Centromere instability links genome damage to immune activation in systemic sclerosis
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Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a fibrotic autoimmune disease in which genomic sources of instability and their immunological consequences remain poorly defined. We show that bleomycin, a widely used SSc fibrosis model, induces DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) at active centromeres. Comparable centromeric damage was detected in fibroblasts from patients with limited cutaneous SSc, affecting nearly half of cells. Quantification of α-satellite repeat length revealed deletions and insertions, paralleling alterations observed in diffuse and limited SSc. These breaks are repaired primarily by ATM-dependent RAD51-mediated homologous recombination, but repair remains incomplete. Unresolved lesions disrupt kinetochore assembly, promote chromosome missegregation, and generate micronuclei and cytoplasmic chromatin enriched in centromere proteins. These fragments escape via nuclear envelope rupture, colocalize with MHC class II molecules, and may provide a potential mechanistic basis for anti-centromere antibody generation. Together, these findings establish centromere instability as a unifying driver of chromosomal instability, immune activation, and fibrosis in SSc, providing a mechanistic link between genome instability and autoimmunity.
