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Rastokina A, Cebrián J, Mozafari N, Mandel NH, Smith CI, Lopes M, Zain R, Mirkin S. Large-scale expansions of Friedreich's ataxia GAA•TTC repeats in an experimental human system: role of DNA replication and prevention by LNA-DNA oligonucleotides and PNA oligomers. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:8532-8549. [PMID: 37216608 PMCID: PMC10484681 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) is caused by expansions of GAA•TTC repeats in the first intron of the human FXN gene that occur during both intergenerational transmissions and in somatic cells. Here we describe an experimental system to analyze large-scale repeat expansions in cultured human cells. It employs a shuttle plasmid that can replicate from the SV40 origin in human cells or be stably maintained in S. cerevisiae utilizing ARS4-CEN6. It also contains a selectable cassette allowing us to detect repeat expansions that accumulated in human cells upon plasmid transformation into yeast. We indeed observed massive expansions of GAA•TTC repeats, making it the first genetically tractable experimental system to study large-scale repeat expansions in human cells. Further, GAA•TTC repeats stall replication fork progression, while the frequency of repeat expansions appears to depend on proteins implicated in replication fork stalling, reversal, and restart. Locked nucleic acid (LNA)-DNA mixmer oligonucleotides and peptide nucleic acid (PNA) oligomers, which interfere with triplex formation at GAA•TTC repeats in vitro, prevented the expansion of these repeats in human cells. We hypothesize, therefore, that triplex formation by GAA•TTC repeats stall replication fork progression, ultimately leading to repeat expansions during replication fork restart.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jorge Cebrián
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Negin Mozafari
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Translational Research Center Karolinska (TRACK), Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - C I Edvard Smith
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Translational Research Center Karolinska (TRACK), Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Massimo Lopes
- Institute of Molecular Cancer Research, University of Zurich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
| | - Rula Zain
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Translational Research Center Karolinska (TRACK), Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
- Center for Rare Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, SE-17176 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sergei M Mirkin
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
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2
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Abstract
At fifteen different genomic locations, the expansion of a CAG/CTG repeat causes a neurodegenerative or neuromuscular disease, the most common being Huntington's disease and myotonic dystrophy type 1. These disorders are characterized by germline and somatic instability of the causative CAG/CTG repeat mutations. Repeat lengthening, or expansion, in the germline leads to an earlier age of onset or more severe symptoms in the next generation. In somatic cells, repeat expansion is thought to precipitate the rate of disease. The mechanisms underlying repeat instability are not well understood. Here we review the mammalian model systems that have been used to study CAG/CTG repeat instability, and the modifiers identified in these systems. Mouse models have demonstrated prominent roles for proteins in the mismatch repair pathway as critical drivers of CAG/CTG instability, which is also suggested by recent genome-wide association studies in humans. We draw attention to a network of connections between modifiers identified across several systems that might indicate pathway crosstalk in the context of repeat instability, and which could provide hypotheses for further validation or discovery. Overall, the data indicate that repeat dynamics might be modulated by altering the levels of DNA metabolic proteins, their regulation, their interaction with chromatin, or by direct perturbation of the repeat tract. Applying novel methodologies and technologies to this exciting area of research will be needed to gain deeper mechanistic insight that can be harnessed for therapies aimed at preventing repeat expansion or promoting repeat contraction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa C. Wheeler
- Molecular Neurogenetics Unit, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA,Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA,Correspondence to: Vanessa C. Wheeler, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts Hospital, Boston MAA 02115, USA. E-mail: . and Vincent Dion, UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff University, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, CF24 4HQ Cardiff, UK. E-mail:
| | - Vincent Dion
- UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff University, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cardiff, UK,Correspondence to: Vanessa C. Wheeler, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts Hospital, Boston MAA 02115, USA. E-mail: . and Vincent Dion, UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff University, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, CF24 4HQ Cardiff, UK. E-mail:
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Cinesi C, Yang B, Dion V. GFP Reporters to Monitor Instability and Expression of Expanded CAG/CTG Repeats. Methods Mol Biol 2020; 2056:255-268. [PMID: 31586353 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9784-8_16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Expanded CAG/CTG repeats are genetically unstable and, upon expression, cause neurological and neuromuscular diseases. The molecular mechanisms of repeat instability and expression remain poorly understood despite their importance for the pathogenesis of a family of 14 devastating human diseases. This is in part because conventional assays are tedious and time-consuming. Recently, however, GFP-based reporters have been designed to provide a rapid and reliable means of assessing these parameters. Here we provide protocols for quantifying repeat instability and expression using a GFP-based chromosomal reporter and the newly developed ParB/ANCHOR-mediated Inducible Targeting (PInT) and how to validate the results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cinzia Cinesi
- Center for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bin Yang
- Center for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Vincent Dion
- Dementia Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
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4
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Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the HTT gene. Repeat length can change over time, both in individual cells and between generations, and longer repeats may drive pathology. Cellular DNA repair systems have long been implicated in CAG repeat instability but recent genetic evidence from humans linking DNA repair variants to HD onset and progression has reignited interest in this area. The DNA damage response plays an essential role in maintaining genome stability, but may also license repeat expansions in the context of HD. In this chapter we summarize the methods developed to assay CAG repeat expansion/contraction in vitro and in cells, and review the DNA repair genes tested in mouse models of HD. While none of these systems is currently ideal, new technologies, such as long-read DNA sequencing, should improve the sensitivity of assays to assess the effects of DNA repair pathways in HD. Improved assays will be essential precursors to high-throughput testing of small molecules that can alter specific steps in DNA repair pathways and perhaps ameliorate expansion or enhance contraction of the HTT CAG repeat.
