DNA Damage Checkpoints and Cancer

DNA damage checkpoint is one of the surveillance systems to maintain genomic integrity. Checkpoint systems sense the DNA damage and execute cell cycle arrest through inhibiting the activity of cell cycle regulators. This pathway is essential for the maintenance of genome stability and prevention of tumor development. Recent studies have showed that the cellular responses towards DNA damage, such as cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, chromatin remodeling, and apoptosis are well coordinated. Here we describe the molecular mechanisms of checkpoint activation in response to DNA damage and the correlation between checkpoint gene mutation and genomic instability.     

The relative contribution of CHK1 and CHK2 to Adriamycin-induced checkpoint

Topoisomerase II poisons like Adriamycin (ADR, doxorubicin) are clinically important chemotherapeutic agents. Adriamycin-induced DNA damage checkpoint activates ATM and ATR, which could in turn inhibit the cell cycle engine through either CHK1 or CHK2. In this study, we characterized whether CHK1 or CHK2 is required for Adriamycin-induced checkpoint. We found that both CHK1 and CHK2 were phosphorylated after Adriamycin treatment. Several lines of evidence from dominant-negative mutants, short hairpin RNA (shRNA), and knockout cells indicated that CHK1, but not CHK2, is critical for Adriamycin-induced cell cycle arrest. Disruption of CHK1 function bypassed the checkpoint, as manifested by the increase in CDC25A, activation of CDC2, increase in histone H3 phosphorylation, and reduction in cell survival after Adriamycin treatment. In contrast, CHK2 is dispensable for Adriamycin-induced responses. Finally, we found that CHK1 was upregulated in primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), albeit as an inactive form. The presence of a stockpile of dormant CHK1 in cancer cells may have important implications for treatments like topoisomerase II poisons. Collectively, the available data underscore the pivotal role of CHK1 in checkpoint responses to a variety of stresses.     

Programmed cell death in fission yeast

Recently a metacaspase, encoded by YCA1, has been implicated in a primitive form of apoptosis or programmed cell death in yeast. Previously it had been shown that over-expression of mammalian pro-apoptotic proteins can induce cell death in yeast, but the mechanism of how cell death occurred was not clearly established. More recently, it has been shown that DNA or oxidative damage, or other cell cycle blocks, can result in cell death that mimics apoptosis in higher cells. Also, in fission yeast deletion of genes required for triacylglycerol synthesis leads to cell death and expression of apoptotic markers. A metacaspase sharing greater than 40% identity to budding yeast Yca1 has been identified in fission yeast, however, its role in programmed cell death is not yet known. Analysis of the genetic pathways that influence cell death in yeast may provide insights into the mechanisms of apoptosis in all eukaryotic organisms.     

Polyploidization increases the sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents in mammalian cells

Polyploidization occurs during normal development as well as during tumorigenesis. In this study, we investigated if the responses to genotoxic stress in cancer cells are influenced by the ploidy. Prolonged treatment of Hep3B cells with the spindle inhibitor nocodazole resulted in mitotic slippage, followed by re-replication of the DNA to produce polyploids. Reintroduction of p53 restored the checkpoints and suppressed polyploidization. Remarkably, a stable tetraploidy cell line could be generated from Hep3B by a transient nocodazole treatment followed by a period of recovery. Using this novel tetraploid system, we found that tetraploidization increased the cell volume without significantly affecting the cell cycle. Although tetraploidization was accompanied by an increase in centrosome number, the majority of mitoses in the tetraploid cells remained bipolar. Polyploidization sensitized cells to genotoxic stress inflicted by ionizing radiation and topoisomerase inhibitors without affecting the sensitivity to spindle inhibitors. Accordingly, more gamma-H2AX foci were induced by radiation in tetraploids than in normal Hep3B cells. Likewise, primary tetraploid human fibroblasts displayed higher gamma-H2AX foci formation than diploid human fibroblasts. An implication for chemotherapy is that some cancer cells can be sensitized to genotoxic agents by a preceding step that induces polyploidization.     

Checkpoint mechanisms at the intersection between DNA damage and repair

In response to genomic insults cells trigger a signal transduction pathway, known as DNA damage checkpoint, whose role is to help the cell to cope with the damage by coordinating cell cycle progression, DNA replication and DNA repair mechanisms. Accumulating evidence suggests that activation of the first checkpoint kinase in the cascade is not due to the lesion itself, but it requires recognition and initial processing of the lesion by a specific repair mechanism. Repair enzymes likely convert a variety of physically and chemically different lesions to a unique common structure, a ssDNA region, which is the checkpoint triggering signal. Checkpoint kinases can modify the activity of repair mechanisms, allowing for efficient repair, on one side, and modulating the generation of the ssDNA signal, on the other. This strategy may be important to allow the most effective repair and a prompt recovery from the damage condition. Interestingly, at least in some cases, if the damage level is low enough the cell can deal with the lesions and it does not need to activate the checkpoint response. On the other hand if damage level is high or if the lesions are not rapidly repairable, checkpoint mechanisms become important for cell survival and preservation of genome integrity.     

