Hyperphosphorylation of replication protein A middle subunit (RPA32) in apoptosis. (1/752)

Replication protein A (RPA) is a trimeric single-stranded DNA (ssDNA)-binding complex of eukaryotic cells that plays an important role in DNA metabolism by stabilising single-stranded regions of DNA. The functionally important binding activity towards ssDNA is mainly localised on the large subunit, RPA70, whereas the middle subunit, RPA32, appears to have a regulatory function. It has been shown previously that RPA32 is phosphorylated both during the S-phase of a normal cell cycle and in response to DNA damage. In this study we demonstrate that phosphorylation of RPA32 is rapidly induced during apoptotic cell death of Jurkat T-lymphocytes, resulting in a hyperphosphorylated form with reduced electrophoretic mobility. In contrast, the large subunit of RPA is neither modified nor cleaved during apoptosis. Phosphorylation of RPA32 begins in parallel to the degradation of DNA to high molecular weight fragments, and slowly continues until late apoptosis. Experiments with specific kinase inhibitors indicate that RPA32 hyperphosphorylation requires the activities of DNA-dependent protein kinase and of a cyclin-dependent protein kinase. Interestingly, the hyperphosphorylated, but not the less phosphorylated forms of RPA32, sediments independently from the trimeric complex in sucrose gradients under high ionic strength, and is not bound to the complex in immunoprecipitation assays.  (+info)

Resonance assignments, solution structure, and backbone dynamics of the DNA- and RPA-binding domain of human repair factor XPA. (2/752)

XPA is involved in the damage recognition step of nucleotide excision repair (NER). XPA binds to other repair factors, and acts as a key element in NER complex formation. The central domain of human repair factor XPA (residues Met98 to Phe219) is responsible for the preferential binding to damaged DNA and to replication protein A (RPA). The domain consists of a zinc-containing subdomain with a compact globular structure and a C-terminal subdomain with a positively charged cleft in a novel alpha/beta structure. The resonance assignments and backbone dynamics of the central domain of human XPA were studied by multidimensional heteronuclear NMR methods. 15N relaxation data were obtained at two static magnetic fields, and analyzed by means of the model-free formalism under the assumption of isotropic or anisotropic rotational diffusion. In addition, exchange contributions were estimated by analysis of the spectral density function at zero frequency. The results show that the domain exhibits a rotational diffusion anisotropy (Dparallel/Dperpendicular) of 1.38, and that most of the flexible regions exist on the DNA binding surface in the cleft in the C-terminal subdomain. This flexibility may be involved in the interactions of XPA with various kinds of damaged DNA.  (+info)

Replication-mediated DNA damage by camptothecin induces phosphorylation of RPA by DNA-dependent protein kinase and dissociates RPA:DNA-PK complexes. (3/752)

Replication protein A (RPA) is a DNA single-strand binding protein essential for DNA replication, recombination and repair. In human cells treated with the topoisomerase inhibitors camptothecin or etoposide (VP-16), we find that RPA2, the middle-sized subunit of RPA, becomes rapidly phosphorylated. This response appears to be due to DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) and to be independent of p53 or the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) protein. RPA2 phosphorylation in response to camptothecin required ongoing DNA replication. Camptothecin itself partially inhibited DNA synthesis, and this inhibition followed the same kinetics as DNA-PK activation and RPA2 phosphorylation. DNA-PK activation and RPA2 phosphorylation were prevented by the cell-cycle checkpoint abrogator 7-hydroxystaurosporine (UCN-01), which markedly potentiates camptothecin cytotoxicity. The DNA-PK catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) was found to bind RPA which was replaced by the Ku autoantigen upon camptothecin treatment. DNA-PKcs interacted directly with RPA1 in vitro. We propose that the encounter of a replication fork with a topoisomerase-DNA cleavage complex could lead to a juxtaposition of replication fork-associated RPA and DNA double-strand end-associated DNA-PK, leading to RPA2 phosphorylation which may signal the presence of DNA damage to an S-phase checkpoint mechanism. KEYWORDS: camptothecin/DNA damage/DNA-dependent protein kinase/RPA2 phosphorylation  (+info)

Replication fork assembly at recombination intermediates is required for bacterial growth. (4/752)

PriA, a 3' --> 5' DNA helicase, directs assembly of a primosome on some bacteriophage and plasmid DNAs. Primosomes are multienzyme replication machines that contribute both the DNA-unwinding and Okazaki fragment-priming functions at the replication fork. The role of PriA in chromosomal replication is unclear. The phenotypes of priA null mutations suggest that the protein participates in replication restart at recombination intermediates. We show here that PriA promotes replication fork assembly at a D loop, an intermediate formed during initiation of homologous recombination. We also show that DnaC810, encoded by a naturally arising intergenic suppressor allele of the priA2::kan mutation, bypasses the need for PriA during replication fork assembly at D loops in vitro. These findings underscore the essentiality of replication fork restart at recombination intermediates under normal growth conditions in bacteria.  (+info)

Sensitized photomodification of mammalian DNA polymerase beta. A new approach for highly selective affinity labeling of polymerases. (5/752)

