Variant histone H2A which replaces conventional H2A in a subset of nucleosomes. Nucleosomes wrap and compact DNA into chromatin, limiting DNA accessibility to the cellular machineries which require DNA as a template. Histones thereby play a central role in transcription regulation, DNA repair, DNA replication and chromosomal stability. DNA accessibility is regulated via a complex set of post-translational modifications of histones, also called histone code, and nucleosome remodeling. Required for checkpoint-mediated arrest of cell cycle progression in response to low doses of ionizing radiation and for efficient repair of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) specifically when modified by C-terminal phosphorylation.
To counteract the continuous exposure of cells to agents that damage DNA, cells have evolved complex regulatory networks called checkpoints to sense DNA damage and coordinate DNA replication, cell-cycle arrest and DNA repair. It has recently been shown that the histone H2A variant H2AX specifically controls the recruitment of DNA repair proteins to the sites of DNA damage. Here we identify a novel BRCA1 carboxy-terminal (BRCT) and forkhead-associated (FHA) domain-containing protein, MDC1 (mediator of DNA damage checkpoint protein 1), which works with H2AX to promote recruitment of repair proteins to the sites of DNA breaks and which, in addition, controls damage-induced cell-cycle arrest checkpoints. MDC1 forms foci that co-localize extensively with gamma-H2AX foci within minutes after exposure to ionizing radiation. H2AX is required for MDC1 foci formation, and MDC1 forms complexes with phosphorylated H2AX. Furthermore, this interaction is phosphorylation dependent as peptides containing the phosphorylated site on H2AX bind MDC1 in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. We have shown by using small interfering RNA (siRNA) that cells lacking MDC1 are sensitive to ionizing radiation, and that MDC1 controls the formation of damage-induced 53BP1, BRCA1 and MRN foci, in part by promoting efficient H2AX phosphorylation. In addition, cells lacking MDC1 also fail to activate the intra-S phase and G2/M phase cell-cycle checkpoints properly after exposure to ionizing radiation, which was associated with an inability to regulate Chk1 properly. These results highlight a crucial role for MDC1 in mediating transduction of the DNA damage signal.
BACKGROUND: The response of eukaryotic cells to double-strand breaks in genomic DNA includes the sequestration of many factors into nuclear foci. Recently it has been reported that a member of the histone H2A family, H2AX, becomes extensively phosphorylated within 1-3 minutes of DNA damage and forms foci at break sites. RESULTS: In this work, we examine the role of H2AX phosphorylation in focus formation by several repair-related complexes, and investigate what factors may be involved in initiating this response. Using two different methods to create DNA double-strand breaks in human cells, we found that the repair factors Rad50 and Rad51 each colocalized with phosphorylated H2AX (gamma-H2AX) foci after DNA damage. The product of the tumor suppressor gene BRCA1 also colocalized with gamma-H2AX and was recruited to these sites before Rad50 or Rad51. Exposure of cells to the fungal inhibitor wortmannin eliminated focus formation by all repair factors examined, suggesting a role for the phosphoinositide (PI)-3 family of protein kinases in mediating this response. Wortmannin treatment was effective only when it was added early enough to prevent gamma-H2AX formation, indicating that gamma-H2AX is necessary for the recruitment of other factors to the sites of DNA damage. DNA repair-deficient cells exhibit a substantially reduced ability to increase the phosphorylation of H2AX in response to ionizing radiation, consistent with a role for gamma-H2AX in DNA repair. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of gamma-H2AX foci that is established within a few minutes of DNA damage accounts for the patterns of Rad50, Rad51, and Brca1 foci seen much later during recovery from damage. The evidence presented strongly supports a role for the gamma-H2AX and the PI-3 protein kinase family in focus formation at sites of double-strand breaks and suggests the possibility of a change in chromatin structure accompanying double-strand break repair.
