TY - JOUR
T1 - Delineation of the role of the Mre11 complex in class switch recombination
AU - Lahdesmaki, A
AU - Taylor, Alexander
AU - Chrzanowska, KH
AU - Pan-Hammarstrom, Q
PY - 2004/1/1
Y1 - 2004/1/1
N2 - Class switch recombination (CSR) is a region-specific, transcriptionally regulated, nonhomologous recombinational process that is initiated by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID). The initial lesions in the switch (S) regions are processed and resolved, leading to a recombination of the two S regions involved. The mechanism involved in the repair and ligation of the broken DNA ends is however still unclear. Here, we describe that switching is less efficient in cells from patients with Mre11 deficiency (Ataxia-Telangiectasia-like disorder, ATLD) and, more importantly, that the switch recombination junctions resulting from the in vivo switching events are aberrant. There was a trend toward an increased usage of microhomology (> or =4 bp) at the switch junctions in both ATLD and Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS) patients. However, the DNA ends were not joined as "perfectly" as those from Ataxia-Telangiectasia (A-T) patients and 1-2 bp mutations or insertions were often observed. In switch junctions from ATLD patients, there were fewer base substitutions due to transitions and, most strikingly, the substitutions that occurred most often in controls, C --> T transitions, never occurred at, or close to, the junctions derived from the ATLD patients. In switch junctions from NBS patients, all base substitutions were observed at the G/C nucleotides, and transitions were preferred. These data suggest that the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 complex (Mre11 complex) is involved in the nonhomologous end joining pathway in CSR and that Mre11, Nbs1, and protein mutated in ataxia-telangiectasia (ATM) might have both common and independent roles in this process.
AB - Class switch recombination (CSR) is a region-specific, transcriptionally regulated, nonhomologous recombinational process that is initiated by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID). The initial lesions in the switch (S) regions are processed and resolved, leading to a recombination of the two S regions involved. The mechanism involved in the repair and ligation of the broken DNA ends is however still unclear. Here, we describe that switching is less efficient in cells from patients with Mre11 deficiency (Ataxia-Telangiectasia-like disorder, ATLD) and, more importantly, that the switch recombination junctions resulting from the in vivo switching events are aberrant. There was a trend toward an increased usage of microhomology (> or =4 bp) at the switch junctions in both ATLD and Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS) patients. However, the DNA ends were not joined as "perfectly" as those from Ataxia-Telangiectasia (A-T) patients and 1-2 bp mutations or insertions were often observed. In switch junctions from ATLD patients, there were fewer base substitutions due to transitions and, most strikingly, the substitutions that occurred most often in controls, C --> T transitions, never occurred at, or close to, the junctions derived from the ATLD patients. In switch junctions from NBS patients, all base substitutions were observed at the G/C nucleotides, and transitions were preferred. These data suggest that the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 complex (Mre11 complex) is involved in the nonhomologous end joining pathway in CSR and that Mre11, Nbs1, and protein mutated in ataxia-telangiectasia (ATM) might have both common and independent roles in this process.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=1942437416&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1074/jbc.M312796200
DO - 10.1074/jbc.M312796200
M3 - Article
C2 - 14747472
SN - 1083-351X
VL - 279
SP - 16479
EP - 16487
JO - Journal of Biological Chemistry
JF - Journal of Biological Chemistry
ER -