Increased somatic mutation burdens in normal human cells due to defective DNA polymerases

Mutation accumulation in somatic cells contributes to cancer development and is proposed as a cause of aging. DNA polymerases Pol ε and Pol δ replicate DNA during cell division. However, in some cancers, defective proofreading due to acquired POLE/POLD1 exonuclease domain mutations causes markedly e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNature genetics Vol. 53; no. 10; pp. 1434 - 4
Main Authors Robinson, Philip S, Coorens, Tim H H, Palles, Claire, Mitchell, Emily, Abascal, Federico, Olafsson, Sigurgeir, Lee, Bernard C H, Lawson, Andrew R J, Lee-Six, Henry, Moore, Luiza, Sanders, Mathijs A, Hewinson, James, Martin, Lynn, Pinna, Claudia M A, Galavotti, Sara, Rahbari, Raheleh, Campbell, Peter J, Martincorena, Iñigo, Tomlinson, Ian, Stratton, Michael R
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Nature Publishing Group 01.10.2021
Subjects
Aging
Cancer
Cell division
Colorectal cancer
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA polymerase
DNA-directed DNA polymerase
Editing
Embryogenesis
Embryonic growth stage
Exonuclease
Genomes
Health risks
Mutation
Nucleotide sequence
Pathogenesis
Proofreading
Signatures
Somatic cells
Tumors
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Summary:Mutation accumulation in somatic cells contributes to cancer development and is proposed as a cause of aging. DNA polymerases Pol ε and Pol δ replicate DNA during cell division. However, in some cancers, defective proofreading due to acquired POLE/POLD1 exonuclease domain mutations causes markedly elevated somatic mutation burdens with distinctive mutational signatures. Germline POLE/POLD1 mutations cause familial cancer predisposition. Here, we sequenced normal tissue and tumor DNA from individuals with germline POLE/POLD1 mutations. Increased mutation burdens with characteristic mutational signatures were found in normal adult somatic cell types, during early embryogenesis and in sperm. Thus human physiology can tolerate ubiquitously elevated mutation burdens. Except for increased cancer risk, individuals with germline POLE/POLD1 mutations do not exhibit overt features of premature aging. These results do not support a model in which all features of aging are attributable to widespread cell malfunction directly resulting from somatic mutation burdens accrued during life.
ISSN:1061-4036
1546-1718
DOI:10.1038/s41588-02T00930-y