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Molecular and Cellular Biology, November 2005, p. 9910-9919, Vol. 25, No. 22
0270-7306/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/MCB.25.22.9910-9919.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology,1 Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710,2 Department of Functional Genomics, GeneTrove (Division of Isis Pharmaceuticals), Carlsbad, California 920083
Received 30 December 2004/ Returned for modification 24 January 2005/ Accepted 8 August 2005
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ATR exists as a complex with a regulatory protein ATRIP (ATR-interacting protein) (16). Recent studies have shown that through the interaction with ATRIP, replication protein A (RPA)-coated single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) recruits the ATR complex to sites of DNA damage or a stalled replication fork and facilitates the recognition of ATR substrates for phosphorylation and initiation of checkpoint signaling (47). RPA is a heterotrimeric complex composed of the 70- (RPA1), 32- (RPA2), and 14- (RPA3) kDa subunits that is essential for DNA replication, recombination, and repair through its recognition and coating of ssDNA, a common structure generated at the sites of DNA damage or a stalled replication fork (22, 41). Depletion of RPA from Xenopus laevis extracts could prevent the binding of ATR to chromatin (24, 42). Inhibition of RPA expression in mammalian cells abrogates the ATR-mediated phosphorylation of Chk1 (37) and impairs the ability of ATR to form nuclear foci upon exposure to aphidicolin (17). Taken together, these results suggest that RPA may function as an upstream regulator of the ATR-mediated checkpoint signaling pathway. However, RPA-independent ATR activation has also been reported (11, 18). Thus, the exact function of RPA in ATR activation remains to be further explored.
Unlike ATR, the ATM kinase has been demonstrated to display a significantly higher catalytic activity, as reflected by the substantial increase in both the autophosphorylation on Ser1981 of ATM and the phosphorylation of its substrates in response to ionizing radiation (IR)-induced DNA damage (1, 4). A number of proteins have recently been implicated to play a role in the initial activation of the ATM kinase upon IR exposure, including the MRN complex, PP2A, and PP5 (3, 20, 25, 34). PP5 is a member of the serine/threonine phosphatase family that also includes PP1, PP2A, and PP2B. PP5 contains an N-terminal regulatory domain with three tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) motifs and a C-terminal catalytic domain (14). Through the TPR domain, PP5 interacts with a number of proteins and has been reported to be involved in regulating various biological processes, including the activity of glucocorticoid receptor (13, 31), apoptosis (28), and cell growth (48). Our recent findings on the requirement of PP5 in the IR-induced activation of the ATM kinase defined a novel role for PP5 in the regulation of the ATM-mediated DNA damage checkpoint pathway (3).
Although the activity of the ATR-mediated checkpoint pathway has been considered to be regulated at the subcellular localization rather than its catalytic activity, the structural similarity and overlapping functions between the two checkpoint kinases prompted us to test whether PP5 could play a similar regulatory role for ATR as for ATM. In the present study, we demonstrate that PP5 forms an inducible complex with ATR in response to a variety of genotoxic insults. Down-regulation of PP5 protein expression level or overexpression of a dominant-negative PP5 mutant decreases the phosphorylation of the known ATR substrates, hRad17 and Chk1, in UV-irradiated or replication-stalled cells. Functionally, PP5 is required for the UV-induced replication checkpoint and the hydroxyurea-triggered S-M checkpoint, two S-phase checkpoint pathways mediated by ATR. Although the formation of genotoxic stress-induced ATR intranuclear foci is not changed in cells with PP5 suppression, the focus formation of RPA is significantly reduced. Together, our results suggest that PP5 plays a critical role in the regulation of ATR activity and place PP5 in a specific position in the ATR-mediated signaling cascade.
