On a daily basis, each cell in our body is bombarded with some 30,000 endogenous DNA damages per day, the vast majority of which are repaired by Base Excision Repair (BER). The central hypothesis of this Program is that, understandably, defects in this BER process drive human carcinogenesis and affect responses to cancer treatments. The overall goal of this Program Project is to functionally characterize human genetic variation in the BER enzymes. To accomplish this, we are characterizing potentially damaging germline and tumor-associated SNPs in the B E R DNA glycosylases, and a number of the downstream enzymes in the BER pathway, using our strengths in bioinformatics, cell biology, biochemistry, structural biology and single molecule imaging in order to determine the functions of the wild-type and variant proteins. O u r p r e l i m i n a r y d a t a s u g g e s t that fundamental mechanistic studies are essential for interpreting human genetic variation and its influence on cancer etiology and tumor progression. Our program is informed and driven by the identification and characterization of germline and tumor-associated enzyme variants that may contribute to the altered DNA repair capacity of human BER enzymes. To realize our goals, variants in the BER genes are prioritized for study using bioinformatics (Core A) as well as enzymatic activity and structural information (Project 2). We then test for functional consequences of the variation using a powerful combination of biological, biochemical, structural, and single-molecule approaches. Core A provides the bioinformatics underpinning of the Program; Project 1, the biological studies of the human variant proteins in human cells; Project 2, the structure/function and biochemical analyses of the BER glycosylases; Project 3, the study of the BER repair process in chromatin; and Project 4, insights into the damage target search of the wild-type and variant BER proteins. Core B provides purified proteins to Projects 2-4 and cell cultures of variant clones to Projects 1-4, while Core C provides the administrative support. Taken together, the mechanistic results obtained by this Program Project provide a unique opportunity to underpin critical questions surrounding cancer etiology and cancer treatment, thus substantially impacting personalized medicine.

Public Health Relevance

Cells have the remarkable capability to repair DNA damage by several pathways, including base excision repair (BER). Failure to repair DNA damage has the potential to lead to cancer. We have and will continue to identify f u n c t i o n a l human germline mutations that a r e l i k e l y t o confer cancer susceptibility to individuals carrying them, as well as mutations in tumors that convey sensitivity or resistance to particular cancer treatments. Importantly, using a combination of functional approaches, we will gain insight as to why the proteins produced by these mutant genes may influence carcinogenesis or cancer treatment. As personalized medicine becomes the paradigm, these studies will have a major impact on cancer etiology and prevention as well as provide the basis for predictive biomarkers for cancer therapies.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Program Projects (P01)
Project #
2P01CA098993-11A1
Application #
9209391
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZCA1-RPRB-F (O1))
Program Officer
Pelroy, Richard
Project Start
2004-09-03
Project End
2022-04-30
Budget Start
2017-05-03
Budget End
2018-04-30
Support Year
11
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
$1,862,974
Indirect Cost
$659,749
Name
University of Vermont & St Agric College
Department
Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
066811191
City
Burlington
State
VT
Country
United States
Zip Code
05405
Zhou, Jia; Chan, Jany; Lambelé, Marie et al. (2017) NEIL3 Repairs Telomere Damage during S Phase to Secure Chromosome Segregation at Mitosis. Cell Rep 20:2044-2056
Prakash, Aishwarya; Moharana, Kedar; Wallace, Susan S et al. (2017) Destabilization of the PCNA trimer mediated by its interaction with the NEIL1 DNA glycosylase. Nucleic Acids Res 45:2897-2909
Lee, Andrea J; Wallace, Susan S (2017) Hide and seek: How do DNA glycosylases locate oxidatively damaged DNA bases amidst a sea of undamaged bases? Free Radic Biol Med 107:170-178
Maher, R L; Marsden, C G; Averill, A M et al. (2017) Human cells contain a factor that facilitates the DNA glycosylase-mediated excision of oxidized bases from occluded sites in nucleosomes. DNA Repair (Amst) 57:91-97
Marsden, Carolyn G; Dragon, Julie A; Wallace, Susan S et al. (2017) Base Excision Repair Variants in Cancer. Methods Enzymol 591:119-157
Galick, Heather A; Marsden, Carolyn G; Kathe, Scott et al. (2017) The NEIL1 G83D germline DNA glycosylase variant induces genomic instability and cellular transformation. Oncotarget 8:85883-85895
Robey-Bond, Susan M; Benson, Meredith A; Barrantes-Reynolds, Ramiro et al. (2017) Probing the activity of NTHL1 orthologs by targeting conserved amino acid residues. DNA Repair (Amst) 53:43-51
Cannan, Wendy J; Rashid, Ishtiaque; Tomkinson, Alan E et al. (2017) The Human Ligase III?-XRCC1 Protein Complex Performs DNA Nick Repair after Transient Unwrapping of Nucleosomal DNA. J Biol Chem 292:5227-5238
Silva, Michelle C; Bryan, Katie E; Morrical, Milagros D et al. (2017) Defects in recombination activity caused by somatic and germline mutations in the multimerization/BRCA2 binding region of human RAD51 protein. DNA Repair (Amst) 60:64-76
Lee, Andrea J; Wallace, Susan S (2016) Visualizing the Search for Radiation-damaged DNA Bases in Real Time. Radiat Phys Chem Oxf Engl 1993 128:126-133

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