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Nambiar A, Forsyth JM, Liu S, Maslov S. DR-BERT: A protein language model to annotate disordered regions. Structure 2024:S0969-2126(24)00136-9. [PMID: 38701796 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2024.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Revised: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
Despite their lack of a rigid structure, intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) in proteins play important roles in cellular functions, including mediating protein-protein interactions. Therefore, it is important to computationally annotate IDRs with high accuracy. In this study, we present Disordered Region prediction using Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (DR-BERT), a compact protein language model. Unlike most popular tools, DR-BERT is pretrained on unannotated proteins and trained to predict IDRs without relying on explicit evolutionary or biophysical data. Despite this, DR-BERT demonstrates significant improvement over existing methods on the Critical Assessment of protein Intrinsic Disorder (CAID) evaluation dataset and outperforms competitors on two out of four test cases in the CAID 2 dataset, while maintaining competitiveness in the others. This performance is due to the information learned during pretraining and DR-BERT's ability to use contextual information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ananthan Nambiar
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
| | - John Malcolm Forsyth
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Simon Liu
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Sergei Maslov
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Department of Physics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Computing, Environment and Life Sciences, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA.
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2
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Lao Z, Kamat K, Jiang Z, Zhang B. OpenNucleome for high resolution nuclear structural and dynamical modeling. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.10.16.562451. [PMID: 37905090 PMCID: PMC10614770 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.16.562451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
The intricate structural organization of the human nucleus is fundamental to cellular function and gene regulation. Recent advancements in experimental techniques, including high-throughput sequencing and microscopy, have provided valuable insights into nuclear organization. Computational modeling has played significant roles in interpreting experimental observations by reconstructing high-resolution structural ensembles and uncovering organization principles. However, the absence of standardized modeling tools poses challenges for furthering nuclear investigations. We present OpenNucleome-an open-source software designed for conducting GPU-accelerated molecular dynamics simulations of the human nucleus. OpenNucleome offers particle-based representations of chromosomes at a resolution of 100 KB, encompassing nuclear lamina, nucleoli, and speckles. This software furnishes highly accurate structural models of nuclear architecture, affording the means for dynamic simulations of condensate formation, fusion, and exploration of non-equilibrium effects. We applied OpenNucleome to uncover the mechanisms driving the emergence of "fixed points" within the nucleus-signifying genomic loci robustly anchored in proximity to specific nuclear bodies for functional purposes. This anchoring remains resilient even amidst significant fluctuations in chromosome radial positions and nuclear shapes within individual cells. Our findings lend support to a nuclear zoning model that elucidates genome functionality. We anticipate OpenNucleome to serve as a valuable tool for nuclear investigations, streamlining mechanistic explorations and enhancing the interpretation of experimental observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuohan Lao
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kartik Kamat
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Zhongling Jiang
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Bin Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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3
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Kitamura K, Hoshino T, Okabe A, Fukuyo M, Rahmutulla B, Tanaka N, Kobayashi S, Tanaka T, Shida T, Ueda M, Minamoto T, Matsubara H, Kaneda A, Ishii H, Matsushita K. The Link of mRNA and rRNA Transcription by PUF60/FIR through TFIIH/P62 as a Novel Therapeutic Target for Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:17341. [PMID: 38139171 PMCID: PMC10743661 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242417341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The interaction between mRNA and ribosomal RNA (rRNA) transcription in cancer remains unclear. RNAP I and II possess a common N-terminal tail (NTT), RNA polymerase subunit RPB6, which interacts with P62 of transcription factor (TF) IIH, and is a common target for the link between mRNA and rRNA transcription. The mRNAs and rRNAs affected by FUBP1-interacting repressor (FIR) were assessed via RNA sequencing and qRT-PCR analysis. An FIR, a c-myc transcriptional repressor, and its splicing form FIRΔexon2 were examined to interact with P62. Protein interaction was investigated via isothermal titration calorimetry measurements. FIR was found to contain a highly conserved region homologous to RPB6 that interacts with P62. FIRΔexon2 competed with FIR for P62 binding and coactivated transcription of mRNAs and rRNAs. Low-molecular-weight chemical compounds that bind to FIR and FIRΔexon2 were screened for cancer treatment. A low-molecular-weight chemical, BK697, which interacts with FIRΔexon2, inhibited tumor cell growth with rRNA suppression. In this study, a novel coactivation pathway for cancer-related mRNA and rRNA transcription through TFIIH/P62 by FIRΔexon2 was proposed. Direct evidence in X-ray crystallography is required in further studies to show the conformational difference between FIR and FIRΔexon2 that affects the P62-RBP6 interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kouichi Kitamura
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chiba University Hospital, Chiba 260-8677, Japan; (K.K.); (N.T.); (S.K.)
