Sustained CHK2 activity, but not ATM activity, is critical to maintain a G1 arrest after DNA damage in untransformed cells.

BACKGROUND: The G1 checkpoint is a critical regulator of genomic stability in untransformed cells, preventing cell cycle progression after DNA damage. DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) recruit and activate ATM, a kinase which in turn activates the CHK2 kinase to establish G1 arrest. While the onset of G1 arrest is well understood, the specific role that ATM and CHK2 play in regulating G1 checkpoint maintenance remains poorly characterized. RESULTS: Here we examine the impact of ATM and CHK2 activities on G1 checkpoint maintenance in untransformed cells after DNA damage caused by DSBs. We show that ATM becomes dispensable for G1 checkpoint maintenance as early as 1 h after DSB induction. In contrast, CHK2 kinase activity is necessary to maintain the G1 arrest, independently of ATM, ATR, and DNA-PKcs, implying that the G1 arrest is maintained in a lesion-independent manner. Sustained CHK2 activity is achieved through auto-activation and its acute inhibition enables cells to abrogate the G1-checkpoint and enter into S-phase. Accordingly, we show that CHK2 activity is lost in cells that recover from the G1 arrest, pointing to the involvement of a phosphatase with fast turnover. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that G1 checkpoint maintenance relies on CHK2 and that its negative regulation is crucial for G1 checkpoint recovery after DSB induction.

An E2F7-dependent transcriptional program modulates DNA damage repair and genomic stability.

The cellular response to DNA damage is essential for maintaining the integrity of the genome. Recent evidence has identified E2F7 as a key player in DNA damage-dependent transcriptional regulation of cell-cycle genes. However, the contribution of E2F7 to cellular responses upon genotoxic damage is still poorly defined. Here we show that E2F7 represses the expression of genes involved in the maintenance of genomic stability, both throughout the cell cycle and upon induction of DNA lesions that interfere with replication fork progression. Knockdown of E2F7 leads to a reduction in 53BP1 and FANCD2 foci and to fewer chromosomal aberrations following treatment with agents that cause interstrand crosslink (ICL) lesions but not upon ionizing radiation. Accordingly, E2F7-depleted cells exhibit enhanced cell-cycle re-entry and clonogenic survival after exposure to ICL-inducing agents. We further report that expression and functional activity of E2F7 are p53-independent in this context. Using a cell-based assay, we show that E2F7 restricts homologous recombination through the transcriptional repression of RAD51. Finally, we present evidence that downregulation of E2F7 confers an increased resistance to chemotherapy in recombination-deficient cells. Taken together, our results reveal an E2F7-dependent transcriptional program that contributes to the regulation of DNA repair and genomic integrity.

E2F7 regulates transcription and maturation of multiple microRNAs to restrain cell proliferation.

E2F transcription factors (E2F1-8) are known to coordinately regulate the expression of a plethora of target genes, including those coding for microRNAs (miRNAs), to control cell cycle progression. Recent work has described the atypical E2F factor E2F7 as a transcriptional repressor of cell cycle-related protein-coding genes. However, the contribution of E2F7 to miRNA gene expression during the cell cycle has not been defined. We have performed a genome-wide RNA sequencing analysis to identify E2F7-regulated miRNAs and show that E2F7 plays as a major role in the negative regulation of a set of miRNAs that promote cellular proliferation. We provide mechanistic evidence for an interplay between E2F7 and the canonical E2F factors E2F1-3 in the regulation of multiple miRNAs. We show that miR-25, -26a, -27b, -92a and -7 expression is controlled at the transcriptional level by the antagonistic activity of E2F7 and E2F1-3. By contrast, let-7 miRNA expression is controlled indirectly through a novel E2F/c-MYC/LIN28B axis, whereby E2F7 and E2F1-3 modulate c-MYC and LIN28B levels to impact let-7 miRNA processing and maturation. Taken together, our data uncover a new regulatory network involving transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms controlled by E2F7 to restrain cell cycle progression through repression of proliferation-promoting miRNAs.

Golgi Oncoprotein GOLPH3 Gene Expression Is Regulated by Functional E2F and CREB/ATF Promoter Elements.

The Golgi organelle duplicates its protein and lipid content to segregate evenly between two daughter cells after mitosis. However, how Golgi biogenesis is regulated during interphase remains largely unknown. Here we show that messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of GOLPH3 and GOLGA2, two genes encoding Golgi proteins, is induced specifically in G1 phase, suggesting a link between cell cycle regulation and Golgi growth. We have examined the role of E2F transcription factors, critical regulators of G1 to S progression of the cell cycle, in the expression of Golgi proteins during interphase. We show that promoter activity for GOLPH3, a Golgi protein that is also oncogenic, is induced by E2F1-3 and repressed by E2F7. Mutation of the E2F motifs present in the GOLPH3 promoter region abrogates E2F1-mediated induction of a GOLPH3 luciferase reporter construct. Furthermore, we identify a critical CREB/ATF element in the GOLPH3 promoter that is required for its steady state and ATF2-induced expression. Interestingly, depletion of GOLPH3 with small interfering RNA (siRNA) delays the G1 to S transition in synchronized U2OS cells. Taken together, our results reveal a link between cell cycle regulation and Golgi function, and suggest that E2F-mediated regulation of Golgi genes is required for the timely progression of the cell cycle.