Regulation of DNA repair in the absence of classical non-homologous end joining.

Classical non-homologous end-joining (cNHEJ) is the main pathway for the repair of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) in mammalian cells. In the absence of c-NHEJ, an alternative end-joining (A-EJ) mechanism resolves DSBs. To date, no A-EJ specific factor has been identified. Instead, this mechanism appears to co-opt proteins involved in more than one DNA repair pathway. These include components of base-excision repair (PARP1/XRCC1/LIG3), interstrand cross-link repair (BRCA1/FANCD2), and DSB response/DNA end-resection (MRE11A/RAD50/RBBP8). To clarify the contribution of these factors to A-EJ, here we examined their expression and recruitment to DSBs in correlation with surrogates of cNHEJ (53BP1) and homologous recombination (RAD51) in cells deficient for the cNHEJ end-ligation component XRCC4. This revealed XRCC4-deficient cells exhibited marked increases in the stability of A-EJ transcripts that result in correspondingly elevated levels of associated proteins, in comparison to WT cells. RAD51 was also increased while 53BP1 was unaffected. Treatment with radiomimetic DSB-inducing drug doxorubicin did not influence these activities. However, FANCD2, BRCA1 and XRCC1 foci, prominently associated with 53BP1 foci and hence DSBs resolved by cNHEJ, were only detected in doxorubicin-treated XRCC4-deficient cells. Strikingly, treatment of XRCC4-deficient cells with the PARP-specific inhibitor Niraparib enhanced A-EJ, and substantially induced 53BP1 transcripts and the numbers of A-EJ-associated 53BP1 DNA damage foci. RAD51 was severely inhibited, and upstream cNHEJ (KU70/KU80/DNA-PKCs/ARTEMIS) transcripts were substantially induced. These latter results were recapitulated in BRCA1-deficient cells, which contrastingly did not affect 53BP1 or PARP1 status irrespective of doxorubicin or Niraparib treatment. Hence A-EJ is regulated transcriptionally, reduced by a higher turnover rate in cNHEJ-proficient cells and sustained but fine-tuned by PARP1 in XRCC4-deficient cells to promote DNA repair and survival. Upstream cNHEJ components are similarly transcriptionally down-modulated by PARP1 and BRCA1 in a manner inversely correlated with HR and mechanistically distinct from A-EJ respectively in cNHEJ-deficient and cNHEJ-proficient settings.

Corrigendum: Contribution of classical end-joining to PTEN inactivation in p53-mediated glioblastoma formation and drug-resistant survival.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14013.

Contribution of classical end-joining to PTEN inactivation in p53-mediated glioblastoma formation and drug-resistant survival.

DNA repair gene defects are found in virtually all human glioblastomas, but the genetic evidence for a direct role remains lacking. Here we demonstrate that combined inactivation of the XRCC4 non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) DNA repair gene and p53 efficiently induces brain tumours with hallmark characteristics of human proneural/classical glioblastoma. The murine tumours exhibit PTEN loss of function instigated by reduced PTEN mRNA, and increased phosphorylated inactivation and stability as a consequence of aberrantly elevated CK2 provoked by p53 ablation and irrevocably deregulated by NHEJ inactivation. This results in DNA damage-resistant cytoplasmic PTEN and CK2 expression, and the attenuation of DNA repair genes. CK2 inhibition restores PTEN nuclear distribution and DNA repair activities and impairs tumour but not normal cell survival. These observations demonstrate that NHEJ contributes to p53-mediated glioblastoma suppression, and reveal a crucial role for PTEN in the early DNA damage signalling cascade, the inhibition of which promotes tumorigenicity and drug-resistant survival.

The DNA Ligase IV Syndrome R278H Mutation Impairs B Lymphopoiesis via Error-Prone Nonhomologous End-Joining.

