Bernardo Reina-San-Martin

AID is required to initiate Nbs1/γ-H2AX focus formation and mutations at sites of class switching

Class switch recombination (CSR) is a region-specific DNA recombination reaction that replaces one immunoglobulin heavy-chain constant region (Ch) gene with another. This enables a single variable (V) region gene to be used in conjunction with different downstream Ch genes, each having a unique biological activity. The molecular mechanisms that mediate CSR have not been defined, but activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), a putative RNA-editing enzyme, is required for this reaction. Here we report that the Nijmegen breakage syndrome protein (Nbs1) and phosphorylated H2A histone family member X (γ-H2AX, also known as γ-H2afx), which facilitate DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair, form nuclear foci at the Ch region in the G1 phase of the cell cycle in cells undergoing CSR, and that switching is impaired in H2AX-/- mice. Localization of Nbs1 and γ-H2AX to the Igh locus during CSR is dependent on AID. In addition, AID is required for induction of switch region (Sµ)-specific DNA lesions that precede CSR. These results place AID function upstream of the DNA modifications that initiate CSR.

H2AX Is Required for Recombination Between Immunoglobulin Switch Regions but Not for Intra-Switch Region Recombination or Somatic Hypermutation

Changes in chromatin structure induced by posttranslational modifications of histones are important regulators of genomic function. Phosphorylation of histone H2AX promotes DNA repair and helps maintain genomic stability. Although B cells lacking H2AX show impaired class switch recombination (CSR), the precise role of H2AX in CSR and somatic hypermutation (SHM) has not been defined. We show that H2AX is not required for SHM, suggesting that the processing of DNA lesions leading to SHM is fundamentally different from CSR. Impaired CSR in H2AX−/− B cells is not due to alterations in switch region transcription, accessibility, or aberrant joining. In the absence of H2AX, short-range intra-switch region recombination proceeds normally while long-range inter-switch region recombination is impaired. Our results suggest a role for H2AX in regulating the higher order chromatin remodeling that facilitates switch region synapsis.

C-Terminal Deletion of AID Uncouples Class Switch Recombination from Somatic Hypermutation and Gene Conversion

Class-switch recombination (CSR), somatic hypermutation (SHM), and antibody gene conversion are distinct DNA modification reactions, but all are initiated by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), an enzyme that deaminates cytidine residues in single-stranded DNA. Here we describe a mutant form of AID that catalyzes SHM and gene conversion but not CSR. When expressed in E. coli, AID(delta189-198) is more active in catalyzing cytidine deamination than wild-type AID. AID(delta189-198) also promotes high levels of gene conversion and SHM when expressed in eukaryotic cells, but fails to induce CSR. These results underscore an essential role for the C-terminal domain of AID in CSR that is independent of its cytidine deaminase activity and that is not required for either gene conversion or SHM.

53BP1 is required for class switch recombination

53BP1 participates early in the DNA damage response and is involved in cell cycle checkpoint control. Moreover, the phenotype of mice and cells deficient in 53BP1 suggests a defect in DNA repair (Ward et al., 2003b). Therefore, we asked whether or not 53BP1 would be required for the efficient repair of DNA double strand breaks. Our data indicate that homologous recombination by gene conversion does not depend on 53BP1. Moreover, 53BP1-deficient mice support normal V(D)J recombination, indicating that 53BP1 is not required for “classic” nonhomologous end joining. However, class switch recombination is severely impaired in the absence of 53BP1, suggesting that 53BP1 facilitates DNA end joining in a way that is not required or redundant for the efficient closing of RAG-induced strand breaks. These findings are similar to those observed in mice or cells deficient in the tumor suppressors ATM and H2AX, further suggesting that the functions of ATM, H2AX, and 53BP1 are closely linked.

