Mismatch repair proteins MSH2, MLH1, and EXO1 are important for class-switch recombination events occurring in B cells that lack nonhomologous end joining

J Immunol. 2011 Feb 15;186(4):2336-43. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1003104. Epub 2011 Jan 17.

Abstract

In the absence of core nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) factors, Ab gene class-switch recombination (CSR) uses an alternative end-joining (A-EJ) pathway to recombine switch (S) region DNA breaks. Previous reports showing decreased S-junction microhomologies in MSH2-deficient mice and an exonuclease 1 (EXO1) role in yeast microhomology-mediated end joining suggest that mismatch repair (MMR) proteins might influence A-EJ-mediated CSR. We have directly investigated whether MMR proteins collectively or differentially influence the A-EJ mechanism of CSR by analyzing CSR in mice deficient in both XRCC4 and individual MMR proteins. We find CSR is reduced and that Igh locus chromosome breaks are reduced in the MMR/XRCC4 double-deficient B cells compared with B cells deficient in XRCC4 alone, suggesting MMR proteins function upstream of double-strand break formation to influence CSR efficiency in these cells. Our results show that MLH1, EXO1, and MSH2 are all important for efficient A-EJ-mediated CSR, and we propose that MMR proteins convert DNA nicks and point mutations into dsDNA breaks for both C-NHEJ and A-EJ pathways of CSR. We also find Mlh1-XRCC4(-) B cells have an increased frequency of direct S junctions, suggesting that MLH1 proteins may have additional functions that influence A-EJ-mediated CSR.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / physiology*
  • Animals
  • B-Lymphocyte Subsets / metabolism*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded
  • DNA Damage
  • DNA Repair / genetics*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / deficiency*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific
  • Exodeoxyribonucleases / physiology*
  • Immunoglobulin Class Switching / genetics*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • MutL Protein Homolog 1
  • MutS Homolog 2 Protein / physiology*
  • Nuclear Proteins / physiology*
  • Point Mutation

Substances

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Mlh1 protein, mouse
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • XLF protein, mouse
  • XRCC4 protein, mouse
  • Exodeoxyribonucleases
  • exodeoxyribonuclease I
  • endodeoxyribonuclease NheI
  • Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific
  • Msh2 protein, mouse
  • MutL Protein Homolog 1
  • MutS Homolog 2 Protein