Hypomorphic mutations in the nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) DNA repair protein DNA ligase IV (LIG4) lead to immunodeficiency with varying severity. In this study, using a murine knock-in model, we investigated the mechanisms underlying abnormalities in class switch recombination (CSR) associated with the human homozygous Lig4 R278H mutation. Previously, we found that despite the near absence of Lig4 end-ligation activity and severely reduced mature B cell numbers, Lig4(R278H/R278H) (Lig4(R/R)) mice exhibit only a partial CSR block, producing near normal IgG1 and IgE but substantially reduced IgG3, IgG2b, and IgA serum levels. In this study, to address the cause of these abnormalities, we assayed CSR in Lig4(R/R) B cells generated via preassembled IgH and IgK V region exons (HL). This revealed that Lig4(R278H) protein levels while intact exhibited a higher turnover rate during activation of switching to IgG3 and IgG2b, as well as delays in CSR kinetics associated with defective proliferation during activation of switching to IgG1 and IgE. Activated Lig4(R/R)HL B cells consistently accumulated high frequencies of activation-induced cytidine deaminase-dependent IgH locus chromosomal breaks and translocations and were more prone to apoptosis, effects that appeared to be p53-independent, as p53 deficiency did not markedly influence these events. Importantly, NHEJ instead of alternative end-joining (A-EJ) was revealed as the predominant mechanism catalyzing robust CSR. Defective CSR was linked to failed NHEJ and residual A-EJ access to unrepaired double-strand breaks. These data firmly demonstrate that Lig4(R278H) activity renders NHEJ to be more error-prone, and they predict increased error-prone NHEJ activity and A-EJ suppression as the cause of the defective B lymphopoiesis in Lig4 patients.

The role of a newly identified SET domain-containing protein, SETD3, in oncogenesis.

The SET domain is found in histone methyltransferases and other lysine methyltransferases. SET domain-containing proteins such as MLL1 play a critical role in leukemogenesis, while others such as SETD2 may function as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer and renal cell carcinoma. We recently discovered that SETD3, a well-conserved SET domain-containing protein, was involved in a translocation to the immunoglobulin lambda light chain locus in one of the non-homologous end-joining/p53-deficient peripheral B-cell lymphomas. We showed that a truncated mRNA lacking the SET domain sequences in Setd3 gene was highly expressed in the lymphoma. Furthermore, we found that the truncated SET-less protein displayed oncogenic potential while the full length SETD3 protein did not. Finally, SETD3 exhibits histone methyltransferases activity on nucleosomal histone 3 in a SET-domain dependent manner. We propose that this newly identified Setd3 gene may play an important role in carcinogenesis.

Homozygous DNA ligase IV R278H mutation in mice leads to leaky SCID and represents a model for human LIG4 syndrome.

DNA ligase IV (LIG4) is an essential component of the nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) repair pathway and plays a key role in V(D)J recombination. Hypomorphic LIG4 mutations in humans are associated with increased cellular radiosensitivity, microcephaly, facial dysmorphisms, growth retardation, developmental delay, and a variable degree of immunodeficiency. We have generated a knock-in mouse model with a homozygous Lig4 R278H mutation that corresponds to the first LIG4 mutation reported in humans. The phenotype of homozygous mutant mice Lig4(R278H/R278H) (Lig4(R/R)) includes growth retardation, a decreased life span, a severe cellular sensitivity to ionizing radiation, and a very severe, but incomplete block in T and B cell development. Peripheral T lymphocytes show an activated and anergic phenotype, reduced viability, and a restricted repertoire, reminiscent of human leaky SCID. Genomic instability is associated with a high rate of thymic tumor development. Finally, Lig4(R/R) mice spontaneously produce low-affinity antibodies that include autoreactive specificities, but are unable to mount high-affinity antibody responses. These findings highlight the importance of LIG4 in lymphocyte development and function, and in genomic stability maintenance, and provide a model for the complex phenotype of LIG4 syndrome in humans.

Alternative end-joining catalyzes robust IgH locus deletions and translocations in the combined absence of ligase 4 and Ku70.

Class switch recombination (CSR) in B lymphocytes is initiated by introduction of multiple DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) into switch (S) regions that flank immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) constant region exons. CSR is completed by joining a DSB in the donor S mu to a DSB in a downstream acceptor S region (e.g., S gamma1) by end-joining. In normal cells, many CSR junctions are mediated by classical nonhomologous end-joining (C-NHEJ), which employs the Ku70/80 complex for DSB recognition and XRCC4/DNA ligase 4 for ligation. Alternative end-joining (A-EJ) mediates CSR, at reduced levels, in the absence of C-NHEJ, even in combined absence of Ku70 and ligase 4, demonstrating an A-EJ pathway totally distinct from C-NHEJ. Multiple DSBs are introduced into S mu during CSR, with some being rejoined or joined to each other to generate internal switch deletions (ISDs). In addition, S-region DSBs can be joined to other chromosomes to generate translocations, the level of which is increased by absence of a single C-NHEJ component (e.g., XRCC4). We asked whether ISD and S-region translocations occur in the complete absence of C-NHEJ (e.g., in Ku70/ligase 4 double-deficient B cells). We found, unexpectedly, that B-cell activation for CSR generates substantial ISD in both S mu and S gamma1 and that ISD in both is greatly increased by the absence of C-NHEJ. IgH chromosomal translocations to the c-myc oncogene also are augmented in the combined absence of Ku70 and ligase 4. We discuss the implications of these findings for A-EJ in normal and abnormal DSB repair.

