Differentiation of naive peripheral B cells into terminally differentiated plasma cells is characterized by epigenetic alterations, yet the epigenetic mechanisms that control B-cell fate remain... Show moreDifferentiation of naive peripheral B cells into terminally differentiated plasma cells is characterized by epigenetic alterations, yet the epigenetic mechanisms that control B-cell fate remain unclear. Here, we identified a role for the histone H3K79 methyltransferase DOT1L in controlling B-cell differentiation. Mouse B cells lacking Dot1L failed to establish germinal centers (GC) and normal humoral immune responses in vivo. In vitro, activated B cells in which Dot1L was deleted showed aberrant differentiation and prematurely acquired plasma cell characteristics. Similar results were obtained when DOT1L was chemically inhibited in mature B cells in vitro. Mechanistically, combined epigenomics and transcriptomics analysis revealed that DOT1L promotes expression of a pro-proliferative, pro-GC program. In addition, DOT1L indirectly supports the repression of an anti-proliferative plasma cell differentiation program by maintaining the repression of Polycomb Repressor Complex 2 (PRC2) targets. Our findings show that DOT1L is a key modulator of the core transcriptional and epigenetic landscape in B cells, establishing an epigenetic barrier that warrants B-cell naivety and GC B-cell differentiation. Show less
Qiao, X.H.; Zanden, S.Y. van der; Wander, D.P.A.; Borras, D.M.; Song, J.Y.; Li, X.Y.; ... ; Neefjes, J. 2020
The anthracycline doxorubicin (Doxo) and its analogs daunorubicin (Daun), epirubicin (Epi), and idarubicin (Ida) have been cornerstones of anticancer therapy for nearly five decades. However, their... Show moreThe anthracycline doxorubicin (Doxo) and its analogs daunorubicin (Daun), epirubicin (Epi), and idarubicin (Ida) have been cornerstones of anticancer therapy for nearly five decades. However, their clinical application is limited by severe side effects, especially dose-dependent irreversible cardiotoxicity. Other detrimental side effects of anthracyclines include therapy-related malignancies and infertility. It is unclear whether these side effects are coupled to the chemotherapeutic efficacy. Doxo, Daun, Epi, and Ida execute two cellular activities: DNA damage, causing double-strand breaks (DSBs) following poisoning of topoisomerase II (Topo II), and chromatin damage, mediated through histone eviction at selected sites in the genome. Here we report that anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity requires the combination of both cellular activities. Topo II poisons with either one of the activities fail to induce cardiotoxicity in mice and human cardiac microtissues, as observed for aclarubicin (Acla) and etoposide (Etop). Further, we show that Doxo can be detoxified by chemically separating these two activities. Anthracycline variants that induce chromatin damage without causing DSBs maintain similar anticancer potency in cell lines, mice, and human acute myeloid leukemia patients, implying that chromatin damage constitutes a major cytotoxic mechanismof anthracyclines. With these anthracyclines abstained from cardiotoxicity and therapy-related tumors, we thus uncoupled the side effects from anticancer efficacy. These results suggest that anthracycline variants acting primarily via chromatin damage may allow prolonged treatment of cancer patients and will improve the quality of life of cancer survivors. Show less
The anthracycline doxorubicin (Doxo) and its analogs daunorubicin (Daun), epirubicin (Epi), and idarubicin (Ida) have been cornerstones of anticancer therapy for nearly five decades. However, their... Show moreThe anthracycline doxorubicin (Doxo) and its analogs daunorubicin (Daun), epirubicin (Epi), and idarubicin (Ida) have been cornerstones of anticancer therapy for nearly five decades. However, their clinical application is limited by severe side effects, especially dose-dependent irreversible cardiotoxicity. Other detrimental side effects of anthracyclines include therapy-related malignancies and infertility. It is unclear whether these side effects are coupled to the chemotherapeutic efficacy. Doxo, Daun, Epi, and Ida execute two cellular activities: DNA damage, causing double-strand breaks (DSBs) following poisoning of topoisomerase II (Topo II), and chromatin damage, mediated through histone eviction at selected sites in the genome. Here we report that anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity requires the combination of both cellular activities. Topo II poisons with either one of the activities fail to induce cardiotoxicity in mice and human cardiac microtissues, as observed for aclarubicin (Acla) and etoposide (Etop). Further, we show that Doxo can be detoxified by chemically separating these two activities. Anthracycline variants that induce chromatin damage without causing DSBs maintain similar anticancer potency in cell lines, mice, and human acute myeloid leukemia patients, implying that chromatin damage constitutes a major cytotoxic mechanism of anthracyclines. With these anthracyclines abstained from cardiotoxicity and therapy-related tumors, we thus uncoupled the side effects from anticancer efficacy. These results suggest that anthracycline variants acting primarily via chromatin damage may allow prolonged treatment of cancer patients and will improve the quality of life of cancer survivors. Show less
