A human cancer cell line initiates DNA replication normally in the absence of ORC5 and ORC2 proteins.

The origin recognition complex (ORC), composed of six subunits, ORC1-6, binds to origins of replication as a ring-shaped heterohexameric ATPase that is believed to be essential to recruit and load MCM2-7, the minichromosome maintenance protein complex, around DNA and initiate DNA replication. We previously reported the creation of viable cancer cell lines that lacked detectable ORC1 or ORC2 protein without a reduction in the number of origins firing. Here, using CRISPR-Cas9-mediated mutations, we report that human HCT116 colon cancer cells also survive when ORC5 protein expression is abolished via a mutation in the initiator ATG of the ORC5 gene. Even if an internal methionine is used to produce an undetectable, N terminally deleted ORC5, the protein would lack 80% of the AAA+ ATPase domain, including the Walker A motif. The ORC5-depleted cells show normal chromatin binding of MCM2-7 and initiate replication from a similar number of origins as WT cells. In addition, we introduced a second mutation in ORC2 in the ORC5 mutant cells, rendering both ORC5 and ORC2 proteins undetectable in the same cells and destabilizing the ORC1, ORC3, and ORC4 proteins. Yet the double mutant cells grow, recruit MCM2-7 normally to chromatin, and initiate DNA replication with normal number of origins. Thus, in these selected cancer cells, either a crippled ORC lacking ORC2 and ORC5 and present at minimal levels on the chromatin can recruit and load enough MCM2-7 to initiate DNA replication, or human cell lines can sometimes recruit MCM2-7 to origins independent of ORC.

The High-Affinity Interaction between ORC and DNA that Is Required for Replication Licensing Is Inhibited by 2-Arylquinolin-4-Amines.

In late mitosis and G1, origins of DNA replication must be "licensed" for use in the upcoming S phase by being encircled by double hexamers of the minichromosome maintenance proteins MCM2-7. A "licensing checkpoint" delays cells in G1 until sufficient origins have been licensed, but this checkpoint is lost in cancer cells. Inhibition of licensing can therefore kill cancer cells while only delaying normal cells in G1. In a high-throughput cell-based screen for licensing inhibitors we identified a family of 2-arylquinolin-4-amines, the most potent of which we call RL5a. The binding of the origin recognition complex (ORC) to origin DNA is the first step of the licensing reaction. We show that RL5a prevents ORC forming a tight complex with DNA that is required for MCM2-7 loading. Formation of this ORC-DNA complex requires ATP, and we show that RL5a inhibits ORC allosterically to mimic a lack of ATP.

ORC interacts with THSC/TREX-2 and its subunits promote Nxf1 association with mRNP and mRNA export in Drosophila.

The origin recognition complex (ORC) of eukaryotes associates with the replication origins and initiates the pre-replication complex assembly. In the literature, there are several reports of interaction of ORC with different RNAs. Here, we demonstrate for the first time a direct interaction of ORC with the THSC/TREX-2 mRNA nuclear export complex. The THSC/TREX-2 was purified from the Drosophila embryonic extract and found to bind with a fraction of the ORC. This interaction occurred via several subunits and was essential for Drosophila viability. Also, ORC was associated with mRNP, which was facilitated by TREX-2. ORC subunits interacted with the Nxf1 receptor mediating the bulk mRNA export. The knockdown of Orc5 led to a drop in the Nxf1 association with mRNP, while Orc3 knockdown increased the level of mRNP-bound Nxf1. The knockdown of Orc5, Orc3 and several other ORC subunits led to an accumulation of mRNA in the nucleus, suggesting that ORC participates in the regulation of the mRNP export.

A geometric clustering algorithm with applications to structural data.

An important feature of structural data, especially those from structural determination and protein-ligand docking programs, is that their distribution could be mostly uniform. Traditional clustering algorithms developed specifically for nonuniformly distributed data may not be adequate for their classification. Here we present a geometric partitional algorithm that could be applied to both uniformly and nonuniformly distributed data. The algorithm is a top-down approach that recursively selects the outliers as the seeds to form new clusters until all the structures within a cluster satisfy a classification criterion. The algorithm has been evaluated on a diverse set of real structural data and six sets of test data. The results show that it is superior to the previous algorithms for the clustering of structural data and is similar to or better than them for the classification of the test data. The algorithm should be especially useful for the identification of the best but minor clusters and for speeding up an iterative process widely used in NMR structure determination.

In the absence of ATPase activity, pre-RC formation is blocked prior to MCM2-7 hexamer dimerization.

The origin recognition complex (ORC) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae binds origin DNA and cooperates with Cdc6 and Cdt1 to load the replicative helicase MCM2-7 onto DNA. Helicase loading involves two MCM2-7 hexamers that assemble into a double hexamer around double-stranded DNA. This reaction requires ORC and Cdc6 ATPase activity, but it is unknown how these proteins control MCM2-7 double hexamer formation. We demonstrate that mutations in Cdc6 sensor-2 and Walker A motifs, which are predicted to affect ATP binding, influence the ORC-Cdc6 interaction and MCM2-7 recruitment. In contrast, a Cdc6 sensor-1 mutant affects MCM2-7 loading and Cdt1 release, similar as a Cdc6 Walker B ATPase mutant. Moreover, we show that Orc1 ATP hydrolysis is not involved in helicase loading or in releasing ORC from loaded MCM2-7. To determine whether Cdc6 regulates MCM2-7 double hexamer formation, we analysed complex assembly. We discovered that inhibition of Cdc6 ATPase restricts MCM2-7 association with origin DNA to a single hexamer, while active Cdc6 ATPase promotes recruitment of two MCM2-7 hexamer to origin DNA. Our findings illustrate how conserved Cdc6 AAA+ motifs modulate MCM2-7 recruitment, show that ATPase activity is required for MCM2-7 hexamer dimerization and demonstrate that MCM2-7 hexamers are recruited to origins in a consecutive process.

