UV-induced DNA incision and proliferating cell nuclear antigen recruitment to repair sites occur independently of p53-replication protein A interaction in p53 wild type and mutant ovarian carcinoma cells

The Intriguing Mystery of RPA Phosphorylation in DNA Double-Strand Break Repair

Human Replication Protein A (RPA) was historically discovered as one of the six components needed to reconstitute simian virus 40 DNA replication from purified components. RPA is now known to be involved in all DNA metabolism pathways that involve single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). Heterotrimeric RPA comprises several domains connected by flexible linkers and is heavily regulated by post-translational modifications (PTMs). The structure of RPA has been challenging to obtain. Various structural methods have been applied, but a complete understanding of RPA's flexible structure, its function, and how it is regulated by PTMs has yet to be obtained. This review will summarize recent literature concerning how RPA is phosphorylated in the cell cycle, the structural analysis of RPA, DNA and protein interactions involving RPA, and how PTMs regulate RPA activity and complex formation in double-strand break repair. There are many holes in our understanding of this research area. We will conclude with perspectives for future research on how RPA PTMs control double-strand break repair in the cell cycle.

E2F-7 couples DNA damage-dependent transcription with the DNA repair process

The cellular response to DNA damage, mediated by the DNA repair process, is essential in maintaining the integrity and stability of the genome. E2F-7 is an atypical member of the E2F family with a role in negatively regulating transcription and cell cycle progression under DNA damage. Surprisingly, we found that E2F-7 makes a transcription-independent contribution to the DNA repair process, which involves E2F-7 locating to and binding damaged DNA. Further, E2F-7 recruits CtBP and HDAC to the damaged DNA, altering the local chromatin environment of the DNA lesion. Importantly, the E2F-7 gene is a target for somatic mutation in human cancer and tumor-derived mutant alleles encode proteins with compromised transcription and DNA repair properties. Our results establish that E2F-7 participates in 2 closely linked processes, allowing it to directly couple the expression of genes involved in the DNA damage response with the DNA repair machinery, which has relevance in human malignancy.

Replication protein A is an independent prognostic indicator with potential therapeutic implications in colon cancer

Replication protein A (RPA), a component of the origin recognition complex, is required for stabilization of single-stranded DNA at early and later stages of DNA replication being thus critical for eukaryotic DNA replication. Experimental studies in colon cancer cell lines have shown that RPA protein may be the target of cytotoxins designed to inhibit cellular proliferation. This is the first study to investigate the expression of RPA1 and RPA2 subunits of RPA protein and assess their prognostic value in colon cancer patients. We analyzed immunohistochemically the expression of RPA1 and RPA2 proteins in a series of 130 colon cancer resection specimens in relation to conventional clinicopathological parameters and patients' survival. Statistical significant positive associations emerged between: (a) RPA1 and RPA2 protein expressions (P=0.0001), (b) RPA1 and RPA2 labelling indices (LIs) and advanced stage of the disease (P=0.001 and 0.003, respectively), (c) RPA1 and RPA2 LIs and the presence of lymph node metastasis (P=0.002 and 0.004, respectively), (d) RPA1 LI and the number of infiltrated lymph nodes (P=0.021), (e) RPA2 LI and histological grade of carcinomas (P=0.05). Moreover, a statistical significant higher RPA1 LI was observed in the metastatic sites compared to the original ones (P=0.012). RPA1 and RPA2 protein expression associated with adverse patients' outcome in both univariate (log rank test: P<0.00001 and 0.00001, respectively) and multivariate (Cox model: P=0.092 and 0.0001, respectively) statistical analysis. Statistical significant differences according to the expression of RPA1 and RPA2 proteins were also noticed in the survival of stage II (P<0.00001 and 0.0016, respectively) and stage III (P=0.0029 and 0.0079, respectively) patients. In conclusion, RPA1 and RPA2 proteins appear to be useful prognostic indicators in colon cancer patients and attractive therapeutic targets for regulation by tumor suppressors or other proteins involved in the control of cell proliferation.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of p21CDKN1A protein recruitment to DNA-damage sites and interaction with proliferating cell nuclear antigen

