Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.7.7 (DNA polymerase)
17,007 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

DNA polymerases alpha and delta are essential enzymes believed to play critical roles in initiation and replication of chromosome DNA. In this study, we show that the genes for Schizosaccharomyces pombe (S.pombe) DNA polymerase alpha and delta (pol alpha+ and pol delta+) are essential for cell viability. Disruption of either the pol alpha+ or pol delta+ gene results in distinct terminal phenotypes. The S.pombe pol delta+ gene is able to complement the thermosensitive cdc2-2 allele of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S.cerevisiae) at the restrictive temperature. By random mutagenesis in vitro, we generated three pol delta conditional lethal alleles. We replaced the wild type chromosomal copy of pol delta+ gene with the mutagenized sequence and characterized the thermosensitive alleles in vivo. All three thermosensitive mutants exhibit a typical cell division cycle (cdc) terminal phenotype similar to that of the disrupted pol delta+ gene. Flow cytometric analysis showed that at the nonpermissive temperature all three mutants were arrested in S phase of the cell cycle. The three S.pombe conditional pol delta alleles were recovered and sequenced. The mutations causing the thermosensitive phenotype are missense mutations. The altered amino acid residues are uniquely conserved among the known polymerase delta sequences.
...
PMID:Fission yeast with DNA polymerase delta temperature-sensitive alleles exhibits cell division cycle phenotype. 836

Polalpha is the principal DNA polymerase for initiation of DNA replication and also functions in postinitiation DNA synthesis. In this study, we investigated the cell cycle responses induced by mutations in polalpha+. Germinating spores carrying either a deletion of polalpha+ (polalphaDelta) or a structurally intact but catalytically dead polalpha mutation proceed to inappropriate mitosis with no DNA synthesis. This suggests that the catalytic function, and not the physical presence of Polalpha, is required to generate the signal that prevents the cells from entering mitosis prematurely. Cells with a polalphats allele arrest the cell cycle near the hydroxyurea arrest point, but, surprisingly, polalphats in cdc20 (polepsilon mutant) background arrested with a cdc phenoytpe, not a polalphats-like phenotype. At 25 degrees C, replication perturbation caused by polalphats alleles induces Cds1 kinase activity and requires the checkpoint Rads, Cds1, and Rqh1, but not Chk1, to maintain cell viability. At 36 degrees C, replication disruption caused by polalphats alleles induces the phosphorylation of Chk1; however, mutant cells arrest with heterogeneous cell sizes with a population of the cells entering aberrant mitosis. Together, our results indicate that the initiation DNA structure synthesized by Polalpha is required to bring about the S phase to mitosis checkpoint, whereas replication defects of different severity caused by polalphats mutations induce differential downstream kinase responses.
...
PMID:Mutational effect of fission yeast polalpha on cell cycle events. 969 70

Eukaryotic cells coordinate chromosome duplication by assembly of protein complexes at origins of DNA replication and by activation of cyclin-dependent kinase and Cdc7p-Dbf4p kinase. We show in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that although Cdc7p levels are constant during the cell division cycle, Dbf4p and Cdc7p-Dbf4p kinase activity fluctuate. Dbf4p binds to chromatin near the G(1)/S-phase boundary well after binding of the minichromosome maintenance (Mcm) proteins, and it is stabilized at the non-permissive temperature in mutants of the anaphase-promoting complex, suggesting that Dbf4p is targeted for destruction by ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. Arresting cells with hydroxyurea (HU) or with mutations in genes encoding DNA replication proteins results in a more stable, hyper-phosphorylated form of Dbf4p and an attenuated kinase activity. The Dbf4p phosphorylation in response to HU is RAD53 dependent. This suggests that an S-phase checkpoint function regulates Cdc7p-Dbf4p kinase activity. Cdc7p may also play a role in adapting from the checkpoint response since deletion of CDC7 results in HU hypersensitivity. Recombinant Cdc7p-Dbf4p kinase was purified and both subunits were autophosphorylated. Cdc7p-Dbf4p efficiently phosphorylates several proteins that are required for the initiation of DNA replication, including five of the six Mcm proteins and the p180 subunit of DNA polymerase alpha-primase.
...
PMID:Cdc7p-Dbf4p kinase binds to chromatin during S phase and is regulated by both the APC and the RAD53 checkpoint pathway. 1050 66

