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Query: UNIPROT:P06889 (Mol)
630,302 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Homologous recombination repair (HRR) is required for both the repair of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) and the maintenance of the integrity of DNA replication forks. To determine the effect of a mutant allele of the RAD51 paralog XRCC2 (342delT) found in an HRR-defective tumour cell line, 342delT was introduced into HRR proficient cells containing a recombination reporter substrate. In one set of transfectants, expression of 342delT conferred sensitivity to thymidine and mitomycin C and suppressed HRR induced at the recombination reporter by thymidine but not by DSBs. In a second set of transfectants, the expression of 342delT was accompanied by a decreased level of the full-length XRCC2. These cells were defective in the induction of HRR by either thymidine or DSBs. Thus 342delT suppresses recombination induced by thymidine in a dominant negative manner while recombination induced by DSBs appears to depend upon the level of XRCC2 as well as the expression of the mutant XRCC2 allele. These results suggest that HRR pathways responding to stalled replication forks or DSBs are genetically distinguishable. They further suggest a critical role for XRCC2 in HRR at replication forks, possibly in the loading of RAD51 onto gapped DNA.
Hum Mol Genet 2004 Jan 15
PMID:A tumour-derived mutant allele of XRCC2 preferentially suppresses homologous recombination at DNA replication forks. 1464 7

Telomerase-deficient mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae can survive death by senescence by using one of two homologous recombination pathways. The Rad51 pathway amplifies the subtelomeric Y' sequences, while the Rad50 pathway amplifies the telomeric TG(1-3) repeats. Here we show that telomerase-negative cells require Clb2 (the major B-type cyclin in this organism), in association with Cdc28 (Cdk1), to generate postsenescence survivors at a normal rate. The Rad50 pathway was more sensitive to the absence of Clb2 than the Rad51 pathway. We also report that telomerase RAD50 RAD51 triple mutants still generated postsenescence survivors. This novel Rad50- and Rad51-independent pathway of telomeric recombination also appeared to be controlled by Clb2. In telomerase-positive cells, a synthetic growth defect between mutations in CLB2 and RAD50 or in its partners in the conserved MRX complex, MRE11 and XRS2, was observed. This genetic interaction was independent of Mre11 nuclease activity but was dependent on a DNA repair function. The present data reveal an unexpected role of Cdc28/Clb2 in telomeric recombination during telomerase-independent maintenance of telomeres. They also uncover a functional interaction between Cdc28/Clb2 and MRX during the control of the mitotic cell cycle.
Mol Cell Biol 2003 Dec
PMID:Mitotic cyclins regulate telomeric recombination in telomerase-deficient yeast cells. 1464 28

Bloom's syndrome (BS) is a human genetic disorder associated with cancer predisposition. The BS gene product, BLM, is a member of the RecQ helicase family, which is required for the maintenance of genome stability in all organisms. In budding and fission yeasts, loss of RecQ helicase function confers sensitivity to inhibitors of DNA replication, such as hydroxyurea (HU), by failure to execute normal cell cycle progression following recovery from such an S-phase arrest. We have examined the role of the human BLM protein in recovery from S-phase arrest mediated by HU and have probed whether the stress-activated ATR kinase, which functions in checkpoint signaling during S-phase arrest, plays a role in the regulation of BLM function. We show that, consistent with a role for BLM in protection of human cells against the toxicity associated with arrest of DNA replication, BS cells are hypersensitive to HU. BLM physically associates with ATR (ataxia telangiectasia and rad3(+) related) protein and is phosphorylated on two residues in the N-terminal domain, Thr-99 and Thr-122, by this kinase. Moreover, BS cells ectopically expressing a BLM protein containing phosphorylation-resistant T99A/T122A substitutions fail to adequately recover from an HU-induced replication blockade, and the cells subsequently arrest at a caffeine-sensitive G(2)/M checkpoint. These abnormalities are not associated with a failure of the BLM-T99A/T122A protein to localize to replication foci or to colocalize either with ATR itself or with other proteins that are required for response to DNA damage, such as phosphorylated histone H2AX and RAD51. Our data indicate that RecQ helicases play a conserved role in recovery from perturbations in DNA replication and are consistent with a model in which RecQ helicases act to restore productive DNA replication following S-phase arrest and hence prevent subsequent genomic instability.
Mol Cell Biol 2004 Feb
PMID:Phosphorylation of the Bloom's syndrome helicase and its role in recovery from S-phase arrest. 1472 72