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Keogh N, Chan KY, Li GM, Lahue RS. MutSβ abundance and Msh3 ATP hydrolysis activity are important drivers of CTG•CAG repeat expansions. Nucleic Acids Res 2017; 45:10068-10078. [PMID: 28973443 PMCID: PMC5622409 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Accepted: 07/14/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
CTG•CAG repeat expansions cause at least twelve inherited neurological diseases. Expansions require the presence, not the absence, of the mismatch repair protein MutSβ (Msh2-Msh3 heterodimer). To evaluate properties of MutSβ that drive expansions, previous studies have tested under-expression, ATPase function or polymorphic variants of Msh2 and Msh3, but in disparate experimental systems. Additionally, some variants destabilize MutSβ, potentially masking the effects of biochemical alterations of the variations. Here, human Msh3 was mutated to selectively inactivate MutSβ. Msh3-/- cells are severely defective for CTG•CAG repeat expansions but show full activity on contractions. Msh3-/- cells provide a single, isogenic system to add back Msh3 and test key biochemical features of MutSβ on expansions. Msh3 overexpression led to high expansion activity and elevated levels of MutSβ complex, indicating that MutSβ abundance drives expansions. An ATPase-defective Msh3 expressed at normal levels was as defective in expansions as Msh3-/- cells, indicating that Msh3 ATPase function is critical for expansions. Expression of two Msh3 polymorphic variants at normal levels showed no detectable change in expansions, suggesting these polymorphisms primarily affect Msh3 protein stability, not activity. In summary, CTG•CAG expansions are limited by the abundance of MutSβ and rely heavily on Msh3 ATPase function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norma Keogh
- Centre for Chromosome Biology, National University of Ireland Galway, Newcastle Road, Galway H91T K33, Ireland
| | - Kara Y Chan
- Department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
| | - Guo-Min Li
- Department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY 40536, USA.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Robert S Lahue
- Centre for Chromosome Biology, National University of Ireland Galway, Newcastle Road, Galway H91T K33, Ireland.,NCBES Galway Neuroscience Centre, National University of Ireland Galway, Newcastle Road, Galway H91T K33, Ireland
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6
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Abstract
The instability of microsatellite DNA repeats is responsible for at least 40 neurodegenerative diseases. Recently, Mirkin and co-workers presented a novel mechanism for microsatellite expansions based on break-induced replication (BIR) at sites of microsatellite-induced replication stalling and fork collapse. The BIR model aims to explain single-step, large expansions of CAG/CTG trinucleotide repeats in dividing cells. BIR has been characterized extensively in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a mechanism to repair broken DNA replication forks (single-ended DSBs) and degraded telomeric DNA. However, the structural footprints of BIR-like DSB repair have been recognized in human genomic instability and tied to the etiology of diverse developmental diseases; thus, the implications of the paper by Kim et al. (Kim JC, Harris ST, Dinter T, Shah KA, et al., Nat Struct Mol Biol 24: 55-60) extend beyond trinucleotide repeat expansion in yeast and microsatellite instability in human neurological disorders. Significantly, insight into BIR-like repair can explain certain pathways of complex genome rearrangements (CGRs) initiated at non-B form microsatellite DNA in human cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Leffak
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA
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Absence of MutSβ leads to the formation of slipped-DNA for CTG/CAG contractions at primate replication forks. DNA Repair (Amst) 2016; 42:107-18. [PMID: 27155933 DOI: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2016.