHM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carol E. Schrader
- Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, Program in Immunology and Microbiology, UMassChan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655
| | - Travis Williams
- Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, Program in Immunology and Microbiology, UMassChan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655
| | - Klaus Pechhold
- Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, Program in Immunology and Microbiology, UMassChan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655
| | - Erin K. Linehan
- Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, Program in Immunology and Microbiology, UMassChan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655
| | - Daisuke Tsuchimoto
- Department of Immunobiology and Neuroscience, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
| | - Yusaku Nakabeppu
- Department of Immunobiology and Neuroscience, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
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3
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Martínez-Riaño A, Delgado P, Tercero R, Barrero S, Mendoza P, Oeste CL, Abia D, Rodríguez-Bovolenta E, Turner M, Alarcón B. Recreation of an antigen-driven germinal center in vitro by providing B cells with phagocytic antigen. Commun Biol 2023; 6:437. [PMID: 37081131 PMCID: PMC10119099 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04807-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Successful vaccines rely on activating a functional humoral immune response through the generation of class-switched high affinity immunoglobulins (Igs). The germinal center (GC) reaction is crucial for this process, in which B cells are selected in their search for antigen and T cell help. A major hurdle to understand the mechanisms of B cell:T cell cooperation has been the lack of an antigen-specific in vitro GC system. Here we report the generation of antigen-specific, high-affinity, class-switched Igs in simple 2-cell type cultures of naive B and T cells. B cell antigen uptake by phagocytosis is key to generate these Igs. We have used the method to interrogate if T cells confer directional help to cognate B cells that present antigen and to bystander B cells. We find that bystander B cells do not generate class-switched antibodies due to a defective formation of T-B conjugates and an early conversion into memory B cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Martínez-Riaño
- Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pilar Delgado
- Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Rut Tercero
- Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sara Barrero
- Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pilar Mendoza
- Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Clara L Oeste
- Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Abia
- Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Martin Turner
- The Brabaham Institute, Babraham Hall House, Babraham, Cambridge, CB22 3AT, UK
| | - Balbino Alarcón
- Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
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4
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Martin OA, Thomas M, Marquet M, Bruzeau C, Garot A, Brousse M, Bender S, Carrion C, Choi JE, Vuong BQ, Gearhart PJ, Maul RW, Le Noir S, Pinaud E. The IgH Eµ-MAR regions promote UNG-dependent error-prone repair to optimize somatic hypermutation. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1030813. [PMID: 36865553 PMCID: PMC9971809 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1030813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Intoduction Two scaffold/matrix attachment regions (5'- and 3'-MARsEµ ) flank the intronic core enhancer (cEµ) within the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus (IgH). Besides their conservation in mice and humans, the physiological role of MARsEµ is still unclear and their involvement in somatic hypermutation (SHM) has never been deeply evaluated. Methods Our study analyzed SHM and its transcriptional control in a mouse model devoid of MARsEµ , further combined to relevant models deficient for base excision repair and mismatch repair. Results We observed an inverted substitution pattern in of MARsEµ -deficient animals: SHM being decreased upstream from cEµ and increased downstream of it. Strikingly, the SHM defect induced by MARsEµ -deletion was accompanied by an increase of sense transcription of the IgH V region, excluding a direct transcription-coupled effect. Interestingly, by breeding to DNA repair-deficient backgrounds, we showed that the SHM defect, observed upstream from cEµ in this model, was not due to a decrease in AID deamination but rather the consequence of a defect in base excision repair-associated unfaithful repair process. Discussion Our study pointed out an unexpected "fence" function of MARsEµ regions in limiting the error-prone repair machinery to the variable region of Ig gene loci.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ophélie A Martin
- Laboratoire Contrôle de la Réponse Immune B et des Lymphoproliférations (CRIBL), Université de Limoges, CNRS Unité Mixte de Recherche 7276, Inserm Unité 1262, Limoges, France
| | - Morgane Thomas
- Laboratoire Contrôle de la Réponse Immune B et des Lymphoproliférations (CRIBL), Université de Limoges, CNRS Unité Mixte de Recherche 7276, Inserm Unité 1262, Limoges, France
| | - Marie Marquet
- Laboratoire Contrôle de la Réponse Immune B et des Lymphoproliférations (CRIBL), Université de Limoges, CNRS Unité Mixte de Recherche 7276, Inserm Unité 1262, Limoges, France
| | - Charlotte Bruzeau
- Laboratoire Contrôle de la Réponse Immune B et des Lymphoproliférations (CRIBL), Université de Limoges, CNRS Unité Mixte de Recherche 7276, Inserm Unité 1262, Limoges, France
| | - Armand Garot
- Laboratoire Contrôle de la Réponse Immune B et des Lymphoproliférations (CRIBL), Université de Limoges, CNRS Unité Mixte de Recherche 7276, Inserm Unité 1262, Limoges, France
| | - Mylène Brousse
- Laboratoire Contrôle de la Réponse Immune B et des Lymphoproliférations (CRIBL), Université de Limoges, CNRS Unité Mixte de Recherche 7276, Inserm Unité 1262, Limoges, France
| | - Sébastien Bender
- Laboratoire Contrôle de la Réponse Immune B et des Lymphoproliférations (CRIBL), Université de Limoges, CNRS Unité Mixte de Recherche 7276, Inserm Unité 1262, Limoges, France.,Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Dupuytren, Service d'Immunopathologie, Limoges, France
| | - Claire Carrion
- Laboratoire Contrôle de la Réponse Immune B et des Lymphoproliférations (CRIBL), Université de Limoges, CNRS Unité Mixte de Recherche 7276, Inserm Unité 1262, Limoges, France
| | - Jee Eun Choi
- The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York, NY, United States
| | - Bao Q Vuong
- The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York, NY, United States
| | - Patricia J Gearhart
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Robert W Maul
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Sandrine Le Noir
- Laboratoire Contrôle de la Réponse Immune B et des Lymphoproliférations (CRIBL), Université de Limoges, CNRS Unité Mixte de Recherche 7276, Inserm Unité 1262, Limoges, France
| | - Eric Pinaud
- Laboratoire Contrôle de la Réponse Immune B et des Lymphoproliférations (CRIBL), Université de Limoges, CNRS Unité Mixte de Recherche 7276, Inserm Unité 1262, Limoges, France
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5
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Abstract
Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) initiates somatic hypermutation of immunoglobulin (Ig) gene variable regions and class switch recombination (CSR) of Ig heavy chain constant regions. Two decades of intensive research has greatly expanded our knowledge of how AID functions in peripheral B cells to optimize antibody responses against infections, while maintaining tight regulation of AID to restrain its activity to protect B cell genomic integrity. The many exciting recent advances in the field include: 1) the first description of AID's molecular structure, 2) remarkable advances in high throughput approaches that precisely track AID targeting genome-wide, and 3) the discovery that the cohesion-mediate loop extrusion mechanism [initially discovered in V(D)J recombination studies] also governs AID-medicated CSR. These advances have significantly advanced our understanding of AID's biochemical properties in vitro and AID's function and regulation in vivo. This mini review will discuss these recent discoveries and outline the challenges and questions that remain to be addressed.
