ABSTRACT
Since the report of "DNA untwisting" activity in 1972, â¼50 years of research has revealed seven topoisomerases in humans (TOP1, TOP1mt, TOP2α, TOP2ß, TOP3α, TOP3ß and Spo11). These conserved regulators of DNA topology catalyze controlled breakage to the DNA backbone to relieve the torsional stress that accumulates during essential DNA transactions including DNA replication, transcription, and DNA repair. Each topoisomerase-catalyzed reaction involves the formation of a topoisomerase cleavage complex (TOPcc), a covalent protein-DNA reaction intermediate formed between the DNA phosphodiester backbone and a topoisomerase catalytic tyrosine residue. A variety of perturbations to topoisomerase reaction cycles can trigger failure of the enzyme to re-ligate the broken DNA strand(s), thereby generating topoisomerase DNA-protein crosslinks (TOP-DPC). TOP-DPCs pose unique threats to genomic integrity. These complex lesions are comprised of structurally diverse protein components covalently linked to genomic DNA, which are bulky DNA adducts that can directly impact progression of the transcription and DNA replication apparatus. A variety of genome maintenance pathways have evolved to recognize and resolve TOP-DPCs. Eukaryotic cells harbor tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterases (TDPs) that directly reverse 3'-phosphotyrosyl (TDP1) and 5'-phoshotyrosyl (TDP2) protein-DNA linkages. The broad specificity Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 and APE2 nucleases are also critical for mitigating topoisomerase-generated DNA damage. These DNA-protein crosslink metabolizing enzymes are further enabled by proteolytic degradation, with the proteasome, Spartan, GCNA, Ddi2, and FAM111A proteases implicated thus far. Strategies to target, unfold, and degrade the protein component of TOP-DPCs have evolved as well. Here we survey mechanisms for addressing Topoisomerase 1 (TOP1) and Topoisomerase 2 (TOP2) DPCs, highlighting systems for which molecular structure information has illuminated function of these critical DNA damage response pathways.
ABSTRACT
Proteasome is essential for cell survival, and proteasome inhibition induces proteasomal gene transcription via the activated endoplasmic-reticulum-associated transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-like 1 (Nrf1/NFE2L1). Nrf1 activation requires proteolytic cleavage by DDI2 and N-glycan removal by NGLY1. We previously showed that Nrf1 ubiquitination by SKP1-CUL1-F-box (SCF)FBS2/FBXO6, an N-glycan-recognizing E3 ubiquitin ligase, impairs its activation, although the molecular mechanism remained elusive. Here, we show that SCFFBS2 cooperates with the RING-between-RING (RBR)-type E3 ligase ARIH1 to ubiquitinate Nrf1 through oxyester bonds in human cells. Endo-ß-N-acetylglucosaminidase (ENGASE) generates asparagine-linked N-acetyl glucosamine (N-GlcNAc) residues from N-glycans, and N-GlcNAc residues on Nrf1 served as acceptor sites for SCFFBS2-ARIH1-mediated ubiquitination. We reconstituted the polyubiquitination of N-GlcNAc and serine/threonine residues on glycopeptides and found that the RBR-specific E2 enzyme UBE2L3 is required for the assembly of atypical ubiquitin chains on Nrf1. The atypical ubiquitin chains inhibited DDI2-mediated activation. The present results identify an unconventional ubiquitination pathway that inhibits Nrf1 activation.
