ATR prohibits replication catastrophe by preventing global exhaustion of RPA.

ATR, activated by replication stress, protects replication forks locally and suppresses origin firing globally. Here, we show that these functions of ATR are mechanistically coupled. Although initially stable, stalled forks in ATR-deficient cells undergo nucleus-wide breakage after unscheduled origin firing generates an excess of single-stranded DNA that exhausts the nuclear pool of RPA. Partial reduction of RPA accelerated fork breakage, and forced elevation of RPA was sufficient to delay such "replication catastrophe" even in the absence of ATR activity. Conversely, unscheduled origin firing induced breakage of stalled forks even in cells with active ATR. Thus, ATR-mediated suppression of dormant origins shields active forks against irreversible breakage via preventing exhaustion of nuclear RPA. This study elucidates how replicating genomes avoid destabilizing DNA damage. Because cancer cells commonly feature intrinsically high replication stress, this study also provides a molecular rationale for their hypersensitivity to ATR inhibitors.

A new cellular stress response that triggers centriolar satellite reorganization and ciliogenesis.

Centriolar satellites are small, granular structures that cluster around centrosomes, but whose biological function and regulation are poorly understood. We show that centriolar satellites undergo striking reorganization in response to cellular stresses such as UV radiation, heat shock, and transcription blocks, invoking acute and selective displacement of the factors AZI1/CEP131, PCM1, and CEP290 from this compartment triggered by activation of the stress-responsive kinase p38/MAPK14. We demonstrate that the E3 ubiquitin ligase MIB1 is a new component of centriolar satellites, which interacts with and ubiquitylates AZI1 and PCM1 and suppresses primary cilium formation. In response to cell stress, MIB1 is abruptly inactivated in a p38-independent manner, leading to loss of AZI1, PCM1, and CEP290 ubiquitylation and concomitant stimulation of ciliogenesis, even in proliferating cells. Collectively, our findings uncover a new two-pronged signalling response, which by coupling p38-dependent phosphorylation with MIB1-catalysed ubiquitylation of ciliogenesis-promoting factors plays an important role in controlling centriolar satellite status and key centrosomal functions in a cell stress-regulated manner.

DVC1 (C1orf124) is a DNA damage-targeting p97 adaptor that promotes ubiquitin-dependent responses to replication blocks.

Ubiquitin-mediated processes orchestrate critical DNA-damage signaling and repair pathways. We identify human DVC1 (C1orf124; Spartan) as a cell cycle-regulated anaphase-promoting complex (APC) substrate that accumulates at stalled replication forks. DVC1 recruitment to sites of replication stress requires its ubiquitin-binding UBZ domain and PCNA-binding PIP box motif but is independent of RAD18-mediated PCNA monoubiquitylation. Via a conserved SHP box, DVC1 recruits the ubiquitin-selective chaperone p97 to blocked replication forks, which may facilitate p97-dependent removal of translesion synthesis (TLS) DNA polymerase η (Pol η) from monoubiquitylated PCNA. DVC1 knockdown enhances UV light-induced mutagenesis, and depletion of human DVC1 or the Caenorhabditis elegans ortholog DVC-1 causes hypersensitivity to replication stress-inducing agents. Our findings establish DVC1 as a DNA damage-targeting p97 adaptor that protects cells from deleterious consequences of replication blocks and suggest an important role of p97 in ubiquitin-dependent regulation of TLS.

Systems-wide analysis of ubiquitylation dynamics reveals a key role for PAF15 ubiquitylation in DNA-damage bypass.

Protein ubiquitylation has emerged as a key regulatory mechanism in DNA-damage signalling and repair pathways. We report a proteome-wide, site-specific survey of ubiquitylation changes after ultraviolet irradiation, identifying numerous upregulated and downregulated ubiquitylation sites on known components of DNA-damage signalling, as well as on proteins not previously implicated in this process. Our results uncover a critical role for PCNA-associated factor PAF15 (p15(PAF)/KIAA0101) ubiquitylation during DNA replication. During unperturbed S phase, chromatin-associated PAF15 is modified by double mono-ubiquitylation of Lys 15 and 24 templated through PCNA binding. Replication blocks trigger rapid, proteasome-dependent removal of Lys 15/24-ubiquitylated PAF15 from PCNA, facilitating bypass of replication-fork-blocking lesions by allowing recruitment of translesion DNA synthesis polymerase polη to mono-ubiquitylated PCNA at stalled replisomes. Our findings demonstrate widespread involvement of ubiquitin signalling in genotoxic-stress responses and identify a critical function for dynamic PAF15 ubiquitylation in safeguarding genome integrity when DNA replication is challenged.

