Yubao Wang, Cherubin Manokaran, Yutian Zou, Jiajia Chen, Hao Gu, David Liu, Philippe Bousso, Jean J Zhao, Thomas M Roberts
{"title":"Loss of the tumor suppressor PTEN activates cell-intrinsic interferon signaling to drive immune resistance.","authors":"Yubao Wang, Cherubin Manokaran, Yutian Zou, Jiajia Chen, Hao Gu, David Liu, Philippe Bousso, Jean J Zhao, Thomas M Roberts","doi":"10.1101/gad.353283.125","DOIUrl":"10.1101/gad.353283.125","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Loss of the tumor suppressor PTEN is strongly associated with a lack of response to immune checkpoint blockade therapies in cancer patients, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. We have developed a transformation model where knocking out PTEN in human mammary epithelial cells drives dependence on the p110β subunit of PI3K and, notably, elicits a robust induction of endogenous retroviral elements (ERVs) and activation of interferon signaling. This constitutive cell-intrinsic interferon response, hallmarked by hyperactivated STAT1, is also observed in human tumors with a PTEN-low status. We further found that PTEN deficiency renders cancer cells resistant to the cytotoxic effects of immune cells and interferon-γ. Notably, PTEN loss also results in a dependency on an activated DNA damage response pathway, leading to an exquisite vulnerability to CDK12 inhibition. Our study suggests an interferon adaptation model in which tumors driven by PTEN deficiency inherently activate the interferon response, enabling them to adapt to interferon cytotoxicity and gain resistance to immunotherapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":12591,"journal":{"name":"Genes & development","volume":" ","pages":"684-698"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13367035/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146219329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Komal Yasmin, Tatyana B Nesterova, Neil Brockdorff
{"title":"Chromatin binding and N-terminal domains of DNMT3B1 confer specificity for developmentally regulated CpG island methylation.","authors":"Komal Yasmin, Tatyana B Nesterova, Neil Brockdorff","doi":"10.1101/gad.353014.125","DOIUrl":"10.1101/gad.353014.125","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>CpG methylation in mammalian genomes is established by the closely related de novo DNA methyltransferases DNMT3A and DNMT3B. While both enzymes contribute to genome-wide CpG methylation, DNMT3B has a unique role in developmentally regulated CpG island (CGI) methylation on the inactive X chromosome and at other sites in the genome. The mechanistic basis for this specificity is poorly understood. Here we have developed an in vitro embryonic stem cell model system to dissect critical determinants of DNMT3B specificity. Our model faithfully recapitulates developmentally regulated CGI methylation and additionally provides novel insights into CpG methylation at <i>cis</i>-regulatory elements. Using genetic complementation, we show that DNMT3B specificity is attributable solely to the major catalytic isoform DNMT3B1. Domain swap experiments demonstrate a role for the PWWP-ADD chromatin binding domains, while deletion analysis reveals the importance of the unstructured N-terminal domain, including a requirement for a specific subregion in CGI methylation on Xi. Together, these findings advance our mechanistic understanding of the unique roles of DNMT3 enzymes in establishing CpG methylation in development.</p>","PeriodicalId":12591,"journal":{"name":"Genes & development","volume":" ","pages":"666-683"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13138329/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146165019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Linking miRNAs to decay.","authors":"Amy E Pasquinelli","doi":"10.1101/gad.353649.126","DOIUrl":"10.1101/gad.353649.126","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression by recruiting Argonaute (AGO) proteins to specific targets, forming the microRNA (miRNA)-induced silencing complex (miRISC). In this issue of <i>Genes & Development</i>, Grimme and colleagues (doi:10.1101/gad.353314.125) determine how a family of related miRNAs is coordinately downregulated through limited base-pairing interactions with a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA). The lncRNA serves as a potent trigger to induce target-mediated miRNA decay (TDMD) despite supporting a looser pairing architecture with the miRNAs than typically needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":12591,"journal":{"name":"Genes & development","volume":" ","pages":"605-606"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13138324/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147520473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gracia Bonilla, Alexander Morris, Sharmistha Kundu, Anthony DuCasse, Grace Kirkpatrick, Jelena Milosevic, Nathan E Jeffries, Kashish Chetal, Emma E Yvanovich, Ting Zhao, Jun Xia, Rana Barghout, David Scadden, Michael K Mansour, Robert E Kingston, David B Sykes, Francois E Mercier, Ruslan I Sadreyev
