Tousled-like kinase 2 regulates recovery from a DNA damage-induced G2 arrest.

In order to maintain a stable genome, cells need to detect and repair DNA damage before they complete the division cycle. To this end, cell cycle checkpoints prevent entry into the next cell cycle phase until the damage is fully repaired. Proper reentry into the cell cycle, known as checkpoint recovery, requires that a cell retains its original cell cycle state during the arrest. Here, we have identified Tousled-like kinase 2 (Tlk2) as an important regulator of recovery after DNA damage in G2. We show that Tlk2 regulates the Asf1A histone chaperone in response to DNA damage and that depletion of Asf1A also produces a recovery defect. Both Tlk2 and Asf1A are required to restore histone H3 incorporation into damaged chromatin. Failure to do so affects expression of pro-mitotic genes and compromises the cellular competence to recover from damage-induced cell cycle arrests. Our results demonstrate that Tlk2 promotes Asf1A function during the DNA damage response in G2 to allow for proper restoration of chromatin structure at the break site and subsequent recovery from the arrest.

Distinct phosphatases antagonize the p53 response in different phases of the cell cycle.

The basic machinery that detects DNA damage is the same throughout the cell cycle. Here, we show, in contrast, that reversal of DNA damage responses (DDRs) and recovery are fundamentally different in G1 and G2 phases of the cell cycle. We find that distinct phosphatases are required to counteract the checkpoint response in G1 vs. G2. Whereas WT p53-induced phosphatase 1 (Wip1) promotes recovery in G2-arrested cells by antagonizing p53, it is dispensable for recovery from a G1 arrest. Instead, we identify phosphoprotein phosphatase 4 catalytic subunit (PP4) to be specifically required for cell cycle restart after DNA damage in G1. PP4 dephosphorylates Krüppel-associated box domain-associated protein 1-S473 to repress p53-dependent transcriptional activation of p21 when the DDR is silenced. Taken together, our results show that PP4 and Wip1 are differentially required to counteract the p53-dependent cell cycle arrest in G1 and G2, by antagonizing early or late p53-mediated responses, respectively.

Protein phosphatase 2A (B55α) prevents premature activation of forkhead transcription factor FoxM1 by antagonizing cyclin A/cyclin-dependent kinase-mediated phosphorylation.

The forkhead transcription factor FoxM1 controls expression of a large number of genes that are specifically expressed during the G(2) phase of the cell cycle. Throughout most of the cell cycle, FoxM1 activity is restrained by an autoinhibitory mechanism, involving a repressor domain present in the N-terminal part of the protein. Activation of FoxM1 in G(2) is achieved by Cyclin A/Cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk)-mediated phosphorylation, which alleviates autoinhibition by the N-terminal repressor domain. Here, we show that FoxM1 interacts with B55α, a regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). B55α binds the catalytic subunit of PP2A, and this promotes dephosphorylation and inactivation of FoxM1. Indeed, we find that overexpression of B55α results in decreased FoxM1 activity. Inversely, depletion of B55α results in premature activation of FoxM1. The activation of FoxM1 that is observed upon depletion of B55α is fully dependent on Cyclin A/Cdk-mediated phosphorylation of FoxM1. Taken together, these data demonstrate that B55α acts to antagonize Cyclin A/Cdk-dependent activation of FoxM1, to ensure that FoxM1 activity is restricted to the G(2) phase of the cell cycle.

Recovery from a DNA-damage-induced G2 arrest requires Cdk-dependent activation of FoxM1.

Activation of the DNA-damage checkpoint culminates in the inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) complexes to prevent cell-cycle progression. We have shown recently that Cdk activity is required for activation of the Forkhead transcription factor FoxM1, an important regulator of gene expression in the G2 phase of the cell cycle. Here, we show that FoxM1 is transcriptionally active during a DNA-damage-induced G2 arrest and is essential for checkpoint recovery. Paradoxically, Cdk activity, although reduced after checkpoint activation, is required to maintain FoxM1-dependent transcription during the arrest and for expression of pro-mitotic targets such as cyclin A, cyclin B and Plk1. Indeed, we find that cells need to retain sufficient levels of Cdk activity during the DNA-damage response to maintain cellular competence to recover from a DNA-damaging insult.

Combined Inactivation of Pocket Proteins and APC/CCdh1 by Cdk4/6 Controls Recovery from DNA Damage in G1 Phase.

Most Cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) are redundant for normal cell division. Here we tested whether these redundancies are maintained during cell cycle recovery after a DNA damage-induced arrest in G1. Using non-transformed RPE-1 cells, we find that while Cdk4 and Cdk6 act redundantly during normal S-phase entry, they both become essential for S-phase entry after DNA damage in G1. We show that this is due to a greater overall dependency for Cdk4/6 activity, rather than to independent functions of either kinase. In addition, we show that inactivation of pocket proteins is sufficient to overcome the inhibitory effects of complete Cdk4/6 inhibition in otherwise unperturbed cells, but that this cannot revert the effects of Cdk4/6 inhibition in DNA damaged cultures. Indeed, we could confirm that, in addition to inactivation of pocket proteins, Cdh1-dependent anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/CCdh1) activity needs to be inhibited to promote S-phase entry in damaged cultures. Collectively, our data indicate that DNA damage in G1 creates a unique situation where high levels of Cdk4/6 activity are required to inactivate pocket proteins and APC/CCdh1 to promote the transition from G1 to S phase.

Spatial Separation of Plk1 Phosphorylation and Activity.

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is one of the major kinases controlling mitosis and cell division. Plk1 is first recruited to the centrosome in S phase, then appears on the kinetochores in late G2, and at the end of mitosis, it translocates to the central spindle. Activation of Plk1 requires phosphorylation of T210 by Aurora A, an event that critically depends on the co-factor Bora. However, conflicting reports exist as to where Plk1 is first activated. Phosphorylation of T210 is first observed at the centrosomes, but kinase activity seems to be restricted to the nucleus in the earlier phases of G2. Here, we demonstrate that Plk1 activity manifests itself first in the nucleus using a nuclear FRET-based biosensor for Plk1 activity. However, we find that Bora is restricted to the cytoplasm and that Plk1 is phosphorylated on T210 at the centrosomes. Our data demonstrate that while Plk1 activation occurs on centrosomes, downstream target phosphorylation by Plk1 first occurs in the nucleus. We discuss several explanations for this surprising separation of activation and function.

Comparative phosphoproteomic analysis of checkpoint recovery identifies new regulators of the DNA damage response.

How cells recover from a DNA damage-induced arrest is currently poorly understood. We performed large-scale quantitative phosphoproteomics to identify changes in protein phosphorylation that occurred during recovery from arrest in the G2 phase of the cell cycle caused by DNA damage. We identified 154 proteins that were differentially phosphorylated, and systematic depletion of each of these differentially phosphorylated proteins by small interfering RNA (siRNA) identified at least 10 potential regulators of recovery. Astrin, a protein associated with the mitotic spindle, was among the potential regulators of recovery. We found that astrin controlled the abundance of the cell cycle regulator p53 during DNA damage-induced arrest. Cells in which astrin was depleted had decreased murine double minute 2 (MDM2) abundance and increased p53 at the later stages of the DNA damage response. Astrin was required for continued expression of genes encoding proteins that promote cell cycle progression in arrested cells. Thus, by controlling p53 abundance in cells recovering from DNA damage, astrin maintains the cells in a state competent to resume the cell cycle.