Subject(s)
Nuclear Respiratory Factor 1 , Ubiquitination , Humans , HEK293 Cells , Nuclear Respiratory Factor 1/metabolism , Nuclear Respiratory Factor 1/genetics , NF-E2-Related Factor 1/metabolism , NF-E2-Related Factor 1/genetics , Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/metabolism , Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/genetics , Acetylglucosamine/metabolism , HeLa Cells , Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex/metabolism , F-Box Proteins/metabolism , F-Box Proteins/geneticsABSTRACT
Glioblastoma, the most severe form of brain tumor and a leading cause of death within a year of diagnosis, is characterized by excessive protein synthesis and folding in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), leading to increased ER stress in the cells of GBM tissues. To mitigate this stress the cancer cells have intelligently adopted a plethora of response mechanisms and Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) is one of those. To bear with this exhaustive situation cells upregulate a strong protein degradation system in form of 26S proteasome and blocking of proteasomal gene synthesis may be a potential therapeutic action against GBM. Proteasomal gene synthesis is exclusively dependent on the transcription factor Nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1) and its activating enzyme DNA damage inducible 1 homolog 2 (DDI2). Here in this study, we performed molecular docking against DDI2 with the 20 FDA-approved drugs and identified Alvimopan and Levocabastine as the top two compounds with the best binding score along with the standard drug Nelfinavir. MD simulation (100 ns) of these protein-ligand docked complexes reveals that the stability and compactness of Alvimopan are high in comparison with Nelfinavir. Our in-silico (Molecular docking and Molecular dynamics simulation) studies pointed out that Alvimopan may be repurposed as a DDI2 inhibitor and can be used as a potential anticancer agent for the treatment of brain tumors.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents , Aspartic Acid Proteases , Glioblastoma , Humans , Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use , Drug Repositioning , Glioblastoma/drug therapy , Molecular Docking Simulation , Molecular Dynamics Simulation , Nelfinavir/pharmacology , Aspartic Acid Proteases/antagonists & inhibitorsABSTRACT
The scaffolding protein angiomotin (AMOT) is indispensable for vertebrate embryonic angiogenesis. Here, we report that AMOT undergoes cleavage in the presence of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a lipid growth factor also involved in angiogenesis. AMOT cleavage is mediated by aspartic protease DNA damage-inducible 1 homolog 2 (DDI2), and the process is tightly regulated by a signaling axis including neurofibromin 2 (NF2), tankyrase 1/2 (TNKS1/2), and RING finger protein 146 (RNF146), which induce AMOT membrane localization, poly ADP ribosylation, and ubiquitination, respectively. In both zebrafish and mice, the genetic inactivation of AMOT cleavage regulators leads to defective angiogenesis, and the phenotype is rescued by the overexpression of AMOT-CT, a C-terminal AMOT cleavage product. In either physiological or pathological angiogenesis, AMOT-CT is required for vascular expansion, whereas uncleavable AMOT represses this process. Thus, our work uncovers a signaling pathway that regulates angiogenesis by modulating a cleavage-dependent activation of AMOT.
Subject(s)
Angiomotins , Zebrafish , Animals , Mice , Zebrafish/metabolism , Microfilament Proteins/metabolism , Peptide Hydrolases , Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/geneticsABSTRACT
The transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2 like 1 (NFE2L1 or NRF1) regulates constitutive and inducible expression of proteasome subunits and assembly chaperones. The precursor of NRF1 is integrated into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and can be retrotranslocated from the ER to the cytosol where it is processed by ubiquitin-directed endoprotease DDI2. DDI2 cleaves and activates NRF1 only when NRF1 is highly polyubiquitinated. It remains unclear how retrotranslocated NRF1 is primed with large amount of ubiquitin and/or very long polyubiquitin chain for subsequent processing. Here, we report that E3 ligase UBE4A catalyzes ubiquitination of retrotranslocated NRF1 and promotes its cleavage. Depletion of UBE4A reduces the amount of ubiquitin modified on NRF1, shortens the average length of polyubiquitin chain, decreases NRF1 cleavage efficiency and causes accumulation of non-cleaved, inactivated NRF1. Expression of a UBE4A mutant lacking ligase activity impairs the cleavage, likely due to a dominant negative effect. UBE4A interacts with NRF1 and the recombinant UBE4A can promote ubiquitination of retrotranslocated NRF1 in vitro. In addition, knocking out UBE4A reduces transcription of proteasomal subunits in cells. Our results indicate that UBE4A primes NRF1 for DDI2-mediated activation to facilitate expression of proteasomal genes.