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2015] [Revised: 03/22/2016] [Accepted: 04/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Typically disease-causing CAG/CTG repeats expand, but rare affected families can display high levels of contraction of the expanded repeat amongst offspring. Understanding instability is important since arresting expansions or enhancing contractions could be clinically beneficial. The MutSβ mismatch repair complex is required for CAG/CTG expansions in mice and patients. Oddly, by unknown mechanisms MutSβ-deficient mice incur contractions instead of expansions. Replication using CTG or CAG as the lagging strand template is known to cause contractions or expansions respectively; however, the interplay between replication and repair leading to this instability remains unclear. Towards understanding how repeat contractions may arise, we performed in vitro SV40-mediated replication of repeat-containing plasmids in the presence or absence of mismatch repair. Specifically, we separated repair from replication: Replication mediated by MutSβ- and MutSα-deficient human cells or cell extracts produced slipped-DNA heteroduplexes in the contraction- but not expansion-biased replication direction. Replication in the presence of MutSβ disfavoured the retention of replication products harbouring slipped-DNA heteroduplexes. Post-replication repair of slipped-DNAs by MutSβ-proficient extracts eliminated slipped-DNAs. Thus, a MutSβ-deficiency likely enhances repeat contractions because MutSβ protects against contractions by repairing template strand slip-outs. Replication deficient in LigaseI or PCNA-interaction mutant LigaseI revealed slipped-DNA formation at lagging strands. Our results reveal that distinct mechanisms lead to expansions or contractions and support inhibition of MutSβ as a therapeutic strategy to enhance the contraction of expanded repeats.
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Gomes-Pereira M, Hilley JD, Morales F, Adam B, James HE, Monckton DG. Disease-associated CAG·CTG triplet repeats expand rapidly in non-dividing mouse cells, but cell cycle arrest is insufficient to drive expansion. Nucleic Acids Res 2014; 42:7047-56. [PMID: 24860168 PMCID: PMC4066746 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gku285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetically unstable expanded CAG·CTG trinucleotide repeats are causal in a number of human disorders, including Huntington disease and myotonic dystrophy type 1. It is still widely assumed that DNA polymerase slippage during replication plays an important role in the accumulation of expansions. Nevertheless, somatic mosaicism correlates poorly with the proliferative capacity of the tissue and rates of cell turnover, suggesting that expansions can occur in the absence of replication. We monitored CAG·CTG repeat instability in transgenic mouse cells arrested by chemical or genetic manipulation of the cell cycle and generated unequivocal evidence for the continuous accumulation of repeat expansions in non-dividing cells. Importantly, the rates of expansion in non-dividing cells were at least as high as those of proliferating cells. These data are consistent with a major role for cell division-independent expansion in generating somatic mosaicism in vivo. Although expansions can accrue in non-dividing cells, we also show that cell cycle arrest is not sufficient to drive instability, implicating other factors as the key regulators of tissue-specific instability. Our data reveal that de novo expansion events are not limited to S-phase and further support a cell division-independent mutational pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mário Gomes-Pereira
- Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK Inserm UMR 1163, Laboratory of CTG Repeat Instability and Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1, 75015 Paris, France Paris Descartes-Sorbonne Paris Cité University, Imagine Institute, 75015 Paris, France
| | - James D Hilley
- Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Fernando Morales
- Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK Instituto de Investigaciones en Salud y Escuela de Medicina, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Berit Adam
- Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Helen E James
- Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Darren G Monckton
- Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
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Dion V. Tissue specificity in DNA repair: lessons from trinucleotide repeat instability. Trends Genet 2014; 30:220-9. [PMID: 24842550 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2014.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2014] [Revised: 04/14/2014] [Accepted: 04/16/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