- Department of Molecular Diagnosis, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan;
| | - Tyuji Hoshino
- Department of Molecular Design, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8675, Japan;
| | - Atsushi Okabe
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan; (A.O.); (M.F.); (B.R.); (A.K.)
| | - Masaki Fukuyo
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan; (A.O.); (M.F.); (B.R.); (A.K.)
| | - Bahityar Rahmutulla
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan; (A.O.); (M.F.); (B.R.); (A.K.)
| | - Nobuko Tanaka
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chiba University Hospital, Chiba 260-8677, Japan; (K.K.); (N.T.); (S.K.)
| | - Sohei Kobayashi
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chiba University Hospital, Chiba 260-8677, Japan; (K.K.); (N.T.); (S.K.)
- Department of Medical Technology and Sciences, Health and Sciences, International University of Health and Welfare, Chiba 286-8686, Japan
| | - Tomoaki Tanaka
- Department of Molecular Diagnosis, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan;
| | - Takashi Shida
- Research Team for Promoting Independence and Mental Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan;
| | - Mashiro Ueda
- Master’s Program in Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8575, Japan;
| | - Toshinari Minamoto
- Division of Translational and Clinical Oncology, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan;
| | - Hisahiro Matsubara
- Department of Frontier Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan;
| | - Atsushi Kaneda
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan; (A.O.); (M.F.); (B.R.); (A.K.)
| | - Hideshi Ishii
- Medical Data Science, Center of Medical Innovation and Translational Research (CoMIT), Osaka University, Osaka 565-0871, Japan;
| | - Kazuyuki Matsushita
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chiba University Hospital, Chiba 260-8677, Japan; (K.K.); (N.T.); (S.K.)
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Huang J, Ji X. Never a dull enzyme, RNA polymerase II. Transcription 2023; 14:49-67. [PMID: 37132022 PMCID: PMC10353340 DOI: 10.1080/21541264.2023.2208023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023] Open
Abstract
RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is composed of 12 subunits that collaborate to synthesize mRNA within the nucleus. Pol II is widely recognized as a passive holoenzyme, with the molecular functions of its subunits largely ignored. Recent studies employing auxin-inducible degron (AID) and multi-omics techniques have revealed that the functional diversity of Pol II is achieved through the differential contributions of its subunits to various transcriptional and post-transcriptional processes. By regulating these processes in a coordinated manner through its subunits, Pol II can optimize its activity for diverse biological functions. Here, we review recent progress in understanding Pol II subunits and their dysregulation in diseases, Pol II heterogeneity, Pol II clusters and the regulatory roles of RNA polymerases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Huang
- Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Differentiation of the Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiong Ji
- Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Differentiation of the Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
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Kalemkeridou M, Nanas I, Moutou K, Amiridis GS, Tsipourlianos A, Dovolou E, Mamuris Z, Giannoulis T. Genetic diversity and thermotolerance in Holstein cows: Pathway analysis and marker development using whole-genome sequencing. Reprod Domest Anim 2023; 58:146-157. [PMID: 36196498 DOI: 10.1111/rda.14274] [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: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Heat stress causes extensive losses in the dairy sector, due to negative effects on milk production and reproduction. Cows have evolved a series of protective mechanisms, (physiological, biochemical, behavioural) to cope with the thermostressing environments, which have allowed the preservation of productive and reproductive potential of specific animals during summer; these animals are considered thermotolerant and could be used to design programs of selective breeding. These programs, targeting the generations of a population of heat-resistant animals, would increase the frequency of the desired phenotypes, tackling the financial losses on one hand and reducing the carbon footprints of the dairy sector on the other. The development of genomics techniques has enabled genome wide variant calling, to detect SNPs associated with the desired phenotypes. In this study, we used a comparative genomics approach to detect genetic variation associated with thermotolerance and to design molecular markers for characterizing the animals as tolerant/sensitive. A total of 40 cows from each group were split in four sequencing pools and a whole-genome sequencing approach was used. Results and conclusion: Genome-wide genetic variation between groups was characterized and enrichment analysis revealed specific pathways which participate in the adaptive mechanisms of thermotolerance, implicated into systemic and cellular responses, including the immune system functionality, Heat Stress and Unfolded Protein Response. The markers made a promising set of results, as specific SNPs in five genes encoding for Heat Shock Proteins were significantly associated with thermotolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Kalemkeridou
- Laboratory of Genetics, Comparative and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
| | - Ioannis Nanas
