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Human p21(Waf1) protein is well known for being transcriptionally induced by p53 and activating the cell cycle checkpoint arrest in response to DNA breaks. Here we report that p21(Waf1) protein undergoes a bimodal regulation, being upregulated in response to low doses of DNA damage but rapidly and transiently degraded in response to high doses of DNA lesions. Responsible for this degradation is the checkpoint kinase Chk1, which phosphorylates p21(Waf1) on T145 and S146 residues and induces its proteasome-dependent proteolysis. The initial p21(Waf1) degradation is then counteracted by the ATM-Chk2 pathway, which promotes the p53-dependent accumulation of p21(Waf1) at any dose of damage. We also found that p21(Waf1) ablation favors the activation of an apoptotic program to eliminate otherwise irreparable cells. These findings support a model in which in human cells a balance between ATM-Chk2-p53 and the ATR-Chk1 pathways modulates p21(Waf1) protein levels in relation to cytostatic and cytotoxic doses of DNA damage.

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are the most cytotoxic form of DNA damage, since they can lead to genome instability and chromosome rearrangements, which are hallmarks of cancer cells. To face this kind of lesion, eukaryotic cells developed two alternative repair pathways, homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). Repair pathway choice is influenced by the cell cycle phase and depends upon the 5'-3' nucleolytic processing of the break ends, since the generation of ssDNA tails strongly stimulates HR and inhibits NHEJ. A large amount of work has elucidated the key components of the DSBs repair machinery and how this crucial process is finely regulated. The emerging view suggests that besides endo/exonucleases and helicases activities required for end resection, molecular barrier factors are specifically loaded in the proximity of the break, where they physically or functionally limit DNA degradation, preventing excessive accumulation of ssDNA, which could be threatening for cell survival.

Genomic insults by endogenous or exogenous sources activate the DNA damage response (DDR). After the recognition of damaged DNA by specific factors, repair mechanisms process the lesions, and a surveillance mechanism, known as DNA damage checkpoint, is triggered by single-stranded (ss) DNA covered by RPA. UV light induces DNA lesions, mainly 6,4 photoproducts (6-4PP) and cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD), which are removed by nucleotide excision repair (NER). Recent reports shed light onto the mechanism connecting NER and DDR after UV irradiation. How does UV-induced DNA damage activate checkpoint kinases? How is ssDNA generated at UV lesions? In yeast, UV lesions persisting during S phase represent a block for the advancing of replication forks, which temporarily stop and then reinitiate downstream of the damage, leaving a ssDNA region containing the lesion. Nonreplicating yeast and human cells with defects in NER are not able to properly activate the checkpoint cascade, indicating that processing of UV lesions is a prerequisite for checkpoint activation. This pathway also requires the function of exonuclease 1, which acts on NER intermediates generating long tracts of ssDNA. Here, we review the connections between NER processing of UV-induced lesions and checkpoint activation, discussing the role of recently identified players in this mechanism.

Following genotoxic insults, eukaryotic cells trigger a signal transduction cascade known as the DNA damage checkpoint response, which involves the loading onto DNA of an apical kinase and several downstream factors. Chromatin modifications play an important role in recruiting checkpoint proteins. In budding yeast, methylated H3-K79 is bound by the checkpoint factor Rad9. Loss of Dot1 prevents H3-K79 methylation, leading to a checkpoint defect in the G(1) phase of the cell cycle and to a reduction of checkpoint activation in mitosis, suggesting that another pathway contributes to Rad9 recruitment in M phase. We found that the replication factor Dpb11 is the keystone of this second pathway. dot1Delta dpb11-1 mutant cells are sensitive to UV or Zeocin treatment and cannot activate Rad53 if irradiated in M phase. Our data suggest that Dpb11 is held in proximity to damaged DNA through an interaction with the phosphorylated 9-1-1 complex, leading to Mec1-dependent phosphorylation of Rad9. Dpb11 is also phosphorylated after DNA damage, and this modification is lost in a nonphosphorylatable ddc1-T602A mutant. Finally, we show that, in vivo, Dpb11 cooperates with Dot1 in promoting Rad9 phosphorylation but also contributes to the full activation of Mec1 kinase.

Haspin is a protein kinase identified in mouse and human cells, and genes coding for haspin-like proteins are present in virtually all eukaryotic genomes sequenced so far. Two haspin homologues, called Alk1 and Alk2, are present in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Both Alk1 and Alk2 exhibit a weak auto-kinase activity in vitro, are phosphoproteins in vivo and are hyperphosphorylated in response to DNA damage. The amount and modification of the two proteins is greatly regulated during the cell cycle. In fact, Alk1 and Alk2 levels peak in mitosis and late-S/G2, respectively, and phosphorylation of both proteins is maximal in mitosis. Control of protein stability plays a major role in Alk2 regulation. The half-life of Alk2 is particularly short in G1; mutagenesis and genetic analysis indicate that its degradation is controlled by the APC pathway. Overexpression of ALK2, but not of ALK1, causes a mitotic arrest, which is correlated to the kinase activity of the protein. This finding, together with its cell cycle regulation, suggests a role for Alk2 in the control of mitosis.

