Biochemical analysis of the human EVL domains in homologous recombination

Biochemical analysis of the human ENA/VASP-family proteins, MENA, VASP and EVL, in homologous recombination

MENA, VASP and EVL are members of the ENA/VASP family of proteins and are involved in cytoplasmic actin remodeling. Previously, we found that EVL directly interacts with RAD51, an essential protein in the homologous recombinational repair of double-strand breaks (DSBs) and stimulates the RAD51-mediated recombination reactions in vitro. The EVL-knockdown MCF7 cells exhibited a clear reduction in RAD51-foci formation, suggesting that EVL may function in the DSB repair pathway through RAD51-mediated homologous recombination. However, the DSB repair defects were less significant in the EVL-knockdown cells, implying that two EVL paralogues, MENA and VASP, may complement the EVL function in human cells. Therefore, in the present study, we purified human MENA, VASP and EVL as recombinant proteins, and compared their biochemical activities in vitro. We found that all three proteins commonly exhibited the RAD51 binding, DNA binding and DNA-annealing activities. Stimulation of the RAD51-mediated homologous pairing was also observed with all three proteins. In addition, surface plasmon resonance analyses revealed that MENA, VASP and EVL mutually interacted. These results support the ideas that the ENA/VASP-family proteins are functionally redundant in homologous recombination, and that all three may be involved in the DSB repair pathway in humans.

Single-stranded DNA catenation mediated by human EVL and a type I topoisomerase

The human Ena/Vasp-like (EVL) protein is considered to be a bifunctional protein, involved in both actin remodeling and homologous recombination. In the present study, we found that human EVL forms heat-stable multimers of circular single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) molecules in the presence of a type I topoisomerase in vitro. An electron microscopic analysis revealed that the heat-stable ssDNA multimers formed by EVL and topoisomerase were ssDNA catemers. The ssDNA catenation did not occur when either EVL or topoisomerase was omitted from the reaction mixture. A deletion analysis revealed that the ssDNA catenation completely depended on the annealing activity of EVL. Human EVL was captured from a human cell extract by TOPO IIIα-conjugated beads, and the interaction between EVL and TOPO IIIα was confirmed by a surface plasmon resonance analysis. Purified TOPO IIIα catalyzed the ssDNA catenation with EVL as efficiently as the Escherichia coli topoisomerase I. Since the ssDNA cutting and rejoining reactions, which are the sub-steps of ssDNA catenation, may be an essential process in homologous recombination, EVL and TOPO IIIα may function in the processing of DNA intermediates formed during homologous recombination.