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6
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Heltzel JHM, Maul RW, Yang W, Gearhart PJ. Promoter Proximity Defines Mutation Window for V H and V Κ Genes Rearranged to Different J Genes. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY (BALTIMORE, MD. : 1950) 2022; 208:2220-2226. [PMID: 35418469 PMCID: PMC9050841 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2101002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Somatic hypermutation induced by activation-induced deaminase (AID) occurs at high densities between the Ig V gene promoter and intronic enhancer, which encompasses DNA encoding the rearranged V gene exon and J intron. It has been proposed that proximity between the promoter and enhancer defines the boundaries of mutation in V regions. However, depending on the J gene used, the distance between the promoter and enhancer is quite variable and may result in differential targeting around the V gene. To examine the effect of distance in mutation accumulation, we sequenced 320 clones containing different endogenous rearranged V genes in the IgH and Igκ loci from Peyer's patch B cells of mice. Clones were grouped by their use of different J genes. Distances between the V gene and enhancer ranged from ∼2.3 kb of intron DNA for rearrangements using J1, ∼2.0 kb for rearrangements using J2, ∼1.6 kb for rearrangements using J3 (H) or 4 (κ), and 1.1 kb for rearrangements using J4 (H) or 5 (κ). Strikingly, >90% of intron mutations occurred within 1 kb downstream of the J gene for both H and κ clones, regardless of which J gene was used. Thus, there is no evidence that the intron sequence or enhancer plays a role in determining the extent of mutation. The results indicate that V region intron mutations are targeted by their proximity to the promoter, suggesting they result from AID interactions with RNA polymerase II over a 1-kb region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin H M Heltzel
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Robert W Maul
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - William Yang
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Patricia J Gearhart
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD
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7
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Tarsalainen A, Maman Y, Meng FL, Kyläniemi MK, Soikkeli A, Budzynska P, McDonald JJ, Šenigl F, Alt FW, Schatz DG, Alinikula J. Ig Enhancers Increase RNA Polymerase II Stalling at Somatic Hypermutation Target Sequences. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY (BALTIMORE, MD. : 1950) 2022; 208:143-154. [PMID: 34862258 PMCID: PMC8702490 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2100923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Somatic hypermutation (SHM) drives the genetic diversity of Ig genes in activated B cells and supports the generation of Abs with increased affinity for Ag. SHM is targeted to Ig genes by their enhancers (diversification activators [DIVACs]), but how the enhancers mediate this activity is unknown. We show using chicken DT40 B cells that highly active DIVACs increase the phosphorylation of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and Pol II occupancy in the mutating gene with little or no accompanying increase in elongation-competent Pol II or production of full-length transcripts, indicating accumulation of stalled Pol II. DIVAC has similar effect also in human Ramos Burkitt lymphoma cells. The DIVAC-induced stalling is weakly associated with an increase in the detection of ssDNA bubbles in the mutating target gene. We did not find evidence for antisense transcription, or that DIVAC functions by altering levels of H3K27ac or the histone variant H3.3 in the mutating gene. These findings argue for a connection between Pol II stalling and cis-acting targeting elements in the context of SHM and thus define a mechanistic basis for locus-specific targeting of SHM in the genome. Our results suggest that DIVAC elements render the target gene a suitable platform for AID-mediated mutation without a requirement for increasing transcriptional output.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina Tarsalainen
- Unit of Infections and Immunity, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, 20520 Turku, Finland
| | - Yaakov Maman
- The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Safed, 1311502, Israel
| | - Fei-Long Meng
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School and Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, HHMI, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.,Current address: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Minna K. Kyläniemi
- Unit of Infections and Immunity, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, 20520 Turku, Finland,Current address: Turku Bioscience Centre, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, 20520 Turku, Finland
| | - Anni Soikkeli
- Unit of Infections and Immunity, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, 20520 Turku, Finland
| | - Paulina Budzynska
- Unit of Infections and Immunity, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, 20520 Turku, Finland
| | - Jessica J. McDonald
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA,Current address: The Annenberg Public Policy Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3806, USA
| | - Filip Šenigl
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 142 20 Praha 4, Czech Republic
| | - Frederic W. Alt
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School and Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, HHMI, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - David G. Schatz
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA,Correspondence should be addressed to and
| | - Jukka Alinikula
- Unit of Infections and Immunity, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, 20520 Turku, Finland,Correspondence should be addressed to and
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8
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The role of HIRA-dependent H3.3 deposition and its modifications in the somatic hypermutation of immunoglobulin variable regions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2114743118. [PMID: 34873043 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2114743118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The H3.3 histone variant and its chaperone HIRA are involved in active transcription, but their detailed roles in regulating somatic hypermutation (SHM) of immunoglobulin variable regions in human B cells are not yet fully understood. In this study, we show that the knockout (KO) of HIRA significantly decreased SHM and changed the mutation pattern of the variable region of the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) in the human Ramos B cell line without changing the levels of activation-induced deaminase and other major proteins known to be involved in SHM. Except for H3K79me2/3 and Spt5, many factors related to active transcription, including H3.3, were substantively decreased in HIRA KO cells, and this was accompanied by decreased nascent transcription in the IgH locus. The abundance of ZMYND11 that specifically binds to H3.3K36me3 on the IgH locus was also reduced in the HIRA KO. Somewhat surprisingly, HIRA loss increased the chromatin accessibility of the IgH V region locus. Furthermore, stable expression of ectopic H3.3G34V and H3.3G34R mutants that inhibit both the trimethylation of H3.3K36 and the recruitment of ZMYND11 significantly reduced SHM in Ramos cells, while the H3.3K79M did not. Consistent with the HIRA KO, the H3.3G34V mutant also decreased the occupancy of various elongation factors and of ZMYND11 on the IgH variable and downstream switching regions. Our results reveal an unrecognized role of HIRA and the H3.3K36me3 modification in SHM and extend our knowledge of how transcription-associated chromatin structure and accessibility contribute to SHM in human B cells.
