Oncogene-induced replicative stress activates an Atr- and Chk1-dependent response, which has been proposed to be widespread in tumors. We explored whether the presence of replicative stress could be exploited for the selective elimination of cancer cells. To this end, we evaluated the impact of targeting the replicative stress-response on cancer development. In mice (Mus musculus), the reduced levels of Atr found on a mouse model of the Atr-Seckel syndrome completely prevented the development of Myc-induced lymphomas or pancreatic tumors, both of which showed abundant levels of replicative stress. Moreover, Chk1 inhibitors were highly effective in killing Myc-driven lymphomas. By contrast, pancreatic adenocarcinomas initiated by K-Ras(G12V) showed no detectable evidence of replicative stress and were nonresponsive to this therapy. Besides its impact on cancer, Myc overexpression aggravated the phenotypes of Atr-Seckel mice, revealing that oncogenes can modulate the severity of replicative stress-associated diseases.

Brca1 is required for DNA repair by homologous recombination (HR) and normal embryonic development. Here we report that deletion of the DNA damage response factor 53BP1 overcomes embryonic lethality in Brca1-nullizygous mice, and rescues HR deficiency, as measured by hypersensitivity to PARP (polyADP-ribose polymerase) inhibition. However, Brca1,53BP1 double-deficient cells are hypersensitive to DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs), indicating that BRCA1 has an additional role in DNA cross-link repair that is distinct from HR. Disruption of the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) factor, Ku, promotes DNA repair in Brca1-deficient cells; however deletion of either Ku or 53BP1 exacerbates genomic instability in cells lacking FANCD2, a mediator of the Fanconi Anemia pathway for ICL repair. BRCA1 therefore has two separate roles in ICL repair, whereas FANCD2 provides a key activity that can not be bypassed by ablation of 53BP1 or Ku.

In the adult brain, continual neurogenesis of olfactory neurons is sustained by the existence of neural stem cells (NSCs) in the subependymal niche. Elimination of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (p21) leads to premature exhaustion of the subependymal NSC pool, suggesting a relationship between cell cycle control and long-term self-renewal, but the molecular mechanisms underlying NSC maintenance by p21 remain unexplored. Here we identify a function of p21 in the direct regulation of the expression of pluripotency factor Sox2, a key regulator of the specification and maintenance of neural progenitors. We observe that p21 directly binds a Sox2 enhancer and negatively regulates Sox2 expression in NSCs. Augmented levels of Sox2 in p21 null cells induce replicative stress and a DNA damage response that leads to cell growth arrest mediated by increased levels of p19(Arf) and p53. Our results show a regulation of NSC expansion driven by a p21/Sox2/p53 axis.

Post-translational modification of proteins by ubiquitin (Ub) and Ub-like modifiers regulates various aspects of DNA replication. We previously showed that the chromatin around replisomes is rich in SUMO and depleted in Ub, whereas an opposite pattern is observed in mature chromatin. How this SUMO-rich/Ub-low environment is maintained at sites of DNA replication is not known. Here we identify USP7 as a replisome-enriched SUMO deubiquitinase that is essential for DNA replication. By acting on SUMO and SUMOylated proteins, USP7 counteracts their ubiquitination. Chemical inhibition or genetic deletion of USP7 leads to the accumulation of Ub on SUMOylated proteins, which are displaced to chromatin away from replisomes. Our findings provide a model to explain the differential accumulation of SUMO and Ub at replication forks, and identify an essential role of USP7 in DNA replication that should be taken into account for the use of USP7 inhibitors as anticancer agents.

