DUX4-induced HSATII transcription causes KDM2A/B-PRC1 nuclear foci and impairs DNA damage response

Arends et al. show that DUX4-induced transcription of pericentromeric human satellite II (HSATII) repeats leads to nuclear foci formation of KDM2A/B-PRC1 complexes. Nuclear accumulation of KDM2A/B-PRC1 at HSATII regions impairs PRC1 activity and DNA damage response. Polycomb repressive complexes regulate developmental gene programs, promote DNA damage repair, and mediate pericentromeric satellite repeat repression. Expression of pericentromeric satellite repeats has been implicated in several cancers and diseases, including facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD). Here, we show that DUX4-mediated transcription of HSATII regions causes nuclear foci formation of KDM2A/B-PRC1 complexes, resulting in a global loss of PRC1-mediated monoubiquitination of histone H2A. Loss of PRC1-ubiquitin signaling severely impacts DNA damage response. Our data implicate DUX4-activation of HSATII and sequestration of KDM2A/B-PRC1 complexes as a mechanism of regulating epigenetic and DNA repair pathways.