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9
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A Bayesian model based computational analysis of the relationship between bisulfite accessible single-stranded DNA in chromatin and somatic hypermutation of immunoglobulin genes. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009323. [PMID: 34491985 PMCID: PMC8462741 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The B cells in our body generate protective antibodies by introducing somatic hypermutations (SHM) into the variable region of immunoglobulin genes (IgVs). The mutations are generated by activation induced deaminase (AID) that converts cytosine to uracil in single stranded DNA (ssDNA) generated during transcription. Attempts have been made to correlate SHM with ssDNA using bisulfite to chemically convert cytosines that are accessible in the intact chromatin of mutating B cells. These studies have been complicated by using different definitions of "bisulfite accessible regions" (BARs). Recently, deep-sequencing has provided much larger datasets of such regions but computational methods are needed to enable this analysis. Here we leveraged the deep-sequencing approach with unique molecular identifiers and developed a novel Hidden Markov Model based Bayesian Segmentation algorithm to characterize the ssDNA regions in the IGHV4-34 gene of the human Ramos B cell line. Combining hierarchical clustering and our new Bayesian model, we identified recurrent BARs in certain subregions of both top and bottom strands of this gene. Using this new system, the average size of BARs is about 15 bp. We also identified potential G-quadruplex DNA structures in this gene and found that the BARs co-locate with G-quadruplex structures in the opposite strand. Using various correlation analyses, there is not a direct site-to-site relationship between the bisulfite accessible ssDNA and all sites of SHM but most of the highly AID mutated sites are within 15 bp of a BAR. In summary, we developed a novel platform to study single stranded DNA in chromatin at a base pair resolution that reveals potential relationships among BARs, SHM and G-quadruplexes. This platform could be applied to genome wide studies in the future.
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10
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Role of Dot1L and H3K79 methylation in regulating somatic hypermutation of immunoglobulin genes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2104013118. [PMID: 34253616 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2104013118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class-switch recombination (CSR) of the immunoglobulin (Ig) genes allow B cells to make antibodies that protect us against a wide variety of pathogens. SHM is mediated by activation-induced deaminase (AID), occurs at a million times higher frequency than other mutations in the mammalian genome, and is largely restricted to the variable (V) and switch (S) regions of Ig genes. Using the Ramos human Burkitt's lymphoma cell line, we find that H3K79me2/3 and its methyltransferase Dot1L are more abundant on the V region than on the constant (C) region, which does not undergo mutation. In primary naïve mouse B cells examined ex vivo, the H3K79me2/3 modification appears constitutively in the donor Sμ and is inducible in the recipient Sγ1 upon CSR stimulation. Knockout and inhibition of Dot1L in Ramos cells significantly reduces V region mutation and the abundance of H3K79me2/3 on the V region and is associated with a decrease of polymerase II (Pol II) and its S2 phosphorylated form at the IgH locus. Knockout of Dot1L also decreases the abundance of BRD4 and CDK9 (a subunit of the P-TEFb complex) on the V region, and this is accompanied by decreased nascent transcripts throughout the IgH gene. Treatment with JQ1 (inhibitor of BRD4) or DRB (inhibitor of CDK9) decreases SHM and the abundance of Pol II S2P at the IgH locus. Since all these factors play a role in transcription elongation, our studies reinforce the idea that the chromatin context and dynamics of transcription are critical for SHM.
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11
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Alvarez-Gonzalez J, Yasgar A, Maul RW, Rieffer AE, Crawford DJ, Salamango DJ, Dorjsuren D, Zakharov AV, Jansen DJ, Rai G, Marugan J, Simeonov A, Harris RS, Kohli RM, Gearhart PJ. Small Molecule Inhibitors of Activation-Induced Deaminase Decrease Class Switch Recombination in B Cells. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2021; 4:1214-1226. [PMID: 34151211 DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.1c00064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Activation-induced deaminase (AID) not only mutates DNA within the immunoglobulin loci to generate antibody diversity, but it also promotes development of B cell lymphomas. To tame this mutagen, we performed a quantitative high-throughput screen of over 90 000 compounds to see if AID activity could be mitigated. The enzymatic activity was assessed in biochemical assays to detect cytosine deamination and in cellular assays to measure class switch recombination. Three compounds showed promise via inhibition of switching in a transformed B cell line and in murine splenic B cells. These compounds have similar chemical structures, which suggests a shared mechanism of action. Importantly, the inhibitors blocked AID, but not a related cytosine DNA deaminase, APOBEC3B. We further determined that AID was continually expressed for several days after B cell activation to induce switching. This first report of small molecules that inhibit AID can be used to gain regulatory control over base editors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Alvarez-Gonzalez
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, United States
| | - Adam Yasgar
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20816, United States
| | - Robert W Maul
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, United States
| | - Amanda E Rieffer
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States.,Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States.,Institute for Molecular Virology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Daniel J Crawford
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Daniel J Salamango
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States.,Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States.,Institute for Molecular Virology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Dorjbal Dorjsuren
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20816, United States
| | - Alexey V Zakharov
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20816, United States
| | - Daniel J Jansen
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20816, United States
| | - Ganesha Rai
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20816, United States
| | - Juan Marugan
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20816, United States
| | - Anton Simeonov
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20816, United States
| | - Reuben S Harris
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States.,Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States.,Institute for Molecular Virology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Rahul M Kohli
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Patricia J Gearhart
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, United States
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12
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Senigl F, Maman Y, Dinesh RK, Alinikula J, Seth RB, Pecnova L, Omer AD, Rao SSP, Weisz D, Buerstedde JM, Aiden EL, Casellas R, Hejnar J, Schatz DG. Topologically Associated Domains Delineate Susceptibility to Somatic Hypermutation. Cell Rep 2020; 29:3902-3915.e8. [PMID: 31851922 PMCID: PMC6980758 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.11.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2019] [Revised: 06/26/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Somatic hypermutation (SHM) introduces point mutations into immunoglobulin (Ig) genes but also causes mutations in other parts of the genome. We have used lentiviral SHM reporter vectors to identify regions of the genome that are susceptible (“hot”) and resistant (“cold”) to SHM, revealing that SHM susceptibility and resistance are often properties of entire topologically associated domains (TADs). Comparison of hot and cold TADs reveals that while levels of transcription are equivalent, hot TADs are enriched for the cohesin loader NIPBL, super-enhancers, markers of paused/stalled RNA polymerase 2, and multiple important B cell transcription factors. We demonstrate that at least some hot TADs contain enhancers that possess SHM targeting activity and that insertion of a strong Ig SHM-targeting element into a cold TAD renders it hot. Our findings lead to a model for SHM susceptibility involving the cooperative action of cis-acting SHM targeting elements and the dynamic and architectural properties of TADs. Senigl et al. show that genome susceptibility to somatic hypermutation (SHM) is confined within topologically associated domains (TADs) and is linked to markers of strong enhancers and stalled transcription and high levels of the cohesin loader NIPBL. Insertion of an ectopic SHM targeting element renders an entire TAD susceptible to SHM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filip Senigl
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videnska 1083, 14220 Prague 4, Czech Republic.
| | - Yaakov Maman
- Laboratory of Genome Integrity, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Ravi K Dinesh
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine, 300 Cedar Street, Box 208011, New Haven, CT 06520-8011, USA
| | - Jukka Alinikula
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520 Turku, Finland
| | - Rashu B Seth
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine, 300 Cedar Street, Box 208011, New Haven, CT 06520-8011, USA
| | - Lubomira Pecnova
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videnska 1083, 14220 Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Arina D Omer
- Center for Genome Architecture, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Suhas S P Rao
- Center for Genome Architecture, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - David Weisz
- Center for Genome Architecture, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | | | - Erez Lieberman Aiden
- Center for Genome Architecture, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Rafael Casellas
- Lymphocyte Nuclear Biology, NIAMS, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Center of Cancer Research, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Jiri Hejnar
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videnska 1083, 14220 Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - David G Schatz
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine, 300 Cedar Street, Box 208011, New Haven, CT 06520-8011, USA.
