Heat shock factor 1, an inhibitor of non-homologous end joining repair.

A novel role for HSF1 as an inhibitor of non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) repair activity was identified. HSF1 interacted directly with both of the N-terminal sequences of the Ku70 and Ku86 proteins, which inhibited the endogenous heterodimeric interaction between Ku70 and Ku86. The blocking of the Ku70 and Ku86 interaction by HSF1 induced defective NHEJ repair activity and ultimately activated genomic instability after ionizing radiation (IR), which was similar to effects seen in Ku70 or Ku80 knockout cells. The binding activity between HSF1 and Ku70 or Ku86 was dependent on DNA damage response such as IR exposure, but not on the heat shock mediated transcriptional activation of HSF1. Moreover, the posttranslational modification such as phosphorylation, acetylation and sumoylation of HSF1 did not alter the binding activities of HSF1-Ku70 or HSF1-Ku86. Furthermore, the defect in DNA repair activity by HSF1 was observed regardless of p53 status. Rat mammary tumors derived using dimethylbenz(a)anthracence revealed that high levels of HSF1 expression which correlate with aggressive malignancy, interfered with the binding of Ku70-Ku80. This data suggests that HSF1 interacts with both Ku70 and Ku86 to induce defective NHEJ repair activity and genomic instability, which in turn suggests a novel mechanism of HSF1-mediated cellular carcinogenesis.

Sirt1 Regulates Microtubule Dynamics Through Negative Regulation of Plk1 in Mitosis.

Although loss of Sirt1 leads to chromosome aneuploidy, which accounts for higher tumor susceptibility, the molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Herein, we demonstrate that Sirt1 directly regulates Plk1, of which activity is critical for mitotic progression and spindle dynamics. Depletion or inhibition of Sirt1 significantly perturbs the formation of the mitotic spindle, leading to defective chromosome segregation. Elevated depolymerization of the mitotic spindle following loss of Sirt1 was associated with the deregulation of Plk1 activity. Thus, we conclude that Sirt1 may contribute to a mitotic regulator that controls spindle dynamics through Plk1 activity, resulting in fine-tuning of Plk1 dependent microtubule dynamics.

Timely Degradation of Wip1 Phosphatase by APC/C Activator Protein Cdh1 is Necessary for Normal Mitotic Progression.

Wip1 belongs to the protein phosphatase C (PP2C) family, of which expression is up-regulated by a number of external stresses, and serves as a stress modulator in normal physiological conditions. When overexpressed, premature dephosphorylation of stress-mediators by Wip1 results in abrogation of tumor surveillance, thus Wip1 acts as an oncogene. Previously, the functional regulation of Wip1 in cell-cycle progression by counteracting cellular G1 and G2/M checkpoint activity in response to DNA damage was reported. However, other than in stress conditions, the function and regulatory mechanism of Wip1 has not been fully determined. Herein, we demonstrated that protein regulation of Wip1 occurs in a cell cycle-dependent manner, which is directly governed by APC/C(Cdh1) at the end of mitosis. In particular, we also showed evidence that Wip1 phosphatase activity is closely associated with its own protein stability, suggesting that reduced phosphatase activity of Wip1 during mitosis could trigger its degradation. Furthermore, to verify the physiological role of its phosphatase activity during mitosis, we established doxycycline-inducible cell models, including a Wip1 wild type (WT) and phosphatase dead mutant (Wip1 DA). When ectopically expressing Wip1 WT, we observed a delay in the transition from metaphase to anaphase. In conclusion, these studies show that mitotic degradation of Wip1 by APC/C(Cdh1) is important for normal mitotic progression.