Dpb11 is required for chromosomal DNA replication and the S-phase checkpoint in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here, we report detection of a physical complex containing Dpb11 and DNA polymerase epsilon (Dpb11-Polepsilon complex). During the S phase of the cell cycle, Dpb11 associated preferentially with DNA fragments containing autonomously replicating sequences (ARSs), at the same time as Polepsilon associated with these fragments. Association of Dpb11 and Polepsilon with these fragments was mutually dependent, suggesting that the Dpb11-Polepsilon complex associates with the ARS. Moreover, Dpb11 was required for the association of Polalpha-primase with the fragments. Thus, it seems likely that association of the Dpb11-Polepsilon complex with the ARS fragments is required for the association of the Polalpha-primase complex. Hydroxyurea inhibits late-origin firing in S. cerevisiae, and the checkpoint genes, RAD53 and MEC1, are involved in this inhibition. In the presence of hydroxyurea at temperatures permissive for cell growth, Polepsilon in dpb11-1 cells associated with early- and late-origin fragments. In wild-type cells, however, it associated only with early-origin fragments. This indicates that Dpb11 may also be involved in the regulation of late-origin firing. Overall, these results suggest that Dpb11 controls the association between DNA polymerases alpha and epsilon and the ARS.
...
PMID:Dpb11 controls the association between DNA polymerases alpha and epsilon and the autonomously replicating sequence region of budding yeast. 1073 84

To investigate the checkpoint response to aberrant initiation, we analyzed the cell cycle checkpoint response induced by mutations of Schizosaccharomyces pombe DNA primase. DNA primase has two subunits, Spp1 and Spp2 (S. pombe primases 1 and 2). Spp1 is the catalytic subunit that synthesizes the RNA primer, which is then extended by DNA polymerase alpha (Polalpha) to synthesize an initiation DNA structure, and this catalytic function of Polalpha is a prerequisite for generating the S-M phase checkpoint. Here we show that Spp2 is required for coupling the function of Spp1 to Polalpha. Thermosensitive mutations of spp2(+) destabilize the Polalpha-primase complex, resulting in an allele-specific S phase checkpoint defect. The mutant exhibiting a more severe checkpoint defect also has a higher extent of Polalpha-primase complex instability and deficiency in the hydroxyurea-induced Cds1-mediated intra-S phase checkpoint response. However, this mutant is able to activate the Cds1 response to S phase arrest induced by temperature. These findings suggest that the Cds1 response to the S-phase arrest signal(s) induced by a initiation mutant is different from that induced by hydroxyurea. Interestingly, a polalphats mutant with a defective S-M phase checkpoint and an spp2 mutant with an intact checkpoint have a similar Polalpha-primase complex stability, and the Cds1 response induced by hydroxyurea or by the mutant arrests at the restrictive temperature. Thus, the Cds1-mediated intra-S phase checkpoint response induced by hydroxyurea can also be distinguished from the S-M phase checkpoint response that requires the initiation DNA synthesis by Polalpha.
...
PMID:Analysis of fission yeast primase defines the checkpoint responses to aberrant S phase initiation. 1102 57

Cds1, a serine/threonine kinase, enforces the S-M checkpoint in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Cds1 is required for survival of replicational stress caused by agents that stall replication forks, but how Cds1 performs these functions is largely unknown. Here we report that the forkhead-associated-1 (FHA1) protein-docking domain of Cds1 interacts with Mus81, an evolutionarily conserved damage tolerance protein. Mus81 has an endonuclease homology domain found in the XPF nucleotide excision repair protein. Inactivation of mus81 reveals a unique spectrum of phenotypes. Mus81 enables survival of deoxynucleotide triphosphate starvation, UV radiation, and DNA polymerase impairment. Mus81 is essential in the absence of Bloom's syndrome Rqh1 helicase and is required for productive meiosis. Genetic epistasis studies suggest that Mus81 works with recombination enzymes to properly replicate damaged DNA. Inactivation of Mus81 triggers a checkpoint-dependent delay of mitosis. We propose that Mus81 is involved in the recruitment of Cds1 to aberrant DNA structures where Cds1 modulates the activity of damage tolerance enzymes.
...
PMID:Damage tolerance protein Mus81 associates with the FHA1 domain of checkpoint kinase Cds1. 1107 77

To preserve genetic integrity, mammalian cells exposed to ionizing radiation activate the ATM kinase, which initiates a complex response-including the S-phase checkpoint pathways-to delay DNA replication. Defects in ATM or its substrates Nbs1 or Chk2 (ref. 3), the Nbs1-interacting Mre11 protein, or the Chk2-regulated Cdc25A-Cdk2 cascade all cause radio-resistant DNA synthesis (RDS). It is unknown, however, whether these proteins operate in a common signaling cascade. Here we show that experimental blockade of either the Nbs1-Mre11 function or the Chk2-triggered events leads to a partial RDS phenotype in human cells. In contrast, concomitant interference with Nbs1-Mre11 and the Chk2-Cdc25A-Cdk2 pathways entirely abolishes inhibition of DNA synthesis induced by ionizing radiation, resulting in complete RDS analogous to that caused by defective ATM. In addition, Cdk2-dependent loading of Cdc45 onto replication origins, a prerequisite for recruitment of DNA polymerase, was prevented upon irradiation of normal or Nbs1/Mre11-defective cells but not cells with defective ATM. We conclude that in response to ionizing radiation, phosphorylations of Nbs1 and Chk2 by ATM trigger two parallel branches of the DNA damage-dependent S-phase checkpoint that cooperate by inhibiting distinct steps of DNA replication.
...
PMID:The DNA damage-dependent intra-S phase checkpoint is regulated by parallel pathways. 1185 Jun 21