LEDGF (p75) promotes DNA-end resection and homologous recombination.

Lens epithelium-derived growth factor p75 splice variant (LEDGF) is a chromatin-binding protein known for its antiapoptotic activity and ability to direct human immunodeficiency virus into active transcription units. Here we show that LEDGF promotes the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by the homologous recombination repair pathway. Depletion of LEDGF impairs the recruitment of C-terminal binding protein interacting protein (CtIP) to DNA DSBs and the subsequent CtIP-dependent DNA-end resection. LEDGF is constitutively associated with chromatin through its Pro-Trp-Trp-Pro (PWWP) domain that binds preferentially to epigenetic methyl-lysine histone markers characteristic of active transcription units. LEDGF binds CtIP in a DNA damage-dependent manner, thereby enhancing its tethering to the active chromatin and facilitating its access to DNA DSBs. These data highlight the role of PWWP-domain proteins in DNA repair and provide a molecular explanation for the antiapoptotic and cancer cell survival-activities of LEDGF.

DNA damage-inducible SUMOylation of HERC2 promotes RNF8 binding via a novel SUMO-binding Zinc finger.

Nonproteolytic ubiquitylation of chromatin surrounding deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) double-strand breaks (DSBs) by the RNF8/RNF168/HERC2 ubiquitin ligases facilitates restoration of genome integrity by licensing chromatin to concentrate genome caretaker proteins near the lesions. In parallel, SUMOylation of so-far elusive upstream DSB regulators is also required for execution of this ubiquitin-dependent chromatin response. We show that HERC2 and RNF168 are novel DNA damage-dependent SUMOylation targets in human cells. In response to DSBs, both HERC2 and RNF168 were specifically modified with SUMO1 at DSB sites in a manner dependent on the SUMO E3 ligase PIAS4. SUMOylation of HERC2 was required for its DSB-induced association with RNF8 and for stabilizing the RNF8-Ubc13 complex. We also demonstrate that the ZZ Zinc finger in HERC2 defined a novel SUMO-specific binding module, which together with its concomitant SUMOylation and T4827 phosphorylation promoted binding to RNF8. Our findings provide novel insight into the regulatory complexity of how ubiquitylation and SUMOylation cooperate to orchestrate protein interactions with DSB repair foci.

BAMLET activates a lysosomal cell death program in cancer cells.

A complex of human alpha-lactalbumin and oleic acid (HAMLET) was originally isolated from human milk as a potent anticancer agent. It kills a wide range of transformed cells of various origins while leaving nontransformed healthy cells largely unaffected both in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, purified alpha-lactalbumins from other mammals form complexes with oleic acid that show biological activities similar to that of HAMLET. The mechanism by which these protein-lipid complexes kill tumor cells is, however, largely unknown. Here, we show that complex of bovine alpha-lactalbumin and oleic acid (BAMLET), the bovine counterpart of HAMLET, kills tumor cells via a mechanism involving lysosomal membrane permeabilization. BAMLET shows potent cytotoxic activity against eight cancer cell lines tested, whereas nontransformed NIH-3T3 murine embryonic fibroblasts are relatively resistant. BAMLET accumulates rapidly and specifically in the endolysosomal compartment of tumor cells and induces an early leakage of lysosomal cathepsins into the cytosol followed by the activation of the proapoptotic protein Bax. Ectopic expression of three proteins known to stabilize the lysosomal compartment, i.e. heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), Hsp70-2, and lens epithelium-derived growth factor, confer significant protection against BAMLET-induced cell death, whereas the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2, caspase inhibition, and autophagy inhibition fail to do so. These data indicate that BAMLET triggers lysosomal cell death pathway in cancer cells, thereby clarifying the ability of alpha-lactalbumin:oleate complexes to kill highly apoptosis-resistant tumor cells.