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13
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Pham P, Malik S, Mak C, Calabrese PC, Roeder RG, Goodman MF. AID-RNA polymerase II transcription-dependent deamination of IgV DNA. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 47:10815-10829. [PMID: 31566237 PMCID: PMC6846656 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2019] [Revised: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Activation-induced deoxycytidine deaminase (AID) initiates somatic hypermutation (SHM) in immunoglobulin variable (IgV) genes to produce high-affinity antibodies. SHM requires IgV transcription by RNA polymerase II (Pol II). A eukaryotic transcription system including AID has not been reported previously. Here, we reconstitute AID-catalyzed deamination during Pol II transcription elongation in conjunction with DSIF transcription factor. C→T mutations occur at similar frequencies on non-transcribed strand (NTS) and transcribed strand (TS) DNA. In contrast, bacteriophage T7 Pol generates NTS mutations predominantly. AID-Pol II mutations are strongly favored in WRC and WGCW overlapping hot motifs (W = A or T, R = A or G) on both DNA strands. Single mutations occur on 70% of transcribed DNA clones. Mutations are correlated over a 15 nt distance in multiply mutated clones, suggesting that deaminations are catalyzed processively within a stalled or backtracked transcription bubble. Site-by-site comparisons for biochemical and human memory B-cell mutational spectra in an IGHV3-23*01 target show strongly favored deaminations occurring in the antigen-binding complementarity determining regions (CDR) compared to the framework regions (FW). By exhibiting consistency with B-cell SHM, our in vitro data suggest that biochemically defined reconstituted Pol II transcription systems can be used to investigate how, when and where AID is targeted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phuong Pham
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Sohail Malik
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Chiho Mak
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Peter C Calabrese
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Robert G Roeder
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Myron F Goodman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.,Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
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14
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Feng Y, Seija N, Di Noia JM, Martin A. AID in Antibody Diversification: There and Back Again. Trends Immunol 2020; 41:586-600. [PMID: 32434680 PMCID: PMC7183997 DOI: 10.1016/j.it.2020.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Revised: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Activation-Induced cytidine Deaminase (AID) initiates affinity maturation and isotype switching by deaminating deoxycytidines within immunoglobulin genes, leading to somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switch recombination (CSR). AID thus potentiates the humoral response to clear pathogens. Marking the 20th anniversary of the discovery of AID, we review the current understanding of AID function. We discuss AID biochemistry and how error-free forms of DNA repair are co-opted to prioritize mutagenesis over accuracy during antibody diversification. We discuss the regulation of DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair pathways during CSR. We describe genomic targeting of AID as a multilayered process involving chromatin architecture, cis- and trans-acting factors, and determining mutagenesis – distinct from AID occupancy at loci that are spared from mutation. Subverted base excision repair (BER) and mismatch repair (MMR) pathways act concertedly to generate antibody sequence diversity during SHM. In CSR, DNA DSBs are repaired by the nonhomologous end-joining pathway involving the 53BP1–Rif1–Shieldin axis, and by an alternative end-joining pathway involving HMCES (5-Hydroxymethylcytosine binding, ES-cell-specific) that binds and protects resected DSB ends. Genomic targeting of AID appears to be multilayered, with inbuilt redundancy, but robust enough to ensure that most of the genome is spared from AID activity. Cis elements and genome topology act together with trans-acting factors involved in transcription and RNA processing to determine AID activity at specific Ig regions. Other loci sharing genomic and transcriptional features with the Ig are collaterally targeted during SHM and CSR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqing Feng
- Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Noé Seija
- Institute de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada; Molecular Biology Programs, Department of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Javier M Di Noia
- Institute de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada; Molecular Biology Programs, Department of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
| | - Alberto Martin
- Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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15
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Dinesh RK, Barnhill B, Ilanges A, Wu L, Michelson DA, Senigl F, Alinikula J, Shabanowitz J, Hunt DF, Schatz DG. Transcription factor binding at Ig enhancers is linked to somatic hypermutation targeting. Eur J Immunol 2019; 50:380-395. [PMID: 31821534 DOI: 10.1002/eji.201948357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2019] [Revised: 10/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Secondary diversification of the Ig repertoire occurs through somatic hypermutation (SHM), gene conversion (GCV), and class switch recombination (CSR)-three processes that are initiated by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID). AID targets Ig genes at orders of magnitude higher than the rest of the genome, but the basis for this specificity is poorly understood. We have previously demonstrated that enhancers and enhancer-like sequences from Ig genes are capable of stimulating SHM of neighboring genes in a capacity distinct from their roles in increasing transcription. Here, we use an in vitro proteomics approach to identify E-box, MEF2, Ets, and Ikaros transcription factor family members as potential binders of these enhancers. ChIP assays in the hypermutating Ramos B cell line confirmed that many of these factors bound the endogenous Igλ enhancer and/or the IgH intronic enhancer (Eμ) in vivo. Further investigation using SHM reporter assays identified binding sites for E2A and MEF2B in Eμ and demonstrated an association between loss of factor binding and decreases in the SHM stimulating activity of Eμ mutants. Our results provide novel insights into trans-acting factors that dictate SHM targeting and link their activity to specific DNA binding sites within Ig enhancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravi K Dinesh
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Benjamin Barnhill
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Anoj Ilanges
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Lizhen Wu
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Daniel A Michelson
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Filip Senigl
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, CZ-14220, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Jukka Alinikula
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | | | - Donald F Hunt
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.,Department of Pathology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - David G Schatz
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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16
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Heltzel JMH, Gearhart PJ. What Targets Somatic Hypermutation to the Immunoglobulin Loci? Viral Immunol 2019; 33:277-281. [PMID: 31770070 DOI: 10.1089/vim.2019.0149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the most profound enigmas in B cell biology is how activation-induced deaminase (AID) is targeted to a very small region of DNA in the immunoglobulin loci. Two specific regions are singled out: the variable region of 2 kb that contains rearranged genes on the heavy, κ light, and λ light chain loci, and the switch region of ∼4 kb that contains an extensive stretch of G:C rich DNA on the heavy chain locus. Transcription is required for AID recruitment; however, many genes are also highly transcribed and do not undergo the catastrophic mutagenesis that occurs in variable and switch regions. The DNA sequences of these regions cause RNA polymerase II to accumulate for an extended distance of 2-4 kb. The stalled polymerases then recruit the transcription cofactor Spt5, and AID, which deaminates cytosines to uracils in exposed transcription bubbles. Thus, the immunoglobulin loci are unique in that a favorable combination of DNA sequences and 3' transcription enhancers make them the perfect storm for AID-induced somatic hypermutation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin M H Heltzel
