DNA polymerase η modulates replication fork progression and DNA damage responses in platinum-treated human cells

Human cells lacking DNA polymerase η (polη) are sensitive to platinum-based cancer chemotherapeutic agents. Using DNA combing to directly investigate the role of polη in bypass of platinum-induced DNA lesions in vivo, we demonstrate that nascent DNA strands are up to 39% shorter in human cells lacking polη than in cells expressing polη. This provides the first direct evidence that polη modulates replication fork progression in vivo following cisplatin and carboplatin treatment. Severe replication inhibition in individual platinum-treated polη-deficient cells correlates with enhanced phosphorylation of the RPA2 subunit of replication protein A on serines 4 and 8, as determined using EdU labelling and immunofluorescence, consistent with formation of DNA strand breaks at arrested forks in the absence of polη. Polη-mediated bypass of platinum-induced DNA lesions may therefore represent one mechanism by which cancer cells can tolerate platinum-based chemotherapy.