Naturally mutagenic sequence diversity in a human type II topoisomerase

Bandak, A.F.; Blower, T.R.; Nitiss, K.C.; Gupta, R.; Lau, A.Y.; Guha, R.; Nitiss, J.L.; Berger, J.M.

Abstract

Type II topoisomerases transiently cleave duplex DNA as part of a strand passage mechanism that helps control chromosomal organization and superstructure. Aberrant DNA cleavage can result in genomic instability, and how topoisomerase activity is controlled to prevent unwanted breaks is poorly understood. Using a genetic screen, we identified mutations in the beta isoform of human topoisomerase II (hTOP2β) that render the enzyme hypersensitive to the chemotherapeutic agent etoposide. Several of these variants were unexpectedly found to display hypercleavage behavior in vitro and to be capable of inducing cell lethality in a DNA repair–deficient background; surprisingly, a subset of these mutations were also observed in TOP2B sequences from cancer genome databases. Using molecular dynamics simulations and computational network analyses, we found that many of the mutations obtained from the screen map to interfacial points between structurally coupled elements, and that dynamical modeling could be used to identify other damage-inducing TOP2B alleles present in cancer genome databases. This work establishes that there is an innate link between DNA cleavage predisposition and sensitivity to topoisomerase II poisons, and that certain sequence variants of human type II topoisomerases found in cancer cells can act as DNA-damaging agents. Our findings underscore the potential for hTOP2β to function as a clastogen capable of generating DNA damage that may promote or support cellular transformation.

Citation

Bandak, A., Blower, T., Nitiss, K., Gupta, R., Lau, A., Guha, R., Nitiss, J., & Berger, J. (2023). Naturally mutagenic sequence diversity in a human type II topoisomerase. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(28), Article e2302064120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2302064120

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 31, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jul 5, 2023
• Publication Date: Jul 11, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jul 10, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 10, 2023
• Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• Print ISSN: 0027-8424
• Electronic ISSN: 1091-6490
• Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 120
• Issue: 28
• Article Number: e2302064120
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2302064120
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1168660