Cdc25 Inhibited In Vivo and In Vitro by Checkpoint Kinases Cds1 and Chk1

In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the protein kinase Cds1 is activated by the S-M replication checkpoint that prevents mitosis when DNA is incompletely replicated. Cds1 is proposed to regulate Wee1 and Mik1, two tyrosine kinases that inhibit the mitotic kinase Cdc2. Here, we present evidence from in vivo and in vitro studies, which indicates that Cds1 also inhibits Cdc25, the phosphatase that activates Cdc2. In an in vivo assay that measures the rate at which Cdc25 catalyzes mitosis, Cds1 contributed to a mitotic delay imposed by the S-M replication checkpoint. Cds1 also inhibited Cdc25-dependent activation of Cdc2 in vitro. Chk1, a protein kinase that is required for the G2-M damage checkpoint that prevents mitosis while DNA is being repaired, also inhibited Cdc25 in the in vitro assay. In vitro, Cds1 and Chk1 phosphorylated Cdc25 predominantly on serine-99. The Cdc25 alanine-99 mutation partially impaired the S-M replication and G2-M damage checkpoints in vivo. Thus, Cds1 and Chk1 seem to act in different checkpoint responses to regulate Cdc25 by similar mechanisms.     

U2OS cells lacking Chk1 undergo aberrant mitosis and fail to activate the spindle checkpoint

Chk1 is a conserved protein kinase originally identified in fission yeast, required to delay entry of cells with damaged or unreplicated DNA into mitosis. The requirement of Chk1 for both S and G2/M checkpoints has been elucidated while only few studies have connected Chk1 to the mitotic spindle checkpoint. We used a small interference RNA strategy to investigate the role of Chk1 in unstressed conditions. Chk1 depletion in U2OS human osteosarcoma cells inhibited cell proliferation and raised the percentage of cells with a 4N DNA content, which correlated with accumulation of giant polynucleated cells morphologically distinct from apoptotic cells, while no increased number of cells in G2 or mitosis could be detected. Down-regulation of Chk1 also caused accumulation of cells in the last step of cytokinesis, and of tetraploid cells in G1 phase, which coincided with activation of p53 and increased levels of p21. In addition, Chk1-depleted U2OS cells failed to arrest in mitosis after spindle disruption by nocodazole and showed decreased protein levels of Mad2 and BubR1. These studies show that U2OS cells lacking Chk1 undergo abnormal mitosis and fail to activate the spindle checkpoint, suggesting a role of Chk1 in this checkpoint.     

A receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, Tyrphostin A9 induces cancer cell death through Drp1 dependent mitochondria fragmentation

It has been reported previously that both Cdk1 and Cdk2 phosphorylate Chk1 in a cell-cycle dependent manner. Cdk-mediated phosphorylation is required for efficient activation of Chk1 and checkpoint proficiency in response to DNA damage. Here, we demonstrate that Cdk-mediated phosphorylation is also required for replication stress induced Chk1 activation and S/M checkpoint proficiency. Re-introduction of Chk1 mutant (S286A/S301A) into Chk1 deficient cells is capable of restraining mitosis in cells with completely unreplicated DNA, but the mitotic delay at later stage of the cell cycle is largely impaired. The mutation strongly attenuates aphidicolin induced Chk1 activation without altering the S-phase dependent Chk1 activation. These data indicate that Cdk-mediated phosphorytion is required for efficient Chk1 activation and multiple checkpoint proficiency.     

Chk1-deficient tumour cells are viable but exhibit multiple checkpoint and survival defects

The conserved protein kinase Chk1 is believed to play an important role in checkpoint responses to aberrant DNA structures; however, genetic analysis of Chk1 functions in metazoans is complicated by lethality of Chk1-deficient embryonic cells. We have used gene targeting to eliminate Chk1 function in somatic DT40 B-lymphoma cells. We find that Chk1-deficient DT40 cells are viable, but fail to arrest in G(2)/M in response to and are hypersensitive to killing by ionizing radiation. Chk1-deficient cells also fail to maintain viable replication forks or suppress futile origin firing when DNA polymerase is inhibited, leading to incomplete genome duplication and diminished cell survival after release from replication arrest. In contrast to embryonic cells, however, Chk1 is not required to delay mitosis when DNA synthesis is inhibited. Thus, Chk1 is dispensable for normal cell division in somatic DT40 cells but is essential for DNA damage-induced G(2)/M arrest and a subset of replication checkpoint responses. Furthermore, Chk1-dependent processes promote tumour cell survival after perturbations of DNA structure or metabolism.     