No abstract

DNA replication is facilitated by multiple factors that concentrate in the vicinity of replication forks. Here, we developed an approach that combines the isolation of proteins on nascent DNA chains with mass spectrometry (iPOND-MS), allowing a comprehensive proteomic characterization of the human replisome and replisome-associated factors. In addition to known replisome components, we provide a broad list of proteins that reside in the vicinity of the replisome, some of which were not previously associated with replication. For instance, our data support a link between DNA replication and the Williams-Beuren syndrome and identify ZNF24 as a replication factor. In addition, we reveal that SUMOylation is widespread for factors that concentrate near replisomes, which contrasts with lower UQylation levels at these sites. This resource provides a panoramic view of the proteins that concentrate in the surroundings of the replisome, which should facilitate future investigations on DNA replication and genome maintenance.

Replication comes with a price. The molecular gymnastics that occur on DNA during its duplication frequently derive to a wide spectrum of abnormalities which are still far from understood. These are brought together under the unifying term “replicative stress” (RS) which likely stands for large and unprotected regions of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). In addition to RS, recombinogenic stretches of ssDNA are also formed at resected DNA double strand breaks (DSB). Both situations converge on a ssDNA intermediate, which is the triggering signal for a damage situation. The cellular response in both cases is coordinated by a phosphorylation-based signaling cascade that starts with the activation of the ATR (ATM and Rad3-related) kinase. Given that ATR is essential for replicating cells, understanding the consequences of a defective ATR response for a mammalian organism has been limited until recent years. We here discuss on the topic and review the findings that connect ATR to ageing and cancer.

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of polyamines, is a labile protein that is regulated by interacting with antizymes (AZs), a family of polyamine-induced proteins. Recently, a novel human gene highly homologous to ODC, termed ODC-like or ODC-paralogue (ODCp), was cloned, but the studies aimed to determine its function rendered contradictory results. We have cloned the mouse orthologue of human ODCp and studied its expression and possible function. mRNA of mouse Odcp was found in the brain and testes, showing a conserved expression pattern with regard to the human gene. Transfection of mouse Odcp in HEK 293T cells elicited an increase in ODC activity, but no signs of arginine decarboxylase activity were evident. On the other hand, whereas the ODCp protein was mainly localized in the mitochondrial/membrane fraction, ODC activity was found in the cytosolic fraction and was markedly decreased by small interfering RNA against human ODC. Co-transfection experiments with combinations of Odc, Az1, Az2, Az3, antizyme inhibitor (Azi), and Odcp genes showed that ODCp mimics the action of AZI, rescuing ODC from the effects of AZs and prevented ODC degradation by the proteasome. A direct interaction between ODCp and AZs was detected by immunoprecipitation experiments. We conclude that mouse ODCp has no intrinsic decarboxylase activity, but it acts as a novel antizyme inhibitory protein (AZI2).The polyamines spermidine and spermine and their precursor putrescine are ubiquitous polycations implicated in the growth, differentiation, and death of eukaryotic cells (1-4). Intracellular levels of polyamines are tightly regulated through multiple mechanisms affecting their biosynthesis, catabolism, and transport (5-9). In mammalian cells, putrescine synthesis, the first step in the polyamine biosynthetic pathway, is mediated by ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) 2 (EC 4.1.1.17) through the decarboxylation of L-ornithine. This enzyme is subject to a complex regulation by transcriptional, translational, and posttranslational mechanisms (10 -16). At the post-translational level, ODC is finely regulated by a family of inhibitory proteins called antizymes (AZ) (15,17,18). AZ1, the first described member of the family, binds to ODC monomers preventing the formation of active ODC homodimers and promoting the degradation of ODC through the 26 S proteasome in a ubiquitinindependent manner (19 -21). Synthesis of AZ is influenced by polyamines through the stimulation of ribosomal frameshifting (22,23). Moreover, the action of AZ on ODC function is also mediated by a protein called antizyme inhibitor (AZI). This protein, having a sequence highly similar to that of ODC, is devoid of ornithine decarboxylating activity; however, it can activate ODC by competing for AZ, because AZI binds to AZ with high affinity preventing or decreasing the formation of the ODC-AZ complex (24, 25). In addition, AZ1 and AZ2 not only decrease polyamine biosynthesis but also prevent the accumulation of excess polyamines by inhibiting or suppre...