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Patricia J Gearhart
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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17
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Yeap LS, Meng FL. Cis- and trans-factors affecting AID targeting and mutagenic outcomes in antibody diversification. Adv Immunol 2019; 141:51-103. [PMID: 30904133 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ai.2019.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Antigen receptor diversification is a hallmark of adaptive immunity which allows specificity of the receptor to particular antigen. B cell receptor (BCR) or its secreted form, antibody, is diversified through antigen-independent and antigen-dependent mechanisms. During B cell development in bone marrow, BCR is diversified via V(D)J recombination mediated by RAG endonuclease. Upon stimulation by antigen, B cell undergo somatic hypermutation (SHM) to allow affinity maturation and class switch recombination (CSR) to change the effector function of the antibody. Both SHM and CSR are initiated by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID). Repair of AID-initiated lesions through different DNA repair pathways results in diverse mutagenic outcomes. Here, we focus on discussing cis- and trans-factors that target AID to its substrates and factors that affect different outcomes of AID-initiated lesions. The knowledge of mechanisms that govern AID targeting and outcomes could be harnessed to elicit rare functional antibodies and develop ex vivo antibody diversification approaches with diversifying base editors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leng-Siew Yeap
- Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
| | - Fei-Long Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
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18
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Deletion of the immunoglobulin heavy chain 3' regulatory region super-enhancer affects somatic hypermutation in B1 B cells. Cell Mol Immunol 2018; 16:195-197. [PMID: 30127379 DOI: 10.1038/s41423-018-0091-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
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19
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Castiblanco DP, Norton DD, Maul RW, Gearhart PJ. J H6 downstream intronic sequence is dispensable for RNA polymerase II accumulation and somatic hypermutation of the variable gene in Ramos cells. Mol Immunol 2018; 97:101-108. [PMID: 29625296 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2018.03.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2018] [Revised: 03/09/2018] [Accepted: 03/30/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Activation-induced deaminase (AID) introduces nucleotide substitutions within the variable region of immunoglobulin genes to promote antibody diversity. This activity, which is limited to 1.5 kb downstream of the variable gene promoter, mutates both the coding exon and downstream intronic sequences. We recently reported that RNA polymerase II accumulates in these regions during transcription in mice. This build-up directly correlates with the area that is accessible to AID, and manipulation of RNA polymerase II levels alters the mutation frequency. To address whether the intronic DNA sequence by itself can regulate RNA polymerase II accumulation and promote mutagenesis, we deleted 613 bp of DNA downstream of the JH6 intron in the human Ramos B cell line. The loss of this sequence did not alter polymerase abundance or mutagenesis in the variable gene, suggesting that most of the intronic sequence is dispensable for somatic hypermutation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana P Castiblanco
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Darrell D Norton
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Robert W Maul
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Patricia J Gearhart
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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20
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A licensing step links AID to transcription elongation for mutagenesis in B cells. Nat Commun 2018; 9:1248. [PMID: 29593215 PMCID: PMC5871760 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03387-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2017] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Activation-induced deaminase (AID) mutates the immunoglobulin (Ig) genes to initiate somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switch recombination (CSR) in B cells, thus underpinning antibody responses. AID mutates a few hundred other loci, but most AID-occupied genes are spared. The mechanisms underlying productive deamination versus non-productive AID targeting are unclear. Here we show that three clustered arginine residues define a functional AID domain required for SHM, CSR, and off-target activity in B cells without affecting AID deaminase activity or Escherichia coli mutagenesis. Both wt AID and mutants with single amino acid replacements in this domain broadly associate with Spt5 and chromatin and occupy the promoter of AID target genes. However, mutant AID fails to occupy the corresponding gene bodies and loses association with transcription elongation factors. Thus AID mutagenic activity is determined not by locus occupancy but by a licensing mechanism, which couples AID to transcription elongation. Activation-induced deaminase (AID) is important for inducing desirable mutations at the B cell receptor genes for effective antibody responses. Here the authors show that three key arginine residues of AID link AID-chromatin association with transcription elongation to license AID for specific mutagenesis in B cells.
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21
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Gaudot L, Thomas-Claudepierre AS, Robert I, Schiavo E, Heyer V, Reina-San-Martin B. Med1 deficiency alters the somatic hypermutation spectrum in murine B cells. Eur J Immunol 2018; 48:720-723. [PMID: 29293266 DOI: 10.1002/eji.201747258] [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: 08/02/2017] [Revised: 12/06/2017] [Accepted: 12/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The Mediator complex is known to orchestrate transcription. Here we show that B cell conditional deficient mice for the Med1 subunit display robust somatic hypermutation. Nevertheless, the mutation frequency at A residues is decreased and the expected A/T ratio is abolished, implicating Mediator in the second phase of somatic hypermutation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Léa Gaudot
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Illkirch, France.,Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), U 1258, Illkirch, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7104, Illkirch, France.,Université de Strasbourg, Illkirch, France
| | - Anne-Sophie Thomas-Claudepierre
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Illkirch, France.,Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), U 1258, Illkirch, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7104, Illkirch, France.,Université de Strasbourg, Illkirch, France
| | - Isabelle Robert
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Illkirch, France.,Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), U 1258, Illkirch, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7104, Illkirch, France.,Université de Strasbourg, Illkirch, France
| | - Ebe Schiavo
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Illkirch, France.,Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), U 1258, Illkirch, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7104, Illkirch, France.,Université de Strasbourg, Illkirch, France
| | - Vincent Heyer
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Illkirch, France.,Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), U 1258, Illkirch, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7104, Illkirch, France.,Université de Strasbourg, Illkirch, France
| | - Bernardo Reina-San-Martin
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Illkirch, France.,Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), U 1258, Illkirch, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7104, Illkirch, France.,Université de Strasbourg, Illkirch, France
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22