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Plasmids, oligonucleotides, and siRNA. PP5 constructs containing an N-terminal HA or C-terminal FLAG epitope have been described previously (3). The FLAG-ATR expression plasmid was kindly provided by Robert T. Abraham at the Burnham Institute. Control adenovirus or recombinant adenoviruses encoding FLAG-PP5WT or FLAG-PP5MT were generated and produced as previously described (3). Antisense oligonucleotides targeting PP5 (ISIS 15534 and ISIS 15521) were provided by ISIS pharmaceuticals and were transfected as described elsewhere (48). Control short interfering RNA (siRNA) duplex specific for green fluorescence protein and synthetic siRNA duplexes targeting PP5 (PP5 siRNA, 5'-AACAUAUUCGAGCUCAACGGU-3', or PP5 siRNA-2, 5'-AAGATCGTGAAGCAGAAGGCC-3') were purchased from Dharmacon Research Inc. HeLa cells were transfected with 20 µM siRNA duplexes and oligofectamine (Invitrogen) and were analyzed 72 h after transfection. To stably knock down the expression of PP5 and ATR, gene-specific inserts were cloned into the mammalian expression vector pSUPER-Retro (pSR) according to the manufacturer's (OligoEngine) instructions. The retrovirus was produced in HEK 293T cells, and the virus-containing media were harvested for infection. The targeting sequence of PP5 for stable siRNA expression was 5'-CATATTCGAGCTCAACGGT-3'. The sequences of ATR for stable siRNA expression were 5'-AGCCACTTCTCAACATGAA-3' and 5'-GTCAGCAGCTTTATCTGAA-3'.
Protein analysis, immunoprecipitation, and immunoblotting. To examine the interaction between ATR and PP5, HEK 293T cells were harvested with lysis buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.4, 150 mM NaCl, 0.5% NP-40, 1 mM dithiothreitol) supplemented with protease inhibitors (20 µg/ml leupeptin, 10 µg/ml pepstatin A, 10 µg/ml aprotonin) and phosphatase inhibitors (20 mM ß-glycerophosphate, 50 nM microcystin-LR). The cleared lysates were immunoprecipitated with the indicated antibodies and protein A/G-Sepharose. The immunoprecipitates were washed three times with lysis buffer, solubilized with sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) sample buffer, electrophoresed, and analyzed by immunoblotting.
Inhibition of DNA synthesis assay. Forty-eight hours after siRNA transfection, HeLa cells were incubated with [14C]thymidine (20 nCi/ml; NEN) for 24 h. The cells were then exposed to UV light. After 2 h, cells were pulse-labeled with [3H]thymidine (2.5 µCi/ml; NEN) for 1 h. The cells were then harvested as described previously (15). The radioactivity was determined by liquid scintillation counting, and the relative DNA synthesis rate was calculated with the following equation: ([3H]/[14C])after UV/([3H]/[14C])before UV. All samples were tested in triplicate, and consistent results were obtained among three independent experiments.
Immunofluorescence microscopy. Monolayer cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde followed by permeabilization with 0.5% Triton X-100. After blocking with 3% bovine serum albumin, cells were then incubated with the indicated antibodies diluted according to the manufacturer's suggestions at 4°C overnight. Following three phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) washes, cells were incubated with secondary antibodies for 1 h. After washing with PBS, the cells were stained with Hoechst (Sigma). Samples were visualized on a Zeiss LSM410 confocal microscope. The anti-ATR/FRP1 (C-19) antibody from Santa Cruz and anti-RPA2 (Ab-3) antibody from Oncogene Research Products were used for immunofluorescence staining.
Flow cytometric analysis. For cell cycle analysis, cells were fixed with 70% ethanol and then incubated with RNase A (100 µg/ml) and propidium iodide (50 µg/ml) for 30 min at 37°C. Cell cycle distributions were analyzed by a flow cytometer. For detection of phosphorylated histone H3, cells were fixed in 70% ethanol and resuspended in 0.25% Triton X-100 in PBS. The cells were then incubated with the anti-phospho-histone H3 antibody and a fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated secondary antibody. After counterstaining with propidium iodide, the phospho-histone H3 fluorescence and DNA content were determined by a FACScan flow cytometer (BD Biosciences) and analyzed using CellQuest software.
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FIG. 1. Genotoxic stress-induced association of PP5 with ATR. (A) Ectopically expressed PP5 interacts with ATR in response to genotoxic stress. After transfection, HEK 293T cells were treated with 100 ng/ml NCS, 100 J/m2 UV, or 10 mM HU for 30 min. Coimmunoprecipitated PP5 was detected by anti-FLAG immunoprecipitation (IP) followed by anti-HA immunoblotting (IB) (upper panel). (B) PP5MT (a catalytically inactive form of PP5) remains capable of interacting with ATR. HEK 293T cells transfected with the indicated plasmids were treated with UV (100 J/m2) for 1 hour. Cellular extracts were immunoprecipitated with anti-FLAG antibody and analyzed by immunoblotting with anti-HA antibody. (C) Association between endogenous PP5 and ATR induced by replication block. HEK 293T cells were left untreated or treated with 10 mM HU for 30 min or 1 hour. Cellular extracts were immunoprecipitated with anti-ATR antibody and analyzed by immunoblotting with anti-ATR or anti-PP5 antibody as indicated. Normal goat immunoglobulin G (IgG) was used as a negative control. The amounts of ATR and PP5 in total cell lysates were determined and are shown in the lower two panels.
