Abstract
Topoisomerase 2β (TOP2B) introduces transient double strand breaks in the DNA helix to remove supercoiling structures and unwind entangled DNA strains. Advances in genomic technologies have enabled the discovery of novel functions for TOP2B in processes such as releasing of the paused RNA polymerase II and maintaining the genome organization through DNA loop domains. Thus, TOP2B can regulate transcription directly by acting on transcription elongation and indirectly by controlling interactions between enhancer and promoter regions through genome folding. The identification of TOP2B mutations in humans unexpectedly revealed a unique role of TOP2B in B-cell progenitors. Here we discuss the functions of TOP2B and the mechanisms leading to the B-cell development defect in patients with TOP2B deficiency.
Introduction
Type II topoisomerases (TOP2) are essential proteins that modify DNA topology by transiently cleaving both strands of the DNA duplex and creating an intermediate, known as TOP2 cleavage complex (TOP2cc), that contains a covalent link between TOP2 and the 5’-terminus of the incised DNA duplex. Then, TOP2 guide a second DNA duplex to pass through the break and re-ligate the DNA (). This activity removes DNA intertwining between sister chromatids during DNA replication and relaxes positive and negative supercoiling generated by transcription (Figure 1A). Abortive TOP2 reactions can generate DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) that have been implicated in genome instability and cancer (–). Most of the metazoans encode two TOP2 paralogues, topoisomerases 2α and 2β (TOP2A and TOP2B), that have highly similar N-terminal ATPase and central core domains but differ in their C-terminal regions (Figure 1B) and are not redundant in vivo (). In recent years, TOP2B emerged as one of the key proteins connecting transcription and 3D genome organization. TOP2B activity can unlock stalled RNA polymerase II (pol II) to allow productive transcription and contribute to DNA loops and the formation of topologically associating domains (TADs), at the same time contributing to genetic lesions leading to chromosomal rearrangements and cancer (). The role of TOP2B in the immune system was revealed by the discovery of the TOP2B deficiency syndrome that specifically affects B cell development (, ). This finding highlights the fundamental and unique dependency of B-cell progenitor differentiation on the TOP2B-mediated DNA topological changes.
Figure 1
The role of TOP2B in transcription and genome architecture
The description of the Top2b-knockout mice revealed pronounced defects in axon growth (
Mapping TOP2B localization and activity across the genome has been instrumental in understanding its multiple functions. Experimental strategies relied on direct mapping of TOP2B by Chromatin-Immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq) (
TOP2B releases paused RNA pol II at gene promoters
Ju et al. first reported signal-induced DSBs at gene promoters after hormonal stimulation (
Although TOP2B drives gene expression, frequently associates with cell type-specific TFs and occupies open chromatin regions, it does not act as a classical TF. TOP2B can regulate transcription at different levels. It can form functional complexes with chromatin-modifying proteins that associate with TFs to confer pioneer activity (that is changes in local chromatin structure) to increase chromatin accessibility at previously closed loci (
TOP2B at DNA loop anchors
An additional novel aspect in our understanding of TOP2B functions is its role in genome organization and compartmentalization. Uusküla-Reimand et al. identified physical interactions between TOP2B and chromatin architectural proteins CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) and cohesin that form boundaries of TADs and loop domains (
The role of TOP2B in B cell development
Although TOP2B was identified more than 30 years ago (
Figure 2

DNA topology and TOP2B function during B cell development. (A) Important steps and essential transcription factors during B cell development. Early progenitors are multipotent and can develop in different lineages (HSC: hematopoietic stem cell, MPP: multipotent progenitor, MgK: megakaryocyte, LMPP: lymphoid-primed multipotent progenitor, Mac: macrophage, Gran: granulocyte, CLP: common lymphoid progenitor, ILC: innate lymphoid cell, pDC: plasmacytoid dendritic cell, NK: natural killer cell. Transcription factors EBF1, E2A, FOXO1 and PAX5 and adaptor protein BLNK essential for B-cell specification and commitment are shown. (B) Priming of enhancer and promoter regions in early B-cell precursors by architectural proteins and pioneer transcription factors. (C) Establishment of loop domains and transcription factories that associate enhancer and promoter regions for productive transcription. Such organization can be generated by cohesin by extruding loops until encountering a CTCF protein oriented in the correct direction. Dynamic compartmentalization of transcription factors, RNA and coactivators by liquid-liquid phase separation and formation of condensates can also contribute to the formation of transcription factories. (D) Proposed function of TOP2B in the transcription of long genes encoding B-cell transcription factors, e.g. EBF1 and PAX5. PARP1 and XRCC4 are parts of DNA damage repair machinery.