Subject(s)
Polyubiquitin , Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex , Cell Nucleus/metabolism , Polyubiquitin/genetics , Polyubiquitin/metabolism , Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex/metabolism , Ubiquitin/metabolism , Ubiquitination , HEK293 Cells , HumansABSTRACT
DDI2 and DDI3 (DDI2/3) are two identical genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae encoding cyanamide (CY) hydratase. They are not only highly induced by CY, but also by a DNA-damaging agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), and the regulatory mechanism is unknown. In this study, we performed a modified genome-wide genetic synthetic array screen and identified Fzf1 as a zinc-finger transcriptional activator required for CY/MMS-induced DDI2/3 expression. Fzf1 binds to a DDI2/3 promoter consensus sequence CS2 in vivo and in vitro, and this interaction was enhanced in response to the CY treatment. Indeed, experimental over production of Fzf1 alone was sufficient to induce DDI2/3 expression; however, CY and MMS treatments did not cause the accumulation or apparent alteration in migration of cellular Fzf1. To test a hypothesis that Fzf1 is activated by covalent modification of CY and MMS, we performed mass spectrometry of CY/MMS-treated Fzf1 and detected a few modified lysine residues. Amino acid substitutions of these residues revealed that Fzf1-K70A completely abolished MMS-induced and reduced CY-induced DDI2/3 expression, indicating that the Fzf1-K70 methylation activates Fzf1. This study collectively reveals a novel regulatory mechanism by which Fzf1 is activated by chemical modifications and in turn induces the expression of its target genes for detoxification.
Subject(s)
Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Transcription Factors , Transcriptional Activation/genetics , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genetics , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/metabolism , Transcription Factors/genetics , Transcription Factors/metabolismABSTRACT
The normal colorectal mucosa undergoes precancerous lesions that can develop over time into colorectal cancer (CRC). In the stage of precancerous lesions, DNA replication stress may lead to genome instability. We have performed whole-exome sequencing on genomic DNA obtained from three cases of CRC tissues and identified a novel frameshift mutation of DNA damage inducible 1 homolog 2 gene (DDI2, c. 854 del T). To date, there is no direct evidence that DDI2 is involved in the carcinogenesis of CRC. In this study, we demonstrated that DDI2 is upregulated in the early stage of CRC based on clinical samples and public databases. We also found that 5FU, a standard chemotherapeutic agent for CRC treatment, increased DDI2 mRNA levels in a dose-dependent manner. Depression of DDI2 inhibited CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion both in vitro and in vivo. Transcriptome sequencing revealed that DDI2 was involved in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Furthermore, DDI2 resists a MAPK kinase (MEK) inhibitor (trametinib) and a PolyADP-ribose polymerase 1 (PARP1) inhibitor (talazoparib) induced apoptosis in CRC cells. Thus, our results indicate that DDI2 may play a vital role in the carcinogenesis of CRC and could serve as a promising therapeutic target for CRC.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents , Colorectal Neoplasms , Humans , Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Apoptosis , Carcinogenesis/genetics , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Movement , Cell Proliferation , Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy , Colorectal Neoplasms/genetics , Colorectal Neoplasms/metabolism , Gene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticABSTRACT
Although several proteasome subunits have been shown to bind ubiquitin (Ub) chains, many ubiquitylated substrates also associate with 26S proteasomes via "shuttling factors." Unlike the well-studied yeast shuttling factors Rad23 and Dsk2, vertebrate homologs Ddi2 and Ddi1 lack a Ub-associated domain; therefore, it is unclear how they bind Ub. Here, we show that deletion of Ddi2 leads to the accumulation of Ub conjugates with K11/K48 branched chains. We found using affinity copurifications that Ddi2 binds Ub conjugates through its Ub-like domain, which is also required for Ddi2 binding to proteasomes. Furthermore, in cell extracts, adding Ub conjugates increased the amount of Ddi2 associated with proteasomes, and adding Ddi2 increased the binding of Ub conjugates to purified proteasomes. In addition, Ddi2 also contains a retroviral protease domain with undefined cellular roles. We show that blocking the endoprotease activity of Ddi2 either genetically or with the HIV protease inhibitor nelfinavir increased its binding to Ub conjugates but decreased its binding to proteasomes and reduced subsequent protein degradation by proteasomes leading to further accumulation of Ub conjugates. Finally, nelfinavir treatment required Ddi2 to induce the unfolded protein response. Thus, Ddi2 appears to function as a shuttling factor in endoplasmic reticulum-associated protein degradation and delivers K11/K48-ubiquitylated proteins to the proteasome. We conclude that the protease activity of Ddi2 influences this shuttling factor activity, promotes protein turnover, and helps prevent endoplasmic reticulum stress, which may explain nelfinavir's ability to enhance cell killing by proteasome inhibitors.