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FIG. 2. Reduction in PP5 expression or activity results in an impairment of UV- or replication stress-induced phosphorylation of hRad17 and Chk1. (A) Decreased PP5 expression attenuates DNA damage-induced phosphorylation of hRad17 and Chk1. After transfection with PP5 antisense or mismatch oligonucleotides, A549 cells were exposed to 100 ng/ml NCS or UV (100 J/m2) and harvested 1 hour after the treatment. Amounts of hRad17pSer635, total hRad17, Chk1pSer345, total Chk1, PP5, and PP2A (catalytic subunit) were determined by immunoblotting (IB) with the respective antibodies and are shown in the indicated panels. (B) Expression of a catalytically inactive form of PP5 reduces ATR-mediated phosphorylation of hRad17 and Chk1. After infection with the indicated adenoviruses, A549 cells were exposed to 100 J/m2 UV or 10 mM HU and then incubated for 1 hour. Cell lysates were immunoblotted as indicated. (C) UV-induced phosphorylation of hRad17 and Chk1 is abrogated in ATM/ MEFs expressing the PP5 mutant. After infection, ATM/ MEFs were exposed to 100 J/m2 of UV and harvested 1 hour later. Anti-ß-catenin antibody was used as the loading control.
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It is worth noting that treatment of cells with NCS also induced the phosphorylation of hRad17 at Ser635 and Chk1 at Ser345 (Fig. 2A, top and third panels). Moreover, the phosphorylation of these two molecules was decreased in PP5 antisense-transfected cells following NCS treatment. The NCS-induced DNA double-stranded breaks primarily activate the ATM kinase, although ATR functions at the late stage of the checkpoint (2). Considering the overlapping substrate specificity between ATM and ATR and our recent finding that PP5 regulates the kinase activity of ATM (3), we next determined whether ATR but not ATM is mainly involved in the UV- or replication stress-induced phosphorylation of hRad17 and Chk1 observed under our assaying conditions. To rule out a possible role for ATM in this process, ATM-deficient MEFs were infected with control or recombinant adenoviruses expressing wild-type or mutant PP5. Immunoblotting analysis revealed that the phosphorylation of hRad17 at Ser635 and Chk1 at Ser345 was stimulated by UV treatment in control cells (Fig. 2C), consistent with previous observations that in cells damaged by genotoxic insults other than IR, Chk1 and hRad17 are phosphorylated primarily by ATR (5, 26, 27, 45). More importantly, expression of the dominant interfering PP5 mutant in ATM/ MEFs significantly inhibited the UV-induced hRad17 and Chk1 phosphorylation, suggesting that PP5 could specifically target the ATR-mediated checkpoint pathway. Collectively, these results indicate that interference with PP5 activity leads to impairment of the ability of ATR to phosphorylate its substrates in UV-irradiated or replication-stalled cells.
A role for PP5 in S-phase checkpoints. In response to UV irradiation, eukaryotic cells activate the replication checkpoint to slow down DNA synthesis (1, 7). Accumulating evidence indicates that ATR is intimately linked to this process (29). To determine whether PP5 was involved in the ATR-mediated replication checkpoint, we suppressed PP5 expression in HeLa cells by transfection with siRNA specific for PP5. As shown in Fig. 3A, introduction of synthetic siRNA duplexes led to a reduction of more than 80% of PP5 protein. We next confirmed that inhibition of PP5 expression resulted in the abrogation of UV- or HU-induced Chk1 phosphorylation (data not shown). In addition, treatment of HeLa cells with another synthetic siRNA duplex (PP5 siRNA-2) with lower knockdown efficiency also reduced the HU- or UV-induced phosphorylation of Chk1 to a lesser extent (data not shown). In subsequent experiments, we determined the effect of reduced PP5 expression on the UV-induced replication checkpoint activation. At 72 h after HeLa cells were transfected with control or PP5 siRNA duplexes, the cells were left untreated or exposed to UV irradiation and the DNA synthesis rates were then determined by a [3H]thymidine incorporation assay. As expected, control cells showed a dosage-dependent inhibition of DNA synthesis following UV treatment (Fig. 3B; 45% and 29% of that prior to UV treatment, respectively). In contrast, cells treated with PP5 siRNA had a modest decrease in DNA synthesis (Fig. 3B; 58% and 44%, respectively), suggesting that the ability of those cells to suppress DNA synthesis is compromised. To rule out the possibility that the observed UV-resistant DNA synthesis is due to altered cell cycle by PP5 inhibition, we next determined the cell cycle distribution of transfected HeLa cells. Although loss of functional PP5 sensitized cells to apoptosis, there was little or no defect in S-phase progression in PP5-depleted cells or cells expressing the PP5 mutant (data not shown).