Cid1, a fission yeast protein required for S-M checkpoint control when DNA polymerase delta or epsilon is inactivated

The S-M checkpoint is an intracellular signaling pathway that ensures that mitosis is not initiated in cells undergoing DNA replication. We identified cid1, a novel fission yeast gene, through its ability when overexpressed to confer specific resistance to a combination of hydroxyurea, which inhibits DNA replication, and caffeine, which overrides the S-M checkpoint. Cid1 overexpression also partially suppressed the hydroxyurea sensitivity characteristic of DNA polymerase delta mutants and mutants defective in the "checkpoint Rad" pathway. Cid1 is a member of a family of putative nucleotidyltransferases including budding yeast Trf4 and Trf5, and mutation of amino acid residues predicted to be essential for this activity resulted in loss of Cid1 function in vivo. Two additional Cid1-like proteins play similar but nonredundant checkpoint-signaling roles in fission yeast. Cells lacking Cid1 were found to be viable but specifically sensitive to the combination of hydroxyurea and caffeine and to be S-M checkpoint defective in the absence of Cds1. Genetic data suggest that Cid1 acts in association with Crb2/Rhp9 and through the checkpoint-signaling kinase Chk1 to inhibit unscheduled mitosis specifically when DNA polymerase delta or epsilon is inhibited.     

Basis for the Checkpoint Signal Specificity That Regulates Chk1 and Cds1 Protein Kinases

Six checkpoint Rad proteins (Rad1, Rad3, Rad9, Rad17, Rad26, and Hus1) are needed to regulate checkpoint protein kinases Chk1 and Cds1 in fission yeast. Chk1 is required to prevent mitosis when DNA is damaged by ionizing radiation (IR), whereas either kinase is sufficient to prevent mitosis when DNA replication is inhibited by hydroxyurea (HU). Checkpoint Rad proteins are required for IR-induced phosphorylation of Chk1 and HU-induced activation of Cds1. IR activates Cds1 only during the DNA synthesis (S) phase, whereas HU induces Chk1 phosphorylation only in cds1 mutants. Here, we investigate the basis of the checkpoint signal specificity of Chk1 phosphorylation and Cds1 activation. We show that IR fails to induce Chk1 phosphorylation in HU-arrested cells. Release from the HU arrest following IR causes substantial Chk1 phosphorylation. These and other data indicate that Cds1 prevents Chk1 phosphorylation in HU-arrested cells, which suggests that Cds1 actively suppresses a repair process that leads to Chk1 phosphorylation. Cds1 becomes more highly concentrated in the nucleus only during the S phase of the cell cycle. This finding correlates with S-phase specificity of IR-induced activation of Cds1. However, constitutive nuclear localization of Cds1 does not enhance IR-induced activation of Cds1. This result suggests that Cds1 activation requires DNA structures or protein activities that are present only during S phase. These findings help to explain how Chk1 and Cds1 respond to different checkpoint signals.     

chk-1 is an Essential Gene and is Required for an S-M Checkpoint During Early Embryogenesis

The chk1 gene was first discovered in screens for radiation sensitive mutants in S. pombe [1]. Genetic analysis revealed that chk1 is involved in a DNA damage G2-M checkpoint. Chk1 becomes activated in response to DNA damage and prevents entry into mitosis by inhibiting the cell cycle machinery. This checkpoint decreases the risk of defective DNA being inherited by daughter cells, therefore reducing the risk of genetic instability. In higher eukaryotes, chk1 homologues have similar checkpoint functions. For example, an avian B-lymphoma cell line that is defective for Chk1 fails to arrest in G2-M after DNA damage. Nonetheless, these Chk1 defective cells are viable indicating that Chk1 is not essential for normal somatic cells to divide [2]. In spite of this, mouse and Drosophila homozygous Chk1 mutants die during embryogenesis suggesting that this is an essential gene for embryonic cell cycles [3, 4]. What particular role does Chk1 have in directing embryonic cell divisions? Here we used the model organism, C. elegans, to address the role of chk-1 during development. As expected, disruption of chk-1 by RNAi eliminated the DNA damage checkpoint response in C. elegans. In addition, we revealed that chk-1 was predominantly expressed during embryogenesis and in the postembryonic germline. Indeed, we found that chk-1 had an essential role in embryo and germline development. More specifically, disruption of chk-1 expression resulted in embryo lethality, which was attributed to a defect in an intrinsic S-M hence causing premature entry into M-phase.     