A chromosome fragmentation assay was used to measure the efficiency and genetic control of break-induced replication (BIR) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Formation of a chromosome fragment by de novo telomere generation at one end of the linear vector and recombination-dependent replication of 100 kb of chromosomal sequences at the other end of the vector occurred at high frequency in wild-type strains. RAD51 was required for more than 95% of BIR events involving a single-end invasion and was essential when two BIR events were required for generation of a chromosome fragment. The similar genetic requirements for BIR and gene conversion suggest a common strand invasion intermediate in these two recombinational repair processes. Mutation of RAD50 or RAD59 conferred no significant defect in BIR in either RAD51 or rad51 strains. RAD52 was shown to be essential for BIR at unique chromosomal sequences, although rare recombination events were detected between the subtelomeric Y' repeats.
Mol Cell Biol 2004 Mar
PMID:RAD51-dependent break-induced replication in yeast. 1499 74

Homologous recombination provides a major pathway for the repair of DNA double-strand breaks in mammalian cells. Defects in homologous recombination can lead to high levels of chromosomal translocations or deletions, which may promote cell transformation and cancer development. A key component of this process is RAD51. In comparison to RecA, the bacterial homologue, human RAD51 protein exhibits low-level strand-exchange activity in vitro. This activity can, however, be stimulated by the presence of high salt. Here, we have investigated the mechanistic basis for this stimulation. We show that high ionic strength favours the co-aggregation of RAD51-single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) nucleoprotein filaments with naked duplex DNA, to form a complex in which the search for homologous sequences takes place. High ionic strength allows differential binding of RAD51 to ssDNA and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), such that ssDNA-RAD51 interactions are unaffected, whereas those between RAD51 and dsDNA are destabilized. Most importantly, high salt induces a conformational change in RAD51, leading to the formation of extended nucleoprotein filaments on ssDNA. These extended filaments mimic the active form of the Escherichia coli RecA-ssDNA filament that exhibits efficient strand-exchange activity.
J Mol Biol 2004 Apr 02
PMID:Conformational changes modulate the activity of human RAD51 protein. 1503 53

Fanconi anaemia (FA) is a chromosomal instability disorder characterized by cellular sensitivity to DNA interstrand crosslinking agents and a high risk of cancer. Six of the eight proteins encoded by the known FA genes form a nuclear complex which is required for the monoubiquitination of the FANCD2 protein. FANCD2 complexes and colocalizes with BRCA1, but its presumptive role in DNA repair has not yet been clearly defined. We used yeast two-hybrid analysis to test for interaction between FANCD2 and 10 proteins involved in homologous recombination repair. FANCD2 did not interact with RAD51, the five RAD51 paralogs, RAD52, RAD54 or DMC1. However, it bound to a highly conserved C-terminal site in BRCA2 that also binds FANCG/XRCC9. FANCD2 and BRCA2 can be coimmunoprecipitated from cell extracts of both human and Chinese hamster wild-type cells, thus confirming that the interaction occurs in vivo. Formation of nuclear foci of FANCD2 was normal in the BRCA2 mutant CAPAN-1 cells, which indicates that the recruitment of FANCD2 to sites of DNA-repair is independent of wild-type BRCA2 function. FANCD2 colocalized with RAD51 in foci following treatment with mitomycin C or hydroxyurea, and colocalized very tightly with PCNA after treatment with hydroxyurea. These findings suggest that FANCD2 may have a role in the cellular response to stalled replication forks or in the repair of replication-associated double-strand breaks, irrespective of the type of primary DNA lesion.
Hum Mol Genet 2004 Jun 15
PMID:Direct interaction of FANCD2 with BRCA2 in DNA damage response pathways. 1511 58

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Srs2 protein is involved in DNA repair and recombination. In order to gain better insight into the roles of Srs2, we performed a screen to identify mutations that are synthetically lethal with an srs2 deletion. One of them is a mutated allele of the ULP1 gene that encodes a protease specifically cleaving Smt3-protein conjugates. This allele, ulp1-I615N, is responsible for an accumulation of Smt3-conjugated proteins. The mutant is unable to grow at 37 degrees C. At permissive temperatures, it still shows severe growth defects together with a strong hyperrecombination phenotype and is impaired in meiosis. Genetic interactions between ulp1 and mutations that affect different repair pathways indicated that the RAD51-dependent homologous recombination mechanism, but not excision resynthesis, translesion synthesis, or nonhomologous end-joining processes, is required for the viability of the mutant. Thus, both Srs2, believed to negatively control homologous recombination, and the process of recombination per se are essential for the viability of the ulp1 mutant. Upon replication, mutant cells accumulate single-stranded DNA interruptions. These structures are believed to generate different recombination intermediates. Some of them are fixed by recombination, and others require Srs2 to be reversed and fixed by an alternate pathway.
Mol Cell Biol 2004 Jun
PMID:A new Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain with a mutant Smt3-deconjugating Ulp1 protein is affected in DNA replication and requires Srs2 and homologous recombination for its viability. 1516 80

