Arginine Methylation Facilitates the Recruitment of TOP3B to Chromatin to Prevent R Loop Accumulation

Abstract

SUMMARY Tudor domain containing protein 3 (TDRD3) is a major methyl-arginine effector molecule that “reads” methyl-histone marks and facilitates gene transcription. However, the underlying mechanism by which TDRD3 functions as a transcriptional coactivator is unknown. We identified topoisomerase IIIB (TOP3B) as a component of the TDRD3 complex. TDRD3 serves as a molecular bridge between TOP3B and arginine-methylated histones. The TDRD3-TOP3B complex is recruited to the c-MYC gene promoter primarily by the H4R3me2a mark, and the complex promotes c-MYC gene expression. TOP3B relaxes negative supercoiled DNA and reduces transcription-generated R-loops in vitro. TDRD3 knockdown in cells increases R-loop formation at the c-MYC locus, and Tdrd3-null mice exhibit elevated R-loop formation at this locus in B cells. Tdrd3-null mice show significantly increased c-Myc/Igh translocation, a process driven by R-loop structures. By reducing negative supercoiling and resolving R-loop, TOP3B promotes transcription, protects against DNA damage and reduces the frequency of chromosomal translocations.