Thymine DNA glycosylase is essential for active DNA demethylation by linked deamination-base excision repair.

DNA methylation is a major epigenetic mechanism for gene silencing. Whereas methyltransferases mediate cytosine methylation, it is less clear how unmethylated regions in mammalian genomes are protected from de novo methylation and whether an active demethylating activity is involved. Here, we show that either knockout or catalytic inactivation of the DNA repair enzyme thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) leads to embryonic lethality in mice. TDG is necessary for recruiting p300 to retinoic acid (RA)-regulated promoters, protection of CpG islands from hypermethylation, and active demethylation of tissue-specific developmentally and hormonally regulated promoters and enhancers. TDG interacts with the deaminase AID and the damage response protein GADD45a. These findings highlight a dual role for TDG in promoting proper epigenetic states during development and suggest a two-step mechanism for DNA demethylation in mammals, whereby 5-methylcytosine and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine are first deaminated by AID to thymine and 5-hydroxymethyluracil, respectively, followed by TDG-mediated thymine and 5-hydroxymethyluracil excision repair.

Small-molecule drugs mimicking DNA damage: a new strategy for sensitizing tumors to radiotherapy.

PURPOSE: Enhanced DNA repair activity is often associated with tumor resistance to radiotherapy. We hypothesized that inhibiting DNA damage repair would sensitize tumors to radiation-induced DNA damage. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: A novel strategy for inhibiting DNA repair was tested. We designed small DNA molecules that mimic DNA double-strand breaks (called Dbait) and act by disorganizing damage signaling and DNA repair. We analyzed the effects of Dbait in cultured cells and on xenografted tumors growth and performed preliminary studies of their mechanism(s) of action. RESULTS: The selected Dbait molecules activate H2AX phosphorylation in cell culture and in xenografted tumors. In vitro, this activation correlates with the reduction of Nijmegen breakage syndrome 1 and p53-binding protein 1 repair foci formation after irradiation. Cells are sensitized to irradiation and do not efficiently repair DNA damage. In vivo, Dbait induces regression of radioresistant head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (Hep2) and melanoma (SK28 and LU1205) tumors. The combination of Dbait32Hc treatment and fractionated radiotherapy significantly enhanced the therapeutic effect. Tumor growth control by Dbait molecules depended directly on the dose and was observed with various irradiation protocols. The induction of H2AX phosphorylation in tumors treated with Dbait suggests that it acts in vivo through the induction of "false" DNA damage signaling and repair inhibition. CONCLUSIONS: These data validate the concept of introducing small DNA molecules, which mimic DNA damage, to trigger "false" signaling of DNA damage and impair DNA repair of damaged chromosomes. This new strategy could provide a new method for enhancing radiotherapy efficiency in radioresistant tumors.

C57BL/6 congenic mouse NRASQ61K melanoma cell lines are highly sensitive to the combination of Mek and Akt inhibitors in vitro and in vivo.

RAS is frequently mutated in various tumors and known to be difficult to target. NRASQ61K/R are the second most frequent mutations found in human skin melanoma after BRAFV600E . Aside from surgery, various approaches, including targeted therapies, immunotherapies, and combination therapies, are used to treat patients carrying NRAS mutations, but they are inefficient. Here, we established mouse NRASQ61K melanoma cell lines and genetically derived isografts (GDIs) from Tyr::NRASQ61K mouse melanoma that can be used in vitro and in vivo in an immune-competent environment (C57BL/6) to test and discover novel therapies. We characterized these cell lines at the cellular, molecular, and oncogenic levels and show that NRASQ61K melanoma is highly sensitive to the combination of Mek and Akt inhibitors. This preclinical model shows much potential for the screening of novel therapeutic strategies for patients harboring NRAS mutations that have limited therapeutic options and resulted in poor prognoses.

Ednrb2 orients cell migration towards the dorsolateral neural crest pathway and promotes melanocyte differentiation.

