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The FEN1 E359K germline mutation disrupts the FEN1–WRN interaction and FEN1 GEN activity, causing aneuploidy-associated cancers

Oncogene volume 34, pages 902–911 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Polymorphisms and somatic mutations in Flap Endonuclease 1 (FEN1), an essential enzyme involved in DNA replication and repair, can lead to functional deficiencies of the FEN1 protein and a predisposition to cancer. We identified a FEN1 germline mutation that changed residue E359 to K in a patient whose family had a history of breast cancer. We determined that the E359K mutation, which is in the protein–protein domain of FEN1, abolished the interaction of FEN1 with Werner syndrome protein (WRN), an interaction that is critical for resolving stalled DNA replication forks. Furthermore, although the flap endonuclease activity of FEN1 E359K was unaffected, it failed to resolve bubble structures, which require the FEN1 gap-dependent endonuclease activity. To determine the etiological significance of E359K, we established a mouse model containing this mutation. E359K mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) were more sensitive to DNA crosslinking agents that cause replication forks to stall. Cytological analysis suggested that the FEN1–WRN interaction was also required for telomere stability; mutant cell lines had fragile telomeres, increased numbers of spontaneous chromosomal anomalies and higher frequencies of transformation. Moreover, the incidence of cancer was significantly higher in mice homozygous for FEN1 E359K than in wild-type mice, suggesting that the FEN1 E359K mutation is oncogenic.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the City of Hope Pathology Core Facility for technical assistance with characterization of mouse cancer specimens (P30CA033572). We thank M Lee and B Armstrong in the City of Hope Microscopy Core Facility for assistance with characterization of chromosomal aberrations and D Stoppa-Lyonnet (Institut Curie) to provide the breast cancer patient DNA. This work was supported by NIH grant R01 CA073764 and Ligue Nationale contre le Cancer (EL2007/LNCC and EL2010/LNCC).

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Author notes

  1. L Chung, D Onyango and Z Guo: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Biology, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA

    L Chung, D Onyango, Z Guo, H Dai, S Liu, M Zhou, W Lin, I Pang, L Zheng & B Shen

  2. Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China

    Z Guo

  3. WWAMI Medical Education Program, School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, Spokane, WA, USA

    P Jia & W Chai

  4. College of Life Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, Zhejiang, China

    S Liu

  5. Department of Molecular Medicine, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA

    H Li & Y-C Yuan

  6. Department of Pathology, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA

    Q Huang

  7. Section de Recherche, Institut Curie, CNRS UMR3244, Paris, France

    J Lopes & A Nicolas

  8. Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, USM 503, INSERM U565, UMR7196, Paris, France

    J Lopes

  9. Department of Surgery, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA

    D Raz

  10. Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA

    K L Reckamp

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Correspondence to K L Reckamp or B Shen.

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Chung, L., Onyango, D., Guo, Z. et al. The FEN1 E359K germline mutation disrupts the FEN1–WRN interaction and FEN1 GEN activity, causing aneuploidy-associated cancers. Oncogene 34, 902–911 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/onc.2014.19

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