PARP1 and PARylation facilitate transcription-coupled DNA repair by stabilizing the CSB–RNAPII complex

Abstract Transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair (TC-NER or TCR) is initiated when the ATPase Cockayne syndrome protein B (CSB) recognizes a DNA lesion stalled RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) and forms a stable complex. Here, we report that poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP1), that plays a key role in the lesion recognition step of global genomic NER, also facilitates the earliest step of TCR. PARP1, which is associated with RNAPII during normal transcription, interacts with and stabilizes CSB on the lesion-stalled RNAPII. CSB stimulates PARP1’s activity to form PAR, and in turn CSB is PARylated mainly at its N-terminal PAR-binding motif (PBM) to promote its stabilization with RNAPII, whereas its minor PARylation at the C-terminal domain suppresses its ATPase function, thus limiting the window of time for ATP-dependent lesion recognition by CSB. The loss of PARP1, treatment with inhibitors of PARP or poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) to prevent PAR synthesis or its catabolism to generate free PAR or engineering N-terminal PARylation-resistant CSB decrease the efficiency of cells for TCR. PARP1 mutant Caenorhabditis elegans larvae exhibit a pronounced TCR-deficient phenotype. Our findings uncover an evolutionarily conserved role of PARP1 and PAR metabolism in the initiation of TCR.