The role of Dbf4-dependent protein kinase in DNA polymerase ζ-dependent mutagenesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The yeast Dbf4-dependent kinase (DDK) (composed of Dbf4 and Cdc7 subunits) is an essential, conserved Ser/Thr protein kinase that regulates multiple processes in the cell, including DNA replication, recombination and induced mutagenesis. Only DDK substrates important for replication and recombination have been identified. Consequently, the mechanism by which DDK regulates mutagenesis is unknown. The yeast mcm5-bob1 mutation that bypasses DDK's essential role in DNA replication was used here to examine whether loss of DDK affects spontaneous as well as induced mutagenesis. Using the sensitive lys2ΔA746 frameshift reversion assay, we show DDK is required to generate "complex" spontaneous mutations, which are a hallmark of the Polζ translesion synthesis DNA polymerase. DDK co-immunoprecipitated with the Rev7 regulatory, but not with the Rev3 polymerase subunit of Polζ. Conversely, Rev7 bound mainly to the Cdc7 kinase subunit and not to Dbf4. The Rev7 subunit of Polζ may be regulated by DDK phosphorylation as immunoprecipitates of yeast Cdc7 and also recombinant Xenopus DDK phosphorylated GST-Rev7 in vitro. In addition to promoting Polζ-dependent mutagenesis, DDK was also important for generating Polζ-independent large deletions that revert the lys2ΔA746 allele. The decrease in large deletions observed in the absence of DDK likely results from an increase in the rate of replication fork restart after an encounter with spontaneous DNA damage. Finally, nonepistatic, additive/synergistic UV sensitivity was observed in cdc7Δ pol32Δ and cdc7Δ pol30-K127R,K164R double mutants, suggesting that DDK may regulate Rev7 protein during postreplication "gap filling" rather than during "polymerase switching" by ubiquitinated and sumoylated modified Pol30 (PCNA) and Pol32.

Mer receptor tyrosine kinase is a therapeutic target in pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is currently treated with an intense regimen of chemotherapy yielding cure rates near 85%. However, alterations to treatment strategies using available drugs are unlikely to provide significant improvement in survival or decrease therapy-associated toxicities. Here, we report ectopic expression of the Mer receptor tyrosine kinase in pre-B-cell ALL (B-ALL) cell lines and pediatric patient samples. Inhibition of Mer in B-ALL cell lines decreased activation of AKT and MAPKs and led to transcriptional changes, including decreased expression of antiapoptotic PRKCB gene and increase in proapoptotic BAX and BBC3 genes. Further, Mer inhibition promoted chemosensitization, decreased colony-forming potential in clonogenic assays, and delayed disease onset in a mouse xenograft model of leukemia. Our results identify Mer as a potential therapeutic target in B-ALL and suggest that inhibitors of Mer may potentiate lymphoblast killing when used in combination with chemotherapy. This strategy could reduce minimal residual disease and/or allow for chemotherapy dose reduction, thereby leading to improved event-free survival and reduced therapy-associated toxicity for patients with B-ALL. Additionally, Mer is aberrantly expressed in numerous other malignancies suggesting that this approach may have broad applications.

Bioluminescence imaging of leukemia cell lines in vitro and in mouse xenografts: effects of monoclonal and polyclonal cell populations on intensity and kinetics of photon emission.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the utility of bioluminescence imaging (BLI) using firefly luciferase in monoclonal and polyclonal populations of leukemia cells in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: Monoclonal and polyclonal human lymphoid and myeloid leukemia cell lines transduced with firefly luciferase were used for BLI. RESULTS: Kinetics and dynamics of bioluminescence signal were cell line dependent. Luciferase expression decreased significantly over time in polyclonal leukemia cells in vitro. Transplantation of polyclonal luciferase-tagged cells in mice resulted in inconsistent signal intensity. After selection of monoclonal cell populations, luciferase activity was stable, equal kinetic and dynamic of bioluminescence intensity and strong correlation between cell number and light emission in vitro were observed. We obtained an equal development of leukemia burden detected by luciferase activity in NOD-scid-gamma mice after transplantation of monoclonal populations. CONCLUSION: The use of monoclonal leukemia cells selected for stable and equal luciferase activity is recommended for experiments in vitro and xenograft mouse models. The findings are highly significant for bioluminescence imaging focused on pre-clinical drug development.