Tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 2 (TDP2) repairs topoisomerase 1 DNA-protein crosslinks and 3'-blocking lesions in the absence of tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 1 (TDP1).

Topoisomerase I (TOP1) resolves DNA topology during replication and transcription. The enzyme forms an intermediate TOP1 cleavage complex (TOP1cc) through transient TOP1-DNA-protein crosslinks. Camptothecin is a frontline anticancer agent that freezes this reaction intermediate, leading to the generation of irreversible TOP1ccs that act as 3'-blocking lesions. It is widely accepted that TOP1cc is repaired via a two-step pathway involving proteasomal degradation of TOP1cc to the crosslinked peptide, followed by removal of the TOP1cc-derived peptide from DNA by tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 1 (TDP1). In the present study, we developed an assay system to estimate repair kinetics of TOP1cc separately in the first and second steps, using monoclonal antibodies against the TOP1 protein and the TOP1 catalytic site peptide-DNA complex, respectively. Although TDP1-deficient (TDP1) TK6 cells had normal kinetics of the first step, a delay in the kinetics of the second step was observed relative to that in wild-type cells. Tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 2 (TDP2) reportedly promotes the repair of TOP1-induced DNA damage in the absence of TDP1. The present assays additionally demonstrated that TDP2 promotes the second, but not the first, step of TOP1cc repair in the absence of TDP1. We also analyzed sensitivities of TK6 cells with deficiencies in TDP1 and/or TDP2 to agents that produce 3' -blocking lesions. These experiments showed that TDP1TDP2 cells were more sensitive to the agents Azidothymidine (zidovudine), Cytarabine, Abacavir, Gemcitabine, and Trifluridine than TDP1 or TDP2 cells. Taken together, our findings confirm the roles of TDP2 in the repair of 3'-blocking lesions.