Mdc1/NFBD1 controls cellular responses to DNA damage, in part via interacting with the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 complex that is involved in the recognition, signalling, and repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Here, we show that in live human cells, the transient interaction of Nbs1 with DSBs and its phosphorylation by ATM are Mdc1-independent. However, ablation of Mdc1 by siRNA or mutation of the Nbs1's FHA domain required for Mdc1 binding reduced the affinity of Nbs1 for DSB-flanking chromatin and caused aberrant pan-nuclear dispersal of Nbs1. This occurred despite normal phosphorylation of H2AX, indicating that lack of Mdc1 does not impair this DSB-induced chromatin change, but rather precludes the sustained engagement of Nbs1 with these regions. Mdc1 (but not Nbs1) became partially immobilized to chromatin after DSB generation, and siRNA-mediated depletion of H2AX prevented such relocalization of Mdc1 and uncoupled Nbs1 from DSB-flanking chromatin. Our data suggest that Mdc1 functions as an H2AX-dependent interaction platform enabling a switch from transient, Mdc1-independent recruitment of Nbs1 to DSBs towards sustained, Mdc1-dependent interactions with the surrounding chromosomal microenvironment.
DNA double-strand breaks represent the most potentially serious damage to a genome; hence, many repair proteins are recruited to nuclear damage sites by as yet poorly characterized sensor mechanisms. Here, we show that NBS1, the gene product defective in Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS), physically interacts with histone, rather than damaged DNA, by direct binding to gamma-H2AX. We also demonstrate that NBS1 binding can occur in the absence of interaction with hMRE11 or BRCA1. Furthermore, this NBS1 physical interaction was reduced when anti-gamma-H2AX antibody was introduced into normal cells and was also delayed in AT cells, which lack the kinase activity for phosphorylation of H2AX. NBS1 has no DNA binding region but carries a combination of the fork-head associated (FHA) and the BRCA1 C-terminal domains (BRCT). We show that the FHA/BRCT domain of NBS1 is essential for this physical interaction, since NBS1 lacking this domain failed to bind to gamma-H2AX in cells, and a recombinant FHA/BRCT domain alone can bind to recombinant gamma-H2AX. Consequently, the FHA/BRCT domain is likely to have a crucial role for both binding to histone and for relocalization of hMRE11/hRAD50 nuclease complex to the vicinity of DNA damage.
A full length cDNA clone that directs the in vitro synthesis of human histone H2A isoprotein H2A.X has been isolated and sequenced. H2A.X contains 142 amino acid residues, 13 more than human H2A.1. The sequence of the first 120 residues of H2A.X is almost identical to that of human H2A.1. The sequence of the carboxy-terminal 22 residues of H2A.X is unrelated to any known sequence in vertebrate histone H2A; however, it contains a sequence homologous with those of several lower eukaryotes. This homology centers on the carboxy-terminal tetrapeptide which in H2A.X is SerGlnGluTyr. Homologous sequences are found in H2As of three types of yeasts, in Tetrahymena and Drosophila. Seven of the nine carboxy-terminal amino acids of H2A.X are identical with those of S. cerevisiae H2A.1. It is suggested that this H2A carboxy-terminal motif may be present in all eukaryotes. The H2A.X cDNA is 1585 bases long followed by a polyA tail. There are 73 nucleotides in the 5' UTR, 432 in the coding region, and 1080 in the 3' UTR. Even though H2A.X is considered a basal histone, being synthesized in G1 as well as in S-phase, and its mRNA contains polyA addition motifs and a polyA tail, its mRNA also contains the conserved stem-loop and U7 binding sequences involved in the processing and stability of replication type histone mRNAs. Two forms of H2A.X mRNA, consistent with the two sets of processing signals were found in proliferating cell cultures. One, about 1600 bases long, contains polyA; the other, about 575 bases long, lacks polyA. The short form behaves as a replication type histone mRNA, decreasing in amount when cell cultures are incubated with inhibitors of DNA synthesis, while the longer behaves as a basal type histone mRNA.