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FIG. 3. PP5 is involved in the UV-induced replication checkpoint. (A) Suppression of PP5 expression by synthetic siRNA duplexes. HeLa cells were transfected with control green fluorescent protein siRNA or siRNA specific for PP5. Seventy-two hours after transfection, cells were harvested and subjected to SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting (IB) using antibody against PP5. The expression level of hRad17 is shown as the loading control. (B) Involvement of PP5 in the UV-induced replication checkpoint. At 72 h after transfection, HeLa cells were exposed to 100 J/m2 or 200 J/m2 UV light and incubated for another 3 hours. DNA synthesis rates were determined as described in Materials and Methods. (C) Combined depletion of PP5 and ATR. HeLa cells were infected with retroviruses containing empty vector (pSR) or siRNA sequences targeting ATR (pSR-ATR). After 2 weeks of puromycin selection, HeLa cells were transfected with control or synthetic PP5 siRNA duplexes. The expression levels of ATR and PP5 were examined by immunoblotting. (D) UV-induced inhibition of DNA synthesis in cells with PP5, ATR, or combined PP5 and ATR depletion. HeLa cell lines were irradiated with 100 J/m2 UV, and the DNA synthesis rates were determined 3 hours later. All samples were tested in triplicate, and consistent results were obtained from three independent experiments. The relative rates of DNA synthesis prior to DNA damage were similar in control and PP5 knockdown cells.
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During S phase, upon exposure to various genotoxic stresses, cells also trigger another checkpoint, S-M checkpoint, to prevent the onset of mitosis before DNA replication is complete (7). It has been found that the ATR-Chk1 pathway is essential for the activation of this checkpoint (10, 43, 44). Our observation that PP5 was required for the phosphorylation of Chk1 after UV or HU treatment has prompted us to determine whether PP5 plays an important role in regulating the ATR/Chk1-mediated S-M checkpoint. First, we stably knocked down the expression of PP5 in human diploid BJ fibroblasts through retrovirus-delivered siRNA (see Fig. 5A, below) and examined the association between ATR and ATRIP in the PP5 knockdown cells. No disruption of ATR-ATRIP interaction was observed after suppression of PP5 (data not shown). We next examined the percentage of cells that prematurely entered mitosis after HU treatment using phospho-specific histone H3 (Ser10) antibody as a marker for mitotic cells (40). The BJ fibroblasts were first synchronized to G1/S phase through serum starvation and subsequent serum stimulation. The cells were then treated with HU to inhibit DNA synthesis together with a microtubule-disrupting agent, nocodazole, to trap mitotic cells. As shown in Fig. 4B, both the control cells (pSR) and PP5 knockdown cells (pSR-PP5) accumulated in mitosis in the absence of HU treatment, as indicated by the majority of cells stained positive for phospho-histone H3 at residue serine 10 after 20 hours of nocodazole treatment (83% and 79%, respectively). After HU treatment, very few (
16%) control cells were mitotic, indicating a functional S-M checkpoint in these cells. In contrast, a significant portion (
58%) of cells with stable PP5 knockdown were stained positive with the phospho-histone H3 antibody, suggesting that they entered into mitosis prematurely. Together, our results found that PP5 is required for the ATR-mediated S-M checkpoint, suggesting that PP5 resides in the same signaling pathway as ATR.