The catalytic DNA primase subunit of the DNA polymerase alpha-primase complex is encoded by the essential PRI1 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To identify factors that functionally interact with yeast DNA primase in living cells, we developed a genetic screen for mutants that are lethal at the permissive temperature in a cold-sensitive pril-2 genetic background. Twenty-four recessive mutations belonging to seven complementation groups were identified. Some mutants showed additional phenotypes, such as increased sensitivity to UV irradiation, methyl methanesulfonate, and hydroxyurea, that were suggestive of defects in DNA repair and/or checkpoint mechanisms. We have cloned and characterized the gene of one complementation group, PIP3, whose product is necessary both for delaying entry into S phase or mitosis when cells are UV irradiated in G1 or G2 phase and for lowering the rate of ongoing DNA synthesis in the presence of methyl methanesulfonate. PIP3 turned out to be the MEC3 gene, previously identified as a component of the G2 DNA damage checkpoint. The finding that Mec3 is also required for the G1- and S-phase DNA damage checkpoints, together with the analysis of genetic interactions between a mec3 null allele and several conditional DNA replication mutations at the permissive temperature, suggests that Mec3 could be part of a mechanism coupling DNA replication with repair of DNA damage, and DNA primase might be involved in this process.

The yeast DNA polymerase alpha-primase B subunit functions in initiation of DNA replication. This protein is present in two forms, of 86 and 91 kDa, and the p91 polypeptide results from cell cycle-regulated phosphorylation of p86. The B subunit present in G1 arises by dephosphorylation of p91 while cells are exiting from mitosis, becomes phosphorylated in early S phase, and is competent and sufficient to initiate DNA replication. The B subunit transiently synthesized as a consequence of periodic transcription of the POL12 gene is phosphorylated no earlier than G2. Phosphorylation of the B subunit does not require execution of the CDC7-dependent step and ongoing DNA synthesis. We suggest that posttranslational modifications of the B subunit might modulate the role of DNA polymerase alpha-primase in DNA replication.

Replication factor A (RF-A) is a heterotrimeric single-stranded-DNA-binding protein which is conserved in all eukaryotes. Since the availability of conditional mutants is an essential step to define functions and interactions of RF-A in vivo, we have produced and characterized mutations in the RFA1 gene, encoding the p70 subunit of the complex in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This analysis provides the first in vivo evidence that RF-A function is critical not only for DNA replication but also for efficient DNA repair and recombination. Moreover, genetic evidence indicate that p70 interacts both with the DNA polymerase alpha-primase complex and with DNA polymerase delta.

The four-subunit DNA polymerase alpha-primase complex is unique in its ability to synthesize DNA chains de novo, and some in vitro data suggest its involvement in initiation and elongation of chromosomal DNA replication, although direct in vivo evidence for a role in the initiation reaction is still lacking. The function of the B subunit of the complex is unknown, but the Saccharomyces cerevisiae POL12 gene, which encodes this protein, is essential for cell viability. We have produced different pol12 alleles by in vitro mutagenesis of the cloned gene. The in vivo analysis of our 18 pol12 alleles indicates that the conserved carboxy-terminal two-thirds of the protein contains regions that are essential for cell viability, while the more divergent NH2-terminal portion is partially dispensable. The characterization of the temperature-sensitive pol12-T9 mutant allele demonstrates that the B subunit is required for in vivo DNA synthesis and correct progression through S phase. Moreover, reciprocal shift experiments indicate that the POL12 gene product plays an essential role at the early stage of chromosomal DNA replication, before the hydroxyurea-sensitive step. A model for the role of the B subunit in initiation of DNA replication at an origin is presented.

DNA primase activity of the yeast DNA polymerase-primase complex is related to two polypeptides, p58 and p48. The reciprocal role of these protein species has not yet been clarified, although both participate in formation of the active center of the enzyme. The gene encoding the p58 subunit has been cloned by screening of a lambda gt11 yeast genomic DNA library, using specific anti-p58 antiserum. Antibodies that inhibited DNA primase activity could be purified by lysates of Escherichia coli cells infected with a recombinant bacteriophage containing the entire gene, which we designate PR12. The gene was found to be transcribed in a 1.7-kilobase mRNA whose level appeared to fluctuate during the mitotic cell cycle. Nucleotide sequence determination indicated that PR12 encodes a 528-amino-acid polypeptide with a calculated molecular weight of 62,262. The gene is unique in the haploid yeast genome, and its product is essential for cell viability, as has been shown for other components of the yeast DNA polymerase-primase complex.