c-Abl tyrosine kinase regulates the human Rad9 checkpoint protein in response to DNA damage

The ubiquitously expressed c-Abl tyrosine kinase is activated in the apoptotic response of cells to DNA damage. The mechanisms by which c-Abl signals the induction of apoptosis are not understood. Here we show that c-Abl binds constitutively to the mammalian homolog of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe Rad9 cell cycle checkpoint protein. The SH3 domain of c-Abl interacts directly with the C-terminal region of Rad9. c-Abl phosphorylates the Rad9 Bcl-2 homology 3 domain (Tyr-28) in vitro and in cells exposed to DNA-damaging agents. The results also demonstrate that c-Abl-mediated phosphorylation of Rad9 induces binding of Rad9 to the antiapototic Bcl-x(L) protein. The regulation of Rad9 by c-Abl in the DNA damage response is further supported by the demonstration that the interaction between c-Abl and Rad9 contributes to DNA damage-induced apoptosis. These findings indicate that Rad9 is regulated by a c-Abl-dependent mechanism in the apoptotic response to genotoxic stress.     

The Tyrosine Kinase c-Abl Promotes Homeodomain-interacting Protein Kinase 2 (HIPK2) Accumulation and Activation in Response to DNA Damage

The non-receptor tyrosine kinase c-Abl is activated in response to DNA damage and induces p73-dependent apoptosis. Here, we investigated c-Abl regulation of the homeodomain-interacting protein kinase 2 (HIPK2), an important regulator of p53-dependent apoptosis. c-Abl phosphorylated HIPK2 at several sites, and phosphorylation by c-Abl protected HIPK2 from degradation mediated by the ubiquitin E3 ligase Siah-1. c-Abl and HIPK2 synergized in activating p53 on apoptotic promoters in a reporter assay, and c-Abl was required for endogenous HIPK2 accumulation and phosphorylation of p53 at Ser⁴⁶ in response to DNA damage by γ- and UV radiation. Accumulation of HIPK2 in nuclear speckles and association with promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) in response to DNA damage were also dependent on c-Abl activity. At high cell density, the Hippo pathway inhibits DNA damage-induced c-Abl activation. Under this condition, DNA damage-induced HIPK2 accumulation, phosphorylation of p53 at Ser⁴⁶, and apoptosis were attenuated. These data demonstrate a new mechanism for the induction of DNA damage-induced apoptosis by c-Abl and illustrate network interactions between serine/threonine and tyrosine kinases that dictate cell fate.     

A positive role for c-Abl in Atm and Atr activation in DNA damage response

DNA damage triggers Atm- and/or Atr-dependent signaling pathways to control cell cycle progression, apoptosis, and DNA repair. However, how Atm and Atr are activated is not fully understood. One of the downstream targets of Atm is non-receptor tyrosine kinase c-Abl, which is phosphorylated and activated by Atm. The current view is that c-Abl relays pro-apoptotic signals from Atm to p73 and p53. Here we show that c-Abl deficiency resulted in a broad spectrum of defects in cell response to genotoxic stress, including activation of Chk1 and Chk2, activation of p53, nuclear foci formation, apoptosis, and DNA repair, suggesting that c-Abl might also act upstream of the DNA damage-activated signaling cascades in addition to its role in p73 and p53 regulation. Indeed, we found that c-Abl is required for proper activation of both Atm and Atr. c-Abl is bound to the chromatin and shows enhanced interaction with Atm and Atr in response to DNA damage. c-Abl can phosphorylate Atr on Y291 and Y310 and this phosphorylation appears to have a positive role in Atr activation under genotoxic stress. These findings suggest that Atm-mediated c-Abl activation in cell response to double-stranded DNA breaks might facilitate the activation of both Atm and Atr to regulate their downstream cellular events.     