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Castiblanco DP, Maul RW, Russell Knode LM, Gearhart PJ. Co-Stimulation of BCR and Toll-Like Receptor 7 Increases Somatic Hypermutation, Memory B Cell Formation, and Secondary Antibody Response to Protein Antigen. Front Immunol 2017; 8:1833. [PMID: 29312329 PMCID: PMC5742111 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The goal of immunization is to produce both a flood of antibodies to neutralize antigen and memory cells to accelerate the secondary response. To enhance the generation of memory B cells, we examined the effect of co-engaging BCR and toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 receptors by immunizing mice with a hapten-protein antigen, NP-CGG, and a ligand, R837 (imiquimod). During the early and late primary responses, there was no augmentation with R837 on the number of germinal center B cells or serum antibody. However, in the niche of germinal centers, R837 increased somatic hypermutation in the canonical VH1-72 gene that encodes NP-specific antibody. Increased mutation was not due to enhanced expression of activation-induced deaminase, but was likely a result of selection for high-affinity B cells with altered codons in the gene. This correlated with the appearance of antigen-specific B cells with a memory phenotype, which was intrinsic to TLR7 on B cells. To determine if these memory cells produced a recall response after a secondary challenge, spleen cells from mice that were immunized with NP-CGG and R837 were adoptively transferred into muMT recipients, and boosted with NP-CGG. Cells from mice that initially received both antigen and R837 generated a robust increase in germinal center B cells, plasmablasts, plasma cells, and serum antibody, compared with their cohorts who received antigen alone. These results support the use of co-immunization with TLR7 ligands to promote vigorous memory B cell responses to protein antigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana P Castiblanco
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Robert W Maul
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Lisa M Russell Knode
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Patricia J Gearhart
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
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23
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Liu J, Xiong E, Zhu H, Mori H, Yasuda S, Kinoshita K, Tsubata T, Wang JY. Efficient Induction of Ig Gene Hypermutation in Ex Vivo–Activated Primary B Cells. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2017; 199:3023-3030. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1700868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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24
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Thientosapol ES, Sharbeen G, Lau KKE, Bosnjak D, Durack T, Stevanovski I, Weninger W, Jolly CJ. Proximity to AGCT sequences dictates MMR-independent versus MMR-dependent mechanisms for AID-induced mutation via UNG2. Nucleic Acids Res 2017; 45:3146-3157. [PMID: 28039326 PMCID: PMC5389528 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkw1300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2016] [Accepted: 12/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
AID deaminates C to U in either strand of Ig genes, exclusively producing C:G/G:C to T:A/A:T transition mutations if U is left unrepaired. Error-prone processing by UNG2 or mismatch repair diversifies mutation, predominantly at C:G or A:T base pairs, respectively. Here, we show that transversions at C:G base pairs occur by two distinct processing pathways that are dictated by sequence context. Within and near AGCT mutation hotspots, transversion mutation at C:G was driven by UNG2 without requirement for mismatch repair. Deaminations in AGCT were refractive both to processing by UNG2 and to high-fidelity base excision repair (BER) downstream of UNG2, regardless of mismatch repair activity. We propose that AGCT sequences resist faithful BER because they bind BER-inhibitory protein(s) and/or because hemi-deaminated AGCT motifs innately form a BER-resistant DNA structure. Distal to AGCT sequences, transversions at G were largely co-dependent on UNG2 and mismatch repair. We propose that AGCT-distal transversions are produced when apyrimidinic sites are exposed in mismatch excision patches, because completion of mismatch repair would require bypass of these sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eddy Sanchai Thientosapol
- Centenary Institute, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown NSW 2050, and Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
| | - George Sharbeen
- Centenary Institute, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown NSW 2050, and Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
| | - K K Edwin Lau
- Centenary Institute, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown NSW 2050, and Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Daniel Bosnjak
- Centenary Institute, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown NSW 2050, and Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Timothy Durack
- Centenary Institute, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown NSW 2050, and Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Igor Stevanovski
- Centenary Institute, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown NSW 2050, and Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Wolfgang Weninger
- Centenary Institute, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown NSW 2050, and Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Christopher J Jolly
- Centenary Institute, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown NSW 2050, and Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
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Laffleur B, Basu U, Lim J. RNA Exosome and Non-coding RNA-Coupled Mechanisms in AID-Mediated Genomic Alterations. J Mol Biol 2017; 429:3230-3241. [PMID: 28069372 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2016.12.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2016] [Revised: 12/21/2016] [Accepted: 12/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The eukaryotic RNA exosome is a well-conserved protein complex with ribonuclease activity implicated in RNA metabolism. Various families of non-coding RNAs have been identified as substrates of the complex, underscoring its role as a non-coding RNA processing/degradation unit. However, the role of RNA exosome and its RNA processing activity on DNA mutagenesis/alteration events have not been investigated until recently. B lymphocytes use two DNA alteration mechanisms, class switch recombination (CSR) and somatic hypermutation (SHM), to re-engineer their antibody gene expressing loci until a tailored antibody gene for a specific antigen is satisfactorily generated. CSR and SHM require the essential activity of the DNA activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID). Causing collateral damage to the B-cell genome during CSR and SHM, AID induces unwanted (and sometimes oncogenic) mutations at numerous non-immunoglobulin gene sequences. Recent studies have revealed that AID's DNA mutator activity is regulated by the RNA exosome complex, thus providing an example of a mechanism that relates DNA mutagenesis to RNA processing. Here, we review the emergent functions of RNA exosome during CSR, SHM, and other chromosomal alterations in B cells, and discuss implications relevant to mechanisms that maintain B-cell genomic integrity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brice Laffleur
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Uttiya Basu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Junghyun Lim
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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26
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R-Loop Depletion by Over-expressed RNase H1 in Mouse B Cells Increases Activation-Induced Deaminase Access to the Transcribed Strand without Altering Frequency of Isotype Switching. J Mol Biol 2017; 429:3255-3263. [PMID: 28065739 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2016.12.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2016] [Revised: 12/09/2016] [Accepted: 12/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
R-loops, three-strand structures consisting of mRNA hybridized to the complementary DNA and a single-stranded DNA loop, are formed in switch regions on the heavy-chain immunoglobulin locus. To determine if R-loops have a direct effect on any of the steps involved in isotype switching, we generated a transgenic mouse that over-expressed RNase H1, an enzyme that cleaves the RNA of RNA/DNA hybrids in B cells. R-loops in the switch μ region were depleted by 70% in ex vivo activated splenic B cells. Frequencies of isotype switching to IgG1, IgG2b, IgG2c, and IgG3 were the same as C57BL/6 control cells. However, somatic hypermutation was increased specifically on the transcribed strand from μ-γ joins, indicating that R-loops limit activation-induced (cytosine) deaminase access to the transcribed DNA strand. Our data suggest that, in the normal G+C-rich context of mammalian class switch recombination regions, R-loops are obligatory intermediates. Processing of the R-loops is needed to remove RNA allowing activation-induced (cytosine) deaminase to promote somatic hypermutation on both DNA strands to generate double-strand DNA breaks for efficient class switch recombination. One of the two cellular RNases H may assist in this process.
