RESUMO
Alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) is a homology-directed repair (HDR) mechanism of telomere elongation that controls proliferation in aggressive cancers. We show that the disruption of RAD51-associated protein 1 (RAD51AP1) in ALT+ cancer cells leads to generational telomere shortening. This is due to RAD51AP1's involvement in RAD51-dependent homologous recombination (HR) and RAD52-POLD3-dependent break induced DNA synthesis. RAD51AP1 KO ALT+ cells exhibit telomere dysfunction and cytosolic telomeric DNA fragments that are sensed by cGAS. Intriguingly, they activate ULK1-ATG7-dependent autophagy as a survival mechanism to mitigate DNA damage and apoptosis. Importantly, RAD51AP1 protein levels are elevated in ALT+ cells due to MMS21 associated SUMOylation. Mutation of a single SUMO-targeted lysine residue perturbs telomere dynamics. These findings indicate that RAD51AP1 is an essential mediator of the ALT mechanism and is co-opted by post-translational mechanisms to maintain telomere length and ensure proliferation of ALT+ cancer cells.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/metabolismo , Neoplasias/metabolismo , Proteínas de Ligação a RNA/metabolismo , Homeostase do Telômero , Telômero/metabolismo , Autofagia , Proteína 7 Relacionada à Autofagia/genética , Proteína 7 Relacionada à Autofagia/metabolismo , Proteína Homóloga à Proteína-1 Relacionada à Autofagia/genética , Proteína Homóloga à Proteína-1 Relacionada à Autofagia/metabolismo , Proliferação de Células , DNA Polimerase III/genética , DNA Polimerase III/metabolismo , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/genética , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Células HEK293 , Células HeLa , Recombinação Homóloga , Humanos , Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular/genética , Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular/metabolismo , Ligases/genética , Ligases/metabolismo , Lisina , Neoplasias/genética , Neoplasias/patologia , Nucleotidiltransferases/genética , Nucleotidiltransferases/metabolismo , Estabilidade Proteica , Proteínas de Ligação a RNA/genética , Proteína Rad52 de Recombinação e Reparo de DNA/genética , Proteína Rad52 de Recombinação e Reparo de DNA/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais , Sumoilação , Telômero/genética , Telômero/patologiaRESUMO
The synthesis of poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) reconfigures the local chromatin environment and recruits DNA-repair complexes to damaged chromatin. PAR degradation by poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) is essential for progression and completion of DNA repair. Here, we show that inhibition of PARG disrupts homology-directed repair (HDR) mechanisms that underpin alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). Proteomic analyses uncover a new role for poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation) in regulating the chromatin-assembly factor HIRA in ALT cancer cells. We show that HIRA is enriched at telomeres during the G2 phase and is required for histone H3.3 deposition and telomere DNA synthesis. Depletion of HIRA elicits systemic death of ALT cancer cells that is mitigated by re-expression of ATRX, a protein that is frequently inactivated in ALT tumors. We propose that PARylation enables HIRA to fulfill its essential role in the adaptive response to ATRX deficiency that pervades ALT cancers.