JNK phosphorylation of 14-3-3 proteins regulates nuclear targeting of c-Abl in the apoptotic response to DNA damage

The ubiquitously expressed c-Abl tyrosine kinase localizes to the cytoplasm and nucleus. Nuclear c-Abl is activated by diverse genotoxic agents and induces apoptosis; however, the mechanisms that are responsible for nuclear targeting of c-Abl remain unclear. Here, we show that cytoplasmic c-Abl is targeted to the nucleus in the DNA damage response. The results show that c-Abl is sequestered into the cytoplasm by binding to 14-3-3 proteins. Phosphorylation of c-Abl on Thr 735 functions as a site for direct binding to 14-3-3 proteins. We also show that, in response to DNA damage, activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (Jnk) induces phosphorylation of 14-3-3 proteins and their release from c-Abl. Together with these results, expression of an unphosphorylated 14-3-3 mutant attenuates DNA-damage-induced nuclear import of c-Abl and apoptosis. These findings indicate that 14-3-3 proteins are pivotal regulators of intracellular c-Abl localization and of the apoptotic response to genotoxic stress.     

Role of SHP-2 tyrosine phosphatase in the DNA damage-induced cell death response

SHP-2, a ubiquitously expressed Src hmology 2 (SH2) domain-containing tyrosine phosphatase, plays a critical role in the regulation of growth factor and cytokine signal transduction. Here we report a novel function of this phosphatase in DNA damage-induced cellular responses. Mutant embryonic fibroblast cells lacking functional SHP-2 showed significantly decreased apoptosis in response to DNA damage. Following cisplatin treatment, induction of p73 and its downstream effector p21(Cip1) was essentially blocked in SHP-2 mutant cells. Further investigation revealed that activation of the nuclear tyrosine kinase c-Abl, an essential mediator in DNA damage induction of p73, was impaired in the mutant cells, suggesting a functional requirement of SHP-2 in c-Abl activation. Consistent with this observation, the effect of overexpression of c-Abl kinase in SHP-2 mutant cells on sensitizing the cells to DNA damage-induced death was abolished. Additionally, we found that in embryonic fibroblast cells 30-40% of SHP-2 was localized in the nuclei, and that a fraction of nuclear SHP-2 was constitutively associated with c-Abl via its SH3 domain. Phosphatase activity of nuclear but not cytoplasmic SHP-2 was significantly enhanced in response to DNA damage. These results together suggest a novel nuclear function for SHP-2 phosphatase in the regulation of DNA damage-induced apoptotic responses.     

XIAP regulates DNA damage-induced apoptosis downstream of caspase-9 cleavage

The IAP (inhibitor of apoptosis) family of anti-apoptotic proteins regulates programmed cell death. Of the six known human IAP-related proteins, XIAP is the most potent inhibitor. To study the mechanistic effects of XIAP on DNA damage-induced apoptosis, we prepared U-937 cells that stably overexpress XIAP. The results demonstrate that XIAP inhibits apoptosis induced by 1-[beta-d-arabinofuranosyl]cytosine (ara-C) and other genotoxic agents. XIAP had no detectable effect on ara-C-induced release of mitochondrial cytochrome c and attenuated cleavage of procaspase-9. In addition, we show that ara-C induces the association of XIAP with the cleaved fragments of caspase-9 and thereby inhibition of caspase-9 activity. The results also demonstrate that ara-C induces cleavage of procaspase-3 by a caspase-8-dependent mechanism and that XIAP inhibits caspase-3 activity. These results demonstrate that XIAP functions downstream of procaspase-9 cleavage as an inhibitor of both proteolytically processed caspase-9 and -3 in the cellular response to genotoxic stress.     

p53 deficiency fails to prevent increased programmed cell death in the Bcl-X(L)-deficient nervous system