Subject(s)
Nelfinavir , Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex , Animals , Mammals/metabolism , Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex/metabolism , Proteasome Inhibitors , Proteolysis , Ubiquitin/metabolismABSTRACT
Proteasome inhibitors (PIs) are currently used in the clinic to treat cancers such as multiple myeloma (MM). However, cancer cells often rapidly develop drug resistance towards PIs due to a compensatory mechanism mediated by nuclear factor erythroid 2 like 1 (NFE2L1) and aspartic protease DNA damage inducible 1 homolog 2 (DDI2). Following DDI2-mediated cleavage, NFE2L1 is able to induce transcription of virtually all proteasome subunit genes. Under normal condition, cleaved NFE2L1 is constantly degraded by proteasome, whereas in the presence of PIs, it accumulates and induces proteasome synthesis which in turn promotes the development of drug resistance towards PIs. Here, we report that Nelfinavir (NFV), an HIV protease inhibitor, can inhibit DDI2 activity directly. Inhibition of DDI2 by NFV effectively blocks NFE2L1 proteolysis and potentiates cytotoxicity of PIs in cancer cells. Recent clinical evidence indicated that NFV can effectively delay the refractory period of MM patients treated with PI-based therapy. Our finding hence provides a specific molecular mechanism for combinatorial therapy using NFV and PIs for treating MM and probably additional cancers.
Subject(s)
Aspartic Acid Proteases/metabolism , HIV Protease Inhibitors/pharmacology , Multiple Myeloma/drug therapy , Nelfinavir/pharmacology , Proteasome Inhibitors/pharmacology , HCT116 Cells , HEK293 Cells , Humans , ProteolysisABSTRACT
The Ddi1/DDI2 proteins are ubiquitin shuttling factors, implicated in a variety of cellular functions. In addition to ubiquitin-binding and ubiquitin-like domains, they contain a conserved region with similarity to retroviral proteases, but whether and how DDI2 functions as a protease has remained unknown. Here, we show that DDI2 knockout cells are sensitive to proteasome inhibition and accumulate high-molecular weight, ubiquitylated proteins that are poorly degraded by the proteasome. These proteins are targets for the protease activity of purified DDI2. No evidence for DDI2 acting as a de-ubiquitylating enzyme was uncovered, which could suggest that it cleaves the ubiquitylated protein itself. In support of this idea, cleavage of transcription factor NRF1 is known to require DDI2 activity in vivo. We show that DDI2 is indeed capable of cleaving NRF1 in vitro but only when NRF1 protein is highly poly-ubiquitylated. Together, these data suggest that DDI2 is a ubiquitin-directed endoprotease.
Subject(s)
Aspartic Acid Proteases/metabolism , Nuclear Respiratory Factor 1/metabolism , Ubiquitin/metabolism , Aspartic Acid Proteases/genetics , Binding Sites , CRISPR-Cas Systems , Cell Line , Gene Knockout Techniques , HEK293 Cells , Humans , Protein Biosynthesis , ProteolysisABSTRACT
Protein folding is a substantively error prone process, especially when it occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The highly exquisite machinery in the ER controls secretory protein folding, recognizes aberrant folding states, and retrotranslocates permanently misfolded proteins from the ER back to the cytosol; these misfolded proteins are then degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome system termed as the ER-associated degradation (ERAD). The 26S proteasome is a multisubunit protease complex that recognizes and degrades ubiquitinated proteins in an ATP-dependent manner. The complex structure of the 26S proteasome requires exquisite regulation at the transcription, translation, and molecular assembly levels. Nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-related factor 1 (Nrf1; NFE2L1), an ER-resident transcription factor, has recently been shown to be responsible for the coordinated expression of all the proteasome subunit genes upon proteasome impairment in mammalian cells. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding the transcriptional regulation of the proteasome, as well as recent findings concerning the regulation of Nrf1 transcription activity in ER homeostasis and metabolic processes.