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FIG. 5. Differential requirements of PP5 in nuclear focus formation by ATR and RPA in response to genotoxic stress. (A) PP5 is required for the nuclear focus formation of RPA but not ATR. HeLa cells were transfected with control or PP5 siRNA for 72 hours. Five hours after HU (10 mM) or UV (100 J/m2) exposure, cells were fixed and costained with anti-ATR antibody and anti-RPA2 antibody. The localization of ATR and RPA was observed under immunofluorescence microscopy. The percentages of cells with ATR foci (B) or RPA foci (C) were determined from a total of over 200 cells and graphed (mean ± standard deviation from at least three experiments). (D) Suppression of PP5 expression in siRNA-transfected cells. In a parallel experiment, 5 hours after treatment, the cells were harvested and subjected to SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting (IB) with anti-PP5 antibody. The expression level of hRad17 is shown as the loading control. (E) Inhibition of UV-induced RPA2 phosphorylation by the PP5 mutant. A549 cells were infected with control or recombinant adenoviruses encoding wild-type or mutant PP5. Twenty-four hours after infection, cell were exposed to 100 J/m2 UV irradiation and harvested 3 hours later. The cell lysates were subjected to 12% SDS-PAGE, and the phosphorylation of RPA2 was determined by the slow migrating bands on the immunoblot.
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FIG. 4. PP5 is required for the ATR-mediated S-M checkpoint. (A) Stable down-regulation of PP5 by retrovirus-delivered siRNA. Human diploid BJ fibroblasts were infected with control virus (pSR) or retrovirus expressing PP5 siRNA (pSR-PP5). Two weeks after selection, the cells were harvested and subjected to SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting (IB) with anti-PP5 antibody. The expression level of ß-tubulin is shown as the loading control. (B) HU-induced S-M checkpoint is abrogated in PP5 knockdown cells. After serum starvation, BJ cells were allowed to return to normal culture medium and synchronized in G1/S phase. The cells were then left untreated or treated with 10 mM HU and 0.5 µg/ml nocodazole as indicated for 20 hours, followed by flow cytometric analysis after staining with anti-phospho-histone H3 antibody. The open boxes contained cells positive for phospho-histone H3.
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It has been shown that RPA colocalizes with ATR to nuclear foci after IR or replication stress and is required for ATR focus formation (17, 47). However, other studies suggested that the genotoxic stress-induced intranuclear translocation of RPA was an active process regulated by the kinase activity of ATR (6). To further explore the role of PP5 in the ATR-mediated checkpoint activation, we next examined the localization of RPA in the same cells shown in Fig. 5A. Antibody against RPA2, the second largest subunit of the heterotrimeric RPA protein complex, was used to monitor the potential changes in RPA localization. As expected, exposure of control cells to HU or UV treatment resulted in an increase of cells with RPA foci in the nucleus (Fig. 5A). Notably, RPA foci were formed in about 24% of the cells after HU treatment and 18% of the cells following UV irradiation (Fig. 5C). In contrast, we observed a significant reduction of RPA foci in cells treated with PP5 siRNA (Fig. 5A and C), with 9% for HU and 6% for UV treatment of total cells, respectively, whereas the level of ATR focus formation remained unchanged. Taken together, these results suggest that PP5 is required for the nuclear focus formation of RPA in response to genotoxic stress, but not for that of ATR.
Previously, it has been shown that upon DNA damage RPA2 is phosphorylated by the phosphoinositide 3-kinase related protein kinases (PIKK) and the kinases both colocalizes and interacts with RPA at the sites of damage (9). Interestingly, in HeLa cells with stable knockdown of ATR, we observed a decreased phosphorylation of RPA2 following UV treatment (data not shown), suggesting that ATR is the kinase for the UV-induced RPA2 phosphorylation. To further explore the molecular mechanism underlying the differential effects of PP5 on ATR and RPA localization, we next determined the ATR-dependent phosphorylation of RPA in cells with impaired function of PP5. A549 cells were infected with control or recombinant adenoviruses encoding wild-type or mutant PP5. Three hours after exposure to UV light, the phosphorylation of RPA2 was determined and is shown in Fig. 5E. In control cells or cells expressing wild-type PP5, UV irradiation resulted in a strong phosphorylation of RPA2, as indicated by the slowest mobility shift band. However, the hyperphosphorylation of RPA2 was barely detectable in cells overexpressing the PP5 mutant, suggesting that the catalytic activity of PP5 is required for RPA phosphorylation. Together, our results indicated that PP5 may regulate the nuclear focus formation of RPA through modulation of its phosphorylation by ATR.