Distinct roles for DNA-PK,ATM and ATR in RPA phosphorylation and checkpoint activation in response to replication stress

DNA damage encountered by DNA replication forks poses risks of genome destabilization, a precursor to carcinogenesis. Damage checkpoint systems cause cell cycle arrest, promote repair and induce programed cell death when damage is severe. Checkpoints are critical parts of the DNA damage response network that act to suppress cancer. DNA damage and perturbation of replication machinery causes replication stress, characterized by accumulation of single-stranded DNA bound by replication protein A (RPA), which triggers activation of ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3 related (ATR) and phosphorylation of the RPA32, subunit of RPA, leading to Chk1 activation and arrest. DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) [a kinase related to ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and ATR] has well characterized roles in DNA double-strand break repair, but poorly understood roles in replication stress-induced RPA phosphorylation. We show that DNA-PKcs mutant cells fail to arrest replication following stress, and mutations in RPA32 phosphorylation sites targeted by DNA-PKcs increase the proportion of cells in mitosis, impair ATR signaling to Chk1 and confer a G2/M arrest defect. Inhibition of ATR and DNA-PK (but not ATM), mimic the defects observed in cells expressing mutant RPA32. Cells expressing mutant RPA32 or DNA-PKcs show sustained H2AX phosphorylation in response to replication stress that persists in cells entering mitosis, indicating inappropriate mitotic entry with unrepaired damage.     

Recovery from DNA damage checkpoint arrest by PP1-mediated inhibition of Chk1

The G2 DNA damage checkpoint delays mitotic entry via the upregulation of Wee1 kinase and the downregulation of Cdc25 phosphatase by Chk1 kinase, and resultant inhibitory phosphorylation of Cdc2. While checkpoint activation is well understood, little is known about how the checkpoint is switched off to allow cell cycle re-entry. To identify proteins required for checkpoint release, we screened for genes in Schizosaccharomyces pombe that, when overexpressed, result in precocious mitotic entry in the presence of DNA damage. We show that overexpression of the type I protein phosphatase Dis2 sensitises S. pombe cells to DNA damage, causing aberrant mitoses. Dis2 abrogates Chk1 phosphorylation and activation in vivo, and dephosphorylates Chk1 and a phospho-S345 Chk1 peptide in vitro. dis2Delta cells have a prolonged chk1-dependent arrest and a compromised ability to downregulate Chk1 activity for checkpoint release. These effects are specific for the DNA damage checkpoint, because Dis2 has no effect on the chk1-independent response to stalled replication forks. We propose that inactivation of Chk1 by Dis2 allows mitotic entry following repair of DNA damage in the G2-phase.     

Staurosporine overrides checkpoints for mitotic onset in BHK cells.

Under normal conditions, mammalian cells will not initiate mitosis in the presence of either unreplicated or damaged DNA. We report here that staurosporine, a tumor promoter and potent protein kinase inhibitor, can uncouple mitosis from the completion of DNA replication and override DNA damage-induced G2 delay. Syrian hamster (BHK) fibroblasts that were arrested in S phase underwent premature mitosis at concentrations as low as 1 ng/ml, with maximum activity seen at 50 ng/ml. Histone H1 kinase activity was increased to approximately one-half the level found in normal mitotic cells. Inhibition of protein synthesis during staurosporine treatment blocked premature mitosis and suppressed the increase in histone H1 kinase activity. In asynchronously growing cells, staurosporine transiently increased the mitotic index and histone H1 kinase activity but did not induce S phase cells to undergo premature mitosis, indicating a requirement for S phase arrest. Staurosporine also bypassed the cell cycle checkpoint that prevents the onset of mitosis in the presence of damaged DNA. The delay in mitotic onset resulting from gamma radiation was reduced when irradiation was followed immediately by exposure to 50 ng/ml of staurosporine. These findings indicate that inhibition of protein phosphorylation by staurosporine can override two important checkpoints for the initiation of mitosis in BHK cells.     

Novel DNA damage checkpoint in mitosis: Mitotic DNA damage induces re-replication without cell division in various cancer cells

DNA damage induces multiple checkpoint pathways to arrest cell cycle progression until damage is repaired. In our previous reports, when DNA damage occurred in prometaphase, cells were accumulated in 4 N-DNA G1 phase, and mitosis-specific kinases were inactivated in dependent on ATM/Chk1 after a short incubation for repair. We investigated whether or not mitotic DNA damage causes cells to skip-over late mitotic periods under prolonged incubation in a time-lapse study. 4 N-DNA-damaged cells re-replicated without cell division and accumulated in 8 N-DNA content, and the activities of apoptotic factors were increased. The inhibition of DNA replication reduced the 8 N-DNA cell population dramatically. Induction of replication without cell division was not observed upon depletion of Chk1 or ATM. Finally, mitotic DNA damage induces mitotic slippage and that cells enter G1 phase with 4 N-DNA content and then DNA replication is occurred to 8 N-DNA content before completion of mitosis in the ATM/Chk1-dependent manner, followed by caspase-dependent apoptosis during long-term repair.     