Bcl-X(L) mice display a similar neurodevelopmental phenotype as rb, DNA ligase IV, and XRCC4 mutant embryos, suggesting that endogenous Bcl-X(L) expression may protect immature neurons from death caused by DNA damage and/or cell cycle dysregulation. To test this hypothesis, we generated bcl-x/p53 double mutants and examined neuronal cell death in vivo and in vitro. Bcl-X(L)-deficient primary telencephalic neuron cultures were highly susceptible to the apoptotic effects of cytosine arabinoside (AraC), a known genotoxic agent. In contrast, neurons lacking p53, or both Bcl-X(L) and p53, were markedly, and equivalently, resistant to AraC-induced caspase-3 activation and death in vitro indicating that Bcl-X(L) lies downstream of p53 in DNA damage-induced neuronal death. Despite the ability of p53 deficiency to protect Bcl-X(L)-deficient neurons from DNA damage-induced apoptosis in vitro, p53 deficiency had no effect on the increased caspase-3 activation and neuronal cell death observed in the developing Bcl-X(L)-deficient nervous system. These findings suggest that Bcl-X(L) expression in the developing nervous system critically regulates neuronal responsiveness to an apoptotic stimulus other than inadequate DNA repair or cell cycle abnormalities.     

CDIP, a novel pro-apoptotic gene, regulates TNFalpha-mediated apoptosis in a p53-dependent manner

We have identified a novel pro-apoptotic p53 target gene named CDIP (Cell Death Involved p53-target). Inhibition of CDIP abrogates p53-mediated apoptotic responses, demonstrating that CDIP is an important p53 apoptotic effector. CDIP itself potently induces apoptosis that is associated with caspase-8 cleavage, implicating the extrinsic cell death pathway in apoptosis mediated by CDIP. siRNA-directed knockdown of caspase-8 results in a severe impairment of CDIP-dependent cell death. In investigating the potential involvement of extrinsic cell death pathway in CDIP-mediated apoptosis, we found that TNF-alpha expression tightly correlates with CDIP expression, and that inhibition of TNF-alpha signaling attenuates CDIP-dependent apoptosis. We also demonstrate that TNF-alpha is upregulated in response to p53 and p53 inducing genotoxic stress, in a CDIP-dependent manner. Consistently, knockdown of TNF-alpha impairs p53-mediated stress-induced apoptosis. Together, these findings support a novel p53 --> CDIP --> TNF-alpha apoptotic pathway that directs apoptosis after exposure of cells to genotoxic stress. Thus, CDIP provides a new link between p53-mediated intrinsic and death receptor-mediated extrinsic apoptotic signaling, providing a novel target for cancer therapeutics aimed at maximizing the p53 apoptotic response of cancer cells to drug therapy.     

SHP-2 phosphatase regulates DNA damage-induced apoptosis and G2/M arrest in catalytically dependent and independent manners, respectively

SHP-2, a tyrosine phosphatase implicated in diverse signaling pathways induced by growth factors and cytokines, is also involved in DNA damage-triggered signaling and cellular responses. We previously demonstrated that SHP-2 played an important role in DNA damage-induced apoptosis and G2/M cell cycle checkpoint. In the present studies, we have provided evidence that SHP-2 functions in DNA damage apoptosis and G2/M arrest in catalytically dependent and independent manners, respectively. Mutant embryonic fibroblasts with the Exon 3 deletion mutation in SHP-2 showed decreased apoptosis and diminished G2/M arrest in response to cisplatin treatment. Wild type (WT), but not catalytically inactive mutant SHP-2 (SHP-2 C459S), rescued the apoptotic response of the mutant cells. Interestingly, both WT and SHP-2 C459S efficiently restored the G2/M arrest response. Furthermore, inhibition of the catalytic activity of endogenous SHP-2 in WT cells by overexpression of SHP-2 C459S greatly decreased cell death but not G2/M arrest induced by cisplatin. Biochemical analyses revealed that activation of c-Abl kinase was decreased in SHP-2 C459S-overexpressing cells. However, DNA damage-induced translocation of Cdc25C from the nucleus to the cytoplasm was fully restored in both WT and SHP-2 C459S "rescued" cells. Additionally, we demonstrated that the role of SHP-2 in DNA damage-induced cellular responses was independent of the tumor suppressor p53. Embryonic stem cells with the SHP-2 deletion mutation showed markedly decreased sensitivity to cisplatin-induced apoptosis, attributed to impaired induction of p73 but not p53. In agreement with these results, DNA damage-induced apoptosis and G2/M arrest were also decreased in SHP-2/p53 double mutant embryonic fibroblasts. Collectively, these studies have further defined the mechanisms by which SHP-2 phosphatase regulates DNA damage responses.     

