Oncogenic c-Myc induces replication stress by increasing cohesins chromatin occupancy in a CTCF-dependent manner.

Oncogene-induced replication stress is a crucial driver of genomic instability and one of the key events contributing to the onset and evolution of cancer. Despite its critical role in cancer, the mechanisms that generate oncogene-induced replication stress remain not fully understood. Here, we report that an oncogenic c-Myc-dependent increase in cohesins on DNA contributes to the induction of replication stress. Accumulation of cohesins on chromatin is not sufficient to cause replication stress, but also requires cohesins to accumulate at specific sites in a CTCF-dependent manner. We propose that the increased accumulation of cohesins at CTCF site interferes with the progression of replication forks, contributing to oncogene-induced replication stress. This is different from, and independent of, previously suggested mechanisms of oncogene-induced replication stress. This, together with the reported protective role of cohesins in preventing replication stress-induced DNA damage, supports a double-edge involvement of cohesins in causing and tolerating oncogene-induced replication stress.

E2F-dependent transcription determines replication capacity and S phase length.

DNA replication timing is tightly regulated during S-phase. S-phase length is determined by DNA synthesis rate, which depends on the number of active replication forks and their velocity. Here, we show that E2F-dependent transcription, through E2F6, determines the replication capacity of a cell, defined as the maximal amount of DNA a cell can synthesise per unit time during S-phase. Increasing or decreasing E2F-dependent transcription during S-phase increases or decreases replication capacity, and thereby replication rates, thus shortening or lengthening S-phase, respectively. The changes in replication rate occur mainly through changes in fork speed without affecting the number of active forks. An increase in fork speed does not induce replication stress directly, but increases DNA damage over time causing cell cycle arrest. Thus, E2F-dependent transcription determines the DNA replication capacity of a cell, which affects the replication rate, controlling the time it takes to duplicate the genome and complete S-phase.