DNA must constantly be repaired to maintain genome stability. Although it is clear that DNA repair reactions depend on cell type and developmental stage, we know surprisingly little about the mechanisms that underlie this tissue specificity. This is due, in part, to the lack of adequate study systems. This review discusses recent progress toward understanding the mechanism leading to varying rates of instability at expanded trinucleotide repeats (TNRs) in different tissues. Although they are not DNA lesions, TNRs are hotspots for genome instability because normal DNA repair activities cause changes in repeat length. The rates of expansions and contractions are readily detectable and depend on cell identity, making TNR instability a particularly convenient model system. A better understanding of this type of genome instability will provide a foundation for studying tissue-specific DNA repair more generally, which has implications in cancer and other diseases caused by mutations in the caretakers of the genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Dion
- University of Lausanne, Center for Integrative Genomics, Bâtiment Génopode, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
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10
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Eigenmann DE, Xue G, Kim KS, Moses AV, Hamburger M, Oufir M. Comparative study of four immortalized human brain capillary endothelial cell lines, hCMEC/D3, hBMEC, TY10, and BB19, and optimization of culture conditions, for an in vitro blood-brain barrier model for drug permeability studies. Fluids Barriers CNS 2013; 10:33. [PMID: 24262108 PMCID: PMC4176484 DOI: 10.1186/2045-8118-10-33] [Citation(s) in RCA: 265] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2013] [Accepted: 10/21/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Reliable human in vitro blood–brain barrier (BBB) models suitable for high-throughput screening are urgently needed in early drug discovery and development for assessing the ability of promising bioactive compounds to overcome the BBB. To establish an improved human in vitro BBB model, we compared four currently available and well characterized immortalized human brain capillary endothelial cell lines, hCMEC/D3, hBMEC, TY10, and BB19, with respect to barrier tightness and paracellular permeability. Co-culture systems using immortalized human astrocytes (SVG-A cell line) and immortalized human pericytes (HBPCT cell line) were designed with the aim of positively influencing barrier tightness. Methods Tight junction (TJ) formation was assessed by transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) measurements using a conventional epithelial voltohmmeter (EVOM) and an automated CellZscope system which records TEER and cell layer capacitance (CCL) in real-time. Paracellular permeability was assessed using two fluorescent marker compounds with low BBB penetration (sodium fluorescein (Na-F) and lucifer yellow (LY)). Conditions were optimized for each endothelial cell line by screening a series of 24-well tissue culture inserts from different providers. For hBMEC cells, further optimization was carried out by varying coating material, coating procedure, cell seeding density, and growth media composition. Biochemical characterization of cell type-specific transmembrane adherens junction protein VE-cadherin and of TJ proteins ZO-1 and claudin-5 were carried out for each endothelial cell line. In addition, immunostaining for ZO-1 in hBMEC cell line was performed. Results The four cell lines all expressed the endothelial cell type-specific adherens junction protein VE-cadherin. The TJ protein ZO-1 was expressed in hCMEC/D3 and in hBMEC cells. ZO-1 expression could be confirmed in hBMEC cells by immunocytochemical staining. Claudin-5 expression was detected in hCMEC/D3, TY10, and at a very low level in hBMEC cells. Highest TEER values and lowest paracellular permeability for Na-F and LY were obtained with mono-cultures of hBMEC cell line when cultivated on 24-well tissue culture inserts from Greiner Bio-one® (transparent PET membrane, 3.0 μm pore size). In co-culture models with SVG-A and HBPCT cells, no increase of TEER could be observed, suggesting that none of the investigated endothelial cell lines responded positively to stimuli from immortalized astrocytic or pericytic cells. Conclusions Under the conditions examined in our experiments, hBMEC proved to be the most suitable human cell line for an in vitro BBB model concerning barrier tightness in a 24-well mono-culture system intended for higher throughput. This BBB model is being validated with several compounds (known to cross or not to cross the BBB), and will potentially be selected for the assessment of BBB permeation of bioactive natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela E Eigenmann
- Pharmaceutical Biology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 50, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.