Life and death fate decisions allow cells to avoid massive apoptotic death in response to genotoxic stress. Although the regulatory mechanisms and signalling pathways controlling DNA repair and apoptosis are well characterized, the precise molecular strategies that determine the ultimate choice of DNA repair and survival or apoptotic cell death remain incompletely understood. Here we report that a protein tyrosine phosphatase, EYA, is involved in promoting efficient DNA repair rather than apoptosis in response to genotoxic stress in mammalian embryonic kidney cells by executing a damage-signal-dependent dephosphorylation of an H2AX carboxy-terminal tyrosine phosphate (Y142). This post-translational modification determines the relative recruitment of either DNA repair or pro-apoptotic factors to the tail of serine phosphorylated histone H2AX (gamma-H2AX) and allows it to function as an active determinant of repair/survival versus apoptotic responses to DNA damage, revealing an additional phosphorylation-dependent mechanism that modulates survival/apoptotic decisions during mammalian organogenesis.
Interacting selectively and non-covalently with a histone, any of a group of water-soluble proteins found in association with the DNA of plant and animal chromosomes. They are involved in the condensation and coiling of chromosomes during cell division and have also been implicated in nonspecific suppression of gene activity.
Evidence
1:
Inferred from Physical InteractionUniProtKB
Life and death fate decisions allow cells to avoid massive apoptotic death in response to genotoxic stress. Although the regulatory mechanisms and signalling pathways controlling DNA repair and apoptosis are well characterized, the precise molecular strategies that determine the ultimate choice of DNA repair and survival or apoptotic cell death remain incompletely understood. Here we report that a protein tyrosine phosphatase, EYA, is involved in promoting efficient DNA repair rather than apoptosis in response to genotoxic stress in mammalian embryonic kidney cells by executing a damage-signal-dependent dephosphorylation of an H2AX carboxy-terminal tyrosine phosphate (Y142). This post-translational modification determines the relative recruitment of either DNA repair or pro-apoptotic factors to the tail of serine phosphorylated histone H2AX (gamma-H2AX) and allows it to function as an active determinant of repair/survival versus apoptotic responses to DNA damage, revealing an additional phosphorylation-dependent mechanism that modulates survival/apoptotic decisions during mammalian organogenesis.
Interacting selectively and non-covalently with any protein or protein complex (a complex of two or more proteins that may include other nonprotein molecules).
Evidence
1:
Inferred from Physical InteractionUniProtKB
Werner syndrome helicase (WRN) was found in the centrosome of human cells, both in interphase and in mitosis. Nuclear DNA helicase II (NDH II), also called RNA helicase A (RHA), an interaction partner of WRN, was also present in the centrosome. NDH II localized to the centrosome in interphase but left the centrosome with the ongoing progression of mitosis. The localization of NDH II to the centrosome was hardly affected by cytochalasin D that depolymerizes actin filaments. In contrast, treatment by the microtubules disrupting agent nocodazole strikingly detached NDH II from the centrosome, which was in contrast to WRN that remained there under this condition. Treatment of cells with the DNA damaging agent 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO) released NDH II, but not WRN from the centrosome. Surprisingly, the double-stranded DNA break repair-induced histone variant gammaH2AX was also found in centrosomes of interphase and mitotic cells. Following DNA damage by 4NQO, gammaH2AX left the centrosome with similar kinetics as NDH II. In vitro pull-down assays confirmed a direct physical interaction between these two proteins. Since NDH II associated with gammaH2AX after DNA damage, we suggest that complex formation between NDH II and gammaH2AX may occur in pre-assembled complexes at the centrosome, which are subsequently recruited to sites of damaged DNA for inducing the repair process.
Evidence
2:
Inferred from Physical InteractionUniProtKB
A growing number of proteins originally found in endocytic structures of the plasma membrane appear to be able to traffic into the nucleus, but the cellular function of this translocation remains unclear. We have found that beta-arrestin2, which typically shows a cytoplasmic localization owing to constitutive nuclear export, appears in the nucleus after stimulation of the G-protein-coupled odorant receptor hOR17-4. In the nucleus, beta-arrestin2 was involved in transcriptional regulation as shown by a Gal4-based transactivation assay. Moreover, we discovered that beta-arrestin2 and hOR17-4, a receptor known to have a role in sperm-egg communication, colocalize in the midpiece of mature human spermatozoa. Stimulation of hOR17-4 in spermatozoa induced PKA-dependent translocation of beta-arrestin2 to the nucleus and nuclear accumulation of phosphorylated MAPKs. Analysis of the interaction partners of beta-arrestin2 indicates that odorant receptor signaling in spermatozoa may be important for the regulation of gene expression during the early processes of fertilization.
Evidence
3:
Inferred from Physical InteractionIntAct
DNA-damage signaling utilizes a multitude of posttranslational modifiers as molecular switches to regulate cell-cycle checkpoints, DNA repair, cellular senescence, and apoptosis. Here we show that RNF8, a FHA/RING domain-containing protein, plays a critical role in the early DNA-damage response. We have solved the X-ray crystal structure of the FHA domain structure at 1.35 A. We have shown that RNF8 facilitates the accumulation of checkpoint mediator proteins BRCA1 and 53BP1 to the damaged chromatin, on one hand through the phospho-dependent FHA domain-mediated binding of RNF8 to MDC1, on the other hand via its role in ubiquitylating H2AX and possibly other substrates at damage sites. Moreover, RNF8-depleted cells displayed a defective G2/M checkpoint and increased IR sensitivity. Together, our study implicates RNF8 as a novel DNA-damage-responsive protein that integrates protein phosphorylation and ubiquitylation signaling and plays a critical role in the cellular response to genotoxic stress.
Evidence
4:
Inferred from Physical InteractionIntAct
To counteract the continuous exposure of cells to agents that damage DNA, cells have evolved complex regulatory networks called checkpoints to sense DNA damage and coordinate DNA replication, cell-cycle arrest and DNA repair. It has recently been shown that the histone H2A variant H2AX specifically controls the recruitment of DNA repair proteins to the sites of DNA damage. Here we identify a novel BRCA1 carboxy-terminal (BRCT) and forkhead-associated (FHA) domain-containing protein, MDC1 (mediator of DNA damage checkpoint protein 1), which works with H2AX to promote recruitment of repair proteins to the sites of DNA breaks and which, in addition, controls damage-induced cell-cycle arrest checkpoints. MDC1 forms foci that co-localize extensively with gamma-H2AX foci within minutes after exposure to ionizing radiation. H2AX is required for MDC1 foci formation, and MDC1 forms complexes with phosphorylated H2AX. Furthermore, this interaction is phosphorylation dependent as peptides containing the phosphorylated site on H2AX bind MDC1 in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. We have shown by using small interfering RNA (siRNA) that cells lacking MDC1 are sensitive to ionizing radiation, and that MDC1 controls the formation of damage-induced 53BP1, BRCA1 and MRN foci, in part by promoting efficient H2AX phosphorylation. In addition, cells lacking MDC1 also fail to activate the intra-S phase and G2/M phase cell-cycle checkpoints properly after exposure to ionizing radiation, which was associated with an inability to regulate Chk1 properly. These results highlight a crucial role for MDC1 in mediating transduction of the DNA damage signal.
Evidence
5:
Inferred from Physical InteractionIntAct
Accumulation of repair proteins on damaged chromosomes is required to restore genomic integrity. However, the mechanisms of protein retention at the most destructive chromosomal lesions, the DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), are poorly understood. We show that RNF8, a RING-finger ubiquitin ligase, rapidly assembles at DSBs via interaction of its FHA domain with the phosphorylated adaptor protein MDC1. This is accompanied by an increase in DSB-associated ubiquitylations and followed by accumulation of 53BP1 and BRCA1 repair proteins. Knockdown of RNF8 or disruption of its FHA or RING domains impaired DSB-associated ubiquitylation and inhibited retention of 53BP1 and BRCA1 at the DSB sites. In addition, we show that RNF8 can ubiquitylate histone H2A and H2AX, and that its depletion sensitizes cells to ionizing radiation. These data suggest that MDC1-mediated and RNF8-executed histone ubiquitylation protects genome integrity by licensing the DSB-flanking chromatin to concentrate repair factors near the DNA lesions.
