Mechanism of DNA replication fork breakage and PARP1 hyperactivation during replication catastrophe

Ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR) inhibition triggers a surge in origin firing, resulting in increased levels of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) that rapidly deplete all available RPA. This leaves ssDNA unprotected and susceptible to breakage, a phenomenon known as replication catastrophe. However, the mechanism by which unprotected ssDNA breaks remains unclear. Here, we reveal that APOBEC3B is the key enzyme targeting unprotected ssDNA at replication forks, initiating a reaction cascade that induces fork collapse and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) hyperactivation. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that uracils generated by APOBEC3B at replication forks are removed by UNG2, resulting in abasic sites that are subsequently cleaved by APE1 endonuclease. Moreover, we show that APE1-mediated DNA cleavage is the critical enzymatic step for PARP1 hyperactivation in cells, regardless of how abasic sites are generated on DNA. Last, we demonstrate that APOBEC3B-induced PARP1 trapping and DNA double-strand breaks drive cell sensitivity to ATR inhibition, creating a context of synthetic lethality when coupled with PARP inhibitors.