A chemical compound that stimulates the human homologous recombination protein RAD51

Alterations in gene expression profiles correlated with cisplatin cytotoxicity in the glioma U343 cell line

Gliomas are the most common tumors in the central nervous system, the average survival time of patients with glioblastoma multiforme being about 1 year from diagnosis, in spite of harsh therapy. Aiming to study the transcriptional profiles displayed by glioma cells undergoing cisplatin treatment, gene expression analysis was performed by the cDNA microarray method. Cell survival and apoptosis induction following treatment were also evaluated. Drug concentrations of 12.5 to 300 μM caused a pronounced reduction in cell survival rates five days after treatment, whereas concentrations higher than 25 μM were effective in reducing the survival rates to ~1%. However, the maximum apoptosis frequency was 20.4% for 25 μM cisplatin in cells analyzed at 72 h, indicating that apoptosis is not the only kind of cell death induced by cisplatin. An analysis of gene expression revealed 67 significantly (FDR < 0.05) modulated genes: 29 of which down- and 38 up-regulated. These genes belong to several classes (metabolism, protein localization, cell proliferation, apoptosis, adhesion, stress response, cell cycle and DNA repair) that may represent several affected cell processes under the influence of cisplatin treatment. The expression pattern of three genes (RHOA, LIMK2 and TIMP2) was confirmed by the real time PCR method.

SUMO modification regulates BLM and RAD51 interaction at damaged replication forks

SUMO modification of BLM controls the switch between BLM's pro- and anti-recombinogenic roles in homologous recombination following DNA damage during replication.

The gene mutated in Bloom's syndrome, BLM, is important in the repair of damaged replication forks, and it has both pro- and anti-recombinogenic roles in homologous recombination (HR). At damaged forks, BLM interacts with RAD51 recombinase, the essential enzyme in HR that catalyzes homology-dependent strand invasion. We have previously shown that defects in BLM modification by the small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) cause increased γ-H2AX foci. Because the increased γ-H2AX could result from defective repair of spontaneous DNA damage, we hypothesized that SUMO modification regulates BLM's function in HR repair at damaged forks. To test this hypothesis, we treated cells that stably expressed a normal BLM (BLM+) or a SUMO-mutant BLM (SM-BLM) with hydroxyurea (HU) and examined the effects of stalled replication forks on RAD51 and its DNA repair functions. HU treatment generated excess γ-H2AX in SM-BLM compared to BLM+ cells, consistent with a defect in replication-fork repair. SM-BLM cells accumulated increased numbers of DNA breaks and were hypersensitive to DNA damage. Importantly, HU treatment failed to induce sister-chromatid exchanges in SM-BLM cells compared to BLM+ cells, indicating a specific defect in HR repair and suggesting that RAD51 function could be compromised. Consistent with this hypothesis, RAD51 localization to HU-induced repair foci was impaired in SM-BLM cells. These data suggested that RAD51 might interact noncovalently with SUMO. We found that in vitro RAD51 interacts noncovalently with SUMO and that it interacts more efficiently with SUMO-modified BLM compared to unmodified BLM. These data suggest that SUMOylation controls the switch between BLM's pro- and anti-recombinogenic roles in HR. In the absence of BLM SUMOylation, BLM perturbs RAD51 localization at damaged replication forks and inhibits fork repair by HR. Conversely, BLM SUMOylation relieves its inhibitory effects on HR, and it promotes RAD51 function.

Replication is the process in which cellular DNA is duplicated. DNA damage incurred during replication is detrimental to the cell. Homologous recombination, in which DNA sequences are exchanged between two similar or identical strands of DNA, plays a pivotal role in correcting replication processes that have failed due to DNA breakage and is tightly regulated, because deficient or excess recombination results in genomic instability. Previous studies have implicated the DNA-processing enzyme BLM in the regulation of homologous recombination; BLM is defective in Bloom's syndrome, which is characterized by excess recombination and cancer susceptibility. Here, we show that modification of BLM by the small protein SUMO controls BLM's function in regulating homologous recombination at sites where DNA replication failed. We showed that cells expressing a SUMO-deficient mutant of BLM accumulated more DNA damage and displayed defects in repair by homologous recombination. An enzyme involved in homologous recombination, RAD51, displayed a defect in localization to sites where DNA replication failed. Our data support a model in which SUMO modification regulates BLM's function in homologous recombination by controlling the localization of RAD51 to failed replication sites.

Crystal structure of an archaeal Rad51 homologue in complex with a metatungstate inhibitor

Archaeal RadAs are close homologues of eukaryal Rad51s ( approximately 40% sequence identities). These recombinases promote a hallmark strand exchange process between homologous single-stranded and double-stranded DNA substrates. This DNA-repairing function also plays a key role in cancer cells' resistance to chemo- and radiotherapy. Inhibition of the strand exchange process may render cancer cells more susceptible to therapeutic treatment. We found that metatungstate is a potent inhibitor of RadA from Methanococcus voltae. The tungsten cluster binds RadA in the axial DNA-binding groove. This polyanionic species appears to inhibit RadA by locking the protein in its inactive conformation.

Structural transitions within human Rad51 nucleoprotein filaments

Rad51 is a core component of the eukaryotic homologous recombination machinery and is responsible for key mechanistic steps during strand invasion. Higher order oligomers of Rad51 display a remarkable degree of structural variation, forming rings, compressed filaments, and elongated filaments. It is unclear whether Rad51 can transition directly between these different oligomeric structures without disassembling first into monomers. We have used single-molecule microscopy to investigate the behavior of human Rad51 assembled on double-stranded DNA. Our results show that human Rad51 can form elongated nucleoprotein filaments on DNA, but ATP hydrolysis causes a decrease in their length without concomitant dissociation of protein. Compressed Rad51 filaments can re-elongate when presented with either ATP or the non-hydrolyzable analog AMP-PNP, and these cycles of elongation and compression are reversible. A Rad51 mutant deficient in ATP hydrolysis is locked into an extended conformation that is incapable of transitioning to a compressed filament. Similarly, wild-type Rad51 bound to DNA in the presence of AMP-PNP was trapped in the elongated state. Proteins incapable of transitioning to the compressed state were also highly resistant to dissociation from the DNA. Taken together, our results indicate that nucleotide hydrolysis by human Rad51 triggers a reversible structural transition leading to filaments with reduced helical pitch.

DIDS, a chemical compound that inhibits RAD51-mediated homologous pairing and strand exchange

RAD51, an essential eukaryotic DNA recombinase, promotes homologous pairing and strand exchange during homologous recombination and the recombinational repair of double strand breaks. Mutations that up- or down-regulate RAD51 gene expression have been identified in several tumors, suggesting that inappropriate expression of the RAD51 activity may cause tumorigenesis. To identify chemical compounds that affect the RAD51 activity, in the present study, we performed the RAD51-mediated strand exchange assay in the presence of 185 chemical compounds. We found that 4,4′-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid (DIDS) efficiently inhibited the RAD51-mediated strand exchange. DIDS also inhibited the RAD51-mediated homologous pairing in the absence of RPA. A surface plasmon resonance analysis revealed that DIDS directly binds to RAD51. A gel mobility shift assay showed that DIDS significantly inhibited the DNA-binding activity of RAD51. Therefore, DIDS may bind near the DNA binding site(s) of RAD51 and compete with DNA for RAD51 binding.