Kim Y, Lee JH, Park JE, Cho J, Yi H, Kim VN. PKR is activated by cellular dsRNAs during mitosis and acts as a mitotic regulator.
Genes Dev 2014;
28:1310-22. [PMID:
24939934 PMCID:
PMC4066401 DOI:
10.1101/gad.242644.114]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
dsRNA-dependent protein kinase R (PKR) plays a key role in innate immunity. PKR binds viral dsRNA and undergoes autophosphorylation, which leads to translational repression and signaling pathway modulation in infected cells. Kim et al. now show that PKR is activated during mitosis in uninfected cells. PKR interacts with dsRNAs formed by inverted Alu repeats, which become accessible to PKR during mitosis. Phosphorylated PKR then suppresses translation and coordinates mitosis. This study unveils a novel function of PKR and endogenous dsRNA mitosis in uninfected cells.
dsRNA-dependent protein kinase R (PKR) is a ubiquitously expressed enzyme well known for its roles in immune response. Upon binding to viral dsRNA, PKR undergoes autophosphorylation, and the phosphorylated PKR (pPKR) regulates translation and multiple signaling pathways in infected cells. Here, we found that PKR is activated in uninfected cells, specifically during mitosis, by binding to dsRNAs formed by inverted Alu repeats (IRAlus). While PKR and IRAlu-containing RNAs are segregated in the cytosol and nucleus of interphase cells, respectively, they interact during mitosis when nuclear structure is disrupted. Once phosphorylated, PKR suppresses global translation by phosphorylating the α subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2α). In addition, pPKR acts as an upstream kinase for c-Jun N-terminal kinase and regulates the levels of multiple mitotic factors such as CYCLINS A and B and POLO-LIKE KINASE 1 and phosphorylation of HISTONE H3. Disruption of PKR activation via RNAi or expression of a transdominant-negative mutant leads to misregulation of the mitotic factors, delay in mitotic progression, and defects in cytokinesis. Our study unveils a novel function of PKR and endogenous dsRNAs as signaling molecules during the mitosis of uninfected cells.
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