Subject(s)
Nuclear Respiratory Factor 1/metabolism , Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex/metabolism , Proteostasis , Animals , Endoplasmic Reticulum-Associated Degradation , Humans , Nuclear Respiratory Factor 1/genetics , Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex/geneticsABSTRACT
Proteasome inhibitors are the backbone of multiple myeloma therapy. However, disease progression or early relapse occur due to development of resistance to the therapy. One important cause of resistance to proteasome inhibition is the so-called bounce-back response, a recovery pathway driven by the TCF11/Nrf1 transcription factor, which activates proteasome gene re-synthesis upon impairment of the proteasome function. Thus, inhibiting this recovery pathway potentiates the cytotoxic effect of proteasome inhibitors and could benefit treatment outcomes. DDI2 protease, the 3D structure of which resembles the HIV protease, serves as the key player in TCF11/Nrf1 activation. Previous work found that some HIV protease inhibitors block DDI2 in cell-based experiments. Nelfinavir, an oral anti-HIV drug, inhibits the proteasome and/or pAKT pathway and has shown promise for treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Here, we describe how nelfinavir inhibits the TCF11/Nrf1-driven recovery pathway by a dual mode of action. Nelfinavir decreases the total protein level of TCF11/Nrf1 and inhibits TCF11/Nrf1 proteolytic processing, likely by interfering with the DDI2 protease, and therefore reduces the TCF11/Nrf1 protein level in the nucleus. We propose an overall mechanism that explains nelfinavir's effectiveness in the treatment of multiple myeloma.
ABSTRACT
During protein degradation by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, latent 26S proteasomes in the cytosol must assume an active form. Proteasomes are activated when ubiquitylated substrates bind to them and interact with the proteasome-bound deubiquitylase Usp14/Ubp6. The resulting increase in the proteasome's degradative activity was recently shown to be mediated by Usp14's ubiquitin-like (Ubl) domain, which, by itself, can trigger proteasome activation. Many other proteins with diverse cellular functions also contain Ubl domains and can associate with 26S proteasomes. We therefore tested if various Ubl-containing proteins that have important roles in protein homeostasis or disease also activate 26S proteasomes. All seven Ubl-containing proteins tested-the shuttling factors Rad23A, Rad23B, and Ddi2; the deubiquitylase Usp7, the ubiquitin ligase Parkin, the cochaperone Bag6, and the protein phosphatase UBLCP1-stimulated peptide hydrolysis two- to fivefold. Rather than enhancing already active proteasomes, Rad23B and its Ubl domain activated previously latent 26S particles. Also, Ubl-containing proteins (if present with an unfolded protein) increased proteasomal adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis, the step which commits substrates to degradation. Surprisingly, some of these proteins also could stimulate peptide hydrolysis even when their Ubl domains were deleted. However, their Ubl domains were required for the increased ATPase activity. Thus, upon binding to proteasomes, Ubl-containing proteins not only deliver substrates (e.g., the shuttling factors) or provide additional enzymatic activities (e.g., Parkin) to proteasomes, but also increase their capacity for proteolysis.
Subject(s)
Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex/metabolism , Proteolysis , Ubiquitin/metabolism , Binding Sites , DNA-Binding Proteins/chemistry , DNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism , Endopeptidases/chemistry , Endopeptidases/metabolism , Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex/chemistry , Protein Binding , Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins/chemistry , Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins/metabolism , Ubiquitin/chemistry , Ubiquitin Thiolesterase/chemistry , Ubiquitin Thiolesterase/metabolism , Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/chemistry , Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/metabolism , Ubiquitin-Specific Peptidase 7/chemistry , Ubiquitin-Specific Peptidase 7/metabolismABSTRACT
The life cycles of retroviruses rely on the limited proteolysis catalyzed by the viral protease. Numerous eukaryotic organisms also express endogenously such proteases, which originate from retrotransposons or retroviruses, including DNA damage-inducible 1 and 2 (Ddi1 and Ddi2, respectively) proteins. In this study, we performed a comparative analysis based on the structural data currently available in Protein Data Bank (PDB) and Structural summaries of PDB entries (PDBsum) databases, with a special emphasis on the regions involved in dimerization of retroviral and retroviral-like Ddi proteases. In addition to Ddi1 and Ddi2, at least one member of all seven genera of the Retroviridae family was included in this comparison. We found that the studied retroviral and non-viral proteases show differences in the mode of dimerization and density of intermonomeric contacts, and distribution of the structural characteristics is in agreement with their evolutionary relationships. Multiple sequence and structure alignments revealed that the interactions between the subunits depend mainly on the overall organization of the dimer interface. We think that better understanding of the general and specific features of proteases may support the characterization of retroviral-like proteases.