Establishment of genome architecture in B-cell precursors
Early B-cell development occurs in a stepwise process from a common lymphoid progenitor (CLP) that can also generate T cells and innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). Specification of cell fates requires dynamic changes in chromatin architecture that allow lineage-specific genes to become accessible to the transcription machinery, while non-lineage genes become repressed. Important loci, including Ebf1, switch between heterochromatin and euchromatin during the transition from CLP to pro-B cells to define a unique genome architecture (
How does TOP2B contribute to 3D genome organization and chromatin folding in B-cell precursors? It is now clear that TOP2B is enriched at TAD borders and associates with architectural proteins (
TFs EBF1 and PAX5 are essential for the B cell lineage commitment and are known to play a major role in higher-order genome organization defining B-cell development (
Expression of B cell-specific TFs and transcriptional stress
Another mechanism linking TOP2B deficiency with impaired B-cell lineage involves transcription of genes regulating B-cell development, which requires topoisomerase activity. Several lines of evidence indicate that transcription of genes encoding B-cell TFs is associated with topological stress, which can be resolved by TOP2B (
While genes encoding B-cell TFs in the human genome tend to be unusually long, they are not as long as some other genes, e.g. those whose biological functions are associated with neurons (e.g. NRXN1 is 1,307 kb and ROBO2 is 1,743 kb). Although some of the TOP2B-deficient patients presented neurological defects, this trait has lower penetrance than B-cell deficiency, which was found in all patients. So, why neurons show lower sensitivity to TOP2B deficiency than the B cell lineage? It is known that B-cell precursors are among the most rapidly dividing mammalian cells (
Discussion
Patients with monogenic primary immunodeficiencies represent a powerful model allowing studies of the human immune system development and function, as the identification of their causative mutations often reveals new roles of affected proteins not previously observed in animal or cell models. The discovery of TOP2B deficiency with absent B cells unambiguously established a major requirement for modulation of DNA topology in human B-cell development. It also has implications for our understanding of the mechanisms of DNA breaks, genetic rearrangements and the development of cancer. A combined strategy investigating TOP2B localization during early stages of B cell lineage and its impact on chromatin architecture and transcription will reveal additional mechanisms uniquely implicating TOP2B in the B-cell development.
Funding
SN was supported by the ERC Advanced grant (832721) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. OP was supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (657633).
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Statements
Data availability statement
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.
Author contributions
OP and SN wrote the manuscript. OP prepared the first draft of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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Summary
Keywords
topoisomerase, B cell, transcription, immunodeficiency, genome organization
Citation
Papapietro O and Nejentsev S (2022) Topoisomerase 2β and DNA topology during B cell development. Front. Immunol. 13:982870. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.982870
Received
30 June 2022
Accepted
25 July 2022
Published
15 August 2022
Volume
13 - 2022
Edited by
Hong Zan, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, United States
Reviewed by
Yilun Sun, National Institutes of Health (NIH), United States; Fernando Gomez-Herreros, Sevilla University, Spain
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© 2022 Papapietro and Nejentsev.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Sergey Nejentsev, sn262@cam.ac.uk; Olivier Papapietro, o.p.m.papapietro@amsterdamumc.nl
This article was submitted to B Cell Biology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Immunology
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.