title: HELQ promotes RAD51 paralogue-dependent repair to avert germ cell loss and tumorigenesis.
abstract: Repair of interstrand crosslinks (ICLs) requires the coordinated action of the intra-S-phase checkpoint and the Fanconi anaemia pathway, which promote ICL incision, translesion synthesis and homologous recombination (reviewed in refs 1, 2). Previous studies have implicated the 3'-5' superfamily 2 helicase HELQ in ICL repair in Drosophila melanogaster (MUS301 (ref. 3)) and Caenorhabditis elegans (HELQ-1 (ref. 4)). Although in vitro analysis suggests that HELQ preferentially unwinds synthetic replication fork substrates with 3' single-stranded DNA overhangs and also disrupts protein-DNA interactions while translocating along DNA, little is known regarding its functions in mammalian organisms. Here we report that HELQ helicase-deficient mice exhibit subfertility, germ cell attrition, ICL sensitivity and tumour predisposition, with Helq heterozygous mice exhibiting a similar, albeit less severe, phenotype than the null, indicative of haploinsufficiency. We establish that HELQ interacts directly with the RAD51 paralogue complex BCDX2 and functions in parallel to the Fanconi anaemia pathway to promote efficient homologous recombination at damaged replication forks. Thus, our results reveal a critical role for HELQ in replication-coupled DNA repair, germ cell maintenance and tumour suppression in mammals.
authors.affiliation: DNA Damage Response Laboratory, London Research Institute, Cancer Research UK, Clare Hall, South Mimms EN6 3LD, UK.
authors.forename: Carrie A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Adelman
authors.forename: Rafal L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Lolo
authors.forename: Nicolai J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Birkbak
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Murina
authors.forename: Kenichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsuzaki
authors.forename: Zuzana
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Horejsi
authors.forename: Kalindi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Parmar
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Borel
authors.forename: J Mark
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Skehel
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stamp
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Andrea
authors.forename: Alessandro A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Sartori
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Swanton
authors.forename: Simon J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Boulton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000235:genetics; D004265:DNA Helicases / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000235:genetics; D004261:DNA Replication / Q000235:genetics; D005199:Fanconi Anemia / Q000378:metabolism; D052236:Fanconi Anemia Complementation Group D2 Protein / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000378:metabolism; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010053:Ovary / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051135:Rad51 Recombinase / Q000378:metabolism*; D059767:Recombinational DNA Repair / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C499904:Fancd2 protein, mouse; D052236:Fanconi Anemia Complementation Group D2 Protein; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D051135:Rad51 Recombinase; C495154:Rad51 protein, mouse; C584466:HELQ protein, mouse; D004265:DNA Helicases