Subject(s)
Biological Evolution , Peptide Hydrolases/chemistry , Peptide Hydrolases/metabolism , Retroviridae/enzymology , Retroviridae/physiology , Catalytic Domain , Dimerization , Humans , Models, Molecular , Peptide Hydrolases/classification , Peptide Hydrolases/genetics , Phylogeny , Protein Conformation , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Retroviridae/genetics , Sequence AlignmentABSTRACT
Proteasome inhibition is used therapeutically to induce proteotoxic stress and trigger apoptosis in cancer cells that are highly dependent on the proteasome. As a mechanism of resistance, inhibition of the cellular proteasome induces the synthesis of new, uninhibited proteasomes to restore proteasome activity and relieve proteotoxic stress in the cell, thus evading apoptosis. This evolutionarily conserved compensatory mechanism is referred to as the proteasome-bounce back response and is orchestrated in mammalian cells by nuclear factor erythroid derived 2-related factor 1 (NRF1), a transcription factor and master regulator of proteasome subunit genes. Upon synthesis, NRF1 is cotranslationally inserted into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), then is rapidly retrotranslocated into the cytosol and degraded by the proteasome. In contrast, during conditions of proteasome inhibition or insufficiency, NRF1 escapes degradation, is proteolytically cleaved by the aspartyl protease DNA damage inducible 1 homolog 2 (DDI2) to its active form, and enters the nucleus as an active transcription factor. Despite these insights, the cellular compartment where the proteolytic processing step occurs remains unclear. Here we further probed this pathway and found that NRF1 can be completely retrotranslocated into the cytosol where it is then cleaved and activated by DDI2. Furthermore, using a triple-negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231, we investigated the therapeutic utility of attenuating DDI2 function. We found that DDI2 depletion attenuated NRF1 activation and potentiated the cytotoxic effects of the proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib. More importantly, expression of a point-mutant of DDI2 that is protease-dead recapitulated these effects. Taken together, our results provide a strong rationale for a combinational therapy that utilizes inhibition of the proteasome and the protease function of DDI2. This approach could expand the repertoire of cancer types that can be successfully treated with proteasome inhibitors in the clinic.
Subject(s)
Aspartic Acid Proteases/metabolism , Nuclear Respiratory Factor 1/metabolism , Oligopeptides/pharmacology , Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex/metabolism , Proteasome Inhibitors/pharmacology , Animals , Apoptosis/drug effects , Cell Line, Tumor , Cytosol/drug effects , Cytosol/metabolism , HEK293 Cells , Humans , Mice , NIH 3T3 Cells , Protein Transport/drug effects , Transcriptional Activation/drug effectsABSTRACT
Mutations in the DNA damage repair (DDR) pathway are frequently detected in colorectal cancer (CRC). The dysregulation of miRNAs, such as oncogenes or tumor suppressors, participates in CRC tumorigenesis. A previous study showed that low miR-3607 expression correlated with poor survival in prostate cancer patients, but its role in CRC remains unclear. In this study, we analyzed miR-3607 expression Pan-Cancer data from the NCI's Genomic Data Commons (GDC) and found that miR-3607 was downregulated in lymphatic invasion patients and in recurrent cancer and correlated with Pan-Cancer patient survival. Functional studies indicated that the overexpression of miR-3607 decreased CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Additionally, we used gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis and a protein-protein interaction network to demonstrate that miR-3607 affects the DDR pathway. Luciferase reporter and apoptosis assays confirmed that DNA damage inducible 1 homolog 2 (DDI2) is the functional target of miR-3607. Therefore, miR-3607 inhibits the tumorigenesis of CRC probably by suppressing the oncogene DDI2, and it might serve as a novel target for CRC prediction and therapy.
Subject(s)
Aspartic Acid Proteases/genetics , Colorectal Neoplasms/genetics , Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology , DNA Damage/genetics , MicroRNAs/genetics , Apoptosis , Aspartic Acid Proteases/antagonists & inhibitors , Aspartic Acid Proteases/metabolism , Binding Sites , Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics , Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Movement , Cell Proliferation , Colorectal Neoplasms/metabolism , Gene Expression , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Gene Knockdown Techniques , HCT116 Cells , HT29 Cells , Humans , MicroRNAs/antagonists & inhibitors , MicroRNAs/metabolism , Mutation , Neoplasm Invasiveness , Protein Interaction MapsABSTRACT
Regulating target gene expression is a common method in yeast research. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, there are several widely used regulated expression systems, such as the GAL and Tet-off systems. However, all current expression systems possess some intrinsic deficiencies. We have previously reported that the DDI2 gene can be induced to very high levels upon cyanamide or methyl methanesulfonate treatment. Here we report the construction of gene expression systems based on the DDI2 promoter in both single- and multi-copy plasmids. Using GFP as a reporter gene, it was demonstrated that the target gene expression could be increased by up to 2,000-fold at the transcriptional level by utilizing the above systems. In addition, a DDI2-based construct was created for promoter shuffling in the budding yeast genome to control endogenous gene expression. Overall, this study offers a set of convenient and highly efficient experimental tools to control target gene expression in budding yeast.