Proteolytic cleavage and activation of protein kinase C [micro] by caspase-3 in the apoptotic response of cells to 1-beta -D-arabinofuranosylcytosine and other genotoxic agents

Protein kinase C (PKC) mu is a novel member of the PKC family that differs from the other isozymes in structural and biochemical properties. The precise function of PKCmu is not known. The present studies demonstrate that PKCmu is cleaved during apoptosis induced by 1-beta-d-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C) and other genotoxic agents. PKCmu cleavage is blocked in cells that overexpress the anti-apoptotic Bcl-x(L) protein or the baculovirus p35 protein. Our results demonstrate that PKCmu is cleaved by caspase-3 at the CQND(378)S site. Cleavage of PKCmu is associated with release of the catalytic domain and activation of its kinase function. We also show that, unlike the cleaved fragments of PKCdelta and theta, overexpression of the PKCmu catalytic domain is not lethal. Cells stably expressing the catalytic fragment of PKCmu, however, are more sensitive to apoptosis induced by genotoxic stress. In addition, expression of the caspase-resistant PKCmu mutant partially inhibits DNA damage-induced apoptosis. These findings demonstrate that PKCmu is cleaved by caspase-3 and that expression of the catalytic domain sensitizes cells to the cytotoxic effects of ara-C and other anticancer agents.     

Activation of the cytoplasmic c-Abl tyrosine kinase by reactive oxygen species

The ubiquitously expressed c-Abl protein tyrosine kinase localizes to both the nucleus and cytoplasm. The nuclear form of c-Abl is activated in the cellular response to genotoxic stress. Here we show that cytoplasmic c-Abl is activated by oxidative stress. The results also demonstrate that mitochondrial cytochrome c is released in the cellular response to H(2)O(2) and that this effect is mediated by a c-Abl-dependent mechanism. In concert with these results, we show that H(2)O(2)-induced apoptosis is attenuated in c-Abl-deficient cells. These findings demonstrate that cytoplasmic c-Abl is involved in the apoptotic response of cells to oxidative stress.     

Activation of MEK kinase 1 by the c-Abl protein tyrosine kinase in response to DNA damage

The c-Abl protein tyrosine kinase is activated by certain DNA-damaging agents and regulates induction of the stress-activated c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (SAPK). Here we show that nuclear c-Abl associates with MEK kinase 1 (MEKK-1), an upstream effector of the SEK1-->SAPK pathway, in the response of cells to genotoxic stress. The results demonstrate that the nuclear c-Abl binds to MEKK-1 and that c-Abl phosphorylates MEKK-1 in vitro and in vivo. Transient-transfection studies with wild-type and kinase-inactive c-Abl demonstrate c-Abl kinase-dependent activation of MEKK-1. Moreover, c-Abl activates MEKK-1 in vitro and in response to DNA damage. The results also demonstrate that c-Abl induces MEKK-1-mediated phosphorylation and activation of SEK1-SAPK in coupled kinase assays. These findings indicate that c-Abl functions upstream of MEKK-1-dependent activation of SAPK in the response to genotoxic stress.     

Identification of new complex for caspase-2 activation after DNA damage

Caspase-2 is reported to play an initiator role in apoptotic cell death in response to DNA damage. In this study, the mechanism of caspase-2 activation after DNA damage was investigated in human ovarian cancer cells Caov-4 treated with the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. To isolate the protein complex that might be involved in caspase-2 activation, a combination of gel filtration and immunoprecipitation was used. In the first step the high molecular weight complexes were separated from caspase-2 monomers by means of gel-filtration and in the second step immunoprecipitation from the high molecular weight gel-filtration fractions allowed us to isolate the complex that contains caspase-2. Interestingly, this complex did not contain the protein RAIDD that is a core component of the PIDDosome platform; the latter was shown to play an essential role in DNA damage-induced caspase-2 activation. Finally, catalytically active caspase-2 was detected in this complex, which indicates the possibility of formation of an alternative platform for caspase2 activation in DNA damage-induced apoptosis.