Evidence
6:
Inferred from Physical InteractionIntAct
Programmed necrosis induced by DNA alkylating agents, such as MNNG, is a caspase-independent mode of cell death mediated by apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF). After poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1, calpain, and Bax activation, AIF moves from the mitochondria to the nucleus where it induces chromatinolysis and cell death. The mechanisms underlying the nuclear action of AIF are, however, largely unknown. We show here that, through its C-terminal proline-rich binding domain (PBD, residues 543-559), AIF associates in the nucleus with histone H2AX. This interaction regulates chromatinolysis and programmed necrosis by generating an active DNA-degrading complex with cyclophilin A (CypA). Deletion or directed mutagenesis in the AIF C-terminal PBD abolishes AIF/H2AX interaction and AIF-mediated chromatinolysis. H2AX genetic ablation or CypA downregulation confers resistance to programmed necrosis. AIF fails to induce chromatinolysis in H2AX or CypA-deficient nuclei. We also establish that H2AX is phosphorylated at Ser139 after MNNG treatment and that this phosphorylation is critical for caspase-independent programmed necrosis. Overall, our data shed new light in the mechanisms regulating programmed necrosis, elucidate a key nuclear partner of AIF, and uncover an AIF apoptogenic motif.
Evidence
7:
Inferred from Physical InteractionIntAct
DNA double-strand breaks represent the most potentially serious damage to a genome; hence, many repair proteins are recruited to nuclear damage sites by as yet poorly characterized sensor mechanisms. Here, we show that NBS1, the gene product defective in Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS), physically interacts with histone, rather than damaged DNA, by direct binding to gamma-H2AX. We also demonstrate that NBS1 binding can occur in the absence of interaction with hMRE11 or BRCA1. Furthermore, this NBS1 physical interaction was reduced when anti-gamma-H2AX antibody was introduced into normal cells and was also delayed in AT cells, which lack the kinase activity for phosphorylation of H2AX. NBS1 has no DNA binding region but carries a combination of the fork-head associated (FHA) and the BRCA1 C-terminal domains (BRCT). We show that the FHA/BRCT domain of NBS1 is essential for this physical interaction, since NBS1 lacking this domain failed to bind to gamma-H2AX in cells, and a recombinant FHA/BRCT domain alone can bind to recombinant gamma-H2AX. Consequently, the FHA/BRCT domain is likely to have a crucial role for both binding to histone and for relocalization of hMRE11/hRAD50 nuclease complex to the vicinity of DNA damage.
A cell cycle checkpoint that regulates progression through the cell cycle in response to DNA damage. A DNA damage checkpoint may blocks cell cycle progression (in G1, G2 or metaphase) or slow the rate at which S phase proceeds.
HiNF-P and its cofactor p220(NPAT) are principal factors regulating histone gene expression at the G(1)-S phase cell cycle transition. Here, we have investigated whether HiNF-P controls other cell cycle- and cancer-related genes. We used cDNA microarrays to monitor responsiveness of gene expression to small interfering RNA-mediated depletion of HiNF-P. Candidate HiNF-P target genes were examined for the presence of HiNF-P recognition motifs, in vitro HiNF-P binding to DNA, and in vivo association by chromatin immunoprecipitations and functional reporter gene assays. Of 177 proliferation-related genes we tested, 20 are modulated in HiNF-P-depleted cells and contain putative HiNF-P binding motifs. We validated that at least three genes (i.e., ATM, PRKDC, and CKS2) are HiNF-P dependent and provide data indicating that the DNA damage response is altered in HiNF-P-depleted cells. We conclude that, in addition to histone genes, HiNF-P also regulates expression of nonhistone targets that influence competency for cell cycle progression.
Life and death fate decisions allow cells to avoid massive apoptotic death in response to genotoxic stress. Although the regulatory mechanisms and signalling pathways controlling DNA repair and apoptosis are well characterized, the precise molecular strategies that determine the ultimate choice of DNA repair and survival or apoptotic cell death remain incompletely understood. Here we report that a protein tyrosine phosphatase, EYA, is involved in promoting efficient DNA repair rather than apoptosis in response to genotoxic stress in mammalian embryonic kidney cells by executing a damage-signal-dependent dephosphorylation of an H2AX carboxy-terminal tyrosine phosphate (Y142). This post-translational modification determines the relative recruitment of either DNA repair or pro-apoptotic factors to the tail of serine phosphorylated histone H2AX (gamma-H2AX) and allows it to function as an active determinant of repair/survival versus apoptotic responses to DNA damage, revealing an additional phosphorylation-dependent mechanism that modulates survival/apoptotic decisions during mammalian organogenesis.
A cell cycle process comprising the steps by which a cell progresses through the nuclear division phase of a meiotic cell cycle. A meiotic cell cycle is the specialized nuclear and cell division in which a single diploid cell undergoes two nuclear divisions following a single round of DNA replication in order to produce four daughter cells that contain half the number of chromosomes as the diploid cell. Meiotic division occurs during the formation of gametes from diploid organisms and at the beginning of haplophase in those organisms that alternate between diploid and haploid generations.
A full length cDNA clone that directs the in vitro synthesis of human histone H2A isoprotein H2A.X has been isolated and sequenced. H2A.X contains 142 amino acid residues, 13 more than human H2A.1. The sequence of the first 120 residues of H2A.X is almost identical to that of human H2A.1. The sequence of the carboxy-terminal 22 residues of H2A.X is unrelated to any known sequence in vertebrate histone H2A; however, it contains a sequence homologous with those of several lower eukaryotes. This homology centers on the carboxy-terminal tetrapeptide which in H2A.X is SerGlnGluTyr. Homologous sequences are found in H2As of three types of yeasts, in Tetrahymena and Drosophila. Seven of the nine carboxy-terminal amino acids of H2A.X are identical with those of S. cerevisiae H2A.1. It is suggested that this H2A carboxy-terminal motif may be present in all eukaryotes. The H2A.X cDNA is 1585 bases long followed by a polyA tail. There are 73 nucleotides in the 5' UTR, 432 in the coding region, and 1080 in the 3' UTR. Even though H2A.X is considered a basal histone, being synthesized in G1 as well as in S-phase, and its mRNA contains polyA addition motifs and a polyA tail, its mRNA also contains the conserved stem-loop and U7 binding sequences involved in the processing and stability of replication type histone mRNAs. Two forms of H2A.X mRNA, consistent with the two sets of processing signals were found in proliferating cell cultures. One, about 1600 bases long, contains polyA; the other, about 575 bases long, lacks polyA. The short form behaves as a replication type histone mRNA, decreasing in amount when cell cultures are incubated with inhibitors of DNA synthesis, while the longer behaves as a basal type histone mRNA.
Life and death fate decisions allow cells to avoid massive apoptotic death in response to genotoxic stress. Although the regulatory mechanisms and signalling pathways controlling DNA repair and apoptosis are well characterized, the precise molecular strategies that determine the ultimate choice of DNA repair and survival or apoptotic cell death remain incompletely understood. Here we report that a protein tyrosine phosphatase, EYA, is involved in promoting efficient DNA repair rather than apoptosis in response to genotoxic stress in mammalian embryonic kidney cells by executing a damage-signal-dependent dephosphorylation of an H2AX carboxy-terminal tyrosine phosphate (Y142). This post-translational modification determines the relative recruitment of either DNA repair or pro-apoptotic factors to the tail of serine phosphorylated histone H2AX (gamma-H2AX) and allows it to function as an active determinant of repair/survival versus apoptotic responses to DNA damage, revealing an additional phosphorylation-dependent mechanism that modulates survival/apoptotic decisions during mammalian organogenesis.
Any process that results in a change in state or activity of a cell (in terms of movement, secretion, enzyme production, gene expression, etc.) as a result of a stimulus indicating damage to its DNA from environmental insults or errors during metabolism.
