On-target and Off-target Activities of RAG Are Restricted by Topological Chromatin Domains

RAG initiates V(D)J recombination in developing lymphocytes by generating "on-target" DNA double-stranded breaks at bona fide recombination signal sequence (RSS) pairs. We now employ RAG-generated DNA breaks in endogenous or ectopically-inserted RSS pairs as bait to identify huge numbers of RAG "off-target" sites. These off-target DNA breaks occur across convergent CTCF-binding element (CBE)-flanked loop domains containing the bait RSS pairs. Such off-target cleavage occurs at the simple CAC motif that defines the RSS cleavage-site and shows orientation-dependence best explained by a two-dimensional tracking mechanism. Deletion of the CBE-based IGCR1 IgH regulatory element disrupts antibody IgH recombination domains and, correspondingly, alters distributions of RAG on- and off-targets across the IgH locus. RAG off-targets frequently involved in chromosomal translocations occur in convergent RSS pairs at enhancer regions within a loop. Our findings reveal how RAG is developmentally focused and re-focused in lymphocytes and implicate mechanisms by which chromatin domains harness biological processes within them. We performed high-throughput genome-wide translocation sequencing (HTGTS) in progenitor B cells or cell lines to study signatures of RAG on and off-targeting activity using RAG-generated breaks in endogenous or ectopically-inserted paired bona fide RSSs as bait. Sequenceing was dong by Illumina Miseq.