Highly Transcribed RNA Polymerase II Genes Are Impediments to Replication Fork Progression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Replication forks face multiple obstacles that slow their progression. By two-dimensional gel analysis, yeast forks pause at stable DNA protein complexes, and this pausing is greatly increased in the absence of the Rrm3 helicase. We used a genome wide approach to identify 96 sites of very high DNA polymerase binding in wild type cells. Most of these binding sites were not previously identified pause sites. Rather, the most highly represented genomic category among high DNA polymerase binding sites was the open reading frames (ORFs) of highly transcribed RNA polymerase II genes. Twice as many pause sites were identified in rrm3 compared to wild type cells as pausing in this strain occurred at both highly transcribed RNA polymerase II genes and the previously identified protein DNA complexes. ORFs of highly transcribed RNA polymerase II genes are the first class of natural pause sites that are not exacerbated in rrm3 cells

Parameters of Human Hepatitis Delta Virus Genome Replication: the Quantity, Quality, and Intracellular Distribution of Viral Proteins and RNA

Assembly of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) in infected human hepatocytes involves association of the 1,679- nucleotide single-stranded genomic RNA (δRNA) with multiple copies of both small and large forms of the delta protein (δAg) to form a ribonucleoprotein particle which in turn interacts with envelope proteins of the natural helper virus, hepatitis B virus. Subsequently, for initiation of a new round of replication, the amount of small δAg within the assembled HDV particle is both necessary and sufficient. Quantitative assays were used in order to better understand just how much δAg is needed. The molar ratio of δAg species to genomic δRNA in assembled HDV particles was approximately 200. Next, this ratio was determined for cells under several different experimental situations in which HDV genome replication was occurring. These included replication in woodchuck liver and also in mouse liver and skeletal muscle, as well as replication in stably and transiently transfected cultured human hepatoblastoma cells. Surprisingly, in almost all these situations the molar ratios were comparable to that observed for HDV particles. This was true for different times after the initiation of replication and was independent of whether or not virus assembly was occurring. Cell fractionation combined with quantitative assays was used to test whether the majority of δAg and δRNA were colocalized during HDV replication in transfected cells. The cytoplasmic fraction contained the majority of δAg and genomic δRNA. Finally, the quality of δAg and δRNA, especially at relatively late times after the initiation of replication, was examined by using reverse transcription-PCR, cloning, and sequencing through the entire δAg open reading frame. When virus assembly and spread were not possible, 20% or less of the predicted δAg would have been able to support HDV replication. In summary, an examination of the quantity, quality and intracellular distribution of δAg and δRNA in several different experimental systems has provided a better understanding of the parameters associated with the initiation, maintenance, and ultimate decline of HDV genome replication

The S. cerevisiae Rrm3p DNA helicase moves with the replication forkand affects replication of allyeast chromosomes

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae DNA helicase Rrm3p is needed for normal fork progression through >1000 discrete sites scattered throughout the genome. Here we show that replication of all yeast chromosomes was markedly delayed in rrm3 cells. Delayed replication was seen even in a region that lacks any predicted Rrm3p-dependent sites. Based on the pattern of replication intermediates in two-dimensional gels, the rate of fork movement in rrm3 cells appeared similar to wild-type except at known Rrm3p-dependent sites. These data suggest that although Rrm3p has a global role in DNA replication, its activity is needed only or primarily at specific, difficult-to-replicate sites. By the criterion of chromatin immunoprecipitation, Rrm3p was associated with both Rrm3p-dependent and -independent sites, and moved with the replication fork through both. In addition, Rrm3p interacted with Pol2p, the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase ε, in vivo. Thus, rather than being recruited to its sites of action when replication forks stall at these sites, Rrm3p is likely a component of the replication fork apparatus

B cell activator PAX5 promotes lymphomagenesis through stimulation of B cell receptor signaling

The presumed involvement of paired box gene 5 (PAX5) in B-lymphomagenesis is based largely on the discovery of Pax5-specific translocations and somatic hypermutations in non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Yet mechanistically, the contribution of Pax5 to neoplastic growth remains undeciphered. Here we used 2 Myc-induced mouse B lymphoma cell lines, Myc5-M5 and Myc5-M12, which spontaneously silence Pax5. Reconstitution of these cells with Pax5–tamoxifen receptor fusion protein (Pax5ER TAM) increased neoplastic growth in a hormone-dependent manner. Conversely, expression of dominant-negative Pax5 in murine lymphomas and Pax5 knockdown in human lymphomas negatively affected cell expansion. Expression profiling revealed that Pax5 was required to maintain mRNA levels of several crucial components of B cell receptor (BCR) signaling, including CD79a, a protein with the immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM). In contrast, expression of 2 known ITAM antagonists, CD22 and PIR-B, was suppressed. The key role of BCR/ITAM signaling in Pax5-dependent lymphomagenesis was corroborated in Syk, an ITAM-associated tyrosine kinase. Moreover, we observed consistent expression of phosphorylated BLNK, an activated BCR adaptor protein, in human B cell lymphomas. Thus, stimulation of neoplastic growth by Pax5 occurs through BCR and is sensitive to genetic and pharmacological inhibitors of this pathway

Topoisomerase 1 suppresses replication stress and genomic instability by preventing interference between replication and transcription.

International audienceTopoisomerase I (Top1) is a key enzyme acting at the interface between DNA replication, transcription and mRNA maturation. Here, we show that Top1 suppresses genomic instability in mammalian cells by preventing conflicts between transcription and DNA replication. Using DNA combing and ChIP-on-chip, we found that Top1-deficient cells accumulate stalled replication forks and chromosome breaks in S phase and that breaks occur preferentially at gene-rich regions of the genome. Strikingly, these phenotypes were suppressed by preventing the formation of RNA-DNA hybrids (R-loops) during transcription. Moreover, these defects could be mimicked by depletion of the splicing factor ASF/SF2, which interacts functionally with Top1. Taken together, these data indicate that Top1 prevents replication fork collapse by suppressing the formation of R-loops in an ASF/SF2-dependent manner. We propose that interference between replication and transcription represents a major source of spontaneous replication stress, which could drive genomic instability during early stages of tumorigenesis