GSE62927
Doxorubicin induces double-strand breaks at CpG island promoters
Doxorubicin is a widely used chemotherapeutic drug that intercalates between DNA base-pairs and posions Topoisomerase II, although the mechanistic basis for cell killing remains speculative. Here we show that both anthracyclines and Topoisomerase II poison cause enhanced DNA double-strand breaks around CpG island promoters of active genes genome-wide. We propose that torsion-based enhancement of nucleosome turnover exposes promoter DNA, ultimately causing DNA breaks around promoters that contributes to cell killing. Overall design: We have analyzed mouse squamous cell carcinoma cells treated with doxorubicin, aclarubicin and etoposide. The direct in situ Breaks Labeling, Enrichment on Streptavidin (BLESS, PMID 23503052) method was used for mapping DNA double-strand breaks genome-wide.