Transient dsDNA breaks during pre-replication complex assembly

DNA replication initiation shapes the mutational landscape and expression of the human genome

The interplay between active biological processes and DNA repair is central to mutagenesis. Here, we show that the ubiquitous process of replication initiation is mutagenic, leaving a specific mutational footprint at thousands of early and efficient replication origins. The observed mutational pattern is consistent with two distinct mechanisms, reflecting the two-step process of origin activation, triggering the formation of DNA breaks at the center of origins and local error-prone DNA synthesis in their immediate vicinity. We demonstrate that these replication initiation-dependent mutational processes exert an influence on phenotypic diversity in humans that is disproportionate to the origins' genomic size: By increasing mutational loads at gene promoters and splice junctions, the presence of an origin significantly influences both gene expression and mRNA isoform usage. Last, we show that mutagenesis at origins not only drives the evolution of origin sequences but also contributes to sculpting regulatory domains of the human genome.

Natural Compounds as Anticancer Agents Targeting DNA Topoisomerases

DNA topoisomerases are important cellular enzymes found in almost all types of living cells (eukaryotic and prokaryotic). These enzymes are essential for various DNA metabolic processes e.g. replication, transcription, recombination, chromosomal decatenation etc. These enzymes are important molecular drug targets and inhibitors of these enzymes are widely used as effective anticancer and antibacterial drugs. However, topoisomerase inhibitors have some therapeutic limitations and they exert serious side effects during cancer chemotherapy. Thus, development of novel anticancer topoisomerase inhibitors is necessary for improving cancer chemotherapy. Nature serves as a repertoire of structurally and chemically diverse molecules and in the recent years many DNA topoisomerase inhibitors have been identified from natural sources. The present review discusses anticancer properties and therapeutic importance of eighteen recently identified natural topoisomerase inhibitors (from the year 2009 to 2015). Structural characteristics of these novel inhibitors provide backbones for designing and developing new anticancer drugs.

DNA-protein interaction dynamics at the Lamin B2 replication origin

To date, a complete understanding of the molecular events leading to DNA replication origin activation in mammalian cells still remains elusive. In this work, we report the results of a high resolution chromatin immunoprecipitation study to detect proteins interacting with the human Lamin B2 replication origin. In addition to the pre-RC component ORC4 and to the transcription factors USF and HOXC13, we found that 2 components of the AP-1 transcription factor, c-Fos and c-Jun, are also associated with the origin DNA during the late G1 phase of the cell cycle and that these factors interact with ORC4. Both DNA replication and AP-1 factor binding to the origin region were perturbed by cell treatment with merbarone, a topoisomerase II inhibitor, suggesting that DNA topology is essential for determining origin function.

All tangled up: how cells direct, manage and exploit topoisomerase function

Topoisomerases are complex molecular machines that modulate DNA topology to maintain chromosome superstructure and integrity. Although capable of stand-alone activity in vitro, topoisomerases are frequently linked to larger pathways and systems that resolve specific DNA superstructures and intermediates arising from cellular processes such as DNA repair, transcription, replication and chromosome compaction. Topoisomerase activity is indispensible to cells, but requires the transient breakage of DNA strands. This property has been exploited, often for significant clinical benefit, by various exogenous agents that interfere with cell proliferation. Despite decades of study, surprising findings involving topoisomerases continue to emerge with respect to their cellular function, regulation and utility as therapeutic targets.

Topoisomerase IIβ associates with Ku70 and PARP-1 during double strand break repair of DNA in neurons