The potent carcinogen aflatoxin B(1) is a weak mutagen but a strong recombinagen in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Aflatoxin B(1) exposure greatly increases frequencies of both heteroallelic recombination and chromosomal translocations. We analyzed the gene expression pattern of diploid cells exposed to aflatoxin B(1) using high-density oligonucleotide arrays comprising specific probes for all 6218 open reading frames. Among 183 responsive genes, 46 are involved in either DNA repair or in control of cell growth and division. Inducible growth control genes include those in the TOR signaling pathway and SPO12, whereas PKC1 is downregulated. Eleven of the 15 inducible DNA repair genes, including RAD51, participate in recombination. Survival and translocation frequencies are reduced in the rad51 diploid after aflatoxin B(1) exposure. In mec1 checkpoint mutants, aflatoxin B(1) exposure does not induce RAD51 expression or increase translocation frequencies; however, when RAD51 is constitutively overexpressed in the mec1 mutant, aflatoxin B(1) exposure increased translocation frequencies. Thus the transcriptional profile after aflatoxin B(1) exposure may elucidate the genotoxic properties of aflatoxin B(1).
Mol Biol Cell 2004 Sep
PMID:Transcriptional response of yeast to aflatoxin B1: recombinational repair involving RAD51 and RAD1. 1521 18

Trinucleotide repeats (TNRs) undergo frequent mutations in families afflicted with certain neurodegenerative disorders and in model organisms. TNR instability is modulated both by the repeat tract itself and by cellular proteins. Here we identified the Saccharomyces cerevisiae DNA helicase Srs2 as a potent and selective inhibitor of expansions. srs2 mutants had up to 40-fold increased expansion rates of CTG, CAG, and CGG repeats. The expansion phenotype was specific, as mutation rates at dinucleotide repeats, at unique sequences, or for TNR contractions in srs2 mutants were not altered. Srs2 is known to suppress inappropriate genetic recombination; however, the TNR expansion phenotype of srs2 mutants was largely independent of RAD51 and RAD52. Instead, Srs2 mainly functioned with DNA polymerase delta to block expansions. The helicase activity of Srs2 was important, because a point mutant lacking ATPase function was defective in blocking expansions. Purified Srs2 was substantially better than bacterial UvrD helicase at in vitro unwinding of a DNA substrate that mimicked a TNR hairpin. Disruption of the related helicase gene SGS1 did not lead to excess expansions, nor did wild-type SGS1 suppress the expansion phenotype of an srs2 strain. We conclude that Srs2 selectively blocks triplet repeat expansions through its helicase activity and primarily in conjunction with polymerase delta.
Mol Cell Biol 2004 Sep
PMID:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Srs2 DNA helicase selectively blocks expansions of trinucleotide repeats. 1531 45

There is an emerging concept that acquired genetic instability in cancer cells can arise from the dysregulation of critical DNA repair pathways due to cell stresses such as inflammation and hypoxia. Here we report that hypoxia specifically down-regulates the expression of RAD51, a key mediator of homologous recombination in mammalian cells. Decreased levels of Rad51 were observed in multiple cancer cell types during hypoxic exposure and were not associated with the cell cycle profile or with expression of hypoxia-inducible factor. Analyses of RAD51 gene promoter activity, as well as mRNA and protein stability, indicate that the hypoxia-mediated regulation of this gene occurs via transcriptional repression. Decreased expression of Rad51 was also observed to persist in posthypoxic cells for as long as 48 h following reoxygenation. Correspondingly, we found reduced levels of homologous recombination in both hypoxic and posthypoxic cells, suggesting that the hypoxia-associated reduction in Rad51 expression has functional consequences for DNA repair. In addition, hypoxia-mediated down-regulation of Rad51 was confirmed in vivo via immunofluorescent image analysis of experimental tumors in mice. Based on these findings, we propose a novel mechanism of genetic instability in the tumor microenvironment mediated by hypoxia-induced suppression of the homologous recombination pathway in cancer cells. The aberrant regulation of Rad51 expression may also create heterogeneity in the DNA damage response among cells within tumors, with implications for the response to cancer therapies.
Mol Cell Biol 2004 Oct
PMID:Down-regulation of Rad51 and decreased homologous recombination in hypoxic cancer cells. 1536 71


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