PARP-3 and APLF Function Together to Accelerate Nonhomologous End-Joining

PARP-3 is a member of the ADP-ribosyl transferase superfamily of unknown function. We show that PARP-3 is stimulated by DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in vitro and functions in the same pathway as the poly (ADP-ribose)-binding protein APLF to accelerate chromosomal DNA DSB repair. We implicate PARP-3 in the accumulation of APLF at DSBs and demonstrate that APLF promotes the retention of XRCC4/DNA ligase IV complex in chromatin, suggesting that PARP-3 and APLF accelerate DNA ligation during nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ). Consistent with this, we show that class switch recombination in Aplf(-/-) B cells is biased toward microhomology-mediated end-joining, a pathway that operates in the absence of XRCC4/DNA ligase IV, and that the requirement for PARP-3 and APLF for NHEJ is circumvented by overexpression of XRCC4/DNA ligase IV. These data identify molecular roles for PARP-3 and APLF in chromosomal DNA double-strand break repair reactions.

ATM Is Required for Efficient Recombination between Immunoglobulin Switch Regions

Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase is critical for initiating the signaling pathways that lead to cell cycle checkpoints and DNA double strand break repair. In the absence of ATM, humans and mice show a primary immunodeficiency that includes low serum antibody titers, but the role of ATM in antigen-driven immunoglobulin gene diversification has not been defined. Here, we show that although ATM is dispensable for somatic hypermutation, it is required for efficient class switch recombination (CSR). The defect in CSR is not due to alterations in switch region transcription, accessibility, DNA damage checkpoint protein recruitment, or short-range intra-switch region recombination. Only long-range inter-switch recombination is defective, indicating an unexpected role for ATM in switch region synapsis during CSR.

A B-cell mitogen from a pathogenic trypanosome is a eukaryotic proline racemase

Lymphocyte polyclonal activation is a generalized mechanism of immune evasion among pathogens. In a mouse model of Trypanosoma cruzi infection (American trypanosomiasis), reduced levels of polyclonal lymphocyte responses correlate with resistance to infection and cardiopathy. We report here the characterization of a parasite protein with B-cell mitogenic properties in culture supernatants of infective forms, the cloning of the corresponding gene and the analysis of the biological properties of its product. We characterized the protein as a co-factor-independent proline racemase, and show that its expression as a cytoplasmic and/or membrane-associated protein is life-stage specific. Inhibition studies indicate that availability of the racemase active site is necessary for mitogenic activity. This is the first report to our knowledge of a eukaryotic amino acid racemase gene. Our findings have potential consequences for the development of new immune therapies and drug design against pathogens.

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases in double-strand break repair: focus on PARP1, PARP2 and PARP3.

Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation) is a post-translational modification of proteins catalysed by Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARP). A wealth of recent advances in the biochemical and functional characterization of the DNA-dependent PARP family members have highlighted their key contribution in the DNA damage response network, the best characterized being the role of PARP1 and PARP2 in the resolution of single-strand breaks as part of the BER/SSBR process. How PARylation contributes to the repair of double-strand breaks is less well defined but has become recently the subject of significant research in the field. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the current knowledge concerning the role of the DNA-activated PARP1, PARP2 and PARP3 in cellular response to double-strand breaks (DSB). In addition, we outline the biological significance of these properties in response to programmed DNA lesions formed during physiological processes such as antibody repertoire assembly and diversification.

Epigenetic tethering of AID to the donor switch region during immunoglobulin class switch recombination.

A complex of KAP1 and HP1 is needed to tether AID to the H3K9me3-marked donor switch region during CSR.

A role for AID in chromosome translocations between c-myc and the IgH variable region

Chromosome translocations between oncogenes and the region spanning the immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain (IgH) variable (V), diversity (D), and joining (J) gene segments (Ig V-JH region) are found in several mature B cell lymphomas in humans and mice. The breakpoints are frequently adjacent to the recombination signal sequences targeted by recombination activating genes 1 and 2 during antigen receptor assembly in pre–B cells, suggesting that these translocations might be the result of aberrant V(D)J recombination. However, in mature B cells undergoing activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID)-dependent somatic hypermutation (SHM), duplications or deletions that would necessitate a double-strand break make up 6% of all the Ig V-JH region–associated somatic mutations. Furthermore, DNA breaks can be detected at this locus in B cells undergoing SHM. To determine whether SHM might induce c-myc to Ig V-JH translocations, we searched for such events in both interleukin (IL) 6 transgenic (IL-6 tg) and AID−/− IL-6 tg mice. Here, we report that AID is required for c-myc to Ig V-JH translocations induced by IL-6.