Regulation of DNA Damage and Repair in Heterochromatin

描述（由申请人提供）：该项目的目标是了解DNA修复机制如何有助于基因组异染色质区域内的基因组稳定性。重复DNA的复制、修复和重组可导致染色体重排和其他类型的基因组不稳定性，这与癌症进展和其他人类疾病有关。使用果蝇模型系统，我们已经表明：1）异染色质建立和维持所需的染色质蛋白是保持重复序列稳定性所必需的，2）异染色质在照射后立即经历急剧扩增，3）异染色质中损伤的修复需要同源重组（HR）途径，以及4）HR修复的早期步骤发生在异染色质结构域内，但晚期事件仅发生在与重复序列相关的病灶易位到异染色质结构域之外之后。我们的工作假设是，HR修复重复序列的潜在破坏性后果是避免了异染色质修复，这是由异染色质成分介导的不寻常的空间和时间动态。我们建议使用果蝇动物和组织培养细胞，以确定分子和机制，调节异染色质，重复序列的DNA损伤的反应。具体而言，我们将使用活细胞和固定细胞成像，突变分析，蛋白质生物化学和基因组方法的组合，以确定异染色质扩增，修复焦点动态和同源重组是如何在重复DNA的调节，以及这些事件如何有助于基因组稳定性。这些研究的结果将大大提高我们对异染色质环境如何确保重复序列稳定性的理解，这对人类疾病的诊断和治疗具有重要应用。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this project is to understand how DNA repair mechanisms contribute to genome stability within the heterochromatic regions of the genome. Replication, repair and recombination of repeated DNAs can result in chromosome rearrangements and other types of genome instability, which are associated with cancer progression and other human diseases. Using the Drosophila model system, we have shown that 1) chromatin proteins required for heterochromatin establishment and maintenance are required to preserve the stability of repeated sequences, 2) heterochromatin undergoes a dramatic expansion immediately after irradiation, 3) repair of damage in heterochromatin requires the homologous recombination (HR) pathway, and 4) early steps in HR repair occur within the heterochromatin domain, but late events only occur after foci associated with repeated sequences translocate outside the heterochromatin domain. Our working hypothesis is that the potentially damaging consequences of HR repair of repeated sequences are avoided by the unusual spatial and temporal dynamics of heterochromatin repair, which are mediated by heterochromatin components. We propose to use Drosophila animals and tissue culture cells to identify the molecules and mechanisms that regulate the response to DNA damage in heterochromatic, repeated sequences. Specifically, we will use a combination of live and fixed cell imaging, mutant analysis, protein biochemistry, and genomic approaches to determine how heterochromatin expansion, repair foci dynamics, and homologous recombination are regulated at repeated DNAs, and how these events contribute to genome stability. The results of these studies will greatly improve our understanding of how the heterochromatin environment ensures the stability of repeated sequences, which has important applications to the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases.