Project description:The DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), composed of the KU heterodimer and the catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs), is a classical non-homologous end-joining (cNHEJ) factor1. KU binds to DNA ends, initiates cNHEJ, and recruits and activates DNA-PKcs. Beyond DNA, KU also binds to RNA, with unknown significance in mammals. Using mouse models, we uncovered an unexpected role for DNA-PK in ribosomal RNA (rRNA) biogenesis and hematopoiesis. Expression of kinase-dead (KD) DNA-PKcs (DNA-PKcsKD/KD) abroagates cNHEJ2. But DNA-PKcsKD/KDTp53-/- mice develop myeloid disease rather than pro-B cell lymphoma, like other cNHEJ/Tp53-deficient mice3. DNA-PKcs is its own the best substrate. Blocking DNA-PKcs phosphorylation at the T2609, but not the S2056 cluster leads to KU-dependent 18S rRNA processing defects, compromises global protein synthesis in hematopoietic cells and causes bone marrow failure in mice. KU drives assembly of DNA-PKcs on a broad array of cellular RNAs, including the U3 small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA), which is essential for 18S rRNA processing4. U3 activates purified DNA-PK and triggers T2609 phosphorylation. DNA-PK, but not other cNHEJ factors, resides in nucleoli in an rRNA-dependent manner and is co-purified with the small subunit (SSU) processome. Together our data show that DNA-PK has RNA-dependent, but cNHEJ-independent, functions during ribosome biogenesis that require DNA-PKcs’ kinase activity and T2609 cluster’s phosphorylation.
Project description:The classical non-homologous end-joining (cNHEJ) pathway is a major DNA double-strand break repair pathway in mammalian cells and is required for lymphocyte development and maturation. The DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) is a cNHEJ factor that encompasses the Ku70-Ku80 (KU) heterodimer and the large catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs). In mouse models, loss of DNA-PKcs (DNA-PKcs-/-) abrogates end-processing (e.g., hairpin-opening), but not end-ligation, while expression of the kinase-dead DNA-PKcs protein (DNA-PKcsKD/KD) abrogates end-ligation, suggesting a kinases-dependent structural function of DNA-PKcs during cNHEJ. Lymphocyte development is abolished in DNA-PKcs-/- and DNA-PKcsKD/KD mice due to the requirement for both hairpin-opening and end-ligation during V(D)J recombination. DNA-PKcs itself is the best-characterized substrate of DNA-PK. The S2056-cluster is the best characterized auto-phosphorylation site on human DNA-PKcs. Here we show that radiation can induce phosphorylation of murine DNA-PKcs at the corresponding S2053 and generated knockin mouse models with alanine- (DNA-PKcsPQR) or phospho-mimetic aspartate (DNA-PKcsSD) substitutions at the S2053 cluster. Despite moderate radiation sensitivity in the DNA-PKcsPQR/PQR fibroblasts and lymphocytes, both DNA-PKcsPQR/PQR and DNA-PKcsSD/SD mice retain normal kinase activity, and undergo efficient V(D)J recombination and class switch recombination, indicating that phosphorylation at the S2053-cluster of mouse DNA-PKcs (corresponding to S2056 of human DNA-PKcs), although important for radiation resistance, is dispensable for the end-ligation and hairpin-opening function of DNA-PK essential for lymphocyte development.
Project description:The DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), which is composed of the KU heterodimer and the large catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs), is a classical non-homologous end-joining (cNHEJ) factor. Naïve B cells undergo class switch recombination (CSR) to generate antibodies with different isotypes by joining two DNA double-strand breaks at different switching regions via the cNHEJ pathway. DNA-PK and the cNHEJ pathway play important roles in the DNA repair phase of CSR. To initiate cNHEJ, KU binds to DNA ends and recruits and activates DNA-PK. Activated DNA-PK phosphorylates DNA-PKcs at the S2056 and T2609 clusters. Loss of T2609 cluster phosphorylation increases radiation sensitivity but whether T2609 phosphorylation has a role in physiological DNA repair remains elusive. Using the DNA-PKcs5A mouse model carrying alanine substitutions at the T2609 cluster, here we show that loss of T2609 phosphorylation of DNA-PKcs does not affect the CSR efficiency. Yet, the CSR junctions recovered from DNA-PKcs5A/5A B cells reveal increased chromosomal translocations, extensive use of distal switch regions (consistent with end-resection), and preferential usage of micro-homology – all signs of the alternative end-joining pathway. Thus, these results uncover a role of DNA-PKcs T2609 phosphorylation in promoting cNHEJ repair pathway choice during CSR.
Project description:The non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway is a major DNA double-strand break repair pathway in mammals and is essential for lymphocyte development. Ku70 and Ku80 heterodimer (KU) initiates NHEJ, thereby recruiting and activating the catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PKcs). While DNA-PKcs deletion only moderately impairs end-ligation, the expression of Kinase-dead DNA-PKcs completely abrogates NHEJ. Active DNA-PK phosphorylates DNA-PKcs at two clusters – PQR around S2056 (S2053 in mouse) and ABCDE around T2609. Alanine substitution at the S2056 cluster moderately compromises end-ligation on plasmid-based assays. But mice carrying alanine substitution at all 5 serine residues within the S2056 cluster (DNA-PKcsPQR/PQR) display no defect in lymphocyte development, leaving the physiological significance of S2056 cluster phosphorylation elusive. XLF is a non-essential NHEJ factor. Xlf-/- mice have substantial peripheral lymphocytes that are completely abolished by the loss of DNA-PKcs, the related ATM kinases, other chromatin associated DNA damage response factors (e.g., 53BP1, MDC1, H2AX, MRI, etc.) or RAG2-C-terminal regions, suggesting functional redundancy. While ATM inhibition does not further compromise end-ligation, here we show that in XLF-deficient background, DNA-PKcs S2056 cluster phosphorylation is critical for normal lymphocyte development. Chromosomal V(D)J recombination from DNA-PKcsPQR/PQRXlf-/- B cells is efficient but often has large deletions that jeopardize lymphocyte development. Class switch recombination junctions from DNA-PKcsPQR/PQRXlf-/- mice are less efficient and the residual junctions display decreased fidelity and increased deletion. These findings establish a role for DNA-PKcs S2056 cluster phosphorylation in physiological chromosomal NHEJ, implying that S2056 cluster phosphorylation contributes to the synergy between XLF and DNA-PKcs in end-ligation.
Project description:Two DNA repair pathways, non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and alternative end joining (A-EJ), are involved in V(D)J recombination and chromosome translocation. Previous studies reported distinct repair mechanisms for chromosome translocation, with NHEJ predominantly involved in human and A-EJ in mice. NHEJ depends on DNA-PKcs, a critical partner in synapsis formation and downstream component activation. While DNA-PKcs inhibition promotes chromosome translocations harboring microhomologies in mice, its synonymous effect in human is not known. We find partial DNA-PKcs inhibition in human cell lines leads to increased genome-wide translocations composed mostly of direct joints, indicating the continued involvement of dampened NHEJ in these processes. In contrast, complete DNA-PKcs inhibition and genetic inhibition DNA-PKcs kinase domain substantially increased microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ), thus bridging the two different translocation mechanisms between human and mice. Similar to a previous study on Ku70 deletion, DNA-PKcs deletion in G1/G0-phase mouse pro-B cell lines, impair the recombination of RAG1/2-mediated DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). This DNA-PKcs-deficient repair mechanism exhibited reduced V(D)J recombination efficiency, increased end resection, decreased polymerase-mediated insertions, loss of recombination fidelity and generated relatively higher rates of chromosome translocation as a consequence of dysregulated coding and signal end joining. Our study underscores DNA-PKcs in suppressing illegitimate chromosome rearrangement in both species.
Project description:DNA-PKcs is a critical component of the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway, playing a role in the re-ligation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) generated by RAG1/2 during V(D)J recombination in antigen loci. When NHEJ is deficient, DSBs can be repaired through alternative end joining (A-EJ). In this study, we investigated the consequences of DNA-PKcs deletion on V-J recombination at the IgK antigen locus. Our results reveal that DNA-PKcs deletion leads to inefficient V-J recombination, exhibiting phenotypes such as reduced efficiency, increased end resection, and decreased micro-insertions in the repair pattern. These findings are consistent with previously reported functions of Ku70, another key player in NHEJ. However, unlike Ku70, additional deletion of DNA-PKcs does not restore the efficiency of repair in the absence of Lig4. Instead, it reduces both end resection and microhomology-mediated repair. These observations highlight the context-dependent role of DNA-PKcs in end processing. The presence or absence of Lig4 appears to influence the function of DNA-PKcs, further emphasizing the intricate interplay between repair factors in the DNA damage response. Overall, our findings provide insights into the distinct functions of DNA-PKcs and Ku70 in V(D)J recombination and underscore the complex regulatory mechanisms underlying repair efficiency in different genetic backgrounds.
Project description:RAD21 ChIA-PET in human KU-19-19 cells For data usage terms and conditions, please refer to http://www.genome.gov/27528022 and http://www.genome.gov/Pages/Research/ENCODE/ENCODE_Data_Use_Policy_for_External_Users_03-07-14.pdf
Project description:DNA-PKcs is a crucial component of the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) repair machinery. To investigate its function in human cell lines, we conducted a study using K562 and HEK293T cell lines. We introduced twinned DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) or genome-wide DSBs into these cell lines via nucleofection and transfection, respectively. Subsequently, we employed high-throughput genome translocation sequencing (HTGTS) to capture the translocation events (i.e., ligation between "prey(s)" and "bait") and the rejoining events (i.e., direct repair within the "bait" locus) under different conditions, including with or without DNA-PKcs inhibition or deletion. We quantified the number of translocation events by normalizing them to the number of rejoining events, denoted as TL. Interestingly, DNA-PKcs inhibition led to an increase in TL, indicating a higher frequency of translocations. However, it is important to note that chromosomal translocations still predominantly relied on NHEJ despite DNA-PKcs inhibition. Furthermore, we observed that DNA-PKcs deletion resulted in an elevated utilization of microhomology in translocation formation. Nevertheless, NHEJ remained the primary mechanism driving translocation events.These findings provide valuable insights into the role of DNA-PKcs in the repair pathways involved in translocation events in human cell lines. The utilization of HTGTS allowed us to comprehensively analyze the effects of DNA-PKcs inhibition and deletion, shedding light on the interplay between NHEJ and alternative repair mechanisms in translocation formation.
Project description:The catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PKcs) is a classical nonhomologous end-joining (cNHEJ) factor. Loss of DNA-PKcs diminished mature B cell class switch recombination (CSR) to other isotypes, but not IgG1. Here, we show that expression of the kinase-dead DNA-PKcs (DNA-PKcsKD/KD) severely compromises CSR to IgG1. High-throughput sequencing analyses of CSR junctions reveal frequent accumulation of nonproductive interchromosomal translocations, inversions, and extensive end resection in DNA-PKcsKD/KD, but not DNA-PKcs-/- B cells. Meanwhile, the residual joints from DNA-PKcsKD/KDcells and the efficient Sμ-Sγ1 junctions from DNA-PKcs-/- B cells both display similar preferences for small (2–6 nt) microhomologies (MH). In DNA-PKcs-/- cells, Sμ-Sγ1 joints are more resistant to inversions and extensive resection than Sμ-Se and Sμ-Sμ joints, providing a mechanism for the isotype-specific CSR defects. Together, our findings identify a kinase-dependent role of DNA-PKcs in suppressing MH-mediated end joining and a structural role of DNA-PKcs protein in the orientation of CSR.
Project description:The αNAC (alpha chain of the Nascent polypeptide-Associated Complex) transcriptional coregulator is developmentally expressed in osteoblasts and regulates osteoblast differentiation in vitro and in vivo. αNAC can activate or repress gene transcription, a function that is dynamically regulated by post-translational modification. Phosphorylation of residue Ser132 stimulates the sumoylation of αNAC on Lys127 to repress gene expression. Using in vitro kinase assays, we show that Ser132 phosphorylation is mediated by the DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs). Pharmacological inhibition of DNA-PKcs kinase activity or gene silencing of Prkdc (encoding DNA-PKcs) in murine osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells and human adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells markedly enhanced osteogenesis and the expression of osteoblast differentiation marker genes. ChIP-seq identified Ezh2 as a target of the αNAC/DNA-PKcs signaling pathway. Mechanistically, inhibition of DNA-PKcs repressed Ezh2 expression, induced cell cycle block, and increased osteogenesis by significantly enhancing the bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) response in osteoblasts and other mesenchymal cells. Importantly, in vivo inhibition of the kinase enhanced bone biomechanical properties, and bones from osteoblast-specific conditional Prkdc-knockout mice exhibited increased stiffness. In conclusion, DNA-PKcs is a negative regulator of osteoblast differentiation, and therefore DNA-PKcs inhibitors may have therapeutic potential for bone regeneration and metabolic bone diseases.