| 1. |
- Höjer, Pontus, et al.
(author)
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BLR : a flexible pipeline for haplotype analysis of multiple linked-read technologies
- 2023
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In: Nucleic Acids Research. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0305-1048 .- 1362-4962. ; 51:22
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Linked-read sequencing promises a one-method approach for genome-wide insights including single nucleotide variants (SNVs), structural variants, and haplotyping. We introduce Barcode Linked Reads (BLR), an open-source haplotyping pipeline capable of handling millions of barcodes and data from multiple linked-read technologies including DBS, 10× Genomics, TELL-seq and stLFR. Running BLR on DBS linked-reads yielded megabase-scale phasing with low (<0.2%) switch error rates. Of 13616 protein-coding genes phased in the GIAB benchmark set (v4.2.1), 98.6% matched the BLR phasing. In addition, large structural variants showed concordance with HPRC-HG002 reference assembly calls. Compared to diploid assembly with PacBio HiFi reads, BLR phasing was more continuous when considering switch errors. We further show that integrating long reads at low coverage (∼10×) can improve phasing contiguity and reduce switch errors in tandem repeats. When compared to Long Ranger on 10× Genomics data, BLR showed an increase in phase block N50 with low switch-error rates. For TELL-Seq and stLFR linked reads, BLR generated longer or similar phase block lengths and low switch error rates compared to results presented in the original publications. In conclusion, BLR provides a flexible workflow for comprehensive haplotype analysis of linked reads from multiple platforms.
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| 2. |
- Jamroskovic, Jan, et al.
(author)
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Quinazoline Ligands Induce Cancer Cell Death through Selective STAT3 Inhibition and G-Quadruplex Stabilization
- 2020
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In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0002-7863 .- 1520-5126. ; 142:6, s. 2876-2888
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) protein is a master regulator of most key hallmarks and enablers of cancer, including cell proliferation and the response to DNA damage. G-Quadruplex (G4) structures are four-stranded noncanonical DNA structures enriched at telomeres and oncogenes' promoters. In cancer cells, stabilization of G4 DNAs leads to replication stress and DNA damage accumulation and is therefore considered a promising target for oncotherapy. Here, we designed and synthesized novel quinazoline-based compounds that simultaneously and selectively affect these two well-recognized cancer targets, G4 DNA structures and the STAT3 protein. Using a combination of in vitro assays, NMR, and molecular dynamics simulations, we show that these small, uncharged compounds not only bind to the STAT3 protein but also stabilize G4 structures. In human cultured cells, the compounds inhibit phosphorylation-dependent activation of STAT3 without affecting the antiapoptotic factor STAT1 and cause increased formation of G4 structures, as revealed by the use of a G4 DNA-specific antibody. As a result, treated cells show slower DNA replication, DNA damage checkpoint activation, and an increased apoptotic rate. Importantly, cancer cells are more sensitive to these molecules compared to noncancerous cell lines. This is the first report of a promising class of compounds that not only targets the DNA damage cancer response machinery but also simultaneously inhibits the STAT3-induced cancer cell proliferation, demonstrating a novel approach in cancer therapy.
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| 5. |
- McDonald, Karin R., et al.
(author)
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Pfh1 Is an Accessory Replicative Helicase that Interacts with the Replisome to Facilitate Fork Progression and Preserve Genome Integrity
- 2016
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In: PLOS Genetics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 12:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Replicative DNA helicases expose the two strands of the double helix to the replication apparatus, but accessory helicases are often needed to help forks move past naturally occurring hard-to-replicate sites, such as tightly bound proteins, RNA/DNA hybrids, and DNA secondary structures. Although the Schizosaccharomyces pombe 5'-to-3' DNA helicase Pfh1 is known to promote fork progression, its genomic targets, dynamics, and mechanisms of action are largely unknown. Here we address these questions by integrating genome-wide identification of Pfh1 binding sites, comprehensive analysis of the effects of Pfh1 depletion on replication and DNA damage, and proteomic analysis of Pfh1 interaction partners by immunoaffinity purification mass spectrometry. Of the 621 high confidence Pfh1-binding sites in wild type cells, about 40% were sites of fork slowing (as marked by high DNA polymerase occupancy) and/or DNA damage (as marked by high levels of phosphorylated H2A). The replication and integrity of tRNA and 5S rRNA genes, highly transcribed RNA polymerase II genes, and nucleosome depleted regions were particularly Pfh1-dependent. The association of Pfh1 with genomic integrity at highly transcribed genes was S phase dependent, and thus unlikely to be an artifact of high transcription rates. Although Pfh1 affected replication and suppressed DNA damage at discrete sites throughout the genome, Pfh1 and the replicative DNA polymerase bound to similar extents to both Pfh1-dependent and independent sites, suggesting that Pfh1 is proximal to the replication machinery during S phase. Consistent with this interpretation, Pfh1 co-purified with many key replisome components, including the hexameric MCM helicase, replicative DNA polymerases, RPA, and the processivity clamp PCNA in an S phase dependent manner. Thus, we conclude that Pfh1 is an accessory DNA helicase that interacts with the replisome and promotes replication and suppresses DNA damage at hard-to-replicate sites. These data provide insight into mechanisms by which this evolutionarily conserved helicase helps preserve genome integrity.
