Polo-like kinase 1 mediates BRCA1 phosphorylation and recruitment at DNA double-strand breaks.

Accurate repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) caused during DNA replication and by exogenous stresses is critical for the maintenance of genomic integrity. There is growing evidence that the Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) that plays a number of pivotal roles in cell proliferation can directly participate in regulation of DSB repair. In this study, we show that Plk1 regulates BRCA1, a key mediator protein required to efficiently repair DSB through homologous recombination (HR). Following induction of DSB, BRCA1 concentrates in distinctive large nuclear foci at damage sites where multiple DNA repair factors accumulate. First, we found that inhibition of Plk1 shortly before DNA damage sensitizes cells to ionizing radiation and reduces DSB repair by HR. Second, we provide evidence that BRCA1 foci formation induced by DSB is reduced when Plk1 is inhibited or depleted. Third, we identified BRCA1 as a novel Plk1 substrate and determined that Ser1164 is the major phosphorylation site for Plk1 in vitro. In cells, mutation of Plk1 sites on BRCA1 significantly delays BRCA1 foci formation following DSB, recapitulating the phenotype observed upon Plk1 inhibition. Our data then assign a key function to Plk1 in BRCA1 foci formation at DSB, emphasizing Plk1 importance in the HR repair of human cells.

JNK is associated with Bcl-2 and PP1 in mitochondria: paclitaxel induces its activation and its association with the phosphorylated form of Bcl-2.

It has been shown that the activation of JNK after paclitaxel-induced microtubule damage is parallel to Bcl-2 phosphorylation, cell cycle arrest in mitosis and apoptosis. Using subcellular fractionation and immunocytochemistry, we found here that a pool of activated JNK is located in mitochondria of HeLa cells treated with paclitaxel. Furthermore, whereas the JNK protein is present in a tripartite complex with the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein and the PP1 phosphatase in mitochondria isolated from control cells, the activated form of JNK was associated with the phosphorylated form of Bcl-2, but devoid of PP1, in mitochondria isolated from paclitaxel-treated cells. Moreover, using an original cell-free system, we evidenced a direct involvement of JNK as the kinase responsible for the phosphorylation of mitochondrial Bcl-2 in mitotic arrested cells. Indeed, cytosols prepared from mitotic arrested cells led to a dose-dependent phosphorylation of mitochondrial Bcl-2. Bcl-2 phosphorylation was inhibited by CEP 11004, a JNK pathway inhibitor and by immunodepletion of JNK. Taken together, these data show that JNK activation provides a molecular linkage from microtubule damages to the mitochondrial apoptotic machinery and also point to a pivotal role for the JNK/Bcl-2/PP1 complex in the control of apoptosis following paclitaxel treatment.

The human dynamin-related protein OPA1 is anchored to the mitochondrial inner membrane facing the inter-membrane space.

Mutations in the OPA1 gene are associated with autosomal dominant optic atrophy. OPA1 encodes a dynamin-related protein orthologous to Msp1 of Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Mgm1p of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, both involved in mitochondrial morphology and genome maintenance. We present immuno-fluorescence and biochemical evidences showing that OPA1 resides in the mitochondria where it is imported through its highly basic amino-terminal extension. Proteolysis experiments indicate that OPA1 is present in the inter-membrane space and electron microscopy further localizes it close to the cristae. The strong association of OPA1 with membranes suggests its anchoring to the inner membrane.

PP1 phosphatase is involved in Bcl-2 dephosphorylation after prolonged mitotic arrest induced by paclitaxel.

During mitotic arrest induced by paclitaxel, most of the mitochondrial Bcl-2 is phosphorylated. This mitotic arrest is transient; exit from mitosis, due to mitotic slippage, occurs and Bcl-2 is rapidly dephosphorylated. In the present study, we characterized PP1 as the cytosolic phosphatase involved in Bcl-2 dephosphorylation. When mitochondria and cytosol prepared from mitotic arrested cells were incubated in vitro, the proportion of phosphorylated forms of Bcl-2 in mitochondria remained unchanged. In contrast, cytosol prepared from cells during mitotic slippage led to a dose-dependent loss of phosphorylated forms of Bcl-2. Depletion of these cytosol extracts by microcystin-Sepharose maintained Bcl-2 phosphorylated forms, indicating that this cytosol possessed phosphatase activity. Furthermore, the dephosphorylation of Bcl-2 by cytosol prepared from cells exiting mitotic block was inhibited by okadaic acid, at a dose known to inhibit PP1, and by inhibitor 2, a specific inhibitor of PP1 and by immunodepletion of PP1. Finally, we showed that PP1 is associated with mitochondrial Bcl-2 in vivo. Taken together, these results demonstrate that PP1 is directly involved in Bcl-2 dephosphorylation during mitotic slippage.

Tubulin is an inherent component of mitochondrial membranes that interacts with the voltage-dependent anion channel.

We have previously reported that anti-tubulin agents induce the release of cytochrome c from isolated mitochondria. In this study, we show that tubulin is present in mitochondria isolated from different human cancerous and non-cancerous cell lines. The absence of polymerized microtubules and cytosolic proteins was checked to ensure that this tubulin is an inherent component of the mitochondria. In addition, a salt wash did not release the tubulin from the mitochondria. By using electron microscopy, we then showed that tubulin is localized in the mitochondrial membranes. As compared with cellular tubulin, mitochondrial tubulin is enriched in acetylated and tyrosinated alpha-tubulin and is also enriched in the class III beta-tubulin isotype but contains very little of the class IV beta-tubulin isotype. The mitochondrial tubulin is likely to be organized in alpha/beta dimers and represents 2.2 +/- 0.5% of total cellular tubulin. Lastly, we showed by immunoprecipitation experiments that the mitochondrial tubulin is specifically associated with the voltage-dependent anion channel, the main component of the permeability transition pore. Thus, tubulin is an inherent component of mitochondrial membranes, and it could play a role in apoptosis via interaction with the permeability transition pore.