DNA mismatch repair and the cellular response to UVC radiation

In this thesis the role of DNA mismatch repair (MMR) in the cellular response to several genotoxic agents is described. We show that MMR plays an important role in the protection against UVC-induced mutagenesis in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. UVC was shown to induce six times more mutations in mouse ES cells deficient for the mismatch recognition dimer MutSalpha compared to wild type cells. The Hprt mutational spectrum of UVC-induced mutations was similar in MutSalpha-proficient and MutSalpha-deficient mouse ES cells. We subsequently tried to gain insight into the mechanism by which MMR mediates protection against UVC-induced mutagenesis. We found that UVC induces a late S/G2-phase arrest which partially depends on the presence of MutSalpha. The MutSalpha-dependent late S/G2-phase arrest coincided with the appearance of phosphorylated Chk-1 of which the levels were higher in MutSalpha-proficient cells compared to MutSalpha-deficient cells. Importantly, abolishment of the UVC-induced late S/G2-phase arrest in both MutSalpha-proficient and MutSalpha-deficient cells did not result in a smaller difference in mutation induction between both genotypes after UVC treatment. We propose that MMR removes mismatches from UVC-induced compound lesions and that the MutSalpha-induced late S/G2-phase arrest is the result of the appearance of DNA single stranded regions arising during this process of MMR.UBL - phd migration 201

A whole genome screen for HIV restriction factors

RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are.Abstract Background Upon cellular entry retroviruses must avoid innate restriction factors produced by the host cell. For human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) human restriction factors, APOBEC3 (apolipoprotein-B-mRNA-editing-enzyme), p21 and tetherin are well characterised. Results To identify intrinsic resistance factors to HIV-1 replication we screened 19,121 human genes and identified 114 factors with significant inhibition of infection. Those with a known function are involved in a broad spectrum of cellular processes including receptor signalling, vesicle trafficking, transcription, apoptosis, cross-nuclear membrane transport, meiosis, DNA damage repair, ubiquitination and RNA processing. We focused on the PAF1 complex which has been previously implicated in gene transcription, cell cycle control and mRNA surveillance. Knockdown of all members of the PAF1 family of proteins enhanced HIV-1 reverse transcription and integration of provirus. Over-expression of PAF1 in host cells renders them refractory to HIV-1. Simian Immunodeficiency Viruses and HIV-2 are also restricted in PAF1 expressing cells. PAF1 is expressed in primary monocytes, macrophages and T-lymphocytes and we demonstrate strong activity in MonoMac1, a monocyte cell line. Conclusions We propose that the PAF1c establishes an anti-viral state to prevent infection by incoming retroviruses. This previously unrecognised mechanism of restriction could have implications for invasion of cells by any pathogen.Published versio

Cardiomyocytes from human pluripotent stem cells: from laboratory curiosity to industrial biomedical platform

Cardiomyocytes from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs-CMs) could revolutionise biomedicine. Global burden of heart failure will soon reach USD $90bn, while unexpected cardiotoxicity underlies 28% of drug withdrawals. Advances in hPSC isolation, Cas9/CRISPR genome engineering and hPSC-CM differentiation have improved patient care, progressed drugs to clinic and opened a new era in safety pharmacology. Nevertheless, predictive cardiotoxicity using hPSC-CMs contrasts from failure to almost total success. Since this likely relates to cell immaturity, efforts are underway to use biochemical and biophysical cues to improve many of the ~ 30 structural and functional properties of hPSC-CMs towards those seen in adult CMs. Other developments needed for widespread hPSC-CM utility include subtype specification, cost reduction of large scale differentiation and elimination of the phenotyping bottleneck. This review will consider these factors in the evolution of hPSC-CM technologies, as well as their integration into high content industrial platforms that assess structure, mitochondrial function, electrophysiology, calcium transients and contractility. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Cardiomyocyte Biology: Integration of Developmental and Environmental Cues in the Heart edited by Marcus Schaub and Hughes Abriel