Human telomeres are protected from DNA damage by a nucleoprotein complex that includes the repeat-binding factor TRF2. Here, we report that TRF2 regulates the 5' exonuclease activity of its binding partner, Apollo, a member of the metallo-beta-lactamase family that is required for telomere integrity during S phase. TRF2 and Apollo also suppress damage to engineered interstitial telomere repeat tracts that were inserted far away from chromosome ends. Genetic data indicate that DNA topoisomerase 2alpha acts in the same pathway of telomere protection as TRF2 and Apollo. Moreover, TRF2, which binds preferentially to positively supercoiled DNA substrates, together with Apollo, negatively regulates the amount of TOP1, TOP2alpha, and TOP2beta at telomeres. Our data are consistent with a model in which TRF2 and Apollo relieve topological stress during telomere replication. Our work also suggests that cellular senescence may be caused by topological problems that occur during the replication of the inner portion of telomeres.
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) represent a transient biological state, where pluripotency is coupled with fast proliferation. ESCs display a constitutively active DNA damage response (DDR), but its molecular determinants have remained elusive. Here we show in cultured ESCs and mouse embryos that H2AX phosphorylation is dependent on Ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3 related (ATR) and is associated with chromatin loading of the ssDNA-binding proteins RPA and RAD51. Single-molecule analysis of replication intermediates reveals massive ssDNA gap accumulation, reduced fork speed and frequent fork reversal. All these marks of replication stress do not impair the mitotic process and are rapidly lost at differentiation onset. Delaying the G1/S transition in ESCs allows formation of 53BP1 nuclear bodies and suppresses ssDNA accumulation, fork slowing and reversal in the following S-phase. Genetic inactivation of fork slowing and reversal leads to chromosomal breakage in unperturbed ESCs. We propose that rapid cell cycle progression makes ESCs dependent on effective replication-coupled mechanisms to protect genome integrity.
PICH is a SNF2 family DNA translocase that binds to ultra-fine DNA bridges (UFBs) in mitosis. Numerous roles for PICH have been proposed from protein depletion experiments, but a consensus has failed to emerge. Here, we report that deletion of PICH in avian cells causes chromosome structural abnormalities, and hypersensitivity to an inhibitor of Topoisomerase II (Topo II), ICRF-193. ICRF-193-treated PICH−/− cells undergo sister chromatid non-disjunction in anaphase, and frequently abort cytokinesis. PICH co-localizes with Topo IIα on UFBs and at the ribosomal DNA locus, and the timely resolution of both structures depends on the ATPase activity of PICH. Purified PICH protein strongly stimulates the catalytic activity of Topo II in vitro. Consistent with this, a human PICH−/− cell line exhibits chromosome instability and chromosome condensation and decatenation defects similar to those of ICRF-193-treated cells. We propose that PICH and Topo II cooperate to prevent chromosome missegregation events in mitosis.
Repair of DNA double-strand breaks via homologous recombination can produce double Holliday junctions (dHJs) that require enzymatic separation. Topoisomerase IIIα (TopIIIα) together with RMI1 disentangles the final hemicatene intermediate obtained once dHJs have converged. How binding of RMI1 to TopIIIα influences it to behave as a hemicatenane dissolvase, rather than as an enzyme that relaxes DNA topology, is unknown. Here, we present the crystal structure of human TopIIIα complexed to the first oligonucleotide binding domain (OB-fold) of RMI1. TopIIIα assumes a toroidal type 1A topoisomerase fold. RMI1 attaches to the edge of the gate in TopIIIα through which DNA passes. RMI1 projects a 23-residue loop into the TopIIIα gate, thereby influencing the dynamics of its opening and closing. Our results provide a mechanistic rationale for how RMI1 stabilizes TopIIIα gate opening to enable dissolution and illustrate how binding partners modulate topoisomerase function.
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