Axelle Renodon-Cornière

Direct observation of twisting steps during Rad51 polymerization on DNA

The human recombinase hRad51 is a key protein for the maintenance of genome integrity and for cancer development. Polymerization and depolymerization of hRad51 on duplex DNA were studied here using a new generation of magnetic tweezers, measuring DNA twist in real time with a resolution of 5°. Our results combined with earlier structural information suggest that DNA is somewhat less extended by hRad51 than by RecA (4.5 vs. 5.1 Å per base pair) and untwisted by 18.2° per base pair. They also confirm a stoichiometry of 3–4 bp per protein in the hRad51-dsDNA nucleoprotein filament. At odds with earlier claims, we show that after initial deposition of a multimeric nucleus, nucleoprotein filament growth occurs by addition/release of single proteins, involving DNA twisting steps of 65° ± 5°. Simple numeric simulations show that this mechanism is an efficient way to minimize nucleoprotein filament defects. Nucleoprotein filament growth from a preformed nucleus was observed at hRad51 concentrations down to 10 nM, whereas nucleation was never observed below 100 nM in the same buffer. This behavior can be associated with the different stoichiometries of nucleation and growth. It may be instrumental in vivo to permit efficient continuation of strand exchange by hRad51 alone while requiring additional proteins such as Rad52 for its initiation, thus keeping the latter under the strict control of regulatory pathways.

Inhibition of filament formation of human Rad51 protein by a small peptide derived from the BRC-motif of the BRCA2 protein

Human Rad51 is a key element of recombinational DNA repair and is related to the resistance of cancer cells to chemo‐ and radiotherapies. The protein is thus a potential target of anti‐cancer treatment. The crystallographic analysis shows that the BRC‐motif of the BRCA2 tumor suppressor is in contact with the subunit–subunit interface of Rad51 and could thus prevent filament formation of Rad51. However, biochemical analysis indicates that a BRC‐motif peptide of 69 amino acids preferentially binds to the N‐terminal part of Rad51. We show experimentally that a short peptide of 28 amino acids derived from the BRC4 motif binds to the subunit–subunit interface and dissociates its filament, both in the presence and absence of DNA, certainly by binding to dissociated monomers. The inhibition is efficient and specific for Rad51: the peptide does not even interact with Rad51 homologs or prevent their interaction with DNA. Neither the N‐terminal nor the C‐terminal half of the peptide interacts with human Rad51, indicating that both parts are involved in the interaction, as expected from the crystal structure. These results suggest the possibility of developing inhibitors of human Rad51 based on this peptide.

Design of Potent Inhibitors of Human RAD51 Recombinase Based on BRC Motifs of BRCA2 Protein: Modeling and Experimental Validation of a Chimera Peptide

We have previously shown that a 28-amino acid peptide derived from the BRC4 motif of BRCA2 tumor suppressor inhibits selectively human RAD51 recombinase (HsRad51). With the aim of designing better inhibitors for cancer treatment, we combined an in silico docking approach with in vitro biochemical testing to construct a highly efficient chimera peptide from eight existing human BRC motifs. We built a molecular model of all BRC motifs complexed with HsRad51 based on the crystal structure of the BRC4 motif-HsRad51 complex, computed the interaction energy of each residue in each BRC motif, and selected the best amino acid residue at each binding position. This analysis enabled us to propose four amino acid substitutions in the BRC4 motif. Three of these increased the inhibitory effect in vitro, and this effect was found to be additive. We thus obtained a peptide that is about 10 times more efficient in inhibiting HsRad51−ssDNA complex formation than the original peptide.

Ca2+ improves organization of single-stranded DNA bases in human Rad51 filament, explaining stimulatory effect on gene recombination.