- Department of Obstetrics and Reproduction, Veterinary Faculty, University of Thessaly, Karditsa, Greece
| | - Katerina Moutou
- Laboratory of Genetics, Comparative and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
| | - Georgios S Amiridis
- Department of Obstetrics and Reproduction, Veterinary Faculty, University of Thessaly, Karditsa, Greece
| | - Andreas Tsipourlianos
- Laboratory of Genetics, Comparative and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
| | - Eleni Dovolou
- Department of Obstetrics and Reproduction, Veterinary Faculty, University of Thessaly, Karditsa, Greece.,Department of Animal Sciences, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
| | - Zissis Mamuris
- Laboratory of Genetics, Comparative and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
| | - Themistoklis Giannoulis
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece.,Laboratory of Biology, Genetics and Bioinformatics, Department of Animal Science, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
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Okuda M, Tsunaka Y, Nishimura Y. Dynamic structures of intrinsically disordered proteins related to the general transcription factor TFIIH, nucleosomes, and histone chaperones. Biophys Rev 2022; 14:1449-1472. [PMID: 36659983 PMCID: PMC9842849 DOI: 10.1007/s12551-022-01014-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Advances in structural analysis by cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and X-ray crystallography have revealed the tertiary structures of various chromatin-related proteins, including transcription factors, RNA polymerases, nucleosomes, and histone chaperones; however, the dynamic structures of intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) in these proteins remain elusive. Recent studies using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), together with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, are beginning to reveal dynamic structures of the general transcription factor TFIIH complexed with target proteins including the general transcription factor TFIIE, the tumor suppressor p53, the cell cycle protein DP1, the DNA repair factors XPC and UVSSA, and three RNA polymerases, in addition to the dynamics of histone tails in nucleosomes and histone chaperones. In complexes of TFIIH, the PH domain of the p62 subunit binds to an acidic string formed by the IDR in TFIIE, p53, XPC, UVSSA, DP1, and the RPB6 subunit of three RNA polymerases by a common interaction mode, namely extended string-like binding of the IDR on the positively charged surface of the PH domain. In the nucleosome, the dynamic conformations of the N-tails of histones H2A and H2B are correlated, while the dynamic conformations of the N-tails of H3 and H4 form a histone tail network dependent on their modifications and linker DNA. The acidic IDRs of the histone chaperones of FACT and NAP1 play important roles in regulating the accessibility to histone proteins in the nucleosome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masahiko Okuda
- Graduate School of Medical Life Science, Yokohama City University, 1-7-29 Suehiro-Cho, Tsurumi-Ku, Yokohama, 230-0045 Japan
| | - Yasuo Tsunaka
- Graduate School of Medical Life Science, Yokohama City University, 1-7-29 Suehiro-Cho, Tsurumi-Ku, Yokohama, 230-0045 Japan
| | - Yoshifumi Nishimura
- Graduate School of Medical Life Science, Yokohama City University, 1-7-29 Suehiro-Cho, Tsurumi-Ku, Yokohama, 230-0045 Japan
- Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, 1-4-4 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, 739-8528 Japan
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Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage SD, Ma J, Pechan T, Pechanova O, Liu B, Wang Y. A remodeled RNA polymerase II complex catalyzing viroid RNA-templated transcription. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010850. [PMID: 36121876 PMCID: PMC9521916 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Revised: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Viroids, a fascinating group of plant pathogens, are subviral agents composed of single-stranded circular noncoding RNAs. It is well-known that nuclear-replicating viroids exploit host DNA-dependent RNA polymerase II (Pol II) activity for transcription from circular RNA genome to minus-strand intermediates, a classic example illustrating the intrinsic RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity of Pol II. The mechanism for Pol II to accept single-stranded RNAs as templates remains poorly understood. Here, we reconstituted a robust in vitro transcription system and demonstrated that Pol II also accepts minus-strand viroid RNA template to generate plus-strand RNAs. Further, we purified the Pol II complex on RNA templates for nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis and identified a remodeled Pol II missing Rpb4, Rpb5, Rpb6, Rpb7, and Rpb9, contrasting to the canonical 12-subunit Pol II or the 10-subunit Pol II core on DNA templates. Interestingly, the absence of Rpb9, which is responsible for Pol II fidelity, explains the higher mutation rate of viroids in comparison to cellular transcripts. This remodeled Pol II is active for transcription with the aid of TFIIIA-7ZF and appears not to require other canonical general transcription factors (such as TFIIA, TFIIB, TFIID, TFIIE, TFIIF, TFIIH, and TFIIS), suggesting a distinct mechanism/machinery for viroid RNA-templated transcription. Transcription elongation factors, such as FACT complex, PAF1 complex, and SPT6, were also absent in the reconstituted transcription complex. Further analyses of the critical zinc finger domains in TFIIIA-7ZF revealed the first three zinc finger domains pivotal for RNA template binding. Collectively, our data illustrated a distinct organization of Pol II complex on viroid RNA templates, providing new insights into viroid replication, the evolution of transcription machinery, as well as the mechanism of RNA-templated transcription.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Junfei Ma
- Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States of America
| | - Tibor Pechan
- Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States of America
| | - Olga Pechanova
- Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States of America
| | - Bin Liu
- Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States of America
| | - Ying Wang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States of America
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Tsunaka Y, Furukawa A, Nishimura Y. Histone tail network and modulation in a nucleosome. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2022; 75:102436. [PMID: 35863166 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2022.102436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The structural unit of eukaryotic chromatin is a nucleosome, comprising two histone H2A/H2B heterodimers and one histone (H3/H4)2 tetramer, wrapped around by ∼146-bp core DNA and linker DNA. Flexible histone tails sticking out from the core undergo posttranslational modifications that are responsible for various epigenetic functions. Recently, the functional dynamics of histone tails and their modulation within the nucleosome and nucleosomal complexes have been investigated by integrating NMR, molecular dynamics simulations, and cryo-electron microscopy approaches. In particular, recent NMR studies have revealed correlations in the structures of histone N-terminal tails between H2A and H2B, as well as between H3 and H4 depending on linker DNA, suggesting that histone tail networks exist even within the nucleosome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuo Tsunaka
- Graduate School of Medical Life Science, Yokohama City University, 1-7-29 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan
| | - Ayako Furukawa
- Graduate School of Medical Life Science, Yokohama City University, 1-7-29 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan
| | - Yoshifumi Nishimura
- Graduate School of Medical Life Science, Yokohama City University, 1-7-29 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan; Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, 1-4-4 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8528, Japan.
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Abstract
The XPG/ERCC5 endonuclease was originally identified as the causative gene for Xeroderma Pigmentosum complementation group G. Ever since its discovery, in depth biochemical, structural and cell biological studies have provided detailed mechanistic insight into its function in excising DNA damage in nucleotide excision repair, together with the ERCC1–XPF endonuclease. In recent years, it has become evident that XPG has additional important roles in genome maintenance that are independent of its function in NER, as XPG has been implicated in protecting replication forks by promoting homologous recombination as well as in resolving R-loops. Here, we provide an overview of the multitasking of XPG in genome maintenance, by describing in detail how its activity in NER is regulated and the evidence that points to important functions outside of NER. Furthermore, we present the various disease phenotypes associated with inherited XPG deficiency and discuss current ideas on how XPG deficiency leads to these different types of disease.
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Agapov A, Olina A, Kulbachinskiy A. OUP accepted manuscript. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:3018-3041. [PMID: 35323981 PMCID: PMC8989532 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2021] [Revised: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Cellular DNA is continuously transcribed into RNA by multisubunit RNA polymerases (RNAPs). The continuity of transcription can be disrupted by DNA lesions that arise from the activities of cellular enzymes, reactions with endogenous and exogenous chemicals or irradiation. Here, we review available data on translesion RNA synthesis by multisubunit RNAPs from various domains of life, define common principles and variations in DNA damage sensing by RNAP, and consider existing controversies in the field of translesion transcription. Depending on the type of DNA lesion, it may be correctly bypassed by RNAP, or lead to transcriptional mutagenesis, or result in transcription stalling. Various lesions can affect the loading of the templating base into the active site of RNAP, or interfere with nucleotide binding and incorporation into RNA, or impair RNAP translocation. Stalled RNAP acts as a sensor of DNA damage during transcription-coupled repair. The outcome of DNA lesion recognition by RNAP depends on the interplay between multiple transcription and repair factors, which can stimulate RNAP bypass or increase RNAP stalling, and plays the central role in maintaining the DNA integrity. Unveiling the mechanisms of translesion transcription in various systems is thus instrumental for understanding molecular pathways underlying gene regulation and genome stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksei Agapov
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Aleksei Agapov. Tel: +7 499 196 0015; Fax: +7 499 196 0015;
| | - Anna Olina
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute” Moscow 123182, Russia
| | - Andrey Kulbachinskiy
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +7 499 196 0015; Fax: +7 499 196 0015;
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