{"title":"Multiomic analysis of clonal development reveals new regulators of leukemic cell growth.","authors":"Gracia Bonilla, Alexander Morris, Sharmistha Kundu, Anthony DuCasse, Grace Kirkpatrick, Jelena Milosevic, Nathan E Jeffries, Kashish Chetal, Emma E Yvanovich, Ting Zhao, Jun Xia, Rana Barghout, David Scadden, Michael K Mansour, Robert E Kingston, David B Sykes, Francois E Mercier, Ruslan I Sadreyev","doi":"10.1101/gad.353186.125","DOIUrl":"10.1101/gad.353186.125","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mechanisms driving the increase in cell growth in developing leukemia are not fully understood. We focused on epigenomic regulation of this process by analyzing the changes of chromatin marks and gene expression in leukemic cell clones as they progressed toward increased proliferation in a mouse model of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This progression was characterized by gradual modulation of chromatin states and gene expression across the genome, with a surprising preferential trend of reversing the prior changes associated with the origins of leukemia. Our analyses of this modulation in independently developing clones predicted a small set of potential growth regulators whose transcriptomic and epigenomic progression was consistent between clones and maintained both in vivo and ex vivo. We selected three of these genes as candidates (<i>Irx5</i> and <i>Plag1</i> as growth suppressors and <i>Smad1</i> as a driver) and successfully validated their causal growth effects by overexpression in mouse leukemic cells. Overexpression of the <i>IRX5</i> gene in human MOLM13 leukemic cells suppressed cell growth both in vitro and in mouse xenografts. Public patient data confirmed expression levels of <i>PLAG1</i> and <i>SMAD1</i> as markers of AML status and survival, suggesting that multiomic analysis of evolving clones in a mouse model is a valuable predictive approach relevant to human AML.</p>","PeriodicalId":12591,"journal":{"name":"Genes & development","volume":" ","pages":"563-585"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13041715/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146118722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Carolina P Bañuelos, Lucas D Caeiro, Pradeepkumar R Cingaram, Felipe Beckedorff, Lluis Morey, Daniel Bilbao Cortes, Ramin Shiekhattar, Ramiro E Verdun
{"title":"Bypass of blocking lesions by RNAPII reveals a novel stress induced by DNA damage.","authors":"Carolina P Bañuelos, Lucas D Caeiro, Pradeepkumar R Cingaram, Felipe Beckedorff, Lluis Morey, Daniel Bilbao Cortes, Ramin Shiekhattar, Ramiro E Verdun","doi":"10.1101/gad.353164.125","DOIUrl":"10.1101/gad.353164.125","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Platinum-based compounds and ultraviolet (UV) irradiation produce bulky DNA lesions that stall RNA polymerase II (RNAPII), activating transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair (TC-NER), RNAPII degradation, and global transcriptional shutdown. However, the consequences of RNAPII bypassing such lesions remain unclear. We identified the acetyltransferase p300 as a key regulator of TC-NER-dependent RNAPII removal from damaged chromatin via a USP7-dependent mechanism. Loss of p300 permits RNAPII to bypass transcription-blocking lesions, sustaining transcription and full-length mRNA production despite DNA damage. This leads to continued translation, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR), compromising cell viability. Notably, this stress response resensitizes tumors resistant to platinum-based chemotherapy. Our findings reveal a vulnerability in tumor cells that evade transcriptional shutdown and define a synthetic lethal interaction between p300 inhibition and platinum-induced DNA damage, offering a targeted strategy to overcome chemoresistance.</p>","PeriodicalId":12591,"journal":{"name":"Genes & development","volume":" ","pages":"538-562"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146124586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"It takes two to cleave: the logic of cluster assistance.","authors":"Owen Sanborn, Daniel Cifuentes","doi":"10.1101/gad.353586.125","DOIUrl":"10.1101/gad.353586.125","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mature microRNAs are generated in a series of sequential processing steps, creating multiple opportunities for regulatory bottlenecks. In this issue of <i>Genes & Development</i>, Shang and colleagues (doi:10.1101/gad.353316.125) dissect microRNA biogenesis by cluster assistance in human cells, demonstrating that ERH and SAFB2 have distinct functions in the processing of suboptimal hairpins. Beyond resolving the mechanistic dependencies on ERH and SAFB2, the study demonstrates that cluster assistance has been co-opted into a feedback mechanism to regulate DGCR8 levels and Microprocessor stability, elevating cluster assistance from a descriptive phenomenon to a physiologically integrated miRNA regulatory pathway.</p>","PeriodicalId":12591,"journal":{"name":"Genes & development","volume":" ","pages":"409-410"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13041536/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146118609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pushpa Verma, Pruthvi Gowda, Nika N Danial, David Van Vactor
{"title":"A brain-specific microRNA, <i>miR-1000</i>, regulates lipid homeostasis via neuropeptide-like precursor 1 in <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>.","authors":"Pushpa Verma, Pruthvi Gowda, Nika N Danial, David Van Vactor","doi":"10.1101/gad.353195.125","DOIUrl":"10.1101/gad.353195.125","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Metabolism requires precise gene regulation to balance energy intake and expenditure for an organism's well-being, with misregulation often leading to metabolic syndromes. This study reveals that the brain-specific microRNA <i>miR-1000</i> regulates fat storage by controlling the expression of a neuropeptide gene, <i>Nplp1</i> Loss of <i>miR-1000</i> increases <i>Nplp1</i> expression, leading to higher body weight, increased fat storage, improved survival under food deprivation conditions, and a reduced overall life span in <i>Drosophila</i> We further show that <i>miR-1000</i> promotes fat storage upon feeding by regulating triacylglyceride (TAG) synthesis and storage in lipid droplets, thereby playing a crucial role in metabolic regulation.</p>","PeriodicalId":12591,"journal":{"name":"Genes & development","volume":" ","pages":"444-455"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13041538/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146062115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Aniruddha Samajdar, Roberta Amato, Seongmoon Jo, Ethan Cordes, Albert Tai, Grazia Daniela Raffa, Luis F Z Batista
