NELF coordinates Pol II transcription termination and DNA replication initiation.

UNLABELLED: Regulation of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription is closely associated with cell proliferation. However, it remains unclear how the Pol II transcription program is altered in cancer to favour cell growth. Here, we find that gene expression of NELFCD , a known negative elongation factor, is up-regulated in colorectal tumours. To dissect the direct role of NELF-C on Pol II transcription in such cancer, we employed an auxin-dependent protein degradation system for NELF-C in combination with nascent transcript sequencing technologies. Strikingly, we demonstrated that the acute loss of NELF-C protein globally perturbs Pol II transcription termination and also increases transcription elongation rate, independently of promoter-proximal Pol II pausing. This results in Pol II transcription into DNA replication initiation zones, and may link to failure of the cell cycle transition into S phase. We anticipate that NELF will be a potential therapeutic target to restrict colorectal cancers by promoting transcription-replication conflict.

HIGHLIGHTS: Expression of NELFCD transcript is up-regulated in colorectal tumors NELF-C protein is mandatory for the transition between G1-S phases during cell cycleNELF-C loss impairs transcription termination independently of Pol II promoter-proximal pausingNELF-C loss leads Pol II to invade DNA replication initiation zones.