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27
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Methot S, Di Noia J. Molecular Mechanisms of Somatic Hypermutation and Class Switch Recombination. Adv Immunol 2017; 133:37-87. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.ai.2016.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 165] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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28
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Kim A, Han L, Santiago GE, Verdun RE, Yu K. Class-Switch Recombination in the Absence of the IgH 3' Regulatory Region. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2016; 197:2930-5. [PMID: 27559052 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1600530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2016] [Accepted: 07/25/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The ∼28-kb 3' regulatory region (3'RR), which is located at the most distal 3' region of the Ig H chain locus, has multiple regulatory functions that control IgH expression, class-switch recombination (CSR), and somatic hypermutation. In this article, we report that deletion of the entire 3'RR in a mouse B cell line that is capable of robust cytokine-dependent CSR to IgA results in reduced, but not abolished, CSR. These data suggest that 3'RR is not absolutely required for CSR and, thus, is not essential for targeting activation-induced cytidine deaminase to S regions, as was suggested. Moreover, replacing 3'RR with a DNA fragment including only its four DNase I hypersensitive sites (lacking the large spacer regions) restores CSR to a level equivalent to or even higher than in wild-type cells, suggesting that the four hypersensitive sites contain most of the CSR-promoting functions of 3'RR. Stimulated cells express abundant germline transcripts, with the presence or absence of 3'RR, providing evidence that 3'RR has a role in promoting CSR that is unique from enhancing S region transcription.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahrom Kim
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
| | - Li Han
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
| | - Gabriel E Santiago
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136; and
| | - Ramiro E Verdun
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136; and Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Miami, FL 33125
| | - Kefei Yu
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824;
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29
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Williams AM, Maman Y, Alinikula J, Schatz DG. Bcl6 Is Required for Somatic Hypermutation and Gene Conversion in Chicken DT40 Cells. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0149146. [PMID: 26900682 PMCID: PMC4762950 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2015] [Accepted: 01/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The activation induced cytosine deaminase (AID) mediates diversification of B cell immunoglobulin genes by the three distinct yet related processes of somatic hypermutation (SHM), class switch recombination (CSR), and gene conversion (GCV). SHM occurs in germinal center B cells, and the transcription factor Bcl6 is a key regulator of the germinal center B cell gene expression program, including expression of AID. To test the hypothesis that Bcl6 function is important for the process of SHM, we compared WT chicken DT40 B cells, which constitutively perform SHM/GCV, to their Bcl6-deficient counterparts. We found that Bcl6-deficient DT40 cells were unable to perform SHM and GCV despite enforced high level expression of AID and substantial levels of AID in the nucleus of the cells. To gain mechanistic insight into the GCV/SHM dependency on Bcl6, transcriptional features of a highly expressed SHM target gene were analyzed in Bcl6-sufficient and -deficient DT40 cells. No defect was observed in the accumulation of single stranded DNA in the target gene as a result of Bcl6 deficiency. In contrast, association of Spt5, an RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and AID binding factor, was strongly reduced at the target gene body relative to the transcription start site in Bcl6-deficient cells as compared to WT cells. However, partial reconstitution of Bcl6 function substantially reconstituted Spt5 association with the target gene body but did not restore detectable SHM. Our observations suggest that in the absence of Bcl6, Spt5 fails to associate efficiently with Pol II at SHM targets, perhaps precluding robust AID action on the SHM target DNA. Our data also suggest, however, that Spt5 binding is not sufficient for SHM of a target gene even in DT40 cells with strong expression of AID.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan M. Williams
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Yaakov Maman
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Jukka Alinikula
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - David G. Schatz
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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30
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Sequential activation and distinct functions for distal and proximal modules within the IgH 3' regulatory region. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:1618-23. [PMID: 26831080 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1514090113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
As a master regulator of functional Ig heavy chain (IgH) expression, the IgH 3' regulatory region (3'RR) controls multiple transcription events at various stages of B-cell ontogeny, from newly formed B cells until the ultimate plasma cell stage. The IgH 3'RR plays a pivotal role in early B-cell receptor expression, germ-line transcription preceding class switch recombination, interactions between targeted switch (S) regions, variable region transcription before somatic hypermutation, and antibody heavy chain production, but the functional ranking of its different elements is still inaccurate, especially that of its evolutionarily conserved quasi-palindromic structure. By comparing relevant previous knockout (KO) mouse models (3'RR KO and hs3b-4 KO) to a novel mutant devoid of the 3'RR quasi-palindromic region (3'PAL KO), we pinpointed common features and differences that specify two distinct regulatory entities acting sequentially during B-cell ontogeny. Independently of exogenous antigens, the 3'RR distal part, including hs4, fine-tuned B-cell receptor expression in newly formed and naïve B-cell subsets. At mature stages, the 3'RR portion including the quasi-palindrome dictated antigen-dependent locus remodeling (global somatic hypermutation and class switch recombination to major isotypes) in activated B cells and antibody production in plasma cells.
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31
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Zanotti KJ, Gearhart PJ. Antibody diversification caused by disrupted mismatch repair and promiscuous DNA polymerases. DNA Repair (Amst) 2016; 38:110-116. [PMID: 26719140 PMCID: PMC4740194 DOI: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2015.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2015] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The enzyme activation-induced deaminase (AID) targets the immunoglobulin loci in activated B cells and creates DNA mutations in the antigen-binding variable region and DNA breaks in the switch region through processes known, respectively, as somatic hypermutation and class switch recombination. AID deaminates cytosine to uracil in DNA to create a U:G mismatch. During somatic hypermutation, the MutSα complex binds to the mismatch, and the error-prone DNA polymerase η generates mutations at A and T bases. During class switch recombination, both MutSα and MutLα complexes bind to the mismatch, resulting in double-strand break formation and end-joining. This review is centered on the mechanisms of how the MMR pathway is commandeered by B cells to generate antibody diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly J Zanotti
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Patricia J Gearhart
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
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32
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Gearhart PJ, Castiblanco DP, Russell Knode LM. Exceptional Antibodies Produced by Successive Immunizations. PLoS Biol 2015; 13:e1002321. [PMID: 26641938 PMCID: PMC4671562 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002321] [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] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Antibodies stand between us and pathogens. Viruses mutate quickly to avoid detection, and antibodies mutate at similar rates to hunt them down. This death spiral is fueled by specialized proteins and error-prone polymerases that change DNA sequences. Here, we explore how B lymphocytes stay in the race by expressing activation-induced deaminase, which unleashes a tsunami of mutations in the immunoglobulin loci. This produces random DNA substitutions, followed by selection for the highest affinity antibodies. We may be able to manipulate the process to produce better antibodies by expanding the repertoire of specific B cells through successive vaccinations. This Essay explores the possibility of manipulating somatic hypermutation in B lymphocytes by administering serial vaccinations with engineered antigens, with the aim of generating potent antibodies to destroy pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia J. Gearhart
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Diana P. Castiblanco
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Lisa M. Russell Knode
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
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33
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Yeap LS, Hwang JK, Du Z, Meyers RM, Meng FL, Jakubauskaitė A, Liu M, Mani V, Neuberg D, Kepler TB, Wang JH, Alt FW. Sequence-Intrinsic Mechanisms that Target AID Mutational Outcomes on Antibody Genes. Cell 2015; 163:1124-1137. [PMID: 26582132 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.10.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2015] [Revised: 09/01/2015] [Accepted: 10/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