{"title":"Exosome-mediated decay of unstable long extended precursors of human telomerase RNA is dependent on 5'-cap trimethylation.","authors":"Aniruddha Samajdar, Roberta Amato, Seongmoon Jo, Ethan Cordes, Albert Tai, Grazia Daniela Raffa, Luis F Z Batista","doi":"10.1101/gad.353100.125","DOIUrl":"10.1101/gad.353100.125","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mutations that impact maturation of human telomerase RNA (hTR) are common in telomere biology disorders. Here, we describe sequential posttranscriptional modifications that coordinate hTR biogenesis and decay. Initially, TGS1-mediated 5'-cap trimethylation targets long genomically extended hTR precursors for degradation. Prevention of 5'-cap trimethylation results in accumulation of nucleolar 3'-end extended precursors, evading MTR4 recognition and degradation by the exosome. In a second step, 3'-end oligoadenylation by PAPD5 promotes degradation of mature hTR, a process that remains dependent on 5'-cap modifications, as prevention of trimethylation inhibits decay of heavily 3'-end oligoadenylated molecules. Combined inhibition of 5'-cap trimethylation and 3'-end oligoadenylation synergistically increases hTR in cells harboring pathogenic mutations in telomerase. These data reveal a precise interplay between 5'- and 3'-end posttranscriptional modifications that dictate hTR fate and highlight the potential of RNA therapeutics for treatment of telomere biology disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":12591,"journal":{"name":"Genes & development","volume":" ","pages":"498-516"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13041540/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146029361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alyssa Laffitte, Dongxu Lin, Yingzhen Jenny Tian, Na Liu, C Patrick Lusk, Simon G J Mochrie, Megan C King
{"title":"The LINC complex component Kms1 and CENP-B protein Cbp1 cooperate to enforce faithful homology-directed DNA repair at the nuclear periphery in <i>S. pombe</i>.","authors":"Alyssa Laffitte, Dongxu Lin, Yingzhen Jenny Tian, Na Liu, C Patrick Lusk, Simon G J Mochrie, Megan C King","doi":"10.1101/gad.353167.125","DOIUrl":"10.1101/gad.353167.125","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While homologous recombination (HR) is often considered to be an error-free DNA repair mechanism, the fidelity of this pathway depends on the cell's ability to engage the ideal template: the replicated sister chromatid. This is particularly challenging during repair of repetitive genome regions for which nonallelic sequences can errantly be used as templates. We developed a model to study spontaneous DNA damage and repair that occurs at repetitive protein-coding genes of the <i>Schizosaccharomyces pombe</i> flocculin family. We observed that genes encoding most members of this protein family constitutively reside at the nuclear periphery by virtue of their close proximity to binding sites for the CENP-B-like protein, Cbp1. Tethering via Cbp1 to the nuclear periphery enhances the stability of the flocculin genes against intragenic recombination and restrains intergenic recombination between homoeologous repeat-encoding sequences. The LINC complex component Kms1 also antagonizes both intragenic and intergenic recombination at the flocculin genes as well as microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ). Our observations suggest that <i>S. pombe</i> leverages nuclear compartmentalization to maintain the stability of repetitive genic regions at the nuclear periphery, while association of DSBs with Kms1-containing LINC complexes enforces stringency to avoid mutagenic end joining and use of the incorrect template during HR.</p>","PeriodicalId":12591,"journal":{"name":"Genes & development","volume":" ","pages":"456-474"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13041547/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145818986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nonhomologous end joining-the importance of end tethering and beyond.","authors":"Shan Zha, Geunil Yi","doi":"10.1101/gad.353407.125","DOIUrl":"10.1101/gad.353407.125","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway is a major mechanism for repairing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), essential for lymphocyte development and for maintaining genome stability in postmitotic cells, including neurons. Under pathological conditions, NHEJ is also responsible for most oncogenic translocations and the repair of DSBs induced by chemotherapy/radiation. Advances in structural biology and single-molecule imaging have captured NHEJ at various stages of the reaction, revealing a modular, dynamic organization with built-in redundancy and resilience. Here, we describe NHEJ in five phases (end sensing, end protection, end tethering, end processing, and end ligation), highlighting their molecular features and transitions and how structural insights explain genetic interactions and physiological consequences, including lymphocyte development. Unlike other DSB repair mechanisms, NHEJ operates with minimal or no sequence complementarity, relying instead on protein assemblies to bridge and stabilize the two DNA ends. This review highlights the unique end-tethering phase, supported by at least five known overlapping machineries, all anchored on Ku.</p>","PeriodicalId":12591,"journal":{"name":"Genes & development","volume":" ","pages":"411-428"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13041557/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147503565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}