CDK prevents Mcm2-7 helicase loading by inhibiting Cdt1 interaction with Orc6.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells, B-type cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) target two origin recognition complex (ORC) subunits, Orc2 and Orc6, to inhibit helicase loading. We show that helicase loading by ORC is inhibited by two distinct CDK-dependent mechanisms. Independent of phosphorylation, binding of CDK to an "RXL" cyclin-binding motif in Orc6 sterically reduces the initial recruitment of the Cdt1/Mcm2-7 complex to ORC. CDK phosphorylation of Orc2 and Orc6 inhibits the same step in helicase loading. This phosphorylation of Orc6 is stimulated by the RXL motif and mediates the bulk of the phosphorylation-dependent inhibition of helicase loading. Direct binding experiments show that CDK phosphorylation specifically blocks one of the two Cdt1-binding sites on Orc6. Consistent with the inactivation of one Cdt1-binding site preventing helicase loading, CDK phosphorylation of ORC causes a twofold reduction of initial Cdt1/Mcm2-7 recruitment but results in nearly complete inhibition of Mcm2-7 loading. Intriguingly, in addition to being a target of both CDK inhibitory mechanisms, the Orc6 RXL/cyclin-binding motif plays a positive role in the initial recruitment of Cdt1/Mcm2-7 to the origin, suggesting that this motif is critical for the switch between active and inhibited ORC function at the G1-to-S-phase transition.

Human origin recognition complex is essential for HP1 binding to chromatin and heterochromatin organization.

The origin recognition complex (ORC) is a DNA replication initiator protein also known to be involved in diverse cellular functions including gene silencing, sister chromatid cohesion, telomere biology, heterochromatin localization, centromere and centrosome activity, and cytokinesis. We show that, in human cells, multiple ORC subunits associate with hetereochromatin protein 1 (HP1) alpha- and HP1beta-containing heterochromatic foci. Fluorescent bleaching studies indicate that multiple subcomplexes of ORC exist at heterochromatin, with Orc1 stably associating with heterochromatin in G1 phase, whereas other ORC subunits have transient interactions throughout the cell-division cycle. Both Orc1 and Orc3 directly bind to HP1alpha, and two domains of Orc3, a coiled-coil domain and a mod-interacting region domain, can independently bind to HP1alpha; however, both are essential for in vivo localization of Orc3 to heterochromatic foci. Direct binding of both Orc1 and Orc3 to HP1 suggests that, after the degradation of Orc1 at the G1/S boundary, Orc3 facilitates assembly of ORC/HP1 proteins to chromatin. Although depletion of Orc2 and Orc3 subunits by siRNA caused loss of HP1alpha association to heterochromatin, loss of Orc1 and Orc5 caused aberrant HP1alpha distribution only to pericentric heterochromatin-surrounding nucleoli. Depletion of HP1alpha from human cells also shows loss of Orc2 binding to heterochromatin, suggesting that ORC and HP1 proteins are mutually required for each other to bind to heterochromatin. Similar to HP1alpha-depleted cells, Orc2 and Orc3 siRNA-treated cells also show loss of compaction at satellite repeats, suggesting that ORC together with HP1 proteins may be involved in organizing higher-order chromatin structure and centromere function.

The multiple facets of the intra-S checkpoint.

In response to hydroxyurea treatment or DNA damage the total rate of DNA replication per cell is reduced. This reduction may be due to physical hindrance of the replication forks or to active, checkpoint-dependent processes. Here we review current knowledge about how and to what extent the intra-S checkpoint affects DNA replication. We discuss evidence that some checkpoint proteins are active even in a normal S phase and we suggest a model that resolves the apparent contradiction between different views on checkpoint-dependent slowing of the rate of DNA replication: does the intra-S checkpoint repress or delay the initiation of all origins or late replication origins only, and to what extent does it inhibit fork progression. Finally, the new model is discussed in the context of cancer development.

An ARS element inhibits DNA replication through a SIR2-dependent mechanism.

During G1 phase, a prereplicative complex (pre-RC) that determines where DNA synthesis initiates forms at origins. The Sir2p histone deacetylase inhibits pre-RC assembly at a subset of origins, suggesting that Sir2p inhibits DNA replication through a unique aspect of origin structure. Here, we identified five SIR2-sensitive origins on chromosomes III and VI. Linker scan analysis of two origins indicated that they share a common organization, including an inhibitory sequence positioned 3' to the sites of origin recognition complex (ORC) binding and pre-RC assembly. This inhibitory sequence (I(S)) required SIR2 for its activity, suggesting that SIR2 inhibits origins through this sequence. Furthermore, I(S) elements occurred within positioned nucleosomes, and Abf1p-mediated exclusion of nucleosomes from the origin abrogated the inhibition. These data suggest that Sir2p and I(S) elements inhibit origin activity by promoting an unfavorable chromatin structure for pre-RC assembly.