Inactivation of the Cdc25 phosphatase by the stress-activated Srk1 kinase in fission yeast

The mechanisms by which environmental stress regulates cell cycle progression are poorly understood. In fission yeast, we show that Srk1 kinase, which associates with the stress-activated p38/Sty1 MAP kinase, regulates the onset of mitosis by inhibiting the Cdc25 phosphatase. Srk1 is periodically active in G2, and its overexpression causes cell cycle arrest in late G2 phase, whereas cells lacking srk1 enter mitosis prematurely. We find that Srk1 interacts with and phosphorylates Cdc25 at the same sites phosphorylated by the Chk1 and Cds1 (Chk2) kinases and that this phosphorylation is necessary for Srk1 to delay mitotic entry. Phosphorylation by Srk1 causes Cdc25 to bind to Rad24, a 14-3-3 protein family member, and accumulation of Cdc25 in the cytoplasm. However, Srk1 does not regulate Cdc25 in response to replication arrest or DNA damage but, rather, during a normal cell cycle and in response to nongenotoxic environmental stress.     

Regulation of mitotic inhibitor Mik1 helps to enforce the DNA damage checkpoint

The protein kinase Chk1 enforces the DNA damage checkpoint. This checkpoint delays mitosis until damaged DNA is repaired. Chk1 regulates the activity and localization of Cdc25, the tyrosine phosphatase that activates the cdk Cdc2. Here we report that Mik1, a tyrosine kinase that inhibits Cdc2, is positively regulated by the DNA damage checkpoint. Mik1 is required for checkpoint response in strains that lack Cdc25. Long-term DNA damage checkpoint arrest fails in Δmik1 cells. DNA damage increases Mik1 abundance in a Chk1-dependent manner. Ubiquitinated Mik1 accumulates in a proteasome mutant, which indicates that Mik1 normally has a short half-life. Thus, the DNA damage checkpoint might regulate Mik1 degradation. Mik1 protein and mRNA oscillate during the unperturbed cell cycle, with peak amounts detected around S phase. These data indicate that regulation of Mik1 abundance helps to couple mitotic onset to the completion of DNA replication and repair. Coordinated negative regulation of Cdc25 and positive regulation of Mik1 ensure the effective operation of the DNA damage checkpoint.     

Human replication protein Cdc6 prevents mitosis through a checkpoint mechanism that implicates Chk1

In yeasts, the replication protein Cdc6/Cdc18 is required for the initiation of DNA replication and also for coupling S phase with the following mitosis. In metazoans a role for Cdc6 has only been shown in S phase entry. Here we provide evidence that human Cdc6 (HuCdc6) also regulates the onset of mitosis, as overexpression of HuCdc6 in G(2) phase cells prevents entry into mitosis. This block is abolished when HuCdc6 is expressed together with a constitutively active Cyclin B/CDK1 complex or with Cdc25B or Cdc25C. An inhibitor of Chk1 kinase activity, UCN-01, overcomes the HuCdc6 mediated G(2) arrest indicating that HuCdc6 blocks cells in G(2) phase via a checkpoint pathway involving Chk1. When HuCdc6 is overexpressed in G(2), we detected phosphorylation of Chk1. Thus, HuCdc6 can trigger a checkpoint response, which could ensure that all DNA is replicated before mitotic entry. We also present evidence that the ability of HuCdc6 to block mitosis may be regulated by its phosphorylation.     

DNA-PK phosphorylation of RPA32 Ser4/Ser8 regulates replication stress checkpoint activation,fork restart,homologous recombination and mitotic catastrophe

Genotoxins and other factors cause replication stress that activate the DNA damage response (DDR), comprising checkpoint and repair systems. The DDR suppresses cancer by promoting genome stability, and it regulates tumor resistance to chemo- and radiotherapy. Three members of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related kinase (PIKK) family, ATM, ATR, and DNA-PK, are important DDR proteins. A key PIKK target is replication protein A (RPA), which binds single-stranded DNA and functions in DNA replication, DNA repair, and checkpoint signaling. An early response to replication stress is ATR activation, which occurs when RPA accumulates on ssDNA. Activated ATR phosphorylates many targets, including the RPA32 subunit of RPA, leading to Chk1 activation and replication arrest. DNA-PK also phosphorylates RPA32 in response to replication stress, and we demonstrate that cells with DNA-PK defects, or lacking RPA32 Ser4/Ser8 targeted by DNA-PK, confer similar phenotypes, including defective replication checkpoint arrest, hyper-recombination, premature replication fork restart, failure to block late origin firing, and increased mitotic catastrophe. We present evidence that hyper-recombination in these mutants is ATM-dependent, but the other defects are ATM-independent. These results indicate that DNA-PK and ATR signaling through RPA32 plays a critical role in promoting genome stability and cell survival in response to replication stress.     