Human RAD51 protein (HsRad51) catalyses the DNA strand exchange reaction for homologous recombination. To clarify the molecular mechanism of the reaction in vitro being more effective in the presence of Ca2+ than of Mg2+, we have investigated the effect of these ions on the structure of HsRad51 filament complexes with single- and double-stranded DNA, the reaction intermediates. Flow linear dichroism spectroscopy shows that the two ionic conditions induce significantly different structures in the HsRad51/single-stranded DNA complex, while the HsRad51/double-stranded DNA complex does not demonstrate this ionic dependence. In the HsRad51/single-stranded DNA filament, the primary intermediate of the strand exchange reaction, ATP/Ca2+ induces an ordered conformation of DNA, with preferentially perpendicular orientation of nucleobases relative to the filament axis, while the presence of ATP/Mg2+, ADP/Mg2+ or ADP/Ca2+ does not. A high strand exchange activity is observed for the filament formed with ATP/Ca2+, whereas the other filaments exhibit lower activity. Molecular modelling suggests that the structural variation is caused by the divalent cation interfering with the L2 loop close to the DNA-binding site. It is proposed that the larger Ca2+ stabilizes the loop conformation and thereby the protein–DNA interaction. A tight binding of DNA, with bases perpendicularly oriented, could facilitate strand exchange.

Probing Rad51-DNA interactions by changing DNA twist

In eukaryotes, Rad51 protein is responsible for the recombinational repair of double-strand DNA breaks. Rad51 monomers cooperatively assemble on exonuclease-processed broken ends forming helical nucleo-protein filaments that can pair with homologous regions of sister chromatids. Homologous pairing allows the broken ends to be reunited in a complex but error-free repair process. Rad51 protein has ATPase activity but its role is poorly understood, as homologous pairing is independent of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis. Here we use magnetic tweezers and electron microscopy to investigate how changes of DNA twist affect the structure of Rad51-DNA complexes and how ATP hydrolysis participates in this process. We show that Rad51 protein can bind to double-stranded DNA in two different modes depending on the enforced DNA twist. The stretching mode is observed when DNA is unwound towards a helical repeat of 18.6 bp/turn, whereas a non-stretching mode is observed when DNA molecules are not permitted to change their native helical repeat. We also show that the two forms of complexes are interconvertible and that by enforcing changes of DNA twist one can induce transitions between the two forms. Our observations permit a better understanding of the role of ATP hydrolysis in Rad51-mediated homologous pairing and strand exchange.

A dual mechanism of action of the anticancer agent F 11782 on human topoisomerase II α

F 11782 is a novel epipodophyllotoxin that targets eukaryotic topoisomerases and inhibits enzyme binding to DNA. While F 11782 has not been found to stabilize either topoisomerase I or topoisomerase II covalent complexes, drug treatment appears to result in DNA damage. F 11782 has also been shown to inhibit the DNA nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway. Bisdioxopiperazine-resistant small cell lung cancer (SCLC) OC-NYH/Y165S and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) CHO/159-1 cells having functional Y49F and Y165S mutations in the topoisomerase II alpha isoform were both resistant to F 11782. The catalytic activity of purified human Y50F and Y165S mutant topoisomerase II alpha (Y50F in the human protein corresponds to Y49F in the CHO protein) was likewise resistant to the inhibitory action of F 11782. F 11782 was also found to induce a non-covalent salt-stable complex of human topoisomerase II with DNA that was ATP-independent. F 11782 thus displays a dual mechanism of action on human topoisomerase II alpha, reducing its affinity for DNA while also stabilizing the protein bound in the form of a salt-stable complex. Our results suggest that topoisomerase II alpha is a target of F 11782 in vivo, and that F 11782 may act as a novel topoisomerase II poison.

Affitins as robust tailored reagents for affinity chromatography purification of antibodies and non-immunoglobulin proteins.

Affinity chromatography is a convenient way of purifying proteins, as a high degree of purity can be reached in one step. The use of tags has greatly contributed to the popularity of this technique. However, the addition of tags may not be desirable or possible for the production of biopharmaceuticals. There is thus a need for tailored artificial affinity ligands. We have developed the use of archaeal extremophilic proteins as scaffolds to generate affinity proteins (Affitins). Here, we explored the potential of Affitins as ligand to design affinity columns. Affitins specific for human immunoglobulin G (hIgG), bacterial PulD protein, and chicken egg lysozyme were immobilized on an agarose matrix. The columns obtained were functional and highly selective for their cognate target, even in the presence of exogenous proteins as found in cell culture media, ascites and bacterial lysates, which result in a high degree of purity (∼95%) and recovery (∼100%) in a single step. Anti-hIgG Affitin columns withstand repetitive cycles of purification and cleaning-in-place treatments with 0.25 M NaOH as well as Protein A does. High levels of Affitin productions in Escherichia coli makes it possible to produce these affinity columns at low cost. Our results validate Affitins as a new class of tailored ligands for the affinity chromatography purification of potentially any proteins of interest including biopharmaceuticals.