In activated B lymphocytes, AID initiates antibody variable (V) exon somatic hypermutation (SHM) for affinity maturation in germinal centers (GCs) and IgH switch (S) region DNA breaks (DSBs) for class-switch recombination (CSR). To resolve long-standing questions, we have developed an in vivo assay to study AID targeting of passenger sequences replacing a V exon. First, we find AID targets SHM hotspots within V exon and S region passengers at similar frequencies and that the normal SHM process frequently generates deletions, indicating that SHM and CSR employ the same mechanism. Second, AID mutates targets in diverse non-Ig passengers in GC B cells at levels similar to those of V exons, definitively establishing the V exon location as "privileged" for SHM. Finally, Peyer's patch GC B cells generate a reservoir of V exons that are highly mutated before selection for affinity maturation. We discuss the implications of these findings for harnessing antibody diversification mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leng-Siew Yeap
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Joyce K Hwang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Zhou Du
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Robin M Meyers
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Fei-Long Meng
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Agnė Jakubauskaitė
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Mengyuan Liu
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Vinidhra Mani
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Donna Neuberg
- Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Thomas B Kepler
- Department of Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Jing H Wang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Frederick W Alt
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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34
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Dominguez PM, Teater M, Chambwe N, Kormaksson M, Redmond D, Ishii J, Vuong B, Chaudhuri J, Melnick A, Vasanthakumar A, Godley LA, Papavasiliou FN, Elemento O, Shaknovich R. DNA Methylation Dynamics of Germinal Center B Cells Are Mediated by AID. Cell Rep 2015; 12:2086-98. [PMID: 26365193 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2015.08.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2015] [Revised: 06/10/2015] [Accepted: 08/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Changes in DNA methylation are required for the formation of germinal centers (GCs), but the mechanisms of such changes are poorly understood. Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) has been recently implicated in DNA demethylation through its deaminase activity coupled with DNA repair. We investigated the epigenetic function of AID in vivo in germinal center B cells (GCBs) isolated from wild-type (WT) and AID-deficient (Aicda(-/-)) mice. We determined that the transit of B cells through the GC is associated with marked locus-specific loss of methylation and increased methylation diversity, both of which are lost in Aicda(-/-) animals. Differentially methylated cytosines (DMCs) between GCBs and naive B cells (NBs) are enriched in genes that are targeted for somatic hypermutation (SHM) by AID, and these genes form networks required for B cell development and proliferation. Finally, we observed significant conservation of AID-dependent epigenetic reprogramming between mouse and human B cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilar M Dominguez
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Matt Teater
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA; Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Nyasha Chambwe
- Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA; Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | | | - David Redmond
- Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA; Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Jennifer Ishii
- Epigenomics Core Facility, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Bao Vuong
- Immunology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Gerstner Sloan-Kettering Graduate School, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Jayanta Chaudhuri
- Immunology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Gerstner Sloan-Kettering Graduate School, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Ari Melnick
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | | | - Lucy A Godley
- Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - F Nina Papavasiliou
- Laboratories of Lymphocyte Biology and Molecular Parasitology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Olivier Elemento
- Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA; Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Rita Shaknovich
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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35
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Maul RW, Saribasak H, Cao Z, Gearhart PJ. Topoisomerase I deficiency causes RNA polymerase II accumulation and increases AID abundance in immunoglobulin variable genes. DNA Repair (Amst) 2015; 30:46-52. [PMID: 25869824 DOI: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2015.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2014] [Revised: 03/03/2015] [Accepted: 03/09/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Activation-induced deaminase (AID) is a DNA cytosine deaminase that diversifies immunoglobulin genes in B cells. Recent work has shown that RNA polymerase II (Pol II) accumulation correlates with AID recruitment. However, a direct link between Pol II and AID abundance has not been tested. We used the DT40 B-cell line to manipulate levels of Pol II by decreasing topoisomerase I (Top1), which relaxes DNA supercoiling in front of the transcription complex. Top1 was decreased by stable transfection of a short hairpin RNA against Top1, which produced an accumulation of Pol II in transcribed genes, compared to cells transfected with sh-control RNA. The increased Pol II density enhanced AID recruitment to variable genes in the λ light chain locus, and resulted in higher levels of somatic hypermutation and gene conversion. It has been proposed by another lab that AID itself might directly suppress Top1 to increase somatic hypermutation. However, we found that in both AID(+/+) and AID(-/-) B cells from DT40 and mice, Top1 protein levels were identical, indicating that the presence or absence of AID did not decrease Top1 expression. Rather, our results suggest that the mechanism for increased diversity when Top1 is reduced is that Pol II accumulates and recruits AID to variable genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert W Maul
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, United States
| | - Huseyin Saribasak
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, United States
| | - Zheng Cao
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, United States
| | - Patricia J Gearhart
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, United States.
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36
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Zanotti KJ, Maul RW, Castiblanco DP, Yang W, Choi YJ, Fox JT, Myung K, Saribasak H, Gearhart PJ. ATAD5 deficiency decreases B cell division and Igh recombination. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2014; 194:35-42. [PMID: 25404367 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1401158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Mammalian ATPase family AAA domain-containing protein 5 (ATAD5) and its yeast homolog enhanced level of genomic instability 1 are responsible for unloading proliferating cell nuclear antigen from newly synthesized DNA. Prior work in HeLa and yeast cells showed that a decrease in ATAD5 protein levels resulted in accumulation of chromatin-bound proliferating cell nuclear antigen, slowed cell division, and increased genomic instability. In this study, B cells from heterozygous (Atad5(+/m)) mice were used to examine the effects of decreased cell proliferation on Ab diversity. ATAD5 haploinsufficiency did not change the frequency or spectrum of somatic hypermutation in Ab genes, indicating that DNA repair and error-prone DNA polymerase η usage were unaffected. However, immunized Atad5(+/m) mice had decreased serum IgG1 Abs, demonstrating a functional effect on class switch recombination. The mechanism of this altered immune response was then examined following ex vivo stimulation of splenic B cells, where Atad5(+/m) cells accumulated in the S phase of the cell cycle and had reduced proliferation compared with wild-type cells. These haploinsufficient cells underwent a significant decline in activation-induced deaminase expression, resulting in decreased switch region DNA double-strand breaks and interchromosomal translocations in the Igh locus. Class switch recombination to several isotypes was also reduced in Atad5(+/m) cells, although the types of end-joining pathways were not affected. These results describe a defect in DNA replication that affects Igh recombination via reduced cell division.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly J Zanotti
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224; and
| | - Robert W Maul
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224; and
| | - Diana P Castiblanco
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224; and
| | - William Yang
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224; and
| | - Yong Jun Choi
- Genetics and Molecular Biology Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Jennifer T Fox
- Genetics and Molecular Biology Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Kyungjae Myung
- Genetics and Molecular Biology Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Huseyin Saribasak
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224; and
| | - Patricia J Gearhart
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224; and
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