Life without mismatch repair

Mismatch repair (MMR) is a critical defence against mutation, but we lack quantification of its activity on different DNA lesions during human life. We performed whole-genome sequencing of normal and neoplastic tissues from individuals with constitutional MMR deficiency to establish the roles of MMR components, tissue type and disease state in somatic mutation rates. Mutational signatures varied extensively across genotypes, some coupled to leading-strand replication, some to lagging-strand replication and some independent of replication, implying that the various MMR components engage different forms of DNA damage. Loss of MSH2 or MSH6 (MutSα), but not MLH1 or PMS2 (MutLα), caused 5-methylcytosine-dependent hypermutation, indicating that MutSα is the pivotal complex for repairing spontaneous deamination of methylated cytosines in humans. Neoplastic change altered the distribution of mutational signatures, particularly accelerating replication-coupled indel signatures. Each component of MMR repairs 1-10 lesions/day per normal human cell, and many thousands of additional events during neoplastic transformation.HighlightsMMR repairs 1-10 lesions/day in every normal cell and thousands more in tumor cellsMMR patterns and rates are shaped by genotype, tissue type and malignant transformationMSH2 and MSH6 are pivotal for repairing spontaneous deamination of methylated cytosineReplication indels and substitutions vary by leading versus lagging strand and genotype