6533b7d6fe1ef96bd1266711

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Late activation of stress kinases (SAPK/JNK) by genotoxins requires the DNA repair proteins DNA-PKcs and CSB.

subject

description

Although genotoxic agents are powerful inducers of stress kinases (SAPK/JNK), the contribution of DNA damage itself to this response is unknown. Therefore, SAPK/JNK activation of cells harboring specific defects in DNA damage-recognition mechanisms was studied. Dual phosphorylation of SAPK/JNK by the genotoxin methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) occurred in two waves. The early response (≤2 h after exposure) was similar in cells knockout for ATM, PARP, p53, and CSB or defective in DNA-PKcscompared with wild-type cells. The late response however (≥4 h), was drastically reduced in DNA-PKcsand Cockayne's syndrome B (CSB)-deficient cells. Similar results were obtained with human cells lacking DNA-PKcsand CSB. Activation of SAPK/JNK by MMS was not affected upon inhibition of base excision repair (BER), indicating base damage itself does not signal to SAPK/JNK. Because SAPK/JNK activation was attenuated in nongrowing cells, DNA replication-dependent processing of lesions, involving DNA-PKcsand CSB, appears to be required. DNA-PKcscoprecipitates with SEK1/MKK4 and SAPK/JNK, supporting a role of DNA-PKcsin SAPK/JNK activation. In this process, Rho GTPases are involved since inhibition of Rho impairs MMS-induced signaling to SAPK/JNK. The data show that sensing of DNA damage by DNA-PKcsand CSB causes a delayed SEK1/MKK4-mediated dual phosphorylation of SAPK/JNK.