Targeting human Rad51 by specific DNA aptamers induces inhibition of homologous recombination.

Human Rad51 (HsRad51), a key element of the homologous recombination repair pathway, is related to the resistance of cancer cells to chemo- and radio-therapies. This protein is thus a good target for the development of anti-cancer treatments. We have searched for new inhibitors directed against HsRad51 using the Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment (SELEX) approach. We have selected three aptamers displaying strong effects on strand exchange activity. Analysis by circular dichroism shows that they are highly structured DNA molecules. Our results also show that they affect the first step of the strand exchange reaction by promoting the dissociation of DNA from the ATP/HsRad51/DNA complex. Moreover, these inhibitors bind only weakly to RecA, a prokaryotic ortholog of HsRad51. Both the specificity and the efficiency of their inhibition of recombinase activity offer an analytical tool based on molecular recognition and the prospect of developing new therapeutic agents.

Swi5-Sfr1 protein stimulates Rad51-mediated DNA strand exchange reaction through organization of DNA bases in the presynaptic filament

The Swi5-Sfr1 heterodimer protein stimulates the Rad51-promoted DNA strand exchange reaction, a crucial step in homologous recombination. To clarify how this accessory protein acts on the strand exchange reaction, we have analyzed how the structure of the primary reaction intermediate, the Rad51/single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) complex filament formed in the presence of ATP, is affected by Swi5-Sfr1. Using flow linear dichroism spectroscopy, we observe that the nucleobases of the ssDNA are more perpendicularly aligned to the filament axis in the presence of Swi5-Sfr1, whereas the bases are more randomly oriented in the absence of Swi5-Sfr1. When using a modified version of the natural protein where the N-terminal part of Sfr1 is deleted, which has no affinity for DNA but maintained ability to stimulate the strand exchange reaction, we still observe the improved perpendicular DNA base orientation. This indicates that Swi5-Sfr1 exerts its activating effect through interaction with the Rad51 filament mainly and not with the DNA. We propose that the role of a coplanar alignment of nucleobases induced by Swi5-Sfr1 in the presynaptic Rad51/ssDNA complex is to facilitate the critical matching with an invading double-stranded DNA, hence stimulating the strand exchange reaction.

Structural Analysis of the Human Rad51 Protein-DNA Complex Filament by Tryptophan Fluorescence Scanning Analysis: Transmission of Allosteric Effects between ATP Binding and DNA Binding

Human Rad51 (HsRad51) catalyzes the strand exchange reaction, a crucial step in homologous recombination, by forming a filamentous complex with DNA. The structure of this filament is modified by ATP, which is required and hydrolyzed for the reaction. We analyzed the structure and the ATP-promoted conformational change of this filament. We systematically replaced aromatic residues in the protein, one at a time, with tryptophan, a fluorescent probe, and examined its effect on the activities (DNA binding, ATPase, ATP-promoted conformational change, and strand exchange reaction) and the fluorescence changes upon binding of ATP and DNA. Some residues were also replaced with alanine. We thus obtained structural information about various positions of the protein in solution. All the proteins conserved, at least partially, their activities. However, the replacement of histidine at position 294 (H294) and phenylalanine at 129 (F129) affected the ATP-induced conformational change of the DNA-HsRad51 filament, although it did not prevent DNA binding. F129 is considered to be close to the ATP-binding site and to H294 of a neighboring subunit. ATP probably modifies the structure around F129 and affects the subunit/subunit contact around H294 and the structure of the DNA-binding site. The replacement also reduced the DNA-dependent ATPase activity, suggesting that these residues are also involved in the transmission of the allosteric effect of DNA to the ATP-binding site, which is required for the stimulation of ATPase activity by DNA. The fluorescence analyses supported the structural change of the DNA-binding site by ATP and that of the ATP-binding site by DNA. This information will be useful to build a molecular model of the Rad51-DNA complex and to understand the mechanism of activation of Rad51 by ATP and that of the Rad51-promoted strand exchange reaction.