scholarly journals Positive Regulation of Wee1 by Chk1 and 14-3-3 Proteins

2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joon Lee ◽  
Akiko Kumagai ◽  
William G. Dunphy

Wee1 inactivates the Cdc2–cyclin B complex during interphase by phosphorylating Cdc2 on Tyr-15. The activity of Wee1 is highly regulated during the cell cycle. In frog egg extracts, it has been established previously that Xenopus Wee1 (Xwee1) is present in a hypophosphorylated, active form during interphase and undergoes down-regulation by extensive phosphorylation at M-phase. We report that Xwee1 is also regulated by association with 14-3-3 proteins. Binding of 14-3-3 to Xwee1 occurs during interphase, but not M-phase, and requires phosphorylation of Xwee1 on Ser-549. A mutant of Xwee1 (S549A) that cannot bind 14-3-3 is substantially less active than wild-type Xwee1 in its ability to phosphorylate Cdc2. This mutation also affects the intranuclear distribution of Xwee1. In cell-free kinase assays, Xchk1 phosphorylates Xwee1 on Ser-549. The results of experiments in which Xwee1, Xchk1, or both were immunodepleted fromXenopus egg extracts suggested that these two enzymes are involved in a common pathway in the DNA replication checkpoint response. Replacement of endogenous Xwee1 with recombinant Xwee1-S549A in egg extracts attenuated the cell cycle delay induced by addition of excess recombinant Xchk1. Taken together, these results suggest that Xchk1 and 14-3-3 proteins act together as positive regulators of Xwee1.

2000 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Frei ◽  
Susan M. Gasser

We have examined the cellular function of Sgs1p, a nonessential yeast DNA helicase, homologs of which are implicated in two highly debilitating hereditary human diseases (Werner's and Bloom's syndromes). We show that Sgs1p is an integral component of the S-phase checkpoint response in yeast, which arrests cells due to DNA damage or blocked fork progression during DNA replication. DNA polε and Sgs1p are found in the same epistasis group and act upstream of Rad53p to signal cell cycle arrest when DNA replication is perturbed. Sgs1p is tightly regulated through the cell cycle, accumulates in S phase and colocalizes with Rad53p in S-phase-specific foci, even in the absence of fork arrest. The association of Rad53p with a chromatin subfraction is Sgs1p dependent, suggesting an important role for the helicase in the signal-transducing pathway that monitors replication fork progression.


2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 5269-5282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joon Lee ◽  
Daniel A. Gold ◽  
Anna Shevchenko ◽  
Andrej Shevchenko ◽  
William G. Dunphy

Claspin is essential for the ATR-dependent activation of Chk1 in Xenopus egg extracts containing incompletely replicated DNA. Claspin associates with replication forks upon origin unwinding. We show that Claspin contains a replication fork-interacting domain (RFID, residues 265–605) that associates with Cdc45, DNA polymerase ϵ, replication protein A, and two replication factor C complexes on chromatin. The RFID contains two basic patches (BP1 and BP2) at amino acids 265–331 and 470–600, respectively. Deletion of either BP1 or BP2 compromises optimal binding of Claspin to chromatin. Absence of BP1 has no effect on the ability of Claspin to mediate activation of Chk1. By contrast, removal of BP2 causes a large reduction in the Chk1-activating potency of Claspin. We also find that Claspin contains a small Chk1-activating domain (residues 776–905) that does not bind stably to chromatin, but it is fully effective at high concentrations for mediating activation of Chk1. These results indicate that stable retention of Claspin on chromatin is not necessary for activation of Chk1. Instead, our findings suggest that only transient interaction of Claspin with replication forks potentiates its Chk1-activating function. Another implication of this work is that stable binding of Claspin to chromatin may play a role in other functions besides the activation of Chk1.


Genetics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 150 (4) ◽  
pp. 1361-1375
Author(s):  
Kristi Chrispell Forbes ◽  
Timothy Humphrey ◽  
Tamar Enoch

Abstract Checkpoints maintain the order of cell-cycle events. At G2/M, a checkpoint blocks mitosis in response to damaged or unreplicated DNA. There are significant differences in the checkpoint responses to damaged DNA and unreplicated DNA, although many of the same genes are involved in both responses. To identify new genes that function specifically in the DNA replication checkpoint pathway, we searched for high-copy suppressors of overproducer of Cdc25p (OPcdc25+), which lacks a DNA replication checkpoint. Two classes of suppressors were isolated. One class includes a new gene encoding a putative DEAD box helicase, suppressor of uncontrolled mitosis (sum3+). This gene negatively regulates the cell-cycle response to stress when overexpressed and restores the checkpoint response by a mechanism that is independent of Cdc2p tyrosine phosphorylation. The second class includes chk1+ and the two Schizosaccharomyces pombe 14-3-3 genes, rad24+ and rad25+, which appear to suppress the checkpoint defect by inhibiting Cdc25p. We show that rad24Δ mutants are defective in the checkpoint response to the DNA replication inhibitor hydroxyurea at 37° and that cds1Δ rad24Δ mutants, like cds1Δ chk1Δ mutants, are entirely checkpoint deficient at 29°. These results suggest that chk1+ and rad24+ may function redundantly with cds1+ in the checkpoint response to unreplicated DNA.


