RESUMO
The Bloom syndrome helicase (BLM) is critical for genomic stability. A defect in BLM activity results in the cancer-predisposing Bloom syndrome (BS). Here, we report that BLM-deficient cell lines and primary fibroblasts display an endogenously activated DNA double-strand break checkpoint response with prominent levels of phosphorylated histone H2AX (gamma-H2AX), Chk2 (p(T68)Chk2), and ATM (p(S1981)ATM) colocalizing in nuclear foci. Interestingly, the mitotic fraction of gamma-H2AX foci did not seem to be higher in BLM-deficient cells, indicating that these lesions form transiently during interphase. Pulse labeling with iododeoxyuridine and immunofluorescence microscopy showed the colocalization of gamma-H2AX, ATM, and Chk2 together with replication foci. Those foci costained for Rad51, indicating homologous recombination at these replication sites. We therefore analyzed replication in BS cells using a single molecule approach on combed DNA fibers. In addition to a higher frequency of replication fork barriers, BS cells displayed a reduced average fork velocity and global reduction of interorigin distances indicative of an elevated frequency of origin firing. Because BS is one of the most penetrant cancer-predisposing hereditary diseases, it is likely that the lack of BLM engages the cells in a situation similar to precancerous tissues with replication stress. To our knowledge, this is the first report of high ATM-Chk2 kinase activation and its linkage to replication defects in a BS model.
Assuntos
Adenosina Trifosfatases/deficiência , Síndrome de Bloom/patologia , Proteínas de Ciclo Celular/metabolismo , DNA Helicases/deficiência , Replicação do DNA , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/metabolismo , Histonas/metabolismo , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/metabolismo , Proteínas Supressoras de Tumor/metabolismo , Proteínas Mutadas de Ataxia Telangiectasia , Síndrome de Bloom/enzimologia , Síndrome de Bloom/genética , Linhagem Celular Transformada , Quinase do Ponto de Checagem 2 , DNA Topoisomerases Tipo I/metabolismo , Humanos , Metáfase , Fosfoproteínas/metabolismo , Fosforilação , Transporte Proteico , Rad51 Recombinase/metabolismo , RecQ Helicases , Recombinação Genética/genética , Origem de ReplicaçãoRESUMO
Mutations in BLM give rise to Bloom's syndrome, a genetic disorder associated with cancer predisposition and chromosomal instability. Using a dual-labeling system in isolated chromosome fibers, we show that the BLM protein is required for two aspects of the cellular response to replicative stress: efficient replication-fork restart and suppression of new origin firing. These functions require the helicase activity of BLM and the Thr99 residue targeted by stress-activated kinases.
Assuntos
Adenosina Trifosfatases/fisiologia , DNA Helicases/fisiologia , Replicação do DNA , Origem de Replicação , Adenosina Trifosfatases/genética , Células Cultivadas , DNA Helicases/genética , Replicação do DNA/efeitos dos fármacos , Humanos , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/metabolismo , RecQ Helicases , Treonina/metabolismoRESUMO
Bloom's syndrome (BS) is a human genetic disorder associated with cancer predisposition. The BS gene product, BLM, is a member of the RecQ helicase family, which is required for the maintenance of genome stability in all organisms. In budding and fission yeasts, loss of RecQ helicase function confers sensitivity to inhibitors of DNA replication, such as hydroxyurea (HU), by failure to execute normal cell cycle progression following recovery from such an S-phase arrest. We have examined the role of the human BLM protein in recovery from S-phase arrest mediated by HU and have probed whether the stress-activated ATR kinase, which functions in checkpoint signaling during S-phase arrest, plays a role in the regulation of BLM function. We show that, consistent with a role for BLM in protection of human cells against the toxicity associated with arrest of DNA replication, BS cells are hypersensitive to HU. BLM physically associates with ATR (ataxia telangiectasia and rad3(+) related) protein and is phosphorylated on two residues in the N-terminal domain, Thr-99 and Thr-122, by this kinase. Moreover, BS cells ectopically expressing a BLM protein containing phosphorylation-resistant T99A/T122A substitutions fail to adequately recover from an HU-induced replication blockade, and the cells subsequently arrest at a caffeine-sensitive G(2)/M checkpoint. These abnormalities are not associated with a failure of the BLM-T99A/T122A protein to localize to replication foci or to colocalize either with ATR itself or with other proteins that are required for response to DNA damage, such as phosphorylated histone H2AX and RAD51. Our data indicate that RecQ helicases play a conserved role in recovery from perturbations in DNA replication and are consistent with a model in which RecQ helicases act to restore productive DNA replication following S-phase arrest and hence prevent subsequent genomic instability.