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Activation of the cellular DNA damage response is detrimental to adenovirus (Ad) infection. Ad has therefore evolved a number of strategies to inhibit ATM- and ATR-dependent signaling pathways during infection. Recent work suggests that the Ad5 E4orf3 protein prevents ATR activation through its ability to mislocalize the MRN complex. Here we provide evidence to indicate that Ad12 has evolved a different strategy from Ad5 to inhibit ATR. We show that Ad12 utilizes a CUL2/RBX1/elongin C-containing ubiquitin ligase to promote the proteasomal degradation of the ATR activator protein topoisomerase-II[beta]--binding protein 1 (TOPBP1). Ad12 also uses this complex to degrade p53 during infection, in contrast to Ad5, which requires a CUL5-based ubiquitin ligase. Although Ad12-mediated degradation of p53 is dependent upon both E1B-55K and E4orf6, Ad12-mediated degradation of TOPBP1 is solely dependent on E4orf6. We propose that Ad12 E4orf6 has two principal activities: to recruit the CUL2-based ubiquitin ligase and to act as substrate receptor for TOPBP1. in support of the idea that Ad12 E4orf6 specifically prevents ATR activation during infection by targeting TOPBP1 for degradation, we demonstrate that Ad12 E4orf6 can inhibit the ATR-dependent phosphorylation of CHK1 in response to replication stress. Taken together, these data provide insights into how Ad modulates ATR signaling pathways during infection. DNA damage | cullin-RING ubiquitin ligases | DNA damage | proteasome doi/10.1073/pnas.0914605107

Cellular DNA double-strand break-repair pathways have evolved to protect the integrity of the genome from a continual barrage of potentially detrimental insults. Inherited mutations in genes that control this process result in an inability to properly repair DNA damage, ultimately leading to developmental defects and also cancer predisposition. Here, we describe a patient with a previously undescribed syndrome, which we have termed RIDDLE syndrome (radiosensitivity, immunodeficiency, dysmorphic features and learning difficulties), whose cells lack an ability to recruit 53BP1 to sites of DNA double-strand breaks. As a consequence, cells derived from this patient exhibit a hypersensitivity to ionizing radiation, cell cycle checkpoint abnormalities, and impaired end-joining in the recombined switch regions. Sequencing of TP53BP1 and other genes known to regulate ionizing radiation-induced 53BP1 foci formation in this patient failed to detect any mutations. Therefore, these data indicate the existence of a DNA double-strand break-repair protein that functions upstream of 53BP1 and contributes to the normal development of the human immune system. DNA repair | cell cycle checkpoint | radiosensitivity | BRCA1

Claspin is a homolog of Mrc1, a checkpoint protein required for the DNA replication checkpoint in yeast. In Xenopus, phosphorylated Claspin binds to xChk1 and regulates xChk1 activation in response to replication stress. In this study, we have shown that the human homolog of Claspin is required for resistance to multiple forms of genotoxic stress including UV, IR, and hydroxyurea. Phosphorylation of Claspin was found to depend on the ataxia telangiectasia mutated-Rad3 related (ATR) pathway. DNA damage induces the formation of a complex between Claspin and BRCA1, a second regulator of Chk1 activation. Claspin was found to control BRCA1 phosphorylation on serine 1524, a site whose phosphorylation is controlled by the ATR pathway, These results are consistent with a model in which ATR regulates Claspin phosphorylation in response to DNA damage and replication stress resulting in recruitment and phosphorylation of BRCA1. BRCA1 and Claspin then function to activate the tumor suppressor Chk1. Unexpectedly, we found that Claspin has a second, positive role in control of the cell cycle as Claspin overexpression increased cell proliferation. These results suggest that Claspin has properties of both a tumor suppressor and an oncogene.

Defective signaling or repair of DNA double-strand breaks has been associated with developmental defects and human diseases. The E3 ligase RING finger 168 (RNF168), mutated in the human radiosensitivity, immunodeficiency, dysmorphic features, and learning difficulties syndrome, was shown to ubiquitylate H2A-type histones, and this ubiquitylation was proposed to facilitate the recruitment of p53-binding protein 1 (53BP1) to the sites of DNA double-strand breaks. In contrast to more upstream proteins signaling DNA double-strand breaks (e.g., RNF8), deficiency of RNF168 fully prevents both the initial recruitment to and retention of 53BP1 at sites of DNA damage; however, the mechanism for this difference has remained unclear. Here, we identify mechanisms that regulate 53BP1 recruitment to the sites of DNA double-strand breaks and provide evidence that RNF168 plays a central role in the regulation of 53BP1 functions. RNF168 mediates K63-linked ubiquitylation of 53BP1 which is required for the initial recruitment of 53BP1 to sites of DNA double-strand breaks and for its function in DNA damage repair, checkpoint activation, and genomic integrity. Our findings highlight the multistep roles of RNF168 in signaling DNA damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]