人衰老成纤维细胞经紫外线损伤后的DNA修复和细胞周期调控

 以体外培养的不同代龄的人胚肺二倍体成纤维细胞（２ Ｂ Ｓ）为对象,紫外线诱导 Ｄ Ｎ Ａ 损伤后,观察细胞形态、增殖特性、细胞周期、 Ｄ Ｎ Ａ 修复变化等细胞应答以及 ｇａｄｄ１５３、ｐ２１ Ｗ Ａ Ｆ１／ Ｃ Ｉ Ｐ１／ Ｓ Ｄ Ｉ１、ｐ５３ 等基因的转录水平的表达变化．结果显示：紫外线诱导 Ｄ Ｎ Ａ 损伤后,衰老（＞ ５５ 代）２ Ｂ Ｓ细胞形态及增殖能力的改变不如年轻细胞（＜ ３０ 代）显著;不同代龄的细胞损伤后均出现 Ｇ１ 期阻滞现象,年轻细胞 Ｇ１ 期阻滞率明显高于衰老细胞（ Ｐ＜ ００５）;衰老细胞总的修复能力较年轻细胞明显下降（ Ｐ＜ ００１）;同时,ｇａｄｄ１５３、ｐ２１、ｐ５３ 等的可诱导性均低于年轻 ２ Ｂ Ｓ细胞．由此,分别在细胞水平与基因水平反映了衰老细胞经紫外线照射损伤后的细胞应答变化与修复机能减退的关系．     

The genetics of the repair of 5-azacytidine-mediated DNA damage in the fission yeastSchizosaccharomyces pombe

We have recently demonstrated thatSchizosaccharomyces pombe cells treated with the nucleoside analogue 5-azacytidine (5-azaC) require previously characterised G2 checkpoint mechanisms for survival. Here we present a survey of known DNA repair mutations which defines those genes required for survival in the presence of 5-azaC. Using a combination of single-mutant and epistasis analyses we find that the excision, mismatch and recombinational repair pathways are all required in some degree for the repair of 5-azaC-mediated DNA damage. There are distinct differences in the epistatic interactions of several of the repair mutations with respect to 5-azaC-mediated DNA damage relative to UV-mediated DNA damage.     

LZ—410盼生安对肝癌细胞细胞周期时相的影响及对DNA损伤效应的观察

LZ-410盼生安是一种广谱抗肿瘤药物。本文以5-Fu作为阳性对照药物从对BEL-7402肝癌细胞周期时相的影响及对DNA损伤效应两个方面进行了初步探讨。结果表明,LZ-410能将细胞阻滞在G0/G1期,抑制了细胞的生长增殖作用。并且在本实验条件下,LZ-410并不引起DNA的损伤。这表明LZ-410抑制肝癌细胞生长增殖不是通过对DNA损伤引起的,而主要是通过阻滞肿瘤细胞于G0/G1期实现的。     

The S?/?M checkpoint at 37°C and the recovery of viability of the mutant pol δ ts3 require the crb2 + /rhp9 + gene in fission yeast

We have isolated a mutant in fission yeast, in which mitosis is uncoupled from completion of DNA replication when DNA synthesis is impaired by a thermosensitive mutation in the gene encoding the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase δ. By functional complementation, we cloned the wild-type gene and identified it as the recently cloned checkpoint gene crb2 ⁺ /rhp9 ⁺ . This gene has been implicated in the DNA damage checkpoint and acts in the Chk1 pathway. Unlike the deleted strain dcrb2, cells bearing the crb2-1 allele were not affected in the DNA repair checkpoint after UV or MMS treatment at 30° C, but were defective in this checkpoint function when treated with MMS at 37° C. We analysed the involvement of Crb2 in the S/M checkpoint by blocking DNA replication with hydroxyurea, by using S phase cdc mutants, or by overexpression of the mutant PCNA L68S. Both crb2 mutants were unable to maintain the S/M checkpoint at 37° C. Furthermore, the crb2 ⁺ gene was required, together with the cds1 ⁺ gene, for the S/M checkpoint at 30° C. Finally, both the crb2 deletion and the crb2-1 allele induced a rapid death phenotype in the polδts3 background at both 30° C and 37° C. The rapid death phenotype was independent of the checkpoint functions. Received: 25 May 1998 / Accepted: 21 September 1998     

Claspin is phosphorylated in the Chk1-binding domain by a kinase distinct from Chk1

Chk1 protein kinase plays a critical role in checkpoints that restrict progression through the cell cycle if DNA replication has not been completed or DNA damage has been sustained. ATR-dependent activation of Chk1 is mediated by Claspin. Phosphorylation of Claspin at two sites (Thr916 and Ser945 in humans) in response to DNA replication arrest or DNA damage recruits Chk1 to Claspin. Chk1 is subsequently phosphorylated by ATR and fully activated to control cell cycle progression. We show that ablation of Chk1 by siRNA in human cells or its genetic deletion in chicken DT40 cells does not prevent phosphorylation of Claspin at Thr916 (Ser911 in chicken). Chk1, however, does play other roles, possibly indirect, in the phosphorylation of Claspin and its induction. These results demonstrate that phosphorylation of Claspin within the Chk1-binding domain is catalysed by an ATR-dependent kinase distinct from Chk1.     

