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Ladurner, A. G.

Publications and source records attributed to Ladurner, A. G..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

A Population-Specific PARP1 Gene Variation Modulates PARP Trapping

Poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) block NAD+-binding pocket of PARP1, inhibiting PAR synthesis. However, they differ in their ability to retain PARP1 on damaged DNA to induce synthetic lethality in homologous recombination-deficient (HRD) cancer. Allosteric enzymatic activation requires destabilization of the helical domain (HD) of PARP1 and is indispensable for activation and chromatin retention induced by distinct PARPi. Here we report that the effect of the clinical PARPi talazoparib is robustly impacted by a common human polymorphism within the HD. PARP1V762 greatly enhanced talazoparib-driven allosteric retention on chromatin, prolonged XRCC1 recruitment, and enhanced cell killing. Talazoparib switches from Type-II PARPi behavior in PARP1A762 to allosteric, pro-retention Type-I behavior for PARP1V762. Thus, both PARPi efficacy and dose-limiting tolerability depends on PARP1 allele, motivating variant-guided cancer therapies. TEASEROne of the four FDA-approved PARPi drugs, talazoparib, is modulated by a PARP1 SNP that is widespread in the population.

cancer biology↗

The histone chaperone FACT facilitates heterochromatin spreading through regulation of histone turnover and H3K9 methylation states

Heterochromatin formation requires three distinct steps: nucleation, self-propagation (spreading) along the chromosome, and faithful maintenance after each replication cycle. Impeding any of those steps induces heterochromatin defects and improper gene expression. The essential histone chaperone FACT has been implicated in heterochromatin silencing, however, the mechanisms by which FACT engages in this process remain opaque. Here, we pin-pointed its function to the heterochromatin spreading process. FACT impairment reduces nucleation-distal H3K9me3 and HP1/Swi6 accumulation at subtelomeres and derepresses genes in the vicinity of heterochromatin boundaries. FACT promotes spreading by repressing heterochromatic histone turnover, which is crucial for the H3K9me2 to me3 transition that enables spreading. FACT mutant spreading defects are suppressed by removal of the H3K9 methylation antagonist Epe1 via nucleosome stabilization. Together, our study identifies FACT as a histone chaperone that specifically promotes heterochromatin spreading and lends support to the model that regulated histone turnover controls the propagation of epigenetic marks.

genetics↗

Relocation of rDNA repeats for repair is dependent on SUMO-mediated nucleolar release by the Cdc48/p97 segregase

Ribosomal RNA genes (rDNA) are highly unstable and susceptible to rearrangement due to active transcription and their repetitive nature. Compartmentalization of rDNA in the nucleolus suppresses uncontrolled recombination. However, broken repeats must be released to the nucleoplasm to allow repair by homologous recombination. The process of rDNA relocation is conserved from yeast to humans, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are currently unknown. Here we show that DNA damage induces phosphorylation of the CLIP-cohibin complex, releasing membrane-tethered rDNA from the nucleolus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Downstream of phosphorylation, SUMOylation targets CLIP-cohibin for disassembly mediated by the Cdc48/p97 chaperone, which recognizes SUMOylated CLIP-cohibin through its cofactor, Ufd1. Consistent with a conserved mechanism, UFD1L depletion impairs rDNA release in human cells. The dynamic and regulated assembly and disassembly of the rDNA-tethering complex is therefore a key determinant of nucleolar rDNA release and genome integrity.

molecular biology↗