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Neuroadaptations in the brain opioid systems produced by chronic exposure to drugs of abuse may contribute to the drug dependence and addiction. Although regulation of the gene expression of the opioid propeptides proenkephalin (PENK) and prodynorphin (PDYN) by psychostimulants has previously been described, little attention has been paid to dissociating effects of pharmacological actions of the drugs from those produced by motivational processes driving active drug intake in self-administration paradigms. In the present study, effects of response-dependent (contingent) and response-independent (noncontingent) cocaine administration on the PENK and PDYN gene expression in the rat forebrain have been directly compared using the "yoked" self-administration procedure. The i.v. cocaine treatment lasted for 5 weeks, and rats were sacrificed 24 h after the last self-administration session. In situ hybridization analysis revealed that levels of the PDYN mRNA were significantly increased in the caudate/putamen, to the same extent in rats self-administering cocaine as in animals receiving noncontingent injections of the drug at the same frequency and dosage. No changes in the expression of the PDYN gene were detected in the nucleus accumbens or in the central nucleus of amygdala. Levels of the PENK mRNA remained unaltered in all the above-mentioned forebrain regions of rats receiving contingent or noncontingent cocaine injections. The obtained data indicate that up-regulation of the PDYN gene expression in the caudate/putamen results from direct pharmacological actions of cocaine rather than from the motivational and cognitive processes underlying active self-administration of the drug.

Translesion synthesis (TLS) is the major pathway by which mammalian cells replicate across DNA lesions. Upon DNA damage, ubiquitination of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) induces bypass of the lesion by directing the replication machinery into the TLS pathway. Yet, how this modification is recognized and interpreted in the cell remains unclear. Here we describe the identification of two ubiquitin (Ub)–binding domains (UBM and UBZ), which are evolutionarily conserved in all Y-family TLS polymerases (pols). These domains are required for binding of polη and polι to ubiquitin, their accumulation in replication factories, and their interaction with monoubiquitinated PCNA. Moreover, the UBZ domain of polη is essential to efficiently restore a normal response to ultraviolet irradiation in xeroderma pigmentosum variant (XP-V) fibroblasts. Our results indicate that Ub-binding domains of Y-family polymerases play crucial regulatory roles in TLS.

Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) is a key mediator of inflammation. Unchecked NF-kappaB signalling can engender autoimmune pathologies and cancers. Here, we show that Tax1-binding protein 1 (TAX1BP1) is a negative regulator of TNF-alpha- and IL-1beta-induced NF-kappaB activation and that binding to mono- and polyubiquitin by a ubiquitin-binding Zn finger domain in TAX1BP1 is needed for TRAF6 association and NF-kappaB inhibition. Mice genetically knocked out for TAX1BP1 are born normal, but develop age-dependent inflammatory cardiac valvulitis, die prematurely, and are hypersensitive to low doses of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta. TAX1BP1-/- cells are more highly activated for NF-kappaB than control cells when stimulated with TNF-alpha or IL-1beta. Mechanistically, TAX1BP1 acts in NF-kappaB signalling as an essential adaptor between A20 and its targets.

CIN85 is a multi-adaptor protein involved in different cellular functions including the down-regulation of activated receptor tyrosine kinases and survival of neuronal cells. CIN85 contains three SH3 domains that specifically bind a unique proline-arginine motif (PxxxPR) found in several CIN85 effectors. In this report, we show that the MAP kinase kinase kinase MEKK4 is a new CIN85-interacting partner. This interaction is mediated by the engagement of the SH3 domains of CIN85 to three PxxxPR motifs located within MEKK4 sequence. By disrupting this interaction we demonstrated that CIN85 binding to MEKK4 enhances the activation of MKK6 and of the downstream p38 MAP kinase following oxidative stress and growth factor stimulation. CIN85 was also shown to regulate the activation of MEKK4 by GADD45 proteins and promote multi-ubiquitination of MEKK4. Taken together, these results indicate a novel role for CIN85 in the regulation of cellular stress response via the MAPK pathways.