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| 6. |
- Pourbozorgi Langroudi, Parham, 1984-
(author)
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Insights into the roles of the essential Pfh1 DNA helicase in the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes
- 2018
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Eukaryotic cells have two sets of genomes, the nuclear and mitochondrial, and both need to be accurately maintained. Also, the rate of transcription must be precisely regulated in these genomes. However, there are many natural barriers that dysregulate these processes. The aim of this thesis was to enhance our understanding of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Pif1 family helicase, Pfh1, and its roles in the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. The S. pombe genome contains 446 predicted Gquadruplex (G4) structures. By circular dichroism and Thioflavin-T assay we demonstrated that sequences from the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and telomeres form G4 structures in vitro. The recombinant nuclear isoform of Pfh1 bound and unwound these G4 structures. Also, by chromatin immunoprecipitation combined with quantitative PCR (ChIP-qPCR), we showed that Pfh1 binds these sequences in vivo. This work provides evidence that G4 structure formation in the rDNA and telomere regions is biologically important and that unwinding of G4 structures is a conserved property of Pif1 family helicases. Using ChIP-seq we found that Pfh1 binds to natural fork barriers, such as highly transcribed genes, and nucleosome depleted regions, and that replication through these sites were dependent on Pfh1. By immunoaffinity precipitation combined with mass spectrometry, Pfh1 interacted with several replisome components, as well as DNA repair proteins, and mitochondrial proteins. Furthermore, Pfh1 moved with similar kinetics as the leading strand polymerase. These findings suggest that Pfh1 is needed at natural fork barriers to promote fork progression, and that it is not just recruited to its target sites but moves with the replisome. Based on these findings, we anticipated that lack of Pfh1 would affect expression of highly transcribed genes. By performing genome-wide transcriptome analysis of S. pombe in the absence of Pfh1, we showed that highly transcribed genes are downregulated more often than other genes. Furthermore, combining absence of Pfh1 together with Topoisomerase 1 (Top1), resulted in slower cell growth, reduced DNA synthesis rate compared to single mutants, and upregulation of genes associated with DNA repair and apoptosis. These data suggest that, cells lacking both Pfh1 and Top1 have severe problem in maintaining their genomes. By ChIP-qPCR analysis we showed that Pfh1 and Top1 directly bind to mitochondrial DNA. In addition, these cells upregulated many metabolic pathways and lost about 80% of their mtDNA. These data suggest that both Pfh1 and Top1 are required for maintenance of mtDNA. This is the first evidence showing that Top1 is present in S. pombe mitochondria. In conclusion, Pfh1 directly binds mitochondrial DNA, and natural fork barriers in the nuclear DNA, such as G4 structures. In the nucleus, Pfh1 is part of the replisome. Cells lacking Pfh1 and Top1 grow slower, rapidly lose their mitochondrial DNA, have slower nuclear DNA synthesis, and induce apoptotic pathways. Finally, this thesis emphasizes the importance of both Pfh1 and Top1 in maintaining the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes.
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| 7. |
- Siga, Humam, et al.
(author)
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Resolving the haplotype complexity of colorectal cancer genomes with droplet barcode sequencing
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Cancer genomes are prone to elevated rates of genomic alterations. Massive parallel sequencing technologies can answer some questions related to these aberrations; however, they remain limited when it comes to resolving the haplotype information. In this study, we applied the linked-read droplet barcode sequencing (DBS) technology to resolve the haplotype complexity of colorectal cancer genomes, using paired tumor/normal samples. The results show short somatic variants associated with almost all TCGA-identified oncogenic pathways. Several cancer-related genes had multiple variants in either one or both haplotypes. In the tumor suppressor gene APC, two nonsense variants ~2kb apart on separate haplotypes were identified in one patient. Additionally, a number haplotype-resolved somatic structural variants (SV) and copy number alterations (CNA) were detected and correlated with the small variants. The study demonstrates that DBS technology can characterize complex genetic variations in a haplotype context, revealing an extra layer of cancer genome complexity.
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| 8. |
- Wallgren, Marcus, et al.
(author)
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G-rich telomeric and ribosomal DNA sequences from the fission yeast genome form stable G-quadruplex DNA structures in vitro and are unwound by the Pfh1 DNA helicase
- 2016
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In: Nucleic Acids Research. - : Oxford University Press. - 0305-1048 .- 1362-4962. ; 44:13, s. 6213-6231
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Certain guanine-rich sequences have an inherent propensity to form G-quadruplex (G4) structures. G4 structures are e.g. involved in telomere protection and gene regulation. However, they also constitute obstacles during replication if they remain unresolved. To overcome these threats to genome integrity, organisms harbor specialized G4 unwinding helicases. In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, one such candidate helicase is Pfh1, an evolutionarily conserved Pif1 homolog. Here, we addressed whether putative G4 sequences in S. pombe can adopt G4 structures and, if so, whether Pfh1 can resolve them. We tested two G4 sequences, derived from S. pombe ribosomal and telomeric DNA regions, and demonstrated that they form inter- and intramolecular G4 structures, respectively. Also, Pfh1 was enriched in vivo at the ribosomal G4 DNA and telomeric sites. The nuclear isoform of Pfh1 (nPfh1) unwound both types of structure, and although the G4-stabilizing compound Phen-DC3 significantly enhanced their stability, nPfh1 still resolved them efficiently. However, stable G4 structures significantly inhibited adenosine triphosphate hydrolysis by nPfh1. Because ribosomal and telomeric DNA contain putative G4 regions conserved from yeasts to humans, our studies support the important role of G4 structure formation in these regions and provide further evidence for a conserved role for Pif1 helicases in resolving G4 structures.
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