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The precise mechanism by which ATR becomes activated by DNA damage or replication stress has remained one of the main questions unresolved in checkpoint signaling. Accumulating evidence has suggested that RPA-coated ssDNA is required for the recruitment of the ATR-ATRIP complex to sites of DNA damage and facilitates the recognition of ATR substrates, implicating RPA as an upstream regulator of the ATR kinase (47). However, additional evidence suggests a much more complicated role of RPA in the ATR-mediated checkpoint activation. Upon DNA damage, RPA is phosphorylated by PIKK, and the hyperphosphorylation event has been proposed to redirect RPA activity from DNA replication to DNA repair (reviewed by Binz et al. [9]), as indicated by the observation that a hyperphosphorylation-mimetic mutant of RPA2 was unable to associate with replication centers but competent to associate with DNA damage foci (35). In our current studies, we have found that the UV-induced hyperphosphorylation of RPA2 was dependent on the presence of ATR, suggesting that ATR functions as the checkpoint kinase to modulate RPA activity. It is possible that RPA plays dual roles during the process of ATR activation, initially recruiting the ATR-ATRIP complex to the sites of DNA damage and accumulating in the damage-induced nuclear foci after being phosphorylated by ATR to facilitate further checkpoint activation and DNA repair (9). More intriguingly, studies of the localization of RPA in the presence of an ATR kinase-inactive mutant have suggested that the nuclear focus formation of RPA is an active process regulated by ATR (6). Thus, it is tempting to speculate that the phosphorylation of RPA by ATR is required for its nuclear focus formation. Accordingly, our observation of the diminished nuclear focus formation of RPA in PP5 knockdown cells may suggest a role of PP5 in regulating the kinase activity of ATR, similar to the role of PP5 as a critical modulator of ATM activation (3).
Unlike ATM, it has been difficult to detect increased activity of immunoprecipitated ATR after DNA damage (1), although a few recent papers have observed ATR activation in vitro (23, 36). Indeed, when we performed an ATR immuno-complex kinase assay using glutathione S-transferase-hRad17 as the substrate, no increase of ATR kinase activity was observed after UV treatment (data not shown). Moreover, down-regulation of PP5 appeared to have no effect on the kinase activity of ATR under the same in vitro assay conditions (data not shown). However, these negative results may be the consequence of technical difficulties in performing the in vitro ATR kinase assay and could not be used to rule out the possibility that ATR is subject to activation by genotoxic stress signals with PP5 functioning as a modulator to increase the catalytic activity of the ATR kinase. It is important to note that the nuclear focus formation of ATR was reported to depend on its catalytic activity (6), a notion that is apparently inconsistent with our observation that the loss of PP5 function exerted an insignificant effect on the localization of ATR. However, it is possible that instead of directly targeting the enzymatic activity, PP5 may regulate the ATR kinase through modulating its substrate accessibility.
In addition to the previous and the present reports on the involvement of PP5 in regulating the activity of ATM and ATR, PP5 has recently been shown to interact and regulate the activity of DNA-dependent protein kinase through dephosphorylation of specific sites (39). ATM, ATR, and DNA-dependent protein kinase all belong to the same PIKK family, which shares a certain degree of structural similarity and conserved modes of recruitment to DNA damage sites, as reported recently (19). The involvement of PP5 with these three kinases suggests the existence of a common regulatory mechanism. Unlike most of the protein serine/threonine phosphatases, whose substrate specificities are controlled by the presence of various regulatory subunits, PP5 is regulated by protein-protein interaction through its N-terminal TPR motifs. How PP5 recognizes and differentiates members of the PIKK family currently remains unknown, and further characterization of the functions of PP5 is needed to provide a better understanding of the mechanism underlying the regulation of genotoxic stress-induced checkpoint pathways.
We thank Robert T. Abraham for reagents and helpful advice, Randal S. Tibbetts for his assistance in our in vitro ATR kinase assay and ATR immunofluorescence staining, David Cortez for anti-ATRIP antibodies, Lee Zou (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass.) for helpful discussions, Nu Zhang (Duke University, Durham, N.C.) for assistance in flow cytometric analysis, Yong Yu for technical help, and members of the Wang laboratory for their support and valuable scientific discussions.
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