Association of a germline copy number polymorphism of APOBEC3A and APOBEC3B with burden of putative APOBEC-dependent mutations in breast cancer

Serena Nik-Zainal, D.C. Wedge, L.B. Alexandrov, M. Petljak, A.P. Butler, N. Bolli, H.R. Davies, S. Knappskog, S. Martin, Elli Papaemmanuil, M. Ramakrishna, A. Shlien, Ingrid Simonic, Yali Xue, C. Tyler-Smith, P.J. Campbell, M.R. Stratton

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The somatic mutations in a cancer genome are the aggregate outcome of one or more mutational processes operative through the lifetime of the individual with cancer1,2,3. Each mutational process leaves a characteristic mutational signature determined by the mechanisms of DNA damage and repair that constitute it. A role was recently proposed for the APOBEC family of cytidine deaminases in generating particular genome-wide mutational signatures1,4 and a signature of localized hypermutation called kataegis1,4. A germline copy number polymorphism involving APOBEC3A and APOBEC3B, which effectively deletes APOBEC3B5, has been associated with modestly increased risk of breast cancer6,7,8. Here we show that breast cancers in carriers of the deletion show more mutations of the putative APOBEC-dependent genome-wide signatures than cancers in non-carriers. The results suggest that the APOBEC3A-APOBEC3B germline deletion allele confers cancer susceptibility through increased activity of APOBEC-dependent mutational processes, although the mechanism by which this increase in activity occurs remains unknown.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)487-491
Number of pages5
JournalNature Genetics
Volume46
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Apr 2014

Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

  • Manchester Cancer Research Centre

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