The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21CDKN1A plays a fundamental role in the DNA-damage response by inducing cell-cycle arrest, and by inhibiting DNA replication through association with the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). However, the role of such an interaction in DNA repair is poorly understood and controversial. Here, we provide evidence that a pool of p21 protein is rapidly recruited to UV-induced DNA-damage sites, where it colocalises with PCNA and PCNA-interacting proteins involved in nucleotide excision repair (NER), such as DNA polymerase δ, XPG and CAF-1. In vivo imaging and confocal fluorescence microscopy analysis of cells coexpressing p21 and PCNA fused to green or red fluorescent protein (p21-GFP, RFP-PCNA), showed a rapid relocation of both proteins at microirradiated nuclear spots, although dynamic measurements suggested that p21-GFP was recruited with slower kinetics. An exogenously expressed p21 mutant protein unable to bind PCNA neither colocalised, nor coimmunoprecipitated with PCNA after UV irradiation. In NER-deficient XP-A fibroblasts, p21 relocation was greatly delayed, concomitantly with that of PCNA. These results indicate that early recruitment of p21 protein to DNA-damage sites is a NER-related process dependent on interaction with PCNA, thus suggesting a direct involvement of p21 in DNA repair.

Cellular UV damage responses--functions of tumor suppressor p53

DNA damage, provoked by ultraviolet (UV) radiation, evokes a cellular damage response composed of activation of stress signaling and DNA checkpoint functions. These are translated to responses of replicative arrest, damage repair, and apoptosis aimed at cellular recovery from the damage. p53 tumor suppressor is a central stress response protein, activated by multiple endogenous and environmental insults, including UV radiation. The significance of p53 in the DNA damage responses has frequently been reviewed in the context of ionizing radiation or other double strand break (DSB)-inducing agents. Despite partly similar patterns, the molecular events following UV radiation are, however, distinct from the responses induced by DSBs and are profoundly coupled with transcriptional stress. These are illustrated, e.g., by the UV damage-specific translocations of Mdm2, promyelocytic leukemia protein, and nucleophosmin and their interactions with p53. In this review, we discuss UV damage-provoked cellular responses and the functions of p53 in damage recovery and cell death.

Replication Protein A phosphorylation and the cellular response to DNA damage

Defects in cellular DNA metabolism have a direct role in many human disease processes. Impaired responses to DNA damage and basal DNA repair have been implicated as causal factors in diseases with DNA instability like cancer, Fragile X and Huntington's. Replication protein A (RPA) is essential for multiple processes in DNA metabolism including DNA replication, recombination and DNA repair pathways (including nucleotide excision, base excision and double-strand break repair). RPA is a single-stranded DNA-binding protein composed of subunits of 70-, 32- and 14-kDa. RPA binds ssDNA with high affinity and interacts specifically with multiple proteins. Cellular DNA damage causes the N-terminus of the 32-kDa subunit of human RPA to become hyper-phosphorylated. Current data indicates that hyper-phosphorylation causes a change in RPA conformation that down-regulates activity in DNA replication but does not affect DNA repair processes. This suggests that the role of RPA phosphorylation in the cellular response to DNA damage is to help regulate DNA metabolism and promote DNA repair.

The 32-kilodalton subunit of replication protein A interacts with menin, the product of the MEN1 tumor suppressor gene

Menin is a 70-kDa protein encoded by MEN1, the tumor suppressor gene disrupted in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1. In a yeast two-hybrid system based on reconstitution of Ras signaling, menin was found to interact with the 32-kDa subunit (RPA2) of replication protein A (RPA), a heterotrimeric protein required for DNA replication, recombination, and repair. The menin-RPA2 interaction was confirmed in a conventional yeast two-hybrid system and by direct interaction between purified proteins. Menin-RPA2 binding was inhibited by a number of menin missense mutations found in individuals with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1, and the interacting regions were mapped to the N-terminal portion of menin and amino acids 43 to 171 of RPA2. This region of RPA2 contains a weak single-stranded DNA-binding domain, but menin had no detectable effect on RPA-DNA binding in vitro. Menin bound preferentially in vitro to free RPA2 rather than the RPA heterotrimer or a subcomplex consisting of RPA2 bound to the 14-kDa subunit (RPA3). However, the 70-kDa subunit (RPA1) was coprecipitated from HeLa cell extracts along with RPA2 by menin-specific antibodies, suggesting that menin binds to the RPA heterotrimer or a novel RPA1-RPA2-containing complex in vivo. This finding was consistent with the extensive overlap in the nuclear localization patterns of endogenous menin, RPA2, and RPA1 observed by immunofluorescence.