Markus Räschle

The Fanconi Anemia Pathway Promotes Replication-Dependent DNA Interstrand Cross-Link Repair

Fanconi Cross-Links Fanconi anemia is a rare genetic disease characterized by bone marrow failure, developmental abnormalities, and dramatically increased cancer susceptibility. Cells derived from Fanconi anemia patients are sensitive to agents that cause DNA interstrand cross-links, indicating that under normal circumstances the Fanconi pathway controls the repair of these DNA lesions. Knipscheer et al. (p. 1698, published online 12 November) found that two Fanconi anemia proteins, FANCI and FANCD2, promoted the DNA replication–coupled repair of interstrand cross-links in cell extracts. The FANCI-FANCD2 complex was required for the incisions that unhook the cross-link and for the insertion of a nucleotide across from the damaged template base during lesion bypass. Insertion of a nucleotide during the repair of a complex lesion in DNA requires tagging of a lysine residue. Fanconi anemia is a human cancer predisposition syndrome caused by mutations in 13 Fanc genes. The disorder is characterized by genomic instability and cellular hypersensitivity to chemicals that generate DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs). A central event in the activation of the Fanconi anemia pathway is the mono-ubiquitylation of the FANCI-FANCD2 complex, but how this complex confers ICL resistance remains enigmatic. Using a cell-free system, we showed that FANCI-FANCD2 is required for replication-coupled ICL repair in S phase. Removal of FANCD2 from extracts inhibits both nucleolytic incisions near the ICL and translesion DNA synthesis past the lesion. Reversal of these defects requires ubiquitylated FANCI-FANCD2. Our results show that multiple steps of the essential S-phase ICL repair mechanism fail when the Fanconi anemia pathway is compromised.

Mechanism of Replication-Coupled DNA Interstrand Crosslink Repair

DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICLs) are toxic DNA lesions whose repair occurs in the S phase of metazoans via an unknown mechanism. Here, we describe a cell-free system based on Xenopus egg extracts that supports ICL repair. During DNA replication of a plasmid containing a site-specific ICL, two replication forks converge on the crosslink. Subsequent lesion bypass involves advance of a nascent leading strand to within one nucleotide of the ICL, followed by incisions, translesion DNA synthesis, and extension of the nascent strand beyond the lesion. Immunodepletion experiments suggest that extension requires DNA polymerase zeta. Ultimately, a significant portion of the input DNA is fully repaired, but not if DNA replication is blocked. Our experiments establish a mechanism for ICL repair that reveals how this process is coupled to DNA replication.

Mechanism of RAD51-Dependent DNA Interstrand Cross-Link Repair

An in vitro system reveals the steps involved in repairing covalent links between DNA strands of the double helix. DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs) are toxic DNA lesions whose repair in S phase of eukaryotic cells is incompletely understood. In Xenopus egg extracts, ICL repair is initiated when two replication forks converge on the lesion. Dual incisions then create a DNA double-strand break (DSB) in one sister chromatid, whereas lesion bypass restores the other sister. We report that the broken sister chromatid is repaired via RAD51-dependent strand invasion into the regenerated sister. Recombination acts downstream of FANCI-FANCD2, yet RAD51 binds ICL-stalled replication forks independently of FANCI-FANCD2 and before DSB formation. Our results elucidate the functional link between the Fanconi anemia pathway and the recombination machinery during ICL repair. In addition, they demonstrate the complete repair of a DSB via homologous recombination in vitro.

Proteomics reveals dynamic assembly of repair complexes during bypass of DNA cross-links