Isolation, characterisation and molecular cloning of new mutant alleles of the fission yeast p34cdc2+ protein kinase gene: identification of temperature-sensitive G2-arresting alleles

Summary The protein serine-threonine kinase p34 ^cdc2+ plays a central role in the control of the mitotic cell cycle of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. p34 ^cdc2+ function is required both for the initiation of DNA replication and for entry into mitosis, and is also required for the initiation of the second meiotic nuclear division. Recent extensive analysis of p34 ^cdc2+ homologue proteins in higher eukaryotes has demonstrated that p34 ^cdc2+ function is likely to be conserved in all eukaryotic cells. Here we report the isolation and characterisation of five new temperature-sensitive alleles of the cdc ²⁺ gene. All five have been cloned and sequenced, together with the meiotically defective cdc2-N22 allele, bringing the total of p34 ^cdc2+ mutants cloned in this and previous reports to seventeen. The five temperature-sensitive alleles define four separate mutations within the p34 ^cdc2+ protein sequence, two of which give rise to cell cycle arrest in G₂ only, when shifted to the restrictive temperature. The nature of the mutation in each protein is described and possible implications for the structure and function of p34 ^cdc2+ discussed.     

Mutational analysis of the fission yeast p34cdc2 protein kinase gene

Summary The p34^cdc2 protein serine-threonine kinase plays an essential role in the life cycle of fission yeast, being required for both the G1-S and G2-M transitions during mitotic growth, and also for the second meiotic nuclear division. Functional homologues of p34^cdc2 (each ca. 60 % identical to the fission yeast prototype) have been isolated from organisms as diverse as humans, insects and plants, and there is now considerable evidence supporting the view that fundamental aspects of the cell cycle controls uncovered in fission yeast will prove to be conserved in all eukaryotes. By comparing the amino acid sequences of fission yeast p34^cdc2 with its higher eukaryotic counterparts it is possible to identify conserved residues that are likely to be centrally important for p34^cdc2 function. Here the effects are described of mutating a number of these conserved residues. Twenty-three new mutant alleles have been constructed and tested. We show that replacing cysteine 67 with trypthophan renders the resulting mutant protein p80^cdc25-independent (while neither leucine, isoleucine nor valine has this effect) and that several of the amino acids within the highly conserved PSTAIRE region are not absolutely required for p34^cdc2 function. Five acidic amino acids have also been mutated within p34^cdc2, which are invariant across the eukaryotic protein kinase family. Acid-to-base mutations at three of these residues resulted in a dominant-negative, cell cycle arrest phenotype while similar mutations at the other two simply abolished p34^cdc2 protein function. The results are discussed with reference to the predicted tertiary structure of the p34^cdc2 enzyme.     

Division-site selection, cell separation, and formation of anucleate minicells inSchizosaccharomyces pombe mutants resistant to cell-wall lytic enzymes

Summary In most eukaryotic organisms that have cell walls, cell separation or cytokinesis is a degradative enzymatic process. In the fission yeastSchizosaccharomyces pombe, it is a post-M-phase event that includes the degradation of part of the cell wall and the primary septum. We describe the isolation of mutants partially defective in cytokinesis by enrichment of clones resistant to cell-wall lytic enzymes. The mutations confer mycelial morphology (chains of non-separated cells) and define four genes.Sep2-SA2 was subjected to detailed genetic and cytological analysis. Its cells frequently form complex septa composed of multiple layers, which appear as twin septa separated by anucleate minicells if the cell length is extended. This suggests that a polar signal-like mechanism may also operate inS. pombe during division-site selection andsep2 ⁺ takes part in it.Sep2 ⁺ seems to be involved in several cell cycle functions because its mutation can transiently block cell-cycle progression after nuclear division and provoke a transition from haploidy to diploidy in the double mutantsep2-SA2 cexl-SA2. Cexl-SA2 is another novel mutation which causes cell-length extension.Abbreviations DAPI 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole - YEA yeast extract agar - YEL yeast extract liquid - SMA synthetic minimal agar - MEA malt extract agar     

The role of Cdc25 phosphatases in cell cycle checkpoints

Summary The major driving forces in the eukaryotic cell cycle are the cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdk). Cdks can be activated through dephosphorylation of inhibitory phosphorylations catalyzed by the Cdc25 phosphatase family. In higher-eukaryotic cells, there exist three Cdc25 family members, Cdc25A, Cdc25B, and Cdc25C. While Cdc25A plays a major role at the G₁-to-S phase transition, Cdc25B and C are required for entry into mitosis. The regulation of Cdc25C is crucial for the operation of the DNA-damage checkpoint. Two protein kinases, Chk1 and Cds1, can be activated in response to DNA damage or in the presence of unreplicated DNA. Chk1 and Cds1 may phosphorylate Cdc25C to prevent entry into mitosis through inhibition of Cdc2 (Cdk1) dephosphorylation.