Nuclear exclusion of Cdc25 is not required for the DNA damage checkpoint in fission yeast

Maintenance of genome integrity requires a checkpoint that restrains mitosis in response to DNA damage [1]. This checkpoint is enforced by Chk1, a protein kinase that targets Cdc25 [2--7]. Phosphorylated Cdc25 associates with 14-3-3 proteins, which appear to occlude a nuclear localization signal (NLS) and thereby inhibit Cdc25 nuclear import [6, 8--14]. Proficient checkpoint arrest is thought to require Cdc25 nuclear exclusion, although definitive evidence for this model is lacking. We have tested this hypothesis in fission yeast. We show that elimination of an NLS in Cdc25 causes Cdc25 nuclear exclusion and a mitotic delay, as predicted by the model. Attachment of an exogenous NLS forces nuclear inclusion of Cdc25 in damaged cells. However, forced nuclear localization of Cdc25 fails to override the damage checkpoint. Thus, nuclear exclusion of Cdc25 is unnecessary for checkpoint enforcement. We propose that direct inhibition of Cdc25 phosphatase activity by Chk1, as demonstrated in vitro with fission yeast and human Chk1 [15, 16], is sufficient for proficient checkpoint regulation of Cdc25 and may be the primary mechanism of checkpoint enforcement in fission yeast.     

Cdc18/CDC6 activates the Rad3-dependent checkpoint in the fission yeast

A screen for genes that can ectopically activate a Rad3-dependent checkpoint block over mitosis in fission yeast has identified the DNA replication initiation factor cdc18 (known as CDC6 in other organisms). Either a stabilized form of Cdc18, the Cdc18-T6A phosphorylation mutant, or overexpression of wild type Cdc18, activate the Rad3-dependent S-M checkpoint in the apparent absence of detectable replication structures and gross DNA damage. This cell cycle block relies on the Rad checkpoint pathway and requires Chk1 phosphorylation and activation. Unexpectedly, Cdc18-T6A induces changes in the mobility of Chromosome III, affecting the size of a restriction fragment containing rDNA repeats and producing aberrant nucleolar structures. Recombination events within the rDNA appear to contribute at least in part to the cell cycle delay. We propose that an elevated level of Cdc18 activates the Rad3-dependent checkpoint either directly or indirectly, and additionally causes expansion of the rDNA repeats on Chromosome III.     

Chk1 inhibition after replicative stress activates a double strand break response mediated by ATM and DNA-dependent protein kinase

Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) regulates cell cycle checkpoints and DNA damage repair in response to genotoxic stress. Inhibition of Chk1 is an emerging strategy for potentiating the cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs. Here, we demonstrate that AZD7762, an ATP-competitive Chk1/2 inhibitor induces γ-H2AX in gemcitabine-treated cells by altering both dynamics and stability of replication forks, allowing the firing of suppressed replication origins as measured by DNA fiber combing and causing a dramatic increase in DNA breaks as measured by comet assay. Furthermore, we identify ATM and DNA-PK, rather than ATR, as the kinases mediating γ-H2AX induction, suggesting AZD7762 converts stalled forks into double strand breaks (DSBs). Consistent with DSB formation upon fork collapse, cells deficient in DSB repair by lacking BRCA2, XRCC3, or DNA-PK were selectively more sensitive to combined AZD7762 and gemcitabine. Checkpoint abrogation by AZD7762 also caused premature mitosis in gemcitabine-treated cells arrested in G1/early S-phase. Prevention of premature mitotic entry via Cdk1 siRNA knockdown suppressed apoptosis. These results demonstrate that chemosensitization of gemcitabine by Chk1 inhibition results from at least three cellular events namely activation of origin firing, destabilization of stalled replication forks, and entry of cells with damaged DNA into lethal mitosis. Additionally, the current study indicates that the combination of Chk1 inhibitor and gemcitabine may be particularly effective in targeting tumors with specific DNA repair defects.