To enhance the specificity of polymerase photoaffinity labeling, a novel approach based on sensitized photomodification has been developed. A base-substituted analog of TTP containing a pyrene group (PyrdUTP) was synthesized and used as an active site-bound photosensitizer for photoaffinity modification of DNA polymerase beta (pol beta). 5'-[32P]-labeled primer was elongated in situ by pol beta with a photoreactive analog of TTP (FAB-4-dUTP). The pyrene sensitizer (PyrdUTP), excited by light (365-450 nm), can activate the photoreagent, cross-linking it to pol beta as a result of fluorescence resonance energy transfer. The initial rate of pol beta photomodification was shown to increase by a factor of ten. The selectivity of pol beta photosensitized modification was proved by adding human replication protein A.  (+info)

Interactions of the papovavirus DNA replication initiator proteins, bovine papillomavirus type 1 E1 and simian virus 40 large T antigen, with human replication protein A. (6/752)

Papovaviruses utilize predominantly cellular DNA replication proteins to replicate their own viral genomes. To appropriate the cellular DNA replication machinery, simian virus 40 (SV40) large T antigen (Tag) binds to three different cellular replication proteins, the DNA polymerase alpha-primase complex, the replication protein A (RPA) complex, and topoisomerase I. The functionally similar papillomavirus E1 protein has also been shown to bind to the DNA polymerase alpha-primase complex. Enzyme-linked immunoassay-based protein interaction assays and protein affinity pull-down assays were used to show that the papillomavirus E1 protein also binds to the cellular RPA complex in vitro. Furthermore, SV40 Tag was able to compete with bovine papillomavirus type 1 E1 for binding to RPA. Each of the three RPA subunits was individually overexpressed in Escherichia coli as a soluble fusion protein. These fusion proteins were used to show that the E1-RPA and Tag-RPA interactions are primarily mediated through the 70-kDa subunit of RPA. These results suggest that different viruses have evolved similar mechanisms for taking control of the cellular DNA replication machinery.  (+info)

Bloom's syndrome protein, BLM, colocalizes with replication protein A in meiotic prophase nuclei of mammalian spermatocytes. (7/752)

Bloom's syndrome (BS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of humans characterized by severe pre- and postnatal growth deficiency, immunodeficiency, genomic instability, and a predisposition to a wide variety of neoplasms. The genomic instability is evidenced in BS somatic cells as a high incidence of gaps and breaks, chromatid exchanges, chromosome rearrangements, and locus-specific mutations. BS arises from a mutation in BLM, a gene encoding a protein with homology to the RecQ helicase family. Men with BS are sterile; women have reduced fertility and a shortened reproductive span. The current immunocytological study on mouse spermatocytes shows that the BLM protein is first evident as discrete foci along the synaptonemal complexes (SCs) of homologously synapsed autosomal bivalents in late zygonema of meiotic prophase. BLM foci progressively dissociate from the synapsed autosomal axes during early pachynema and are no longer seen in mid-pachynema. BLM colocalizes with the single-stranded DNA binding replication protein A, which has been shown to be involved in meiotic synapsis. However, there is a temporal delay in the appearance of BLM protein along the SCs relative to replication protein A, suggesting that BLM is required for a late step in processing of a subset of genomic DNA involved in establishment of interhomologue interactions in early meiotic prophase. In late pachynema and into diplonema, BLM is more dispersed in the nucleoplasm, especially over the chromatin most intimately associated with the SCs, suggesting a possible involvement of BLM in resolution of interlocks in preparation for homologous chromosome disjunction during anaphase I.  (+info)

Replication protein A (RPA) binding to duplex cisplatin-damaged DNA is mediated through the generation of single-stranded DNA. (8/752)

Replication protein A (RPA) is a heterotrimeric protein composed of 70-, 34-, and 14-kDa subunits that has been shown to be required for DNA replication, repair, and homologous recombination. We have previously shown preferential binding of recombinant human RPA (rhRPA) to duplex cisplatin-damaged DNA compared with the control undamaged DNA (Patrick, S. M., and Turchi, J. J. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 8808-8815). Here we assess the binding of rhRPA to DNA containing site-specific cisplatin-DNA adducts. rhRPA is shown to bind 1.5-2-fold better to a duplex 30-base pair substrate containing a single 1,3d(GpXpG) compared with a 1,2d(GpG) cisplatin-DNA intrastrand adduct, consistent with the difference in thermal stability of DNA containing each adduct. Consistent with these data, a 21-base pair DNA substrate containing a centrally located single interstrand cisplatin cross-link resulted in less binding than to the undamaged control DNA. A series of experiments measuring rhRPA binding and concurrent DNA denaturation revealed that rhRPA binds duplex cisplatin-damaged DNA via the generation of single-stranded DNA. Single-strand DNA binding experiments show that rhRPA binds 3-4-fold better to an undamaged 24-base DNA compared with the same substrate containing a single 1,2d(GpG) cisplatin-DNA adduct. These data are consistent with a low affinity interaction of rhRPA with duplex-damaged DNA followed by the generation of single-stranded DNA and then high affinity binding to the undamaged DNA strand.  (+info)