Cellular senescence can be triggered by telomere shortening as well as a variety of stresses and signaling imbalances. We used multiparameter single-cell detection methods to investigate upstream signaling pathways and ensuing cell cycle checkpoint responses in human fibroblasts. Telomeric foci containing multiple DNA damage response factors were assembled in a subset of senescent cells and signaled through ATM to p53, upregulating p21 and causing G1 phase arrest. Inhibition of ATM expression or activity resulted in cell cycle reentry, indicating that stable arrest requires continuous signaling. ATR kinase appears to play a minor role in normal cells but in the absence of ATM elicited a delayed G2 phase arrest. These pathways do not affect expression of p16, which was upregulated in a telomere- and DNA damage-independent manner in a subset of cells. Distinct senescence programs can thus progress in parallel, resulting in mosaic cultures as well as individual cells responding to multiple signals.
Any process that results in a change in state or activity of a cell or an organism (in terms of movement, secretion, enzyme production, gene expression, etc.) as a result of a ionizing radiation stimulus. Ionizing radiation is radiation with sufficient energy to remove electrons from atoms and may arise from spontaneous decay of unstable isotopes, resulting in alpha and beta particles and gamma rays. Ionizing radiation also includes X-rays.
Life and death fate decisions allow cells to avoid massive apoptotic death in response to genotoxic stress. Although the regulatory mechanisms and signalling pathways controlling DNA repair and apoptosis are well characterized, the precise molecular strategies that determine the ultimate choice of DNA repair and survival or apoptotic cell death remain incompletely understood. Here we report that a protein tyrosine phosphatase, EYA, is involved in promoting efficient DNA repair rather than apoptosis in response to genotoxic stress in mammalian embryonic kidney cells by executing a damage-signal-dependent dephosphorylation of an H2AX carboxy-terminal tyrosine phosphate (Y142). This post-translational modification determines the relative recruitment of either DNA repair or pro-apoptotic factors to the tail of serine phosphorylated histone H2AX (gamma-H2AX) and allows it to function as an active determinant of repair/survival versus apoptotic responses to DNA damage, revealing an additional phosphorylation-dependent mechanism that modulates survival/apoptotic decisions during mammalian organogenesis.
Protein involved in the complex series of events by which the cell duplicates its contents and divides into two. The eukaryotic cell cycle can be divided in four phases termed G1 (first gap period), S (synthesis, phase during which the DNA is replicated), G2 (second gap period) and M (mitosis). The prokaryotic cell cycle typically involves a period of growth followed by DNA replication, partition of chromosomes, formation of septum and division into two similar or identical daughter cells.
Protein induced by DNA damage or protein involved in the response to DNA damage. Drug- or radiation-induced injuries in DNA introduce deviations from its normal double-helical conformation. These changes include structural distortions which interfere with replication and transcription, as well as point mutations which disrupt base pairs and exert damaging effects on future generations through changes in DNA sequence. Response to DNA damage results in either repair or tolerance.
Protein involved in the repair of DNA, the various biochemical processes by which damaged DNA can be restored. DNA repair embraces, for instance, not only the direct reversal of some types of damage (such as the enzymatic photoreactivation of thymine dimers), but also multiple distinct mechanisms for excising damaged base; termed nucleotide excision repair (NER), base excision repair (BER) and mismatch repair (MMR); or mechanisms for repairing double-strand breaks.
Protein involved in meiotic processes or in regulation of meiosis. Meiosis is the nuclear division which results in the daughter nuclei each containing half the number of chromosomes of the parent. It comprises two distinct nuclear divisions, the first and second meiotic divisions (which may be separated by cell division), the actual reduction in chromosome number takes place during the first division.
A reference proteome is a set of protein sequences derived from a complete proteome which constitutes a defined standard for a particular user community. Reference proteomes are manually defined according to a number of criteria. They cover the proteomes of well- studied model organisms and other proteomes of interest for biomedical and biotechnological research. Reference proteomes have been selected to provide broad coverage of the tree of life, and constitute a representative cross-section of the taxonomic diversity to be found within UniProtKB.
My favorites 
My labels 
Login
