Nbn-Mre11 interaction is required for tumor suppression and genomic integrity

Abstract

We derived a mouse model in which a mutant form of Nbn/Nbs1^mid8 (hereafter Nbn^mid8) exhibits severely impaired binding to the Mre11-Rad50 core of the Mre11 complex. The Nbn^mid8 allele was expressed exclusively in hematopoietic lineages (in Nbn^-/mid8vav mice). Unlike Nbn^flox/floxvav mice with Nbn deficiency in the bone marrow, Nbn^-/mid8vav mice were viable. Nbn^-/mid8vav mice hematopoiesis was profoundly defective, exhibiting reduced cellularity of thymus and bone marrow, and stage-specific blockage of B cell development. Within 6 mo, Nbn^-/mid8 mice developed highly penetrant T cell leukemias. Nbn^-/mid8vav leukemias recapitulated mutational features of human T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), containing mutations in NOTCH1, TP53, BCL6, BCOR, and IKZF1, suggesting that Nbn^mid8 mice may provide a venue to examine the relationship between the Mre11 complex and oncogene activation in the hematopoietic compartment. Genomic analysis of Nbn^-/mid8vav malignancies showed focal amplification of 9qA2, causing overexpression of MRE11 and CHK1 We propose that overexpression of MRE11 compensates for the metastable Mre11-Nbn^mid8 interaction, and that selective pressure for overexpression reflects the essential role of Nbn in promoting assembly and activity of the Mre11 complex.

Keywords: DNA damage response; Nbn−Mre11 interaction; genomic instability; tumor suppression.