Mechanisms, Biomarkers and Models Unit, Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità - Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
Istituto Nazionale Biostrutture e Biosistemi - Roma Area Research Unit - Via delle Medaglie d'Oro 305, 00136 Rome, Italy.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2023 Jul 21;51(13):6723-6737. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkad470.
The MUS81 complex is crucial for preserving genome stability through resolution of branched DNA intermediates in mitosis and also for the processing of deprotected replication forks in BRCA2-deficient cells. Because of the existence of two different MUS81 complexes in mammalian cells that act in M- or S-phase, whether and how the PARPi sensitivity of BRCA2-deficient cells is affected by loss of MUS81 function is unclear. Here, using a mutant of MUS81 that impairs its function in M-phase, we show that viability of BRCA2-deficient cells but not their PARPi sensitivity requires a fully-functional MUS81 complex in mitosis. In contrast, expression of a constitutively-active MUS81 is sufficient to confer PARPi resistance. From a mechanistic point of view, our data indicate that deregulated action of the mitotic active form of MUS81 in S-phase leads to the cleavage of stalled replication forks before their reversal, bypassing fork deprotection, and engaging a Polθ-dependent DSBs repair. Collectively, our findings describe a novel mechanism leading to PARPi resistance that involves unscheduled MUS81-dependent cleavage of intact, unreversed replication forks. Since this cleavage occurs mimicking the phosphorylated status of S87 of MUS81, our data suggest that hyperphosphorylation of this residue in S-phase might represent a novel biomarker to identify resistance to PARPi.
MUS81 复合物对于通过有丝分裂中分支 DNA 中间体的解决以及 BRCA2 缺陷细胞中去保护复制叉的处理来维持基因组稳定性至关重要。由于哺乳动物细胞中存在两种不同的 MUS81 复合物,它们分别在 M 期或 S 期发挥作用,因此,BRCA2 缺陷细胞对 PARPi 的敏感性是否以及如何受到 MUS81 功能丧失的影响尚不清楚。在这里,我们使用一种在 M 期损害其功能的 MUS81 突变体表明,BRCA2 缺陷细胞的生存能力但不是其对 PARPi 的敏感性需要在有丝分裂中具有功能齐全的 MUS81 复合物。相比之下,组成型激活的 MUS81 的表达足以赋予 PARPi 抗性。从机制的角度来看,我们的数据表明,MUS81 的有丝分裂活性形式在 S 期的失调作用会导致停滞的复制叉在其反转之前被切割,绕过叉去保护,并参与 Polθ 依赖性 DSBs 修复。总之,我们的发现描述了一种导致 PARPi 耐药的新机制,该机制涉及无调度的 MUS81 依赖性完整、未反转的复制叉的切割。由于这种切割发生在模拟 MUS81 的 S87 磷酸化状态下,因此我们的数据表明,该残基在 S 期的过度磷酸化可能代表识别对 PARPi 耐药的新型生物标志物。
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