Reporter proteins have become an indispensable tool in biomedical research. However, exogenous introduction of these reporters into mice poses a risk of rejection by the immune system. Here, we... Show moreReporter proteins have become an indispensable tool in biomedical research. However, exogenous introduction of these reporters into mice poses a risk of rejection by the immune system. Here, we describe the generation, validation and application of a multiple reporter protein tolerant 'Tol' mouse model that constitutively expresses an assembly of shuffled reporter proteins from a single open reading frame. We demonstrate that expression of the Tol transgene results in the deletion of CD8(+) T cells specific for a model epitope, and substantially improves engraftment of reporter-gene transduced T cells. The Tol strain provides a valuable mouse model for cell transfer and viral-mediated gene transfer studies, and serves as a methodological example for the generation of poly-tolerant mouse strains. Bresser and Dijkgraaf et al. develop the 'Tol' strain, a genetically modified mouse model that expresses a range of shuffled reporter and modifier proteins from a single open reading frame. This strain is immunologically tolerant to these reporter and modifier proteins, providing a valuable model system for cell transfer studies and virus-mediated gene transfer studies. Show less
C9orf82 protein, or conserved anti-apoptotic protein 1 or caspase activity and apoptosis inhibitor 1 (CAAP1) has been implicated as a negative regulator of the intrinsic apoptosis pathway by... Show moreC9orf82 protein, or conserved anti-apoptotic protein 1 or caspase activity and apoptosis inhibitor 1 (CAAP1) has been implicated as a negative regulator of the intrinsic apoptosis pathway by modulating caspase expression and activity. In contrast, an independent genome wide screen for factors capable of driving drug resistance to the topoisomerase II (Topo II) poisons doxorubicin and etoposide, implicated a role for the nuclear protein C9orf82 in delaying DSBs repair downstream of Topo II, hereby sensitizing cells to DSB induced apoptosis. To determine its function in a genetically defined setting in vivo and ex vivo, we here employed CRISPR/Cas9 technology in zygotes to generate a C9orf82 knock-out mouse model. C9orf82(ko/ko) mice were born at a Mendelian ratio and did not display any overt macroscopic or histological abnormalities. DSBs repair dependent processes like lymphocyte development and class switch recombination (CSR) appeared normal, arguing against a link between the C9orf82 encoded protein and V(D) J recombination or CSR. Most relevant, primary pre-B cell cultures and Tp53 transformed mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) derived from C9orf82(ko/ko) E14.5 and wild type embryos displayed comparable sensitivity to a number of DNA lesions, including DSBs breaks induced by the topoisomerase II inhibitors, etoposide and doxorubicin. Likewise, the kinetics of.H2AX formation and resolution in response to etoposide of C9orf82 protein proficient, deficient and overexpressing MEFs were indistinguishable. These data argue against a direct role of C9orf82 protein in delaying repair of Topo II generated DSBs and regulating apoptosis. The genetically defined systems generated in this study will be of value to determine the actual function of C9orf82 protein. Show less
PALB2 interacts with BRCA1 and BRCA2 in supercomplexes involved in DNA repair via homologous recombination. Heterozygous germline mutations in PALB2 confer a moderate risk of breast cancer, while... Show morePALB2 interacts with BRCA1 and BRCA2 in supercomplexes involved in DNA repair via homologous recombination. Heterozygous germline mutations in PALB2 confer a moderate risk of breast cancer, while biallelic PALB2 mutations are linked to a severe form of Fanconi anaemia characterized by early childhood solid tumours and severe chromosomal instability. In contrast to BRCA1- or BRCA2-associated cancers, breast tumours in heterozygous PALB2 mutation carriers do not show loss of the wild-type allele, suggesting PALB2 might be haploinsufficient for tumour suppression. To study the role of PALB2 in development and tumourigenesis, we have generated Palb2(GT) mouse mutants using a gene trap approach. Whereas Palb2(GT/GT) homozygous mutant embryos died at mid-gestation due to massive apoptosis, Palb2(GT/+) heterozygous mice were viable and did not show any obvious abnormalities. Deletion of p53 alleviated the phenotype of Palb2(GT/GT) embryos, but did not rescue embryonic lethality. In addition, loss of p53 did not significantly collaborate with Palb2 heterozygosity in tumourigenesis in heterozygous or homozygous p53 knockout mice. Tumours arising in Palb2(GT/+); p53(+/-) or Palb2(GT/+); p53(-/-) compound mutant mice retained the wild-type Palb2 allele and did not display increased genomic instability. Copyright (C) 2011 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Show less