Long-range oncogenic activation of Igh-c-myc translocations by the Igh 3' regulatory region.

B-cell malignancies, such as human Burkitt's lymphoma, often contain translocations that link c-myc or other proto-oncogenes to the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus (IgH, encoded by Igh). The nature of elements that activate oncogenes within such translocations has been a long-standing question. Translocations within Igh involve DNA double-strand breaks initiated either by the RAG1/2 endonuclease during variable, diversity and joining gene segment (V(D)J) recombination, or by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID, also known as AICDA) during class switch recombination (CSR). V(D)J recombination in progenitor B (pro-B) cells assembles Igh variable region exons upstream of mu constant region (Cmu) exons, which are the first of several sets of C(H) exons ('C(H) genes') within a C(H) locus that span several hundred kilobases (kb). In mature B cells, CSR deletes Cmu and replaces it with a downstream C(H) gene. An intronic enhancer (iEmu) between the variable region exons and Cmu promotes V(D)J recombination in developing B cells. Furthermore, the Igh 3' regulatory region (Igh3'RR) lies downstream of the C(H) locus and modulates CSR by long-range transcriptional enhancement of C(H) genes. Transgenic mice bearing iEmu or Igh3'RR sequences fused to c-myc are predisposed to B lymphomas, demonstrating that such elements can confer oncogenic c-myc expression. However, in many B-cell lymphomas, Igh-c-myc translocations delete iEmu and place c-myc up to 200 kb upstream of the Igh3'RR. Here we address the oncogenic role of the Igh3'RR by inactivating it in two distinct mouse models for B-cell lymphoma with Igh-c-myc translocations. We show that the Igh3'RR is dispensable for pro-B-cell lymphomas with V(D)J recombination-initiated translocations, but is required for peripheral B-cell lymphomas with CSR-associated translocations. As the Igh3'RR is not required for CSR-associated Igh breaks or Igh-c-myc translocations in peripheral B-cell lymphoma progenitors, we conclude that this regulatory region confers oncogenic activity by long-range and developmental stage-specific activation of translocated c-myc genes.

Mechanisms promoting translocations in editing and switching peripheral B cells.

Variable, diversity and joining gene segment (V(D)J) recombination assembles immunoglobulin heavy or light chain (IgH or IgL) variable region exons in developing bone marrow B cells, whereas class switch recombination (CSR) exchanges IgH constant region exons in peripheral B cells. Both processes use directed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) repaired by non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ). Errors in either V(D)J recombination or CSR can initiate chromosomal translocations, including oncogenic IgH locus (Igh) to c-myc (also known as Myc) translocations of peripheral B cell lymphomas. Collaboration between these processes has also been proposed to initiate translocations. However, the occurrence of V(D)J recombination in peripheral B cells is controversial. Here we show that activated NHEJ-deficient splenic B cells accumulate V(D)J-recombination-associated breaks at the lambda IgL locus (Igl), as well as CSR-associated Igh breaks, often in the same cell. Moreover, Igl and Igh breaks are frequently joined to form translocations, a phenomenon associated with specific Igh-Igl co-localization. Igh and c-myc also co-localize in these cells; correspondingly, the introduction of frequent c-myc DSBs robustly promotes Igh-c-myc translocations. Our studies show peripheral B cells that attempt secondary V(D)J recombination, and determine a role for mechanistic factors in promoting recurrent translocations in tumours.

Oncogenic transformation in the absence of Xrcc4 targets peripheral B cells that have undergone editing and switching.

Nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) repairs DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) during V(D)J recombination in developing lymphocytes and during immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain (IgH) class switch recombination (CSR) in peripheral B lymphocytes. We now show that CD21-cre-mediated deletion of the Xrcc4 NHEJ gene in p53-deficient peripheral B cells leads to recurrent surface Ig-negative B lymphomas ("CXP lymphomas"). Remarkably, CXP lymphomas arise from peripheral B cells that had attempted both receptor editing (secondary V[D]J recombination of Igkappa and Iglambda light chain genes) and IgH CSR subsequent to Xrcc4 deletion. Correspondingly, CXP tumors frequently harbored a CSR-based reciprocal chromosomal translocation that fused IgH to c-myc, as well as large chromosomal deletions or translocations involving Igkappa or Iglambda, with the latter fusing Iglambda to oncogenes or to IgH. Our findings reveal peripheral B cells that have undergone both editing and CSR and show them to be common progenitors of CXP tumors. Our studies also reveal developmental stage-specific mechanisms of c-myc activation via IgH locus translocations. Thus, Xrcc4/p53-deficient pro-B lymphomas routinely activate c-myc by gene amplification, whereas Xrcc4/p53-deficient peripheral B cell lymphomas routinely ectopically activate a single c-myc copy.

IgH class switching and translocations use a robust non-classical end-joining pathway.

Immunoglobulin variable region exons are assembled in developing B cells by V(D)J recombination. Once mature, these cells undergo class-switch recombination (CSR) when activated by antigen. CSR changes the heavy chain constant region exons (Ch) expressed with a given variable region exon from Cmu to a downstream Ch (for example, Cgamma, Cepsilon or Calpha), thereby switching expression from IgM to IgG, IgE or IgA. Both V(D)J recombination and CSR involve the introduction of DNA double-strand breaks and their repair by means of end joining. For CSR, double-strand breaks are introduced into switch regions that flank Cmu and a downstream Ch, followed by fusion of the broken switch regions. In mammalian cells, the 'classical' non-homologous end joining (C-NHEJ) pathway repairs both general DNA double-strand breaks and programmed double-strand breaks generated by V(D)J recombination. C-NHEJ, as observed during V(D)J recombination, joins ends that lack homology to form 'direct' joins, and also joins ends with several base-pair homologies to form microhomology joins. CSR joins also display direct and microhomology joins, and CSR has been suggested to use C-NHEJ. Xrcc4 and DNA ligase IV (Lig4), which cooperatively catalyse the ligation step of C-NHEJ, are the most specific C-NHEJ factors; they are absolutely required for V(D)J recombination and have no known functions other than C-NHEJ. Here we assess whether C-NHEJ is also critical for CSR by assaying CSR in Xrcc4- or Lig4-deficient mouse B cells. C-NHEJ indeed catalyses CSR joins, because C-NHEJ-deficient B cells had decreased CSR and substantial levels of IgH locus (immunoglobulin heavy chain, encoded by Igh) chromosomal breaks. However, an alternative end-joining pathway, which is markedly biased towards microhomology joins, supports CSR at unexpectedly robust levels in C-NHEJ-deficient B cells. In the absence of C-NHEJ, this alternative end-joining pathway also frequently joins Igh locus breaks to other chromosomes to generate translocations.

XRCC4 suppresses medulloblastomas with recurrent translocations in p53-deficient mice.

Inactivation of the XRCC4 nonhomologous end-joining factor in the mouse germ line leads to embryonic lethality, in association with apoptosis of newly generated, postmitotic neurons. We now show that conditional inactivation of the XRCC4 in nestin-expressing neuronal progenitor cells, although leading to no obvious phenotype in a WT background, leads to early onset of neuronally differentiated medulloblastomas (MBs) in a p53-deficient background. A substantial proportion of the XRCC4/p53-deficient MBs have high-level N-myc gene amplification, often intrachromosomally in the context of complex translocations or other alterations of chromosome 12, on which N-myc resides, or extrachromosomally within double minutes. In addition, most XRCC4/p53-deficient MBs harbor clonal translocations of chromosome 13, which frequently involve chromosome 6 as a partner. One copy of the patched gene (Ptc), which lies on chromosome 13, was deleted in all tested XRCC4/p53-deficient MBs in the context of translocations or interstitial deletions. In addition, Cyclin D2, a chromosome 6 gene, was amplified in a subset of tumors. Notably, amplification of Myc-family or Cyclin D2 genes and deletion of Ptc also have been observed in human MBs. We therefore conclude that, in neuronal cells of mice, the nonhomologous end-joining pathway plays a critical role in suppressing genomic instability that, in a p53-deficient background, routinely contributes to genesis of MBs with recurrent chromosomal alterations.