In the present study, the activity of Topoisomerase IIβ (TopoIIβ) is evaluated during peroxide induced double stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) repair in primary neurons. The results showed that the TopoIIβ levels were enhanced during recovery from peroxide mediated damage (PED) along with Ku70, PARP-1, pol beta, and WRN helicase. Furthermore, siRNA mediated knock-down of TopoIIβ in primary neurons conferred enhanced susceptibility to PED in neurons. DSBs in neurons are repaired through two pathways, one promoted by Ku70, while the other is by PARP-1 dependent manner. Participation of TopoIIβ in both pathways was assessed by analysis of the interaction of TopoIIβ with Ku70 and PARP-1 using co-immunoprecipitation experiments in extracts of neurons under peroxide treatment and recovery. The results of these studies showed a strong interaction of TopoIIβ with Ku70 as well as PARP-1 suggesting that TopoIIβ is associated both in Ku70 and PARP-dependent pathways in DSBs repair in primary neurons. The study has thus established that TopoIIβ is an essential component in DSBs repair in primary neurons in both Ku70 and PARP-1 dependent pathways. We suppose that the interaction of TopoIIβ may provide stabilization of the repair complex, which may assist in maintenance of tensional integrity in genomic DNA.

Chromatin remodeler sucrose nonfermenting 2 homolog (SNF2H) is recruited onto DNA replication origins through interaction with Cdc10 protein-dependent transcript 1 (Cdt1) and promotes pre-replication complex formation

From late mitosis to the G(1) phase of the cell cycle, ORC, CDC6, and Cdt1 form the machinery necessary to load MCM2-7 complexes onto DNA. Here, we show that SNF2H, a member of the ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling complex, is recruited onto DNA replication origins in human cells in a Cdt1-dependent manner and positively regulates MCM loading. SNF2H physically interacted with Cdt1. ChIP assays indicated that SNF2H associates with replication origins specifically during the G(1) phase. Binding of SNF2H at origins was decreased by Cdt1 silencing and, conversely, enhanced by Cdt1 overexpression. Furthermore, SNF2H silencing prevented MCM loading at origins and moderately inhibited S phase progression. Although neither SNF2H overexpression nor SNF2H silencing appeared to impact rereplication induced by Cdt1 overexpression, Cdt1-induced checkpoint activation was inhibited by SNF2H silencing. Collectively, these data suggest that SNF2H may promote MCM loading at DNA replication origins via interaction with Cdt1 in human cells. Because efficient loading of excess MCM complexes is thought to be required for cells to tolerate replication stress, Cdt1- and SNF2H-mediated promotion of MCM loading may be biologically relevant for the regulation of DNA replication.

Replication initiation and DNA topology: The twisted life of the origin

Genomic propagation in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes is tightly regulated at the level of initiation, ensuring that the genome is accurately replicated and equally segregated to the daughter cells. Even though replication origins and the proteins that bind onto them (initiator proteins) have diverged throughout the course of evolution, the mechanism of initiation has been conserved, consisting of origin recognition, multi-protein complex assembly, helicase activation and loading of the replicative machinery. Recruitment of the multiprotein initiation complexes onto the replication origins is constrained by the dense packing of the DNA within the nucleus and unusual structures such as knots and supercoils. In this review, we focus on the DNA topological barriers that the multi-protein complexes have to overcome in order to access the replication origins and how the topological state of the origins changes during origin firing. Recent advances in the available methodologies to study DNA topology and their clinical significance are also discussed.

DNA replication origins, ORC/DNA interaction, and assembly of pre-replication complex in eukaryotes

Chromosomal DNA replication in eukaryotic cells is highly complicated and sophisticatedly regulated. Owing to its large size, a typical eukaryotic genome contains hundreds to tens of thousands of initiation sites called DNA replication origins where DNA synthesis takes place. Multiple initiation sites remove the constraint of a genome size because only a certain amount of DNA can be replicated from a single origin in a limited time. The activation of these multiple origins must be coordinated so that each segment of chromosomal DNA is precisely duplicated only once per cell cycle. Although DNA replication is a vital process for cell growth and its mechanism is highly conserved, recent studies also reveal significant diversity in origin structure, assembly of pre-replication complex (pre-RC) and regulation of replication initiation along evolutionary lines. The DNA replication origins in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe are found to contain a second essential element that is bound by Sap1 protein besides the essential origin recognition complex-binding site. Sap1 is recently demonstrated to be a novel replication initiation protein that plays an essential role in loading the initiation protein Cdc18 to origins and thus directly participates in pre-RC formation. In this review, we summarize the recent advance in understanding how DNA replication origins are organized, how pre-RC is assembled and how DNA replication is initiated and regulated in yeast and metazoans.