ABSTRACT
The 26S proteasome is a large protease complex that selectively degrades ubiquitinated proteins. It comprises 33 distinct subunits, each of which differ in function and structure, and which cannot be substituted by the other subunits. Owing to its complicated structure, the biogenesis of the 26S proteasome is elaborately regulated at the transcription, translation, and molecular assembly levels. Recent studies revealed that Nrf1 (NFE2L1) is a transcription factor that upregulates the expression of all the proteasome subunit genes in a concerted manner, especially during proteasome impairment in mammalian cells. In this review, we summarize current knowledge regarding the transcriptional regulation of the proteasome and recent findings concerning the regulation of Nrf1 transcription activity.
Subject(s)
Gene Expression Regulation , Nuclear Respiratory Factor 1/metabolism , Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex/metabolism , Transcription, Genetic , Humans , Molecular Targeted Therapy , Nuclear Respiratory Factor 1/chemistry , Protein DeficiencyABSTRACT
The protection and efficient restart of stalled replication forks is critical for the maintenance of genome integrity. Here, we identify a regulatory pathway that promotes stalled forks recovery from replication stress. We show that the mammalian replisome component C20orf43/RTF2 (homologous to S. pombe Rtf2) must be removed for fork restart to be optimal. We further show that the proteasomal shuttle proteins DDI1 and DDI2 are required for RTF2 removal from stalled forks. Persistence of RTF2 at stalled forks results in fork restart defects, hyperactivation of the DNA damage signal, accumulation of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), sensitivity to replication drugs, and chromosome instability. These results establish that RTF2 removal is a key determinant for the ability of cells to manage replication stress and maintain genome integrity.
Subject(s)
Cell Cycle Proteins/metabolism , DNA Damage/genetics , DNA Replication/genetics , DNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism , DNA/genetics , Genomic Instability/genetics , Aspartic Acid Proteases/genetics , Cell Cycle/genetics , Cell Cycle Proteins/genetics , Cell Line, Tumor , DNA/biosynthesis , DNA Repair/genetics , DNA, Single-Stranded/metabolism , DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics , HeLa Cells , Humans , RNA Interference , RNA, Small Interfering/genetics , Replication Origin/genetics , Stress, Physiological/geneticsABSTRACT
CULLIN 4 (CUL4)-DAMAGED DNA binding protein 1 (DDB1)-based ubiquitin E3 ligase modulates diverse cellular processes including repair of damaged genomic DNA. In this study, an uncharacterized gene termed as DDB1-Interacting protein 2 (DDI2) was identified in yeast two-hybrid screening with bait gene DDB1. The co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) assays further demonstrated that DDI2 is associated with tomato DDB1-CUL4 complex in vivo. It appears that DDI2 encodes an ortholog of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Confocal microscope observation indicated that DDI2-GFP fusion protein was localized in nuclei. The expression of DDI2 gene is constitutive but substantially enhanced by UV-C irradiation. The transgenic tomato plants with overexpression or knockdown of DDI2 gene displayed the increased or decreased tolerance, respectively, to UV-C stress and chemical mutagen cisplatin. The quantitative analysis of UV-induced DNA lesions indicated that the dark repair of DNA damage was accelerated in DDI2 overexpression lines but delayed in knockdown lines. Conclusively, tomato DDI2 gene is required for UV-induced DNA damage repair and plant tolerance to UV stress. In addition, fruits of DDI2 transgenic plants are indistinguishable from that of wild type, regarding fresh weight and nutrient quality. Therefore, overexpression of DDI2 offers a suitable strategy for genetic manipulation of enhancing plant tolerance to UV stress.