ABSTRACT
Cells respond to double-stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) by pausing cell cycle progression to allow the repair machinery to restore genomic integrity. DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), comprising a large catalytic subunit (DNA-PK(cs)) and the Ku antigen regulatory subunit (Ku70/Ku80), is activated in response to DSBs and is required for DNA repair through the nonhomologous end-joining pathway. Here we provide evidence that DNA-PK participates in altering specific gene expression in response to DNA damage by modulating the stability and transcriptional regulatory potential of the essential transcription factor octamer transcription factor 1 (Oct-1). Histone H2B and U2 RNA, whose expression are highly dependent on Oct-1, were strongly decreased in response to ionizing radiation in a DNA-PK-dependent manner, and Oct-1-dependent reporter gene transcription was repressed. Furthermore, Oct-1 phosphorylation in response to ionizing radiation increased in a DNA-PK-dependent manner. Paradoxically, down-regulation of transactivation correlated with the rapid DNA-PK-dependent stabilization of Oct-1. Stabilization of Oct-1 was dependent on the NH(2)-terminal region of Oct-1, which contains a transcriptional activation domain and which was phosphorylated by DNA-PK in vitro. These results suggest a mechanism for the regulation of Oct-1 in response to DNA damage through specific phosphorylation within the NH(2)-terminal transcriptional regulatory domain.
