Abstract P5-12-01: Apobec mutation signature in breast cancer explained by combinatorial action of apobec3a and apobec3b
Authors: Harris Reuben S , Jarvis Matthew C , Carpenter Michael A , Brown Margaret R , Argyris Prokopios P , Brown William , Yee Douglas 
Published: March 2022

Background: Mutations drive the initiation and progression of cancer. A leading druggable source of mutation in cancer is enzymatic deamination of single-stranded DNA cytosines by cellular APOBEC3 enzymes. Cytosine-to-uracil deamination can result in a variety of different mutational outcomes including DNA breakage and chromosomal aberrations as well as single base substitution mutations. The latter are comprised of C-to-T and C-to-G mutations in TCA or TCT trinucleotides and attributable to the intrinsic preference of several APOBEC3 family members for binding to these motifs. This mutation pattern, commonly called the “APOBEC signature”, is evident in approximately one-quarter of primary breast tumors and one-third of metastatic breast tumors. Although multiple APOBEC3 enzymes have been implicated as a source of this signature in breast cancer (namely, APOBEC3A, APOBEC3B, and APOBEC3H), the literature is full of conflicting views and it is not clear which of these enzymes contributes most significantly to the mutational landscape of breast cancer. Methods: The near-haploid human cell line, HAP1, was engineered to express the HSV-1 TK gene as a mutation reporter. Candidate APOBEC3 enzymes were expressed individually and confirmed by immunoblotting and activity assays. DNA breakage was measured directly by COMET assays and DNA damage responses indirectly by phosphorylated gamma-H2AX staining. Mutation frequencies were quantified by assaying rates of drug resistance, and mutation patterns were analyzed by sequencing locally in TK and globally across whole genomes. Results: APOBEC3A and APOBEC3B both caused significant increases in chromosomal DNA breakage and DNA damage responses. These enzymes also elevated drug resistance mutation frequencies. In contrast, expression of active APOBEC3H or catalytic mutant derivatives of APOBEC3A and APOBEC3B failed to trigger increases beyond normal spontaneous levels. Interestingly, APOBEC3A and APOBEC3B both inflicted mutation signatures that were indistinguishable locally in TK and globally across whole genomes. The vast majority of these APOBEC signature mutations were dispersed (non-kataegic) and not associated with obvious mesoscale chromosomal features such as single-stranded loop regions of stem-loop structures. Computational comparisons of the broader pentanucleotide APOBEC3A and APOBEC3B mutation signatures and those extracted from 794 primary breast tumor genomes (ICGC cohort) revealed an APOBEC3A-biased subset, an APOBEC3B-biased subset, and a larger group of tumors best explained by combinatorial action of both of these enzymes. Conclusions: Our results indicate that APOBEC3A and APOBEC3B contribute combinatorially in most instances to the observed APOBEC mutation signature in breast cancer. These results provide a framework for developing diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for APOBEC-positive breast cancer.

Citation Format: Reuben S Harris, Matthew C Jarvis, Michael A Carpenter, Margaret R Brown, Prokopios P Argyris, William Brown, Douglas Yee. Apobec mutation signature in breast cancer explained by combinatorial action of apobec3a and apobec3b [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-12-01.