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Stevens JR, Lahue EE, Li GM, Lahue RS. Trinucleotide repeat expansions catalyzed by human cell-free extracts. Cell Res 2013; 23:565-72. [PMID: 23337586 PMCID: PMC3616437 DOI: 10.1038/cr.2013.12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Trinucleotide repeat expansions cause 17 heritable human neurological disorders. In some diseases, somatic expansions occur in non-proliferating tissues such as brain where DNA replication is limited. This finding stimulated significant interest in replication-independent expansion mechanisms. Aberrant DNA repair is a likely source, based in part on mouse studies showing that somatic expansions are provoked by the DNA repair protein MutSβ (Msh2-Msh3 complex). Biochemical studies to date used cell-free extracts or purified DNA repair proteins to yield partial reactions at triplet repeats. The findings included expansions on one strand but not the other, or processing of DNA hairpin structures thought to be important intermediates in the expansion process. However, it has been difficult to recapitulate complete expansions in vitro, and the biochemical role of MutSβ remains controversial. Here, we use a novel in vitro assay to show that human cell-free extracts catalyze expansions and contractions of trinucleotide repeats without the requirement for DNA replication. The extract promotes a size range of expansions that is similar to certain diseases, and triplet repeat length and sequence govern expansions in vitro as in vivo. MutSβ stimulates expansions in the extract, consistent with aberrant repair of endogenous DNA damage as a source of expansions. Overall, this biochemical system retains the key characteristics of somatic expansions in humans and mice, suggesting that this important mutagenic process can be restored in the test tube.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer R Stevens
- Centre for Chromosome Biology, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Ireland Galway, Distillery Road, Galway, Ireland
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12
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Cleary JD, Tomé S, López Castel A, Panigrahi GB, Foiry L, Hagerman KA, Sroka H, Chitayat D, Gourdon G, Pearson CE. Tissue- and age-specific DNA replication patterns at the CTG/CAG-expanded human myotonic dystrophy type 1 locus. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2010; 17:1079-87. [DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2010] [Accepted: 06/24/2010] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
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Wang G, Zhao J, Vasquez KM. Methods to determine DNA structural alterations and genetic instability. Methods 2009; 48:54-62. [PMID: 19245837 PMCID: PMC2693251 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2009.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2008] [Accepted: 02/15/2009] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Chromosomal DNA is a dynamic structure that can adopt a variety of non-canonical (i.e., non-B) conformations. In this regard, at least 10 different forms of non-B DNA conformations have been identified; many of them have been found to be mutagenic, and associated with human disease development. Despite the importance of non-B DNA structures in genetic instability and DNA metabolic processes, mechanisms by which instability occurs remain largely undefined. The purpose of this review is to summarize current methodologies that are used to address questions in the field of non-B DNA structure-induced genetic instability. Advantages and disadvantages of each method will be discussed. A focused effort to further elucidate the mechanisms of non-B DNA-induced genetic instability will lead to a better understanding of how these structure-forming sequences contribute to the development of human disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guliang Wang
- Department of Carcinogenesis, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Science Park-Research Division, 1808 Park Road 1-C, Smithville, TX 78957
| | - Junhua Zhao
- Department of Carcinogenesis, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Science Park-Research Division, 1808 Park Road 1-C, Smithville, TX 78957
| | - Karen M. Vasquez
- Department of Carcinogenesis, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Science Park-Research Division, 1808 Park Road 1-C, Smithville, TX 78957
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Abstract
Unstable repeats are associated with various types of cancer and have been implicated in more than 40 neurodegenerative disorders. Trinucleotide repeats are located in non-coding and coding regions of the genome. Studies of bacteria, yeast, mice and man have helped to unravel some features of the mechanism of trinucleotide expansion. Looped DNA structures comprising trinucleotide repeats are processed during replication and/or repair to generate deletions or expansions. Most in vivo data are consistent with a model in which expansion and deletion occur by different mechanisms. In mammals, microsatellite instability is complex and appears to be influenced by genetic, epigenetic and developmental factors.
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Nithianantharajah J, Hannan AJ. Dynamic mutations as digital genetic modulators of brain development, function and dysfunction. Bioessays 2007; 29:525-35. [PMID: 17508392 DOI: 10.1002/bies.20589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
A substantial portion of the human genome has been found to consist of simple sequence repeats, including microsatellites and minisatellites. Microsatellites, tandem repeats of 1-6 nucleotides, form the template for dynamic mutations, which involve heritable changes in the lengths of repeat sequences. In recent years, a large number of human disorders have been found to be caused by dynamic mutations, the most common of which are trinucleotide repeat expansion diseases. Dynamic mutations are common to numerous nervous system disorders, including Huntington's disease, various spinocerebellar ataxias, fragile X syndrome, fragile X tremor/ataxia syndrome, Friedreich ataxia and other neurodegenerative disorders. The involvement of dynamic mutations in brain disorders will be reviewed, with a focus on the large group caused by CAG/glutamine repeat expansions. We will also outline a proposed role of tandem repeat polymorphisms (TRPs), with unique 'digital' genetic distributions, in modulating brain development and normal function, so as to generate additional mutational diversity upon which natural selection may act.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jess Nithianantharajah
- Howard Florey Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
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