Uncrossing covalently linked DNA strands DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs) covalently link the two strands of the double helix. ICL mutations are difficult to repair, because the two DNA strands cannot be separated and so one strand cannot be used as a template to repair the other. Räschle et al. developed a mass spectrometry–based method to systematically analyze a time series of all the proteins recruited to repair ICLs in Xenopus egg extracts. They found many of the known factors required for ICL repair. They also found a number of new factors, two of which define a new repair pathway for ICL mutations. Science, this issue 10.1126/science.1253671 Surveying the battery of proteins required to repair covalently linked DNA strands reveals a new repair pathway. INTRODUCTION DNA damage encountered during DNA replication represents a major challenge to the integrity of the genome. Because replicative polymerases are unable to synthesize across DNA lesions, prolonged stalling of replisomes can lead to replication fork collapse, giving rise to gross genomic alterations. Cells have evolved intricate responses that orchestrate the reorganization of the replication fork necessary for overcoming such roadblocks, but the full set of factors involved in these processes has not been defined. Here, we performed unbiased proteomic analyses of the dynamically changing protein landscape at damaged chromatin undergoing DNA replication. This yielded mechanistic insights into the pathways that ensure genomic stability during perturbed DNA replication. RATIONALE We combined the powerful and well-established Xenopus egg extract system for cell-free DNA replication with quantitative mass spectrometry to develop CHROMASS (chromatin mass spectrometry), a simple yet robust method for the unbiased analysis of chromatin composition. Using bifunctional cross-linkers, compounds commonly applied in chemotherapy, we systematically monitored the assembly and disassembly of protein complexes on replicating chromatin containing DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs). RESULTS We show that replication of ICL-containing chromatin templates triggers recruitment of more than 90 DNA repair and genome maintenance factors. Addition of replication inhibitors revealed the subset of proteins that accumulate in a strictly replication-dependent fashion. The quantitative readout by CHROMASS is highly lesion-specific, as the known repair factors enriched on psoralen–cross-linked templates had previously been linked to ICL repair or specific branches of DNA damage signaling. In contrast, virtually none of the proteins involved in unrelated DNA repair pathways (e.g., base excision repair or nonhomologous end joining) showed damage-specific enrichment. The temporal profiles of hundreds of proteins across an extensive time course and a variety of perturbations provided a data-rich resource that could be mined to identify previously unknown genome maintenance factors. Among such hits, we identified SLF1 and SLF2 and showed that they physically link RAD18 with the SMC5/6 complex. This defines a linear RAD18-SLF1-SLF2 recruitment pathway for the SMC5/6 complex to RNF8/RNF168-generated ubiquitylations at damaged DNA in vertebrate cells. We found that SLF2 is a distant ortholog of yeast NSE6, an SMC5/6-associated factor that is essential for targeting this complex to damaged DNA to promote faithful repair of the lesions. Consistent with pivotal functions of SMC5/6 in the suppression of replication stress-induced, illegitimate recombination intermediates, depletion of SLF1 or SLF2 led to mitotic errors and compromised cell survival in response to genotoxic agents. CONCLUSIONS CHROMASS enables rapid and unbiased time-resolved insights into the chromatin interaction dynamics of entire DNA repair pathways. Combined with specific perturbations, CHROMASS allows systems-level interrogation of the consequences of inactivating particular aspects of the repair process. We compiled comprehensive proteome-wide profiles of dynamic protein interactions with damaged chromatin. These can be mined to pinpoint genome stability maintenance factors, exemplified here by the identification of SLF1 and SLF2, which define a recruitment pathway for the SMC5/6 complex. CHROMASS can be applied to other chromatin-associated pathways and may also shed light on the dynamics of posttranslational modifications governing the regulation of these processes. CHROMASS analysis of proteins recruited to stalled replication forks reveals a specific set of DNA repair factors involved in the replication stress response. Among these, SLF1 and SLF2 are found to bridge the SMC5/6 complex to RAD18, thereby linking SMC5/6 recruitment to ubiquitylation products formed at various DNA lesions. DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs) block replication fork progression by inhibiting DNA strand separation. Repair of ICLs requires sequential incisions, translesion DNA synthesis, and homologous recombination, but the full set of factors involved in these transactions remains unknown. We devised a technique called chromatin mass spectrometry (CHROMASS) to study protein recruitment dynamics during perturbed DNA replication in Xenopus egg extracts. Using CHROMASS, we systematically monitored protein assembly and disassembly on ICL-containing chromatin. Among numerous prospective DNA repair factors, we identified SLF1 and SLF2, which form a complex with RAD18 and together define a pathway that suppresses genome instability by recruiting the SMC5/6 cohesion complex to DNA lesions. Our study provides a global analysis of an entire DNA repair pathway and reveals the mechanism of SMC5/6 relocalization to damaged DNA in vertebrate cells.

Activation of the ATR kinase by the RPA-binding protein ETAA1

Activation of the ATR kinase following perturbations to DNA replication relies on a complex mechanism involving ATR recruitment to RPA-coated single-stranded DNA via its binding partner ATRIP and stimulation of ATR kinase activity by TopBP1. Here, we discovered an independent ATR activation pathway in vertebrates, mediated by the uncharacterized protein ETAA1 (Ewing’s tumour-associated antigen 1). Human ETAA1 accumulates at DNA damage sites via dual RPA-binding motifs and promotes replication fork progression and integrity, ATR signalling and cell survival after genotoxic insults. Mechanistically, this requires a conserved domain in ETAA1 that potently and directly stimulates ATR kinase activity independently of TopBP1. Simultaneous loss of ETAA1 and TopBP1 gives rise to synthetic lethality characterized by massive genome instability and abrogation of ATR-dependent signalling. Our findings demonstrate that parallel TopBP1- and ETAA1-mediated pathways underlie ATR activation and that their combined action is essential for coping with replication stress.