The eukaryotic intra-S-phase checkpoint, which slows DNA synthesis in response to DNA damage, is poorly understood. Is DNA damage recognized directly, or indirectly through its effects on replication forks? Is the slowing of S phase in part because of competition between DNA synthesis and recombination/repair processes? The results of our genetic analyses of the intra-S-phase checkpoint in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, suggest that the slowing of S phase depends weakly on the helicases Rqh1 and Srs2 but not on other recombination/repair pathways. The slowing of S phase depends strongly on the six checkpoint-Rad proteins, on Cds1, and on Rad4/Cut5 (similar to budding yeast Dpb11, which interacts with DNA polymerase epsilon) but not on Rhp9 (similar to budding yeast Rad9, necessary for direct damage recognition). These results suggest that, in fission yeast, the signal activating the intra-S-phase checkpoint is generated only when replication forks encounter DNA damage.
...
PMID:A single unbranched S-phase DNA damage and replication fork blockage checkpoint pathway. 1203 7

Replication mutants often exhibit a mutator phenotype characterized by point mutations, single base frameshifts, and the deletion or duplication of sequences flanked by homologous repeats. Mutation in genes encoding checkpoint proteins can significantly affect the mutator phenotype. Here, we use fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) as a model system to discuss the checkpoint responses to replication perturbations induced by replication mutants. Checkpoint activation induced by a DNA polymerase mutant, aside from delay of mitotic entry, up-regulates the translesion polymerase DinB (Polkappa). Checkpoint Rad9-Rad1-Hus1 (9-1-1) complex, which is loaded onto chromatin by the Rad17-Rfc2-5 checkpoint complex in response to replication perturbation, recruits DinB onto chromatin to generate the point mutations and single nucleotide frameshifts in the replication mutator. This chain of events reveals a novel checkpoint-induced tolerance mechanism that allows cells to cope with replication perturbation, presumably to make possible restarting stalled replication forks. Fission yeast Cds1 kinase plays an essential role in maintaining DNA replication fork stability in the face of DNA damage and replication fork stalling. Cds1 kinase is known to regulate three proteins that are implicated in maintaining replication fork stability: Mus81-Eme1, a hetero-dimeric structure-specific endonuclease complex; Rqh1, a RecQ-family helicase involved in suppressing inappropriate recombination during replication; and Rad60, a protein required for recombinational repair during replication. These Cds1-regulated proteins are thought to cooperatively prevent mutagenesis and maintain replication fork stability in cells under replication stress. These checkpoint-regulated processes allow cells to survive replication perturbation by preventing stalled replication forks from degenerating into deleterious DNA structures resulting in genomic instability and cancer development.
...
PMID:Checkpoint responses to replication stalling: inducing tolerance and preventing mutagenesis. 1464 29

DNA polymerase eta (PolH) is the product of the xeroderma pigmentosum variant (XPV) gene and a well-characterized Y-family DNA polymerase for translesion synthesis. Cells derived from XPV patients are unable to faithfully bypass UV photoproducts and DNA adducts and thus acquire genetic mutations. Here, we found that PolH can be up-regulated by DNA breaks induced by ionizing radiation or chemotherapeutic agents, and knockdown of PolH gives cells resistance to apoptosis induced by DNA breaks in multiple cell lines and cell types in a p53-dependent manner. To explore the underlying mechanism, we examined p53 activation upon DNA breaks and found that p53 activation is impaired in PolH knockdown cells and PolH-null primary fibroblasts. Importantly, reconstitution of PolH into PolH knockdown cells restores p53 activation. Moreover, we provide evidence that, upon DNA breaks, PolH is partially colocalized with phosphorylated ATM at gamma-H2AX foci and knockdown of PolH impairs ATM to phosphorylate Chk2 and p53. However, upon DNA damage by UV, PolH knockdown cells exhibit two opposing temporal responses: at the early stage, knockdown of PolH suppresses p53 activation and gives cells resistance to UV-induced apoptosis in a p53-dependent manner; at the late stage, knockdown of PolH suppresses DNA repair, leading to sustained activation of p53 and increased susceptibility to apoptosis in both a p53-dependent and a p53-independent manner. Taken together, we found that PolH has a novel role in the DNA damage checkpoint and that a p53 target can modulate the DNA damage response and subsequently regulate p53 activation.
...
PMID:DNA polymerase eta, the product of the xeroderma pigmentosum variant gene and a target of p53, modulates the DNA damage checkpoint and p53 activation. 1644 51


1 2 Next >>