1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Kovelman ◽  
P Russell

The DNA replication checkpoint couples the onset of mitosis with the completion of S phase. It is clear that in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, operation of this checkpoint requires maintenance of the inhibitory tyrosyl phosphorylation of Cdc2. Cdc25 phosphatase induces mitosis by dephosphorylating tyrosine 15 of Cdc2. In this report, Cdc25 is shown to accumulate to a very high level in cells arrested in S. This shows that mechanisms which modulate the abundance of Cdc25 are unconnected to the DNA replication checkpoint. Using a Cdc2/cyclin B activation assay, we found that Cdc25 activity increased approximately 10-fold during transit through M phase. Cdc25 was activated by phosphorylations that were dependent on Cdc2 activity in vivo. Cdc25 activation was suppressed in cells arrested in G1 and S. However, Cdc25 was more highly modified and appeared to be somewhat more active in S than in G1. This finding might be connected to the fact that progression from G1 to S increases the likelihood that constitutive Cdc25 overproduction will cause inappropriate mitosis.


2006 ◽  
Vol 173 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shan Yan ◽  
Howard D. Lindsay ◽  
W. Matthew Michael

TopBP1-like proteins, which include Xenopus laevis Xmus101, are required for DNA replication and have been linked to replication checkpoint control. A direct role for TopBP1/Mus101 in checkpoint control has been difficult to prove, however, because of the requirement for replication in generating the DNA structures that activate the checkpoint. Checkpoint activation occurs in X. laevis egg extracts upon addition of an oligonucleotide duplex (AT70). We show that AT70 bypasses the requirement for replication in checkpoint activation. We take advantage of this replication-independent checkpoint system to determine the role of Xmus101 in the checkpoint. We find that Xmus101 is essential for AT70-mediated checkpoint signaling and that it functions to promote phosphorylation of Claspin bound Chk1 by the ataxia-telangiectasia and Rad-3–related (ATR) protein kinase. We also identify a separation-of-function mutant of Xmus101. In extracts expressing this mutant, replication of sperm chromatin occurs normally; however, the checkpoint response to stalled replication forks fails. These data demonstrate that Xmus101 functions directly during signal relay from ATR to Chk1.


1998 ◽  
Vol 111 (12) ◽  
pp. 1751-1757 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Abrieu ◽  
T. Brassac ◽  
S. Galas ◽  
D. Fisher ◽  
J.C. Labbe ◽  
...  

We have investigated whether Plx1, a kinase recently shown to phosphorylate cdc25c in vitro, is required for activation of cdc25c at the G2/M-phase transition of the cell cycle in Xenopus. Using immunodepletion or the mere addition of an antibody against the C terminus of Plx1, which suppressed its activation (not its activity) at G2/M, we show that Plx1 activity is required for activation of cyclin B-cdc2 kinase in both interphase egg extracts receiving recombinant cyclin B, and cycling extracts that spontaneously oscillate between interphase and mitosis. Furthermore, a positive feedback loop allows cyclin B-cdc2 kinase to activate Plx1 at the G2/M-phase transition. In contrast, activation of cyclin A-cdc2 kinase does not require Plx1 activity, and cyclin A-cdc2 kinase fails to activate Plx1 and its consequence, cdc25c activation in cycling extracts.


2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (19) ◽  
pp. 6852-6862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aimin Peng ◽  
Andrea L. Lewellyn ◽  
James L. Maller

ABSTRACT In Xenopus laevis embryos, the midblastula transition (MBT) at the 12th cell division marks initiation of critical developmental events, including zygotic transcription and the abrupt inclusion of gap phases into the cell cycle. Interestingly, although an ionizing radiation-induced checkpoint response is absent in pre-MBT embryos, introduction of a threshold amount of undamaged plasmid or sperm DNA allows a DNA damage checkpoint response to be activated. We show here that undamaged threshold DNA directly participates in checkpoint signaling, as judged by several dynamic changes, including H2AX phosphorylation, ATM phosphorylation and loading onto chromatin, and Chk1/Chk2 phosphorylation and release from nuclear DNA. These responses on physically separate threshold DNA require γ-H2AX and are triggered by an ATM-dependent soluble signal initiated by damaged DNA. The signal persists in egg extracts even after damaged DNA is removed from the system, indicating that the absence of damaged DNA is not sufficient to end the checkpoint response. The results identify a novel mechanism by which undamaged DNA enhances checkpoint signaling and provide an example of how the transition to cell cycle checkpoint activation during development is accomplished by maternally programmed increases in the DNA-to-cytoplasm ratio.


PPAR Research ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joey Z. Liu ◽  
Christopher J. Lyon ◽  
Willa A. Hsueh ◽  
Ronald E. Law

PPARγligands have been shown to have antiproliferative effects on many cell types. We herein report that a synthetic dominant-negative (DN) PPARγmutant functions like a growth factor to promote cell cycle progression and cell proliferation in human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (CASMCs). In quiescent CASMCs, adenovirus-expressed DN-PPARγpromoted G1→S cell cycle progression, enhanced BrdU incorporation, and increased cell proliferation. DN-PPARγexpression also markedly enhanced positive regulators of the cell cycle, increasing Rb and CDC2 phosphorylation and the expression of cyclin A, B1, D1, and MCM7. Conversely, overexpression of wild-type (WT) or constitutively-active (CA) PPARγinhibited cell cycle progression and the activity and expression of positive regulators of the cell cycle. DN-PPARγexpression, however, did not up-regulate positive cell cycle regulators in PPARγ-deficient cells, strongly suggesting that DN-PPARγeffects on cell cycle result from blocking the function of endogenous wild-type PPARγ. DN-PPARγexpression enhanced phosphorylation of ERK MAPKs. Furthermore, the ERK specific-inhibitor PD98059 blocked DN-PPARγ-induced phosphorylation of Rb and expression of cyclin A and MCM7. Our data thus suggest that DN-PPARγpromotes cell cycle progression and cell growth in CASMCs by modulating fundamental cell cycle regulatory proteins and MAPK mitogenic signaling pathways in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs).


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