Endothelin receptors B (Ednrb) are involved in the development of the enteric and melanocytic lineages, which originate from neural crest cells (NCCs). In mice, trunk NCCs and their derivatives express only one Ednrb. In quail, trunk NCCs express two Ednrb: Ednrb and Ednrb2. Quail Ednrb is expressed in NCCs migrating along the ventral pathway, which gives rise to the peripheral nervous system, including enteric ganglia. Ednrb2 is upregulated in NCCs before these cells enter the dorsolateral pathway. The NCCs migrating along the dorsolateral pathway are melanocyte precursors. We analyzed the in vitro differentiation and in ovo migration of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells expressing and not expressing Ednrb2. We generated a series of transfected ES cell lines expressing Ednrb2. This receptor, like Ednrb, oriented genuine ES cells towards melanocyte lineage differentiation in vitro. The in ovo migration of Ednrb2-expressing ES cells was massively oriented towards the dorsolateral pathway, unlike that of WT or Ednrb-expressing ES cells. Thus, Ednrb2 is involved in melanoblast differentiation and migration.

Tyrosinase gene correction using fluorescent oligonucleotides.

Gene therapy and production of mutated cell lines or animal models should be improved significantly once efficient controlled gene targeting strategies are developed. We used short single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN), in some cases coupled to the fluorescent dye fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), to correct an endogenic natural point mutation in melanocytes in culture. The addition of the FITC molecule to the 5' extremity of the ODN did not interfere with the efficiency of the reversion of the mutation and did not have any deleterious side-effects. The use of fluorescent ODN could lead to great improvement in the technique. In particular, it may facilitate sorting of the transfected cells in the treated population, and thereby significantly increase the percentage of corrected cells.

Dct::lacZ ES cells: a novel cellular model to study melanocyte determination and differentiation.

Embryonic stem (ES) cells differentiate into various cell lineages in vitro. A procedure was previously designed to promote the differentiation of ES cells towards the melanocyte lineage and to obtain large and reproducible amounts of melanocytes. To elucidate the main events that lead to the development of melanocytes in vitro, we used transgenic Dct::lacZ mouse blastocysts to establish ES cell lines expressing the lacZ reporter gene under the control of the Dct promoter. Dct, a melanoblast marker, is expressed just after melanoblast determination in vivo. We evaluated the importance of recruitment, proliferation and differentiation during melanocyte ontogeny after the in vitro differentiation of Dct::lacZ ES cells into melanocytes. We showed that bFGF and cholera toxin induce precocious melanoblast determination, associated with early melanocyte differentiation. Edn3 induced melanoblast proliferation and long-term melanoblast recruitment, but not precocious determination. The lack of basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF) and cholera toxin can be partially compensated by Edn3. Thus, Dct::lacZ ES cells can be used as a model to study determination, proliferation and differentiation in the melanocyte lineage in vitro.

The base excision repair enzyme MED1 mediates DNA damage response to antitumor drugs and is associated with mismatch repair system integrity.

Cytotoxicity of methylating agents is caused mostly by methylation of the O6 position of guanine in DNA to form O6-methylguanine (O6-meG). O6-meG can direct misincorporation of thymine during replication, generating O6-meG:T mismatches. Recognition of these mispairs by the mismatch repair (MMR) system leads to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. MMR also modulates sensitivity to other antitumor drugs. The base excision repair (BER) enzyme MED1 (also known as MBD4) interacts with the MMR protein MLH1. MED1 was found to exhibit thymine glycosylase activity on O6-meG:T mismatches. To examine the biological significance of this activity, we generated mice with targeted inactivation of the Med1 gene and prepared mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) with different Med1 genotype. Unlike wild-type and heterozygous cultures, Med1-/- MEF failed to undergo G2-M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis upon treatment with the methylating agent N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG). Similar results were obtained with platinum compounds' 5-fluorouracil and irinotecan. As is the case with MMR-defective cells, resistance of Med1-/- MEF to MNNG was due to a tolerance mechanism because DNA damage accumulated but did not elicit checkpoint activation. Interestingly, steady state amounts of several MMR proteins are reduced in Med1-/- MEF, in comparison with Med1+/+ and Med1+/- MEF. We conclude that MED1 has an additional role in DNA damage response to antitumor agents and is associated with integrity of the MMR system. MED1 defects (much like MMR defects) may impair cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induced by DNA damage.