Replication-coupled DNA interstrand cross-link repair in Xenopus egg extracts

Interstrand cross-links (ICL) are one of the most hazardous types of DNA damage as they form a roadblock to all processes that involve strand separation. Repair of these lesions involves several different DNA repair pathways, but the molecular mechanism is unclear. Here we describe a system that allows the examination of ICL repair, via a physiological mechanism, in vitro. This system, which uses Xenopus egg extracts in combination with a DNA template that contains a site-specific ICL, represents a unique tool to study the molecular mechanism of ICL repair.

CRL2Lrr1 promotes unloading of the vertebrate replisome from chromatin during replication termination

A key event during eukaryotic replication termination is the removal of the CMG helicase from chromatin. CMG unloading involves ubiquitylation of its Mcm7 subunit and the action of the p97 ATPase. Using a proteomic screen in Xenopus egg extracts, we identified factors that are enriched on chromatin when CMG unloading is blocked. This approach identified the E3 ubiquitin ligase CRL2Lrr1, a specific p97 complex, other potential regulators of termination, and many replisome components. We show that Mcm7 ubiquitylation and CRL2Lrr1 binding to chromatin are temporally linked and occur only during replication termination. In the absence of CRL2Lrr1, Mcm7 is not ubiquitylated, CMG unloading is inhibited, and a large subcomplex of the vertebrate replisome that includes DNA Pol ε is retained on DNA. Our data identify CRL2Lrr1 as a master regulator of replisome disassembly during vertebrate DNA replication termination.

Homology-driven assembly of NOn-redundant protEin Sequence Sets (NOmESS) for mass spectrometry

Summary: To enable mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomic studies with poorly characterized organisms, we developed a computational workflow for the homology-driven assembly of a non-redundant reference sequence dataset. In the automated pipeline, translated DNA sequences (e.g. ESTs, RNA deep-sequencing data) are aligned to those of a closely related and fully sequenced organism. Representative sequences are derived from each cluster and joined, resulting in a non-redundant reference set representing the maximal available amino acid sequence information for each protein. We here applied NOmESS to assemble a reference database for the widely used model organism Xenopus laevis and demonstrate its use in proteomic applications. Availability and implementation: NOmESS is written in C#. The source code as well as the executables can be downloaded from http://www.biochem.mpg.de/cox. Execution of NOmESS requires BLASTp and cd-hit in addition. Contact: cox@biochem.mpg.de Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Mechanism of replication-coupled DNA-protein crosslink proteolysis by SPRTN and the proteasome

DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs) are bulky DNA lesions that interfere with DNA metabolism and therefore threaten genomic integrity. Recent studies implicate the metalloprotease SPRTN in S-phase removal of DPCs, but how SPRTN activity is coupled to DNA replication is unknown. Using Xenopus egg extracts that recapitulate replication-coupled DPC proteolysis, we show that DPCs can be degraded by SPRTN or the proteasome, which act as independent DPC proteases. Proteasome recruitment requires DPC polyubiquitylation, which is triggered by single-stranded DNA, a byproduct of DNA replication. In contrast, SPRTN-mediated DPC degradation is independent of DPC polyubiquitylation but requires polymerase extension of a nascent strand to the lesion. Thus, SPRTN and proteasome activities are coupled to DNA replication by distinct mechanisms and together promote replication across immovable protein barriers. Highlights The proteasome, in addition to SPRTN, degrades DPCs during DNA replication Proteasome-dependent DPC degradation requires DPC ubiquitylation DPC ubiquitylation is triggered by ssDNA and does not require the replisome SPRTN-dependent DPC degradation is a post-replicative process

The CMG helicase bypasses DNA protein cross-links to facilitate their repair

Covalent and non-covalent nucleoprotein complexes impede replication fork progression and thereby threaten genome integrity. Using Xenopus laevis egg extracts, we previously showed that when a replication fork encounters a covalent DNA-protein cross-link (DPC) on the leading strand template, the DPC is degraded to a short peptide, allowing its bypass by translesion synthesis polymerases. Strikingly, we show here that when DPC proteolysis is blocked, the replicative DNA helicase (CMG), which travels on the leading strand template, still bypasses the intact DPC. The DNA helicase RTEL1 facilitates bypass, apparently by translocating along the lagging strand template and generating single-stranded DNA downstream of the DPC. Remarkably, RTEL1 is required for efficient DPC proteolysis, suggesting that CMG bypass of a DPC normally precedes its proteolysis. RTEL1 also promotes fork progression past non-covalent protein-DNA complexes. Our data suggest a unified model for the replisome’s response to nucleoprotein barriers.