Project description:The endonuclease Dicer is a key component of the human RNA interference (RNAi) pathway and known for its role in cytoplasmic micro RNA (miRNA) production. Recent findings suggest that non-canonical Dicer generates small non-coding RNA (ncRNA) to mediate the DNA damage response (DDR). Here we show that human Dicer is phosphorylated in the platform-PAZ-connector helix cassette (S1016) upon induction of DNA damage. Phosphorylated Dicer (p-Dicer) accumulates in the nucleus and is recruited to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). We further demonstrate that turnover of damage-induced nuclear dsRNA requires additional phosphorylation of carboxy-terminal Dicer residues (S1728 and S1852). DNA damage-induced nuclear Dicer accumulation is conserved in mammals. Dicer depletion causes spontaneous DNA damage and delays DNA repair. Taken together, we place Dicer in context of the DDR by demonstrating DNA damage-inducible phospho-switch that causes localised processing of nuclear dsRNA by p-Dicer to promote DNA repair.
Project description:The innate immune response against viruses mainly involves type I interferon (IFN) in mammalian cells. The exact contribution of the RNA silencing machinery remains to be established, but several recent studies indicate that the type III ribonuclease DICER can generate viral siRNAs in specific conditions. In addition, it has been proposed that type I IFN and RNA silencing could be mutually exclusive responses. In order to decipher the implication of DICER during infection of human cells with the Sindbis virus, we determined its interactome by immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry analysis. Our results show that human DICER specifically interacts with several double-stranded RNA binding proteins and helicases during viral infection. In particular, proteins such as DHX9, ADAR-1 and the protein kinase PKR are enriched with DICER in virus-infected cells. We validated the importance of the helicase domain of DICER in its interaction with PKR and showed that it has functional consequences for the cellular response to viral infection.
Project description:Bats harbor highly virulent viruses that can infect other mammals, including humans, posing questions about their immune tolerance mechanisms. Bat cells employ multiple strategies to limit virus replication and virus-induced immunopathology, but the coexistence of bats and fatal viruses remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the antiviral RNA interference (RNAi) pathway in bat cells and discovered that they have an enhanced antiviral RNAi response, producing canonical viral small interfering RNAs (vsiRNAs) upon Sindbis virus (SINV) infection that were missing in human cells. Disruption of Dicer function resulted in increased viral load for three different RNA viruses in bat cells, indicating an interferon-independent antiviral pathway. Furthermore, our findings reveal the simultaneous engagement of Dicer and pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs), such as retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I), with double-stranded RNA, suggesting that Dicer attenuates the interferon response initiation in bat cells. These insights advance our comprehension of the distinctive strategies bats employ to coexist with viruses.
Project description:Targetted metabolomics in U2OS PRDX1 WT and PRDX1-/- While cellular metabolism impacts the DNA damage response, a systematic understanding of the metabolic requirements that are crucial for DNA damage repair has yet to be achieved. Here, we investigate the metabolic enzymes and processes that are essential when cells are exposed to DNA damage. By integrating functional genomics with chromatin proteomics and metabolomics, we provide a detailed description of the interplay between cellular metabolism and the DNA damage response. Subsequent analysis identified Peroxiredoxin 1, PRDX1, as fundamental for DNA damage repair. During the DNA damage response, PRDX1 translocates to the nucleus where it is required to reduce DNA damage-induced nuclear reactive oxygen species levels. Moreover, PRDX1 controls aspartate availability, which is required for the DNA damage repair-induced upregulation of de novo nucleotide synthesis. Loss of PRDX1 leads to an impairment in the clearance of γΗ2ΑΧ nuclear foci, accumulation of replicative stress and cell proliferation defects, thus revealing a crucial role for PRDX1 as a DNA damage surveillance factor.
Project description:Encoded model contains complete kinetics of infection for coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3), a compact and fast-acting RNA virus. The model consists of separable, detailed modules describing viral binding-delivery, translation-replication, and encapsidation. Specific module activities are dampened by the type I interferon response to viral double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs), which is itself disrupted by viral proteinases
Project description:Small RNAs have been implicated in numerous cellular processes, including effects on chromatin structure and the repression of transposons. We describe the generation of a small RNA response at DNA ends in Drosophila that is analogous to the recently reported DSB-induced RNAs (diRNAs) or Dicer and Drosha dependent small RNAs (ddRNAs) in Arabidopsis and vertebrates. Active transcription in the vicinity of the break amplifies this small RNA response, demonstrating that the normal mRNA contributes to the endo-siRNA precursor. The double-stranded RNA precursor forms with an antisense transcript that initiates at the DNA break. Breaks are thus sites of transcription initiation, a novel aspect of the cellular DSB response. This response is specific to a double-strand break since nicked DNA structures do not trigger small RNA production. The small RNAs are generated independently of the exact end structure (blunt, 3'- or 5'-overhang), can repress homologous sequences in trans and may therefore - in addition to putative roles in repair - exert a quality control function by clearing potentially truncated messages from genes in the vicinity of the break.
Project description:Parallel RNA silencing pathways regulate gene expression in plants, either by transcriptional gene silencing via RNA-dependent DNA methylation (RdDM), or by post-transcriptional silencing targeting mRNAs. Both pathways rely on distinct Dicer-like proteins to cleave double-stranded RNA into small-interfering RNAs. Experiments to determine the subcellular localization of Dicer-like proteins in Arabidopsis revealed that DCL4 is predominantly expressed as a transcriptional start site isoform that encodes a cytoplasmic protein. A second, longer DCL4 transcript isoform encodes a nuclear-localization signal and its expression is repressed by DNA methylation. Consequently this isoform is induced when promoter methylation decreases due to infection with a bacterial pathogen or during silique development. Nuclear DCL4 produces unique populations of small RNAs, called DCL4NLS isoform-dependent siRNAs (disiRNAs), which function via a post-transcriptional silencing effector, but whose precursors are generated by the RdDM pathway. Arabidopsis cells can thus respond to genome methylation changes by modulating DCL4 localization, which in turn recruits PTGS factors to reinforce RNA silencing.
Project description:The DNA damage response (DDR) is an extensive signaling network that is robustly mobilized by DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). The primary transducer of the DSB response is the protein kinase, ataxia-telangiectasia, mutated (ATM). Here, we establish nuclear poly(A)-binding protein 1 (PABPN1) as a novel target of ATM and a crucial player in the DSB response. PABPN1 usually functions in regulation of RNA processing and stability. We establish that PABPN1 is recruited to the DDR as a critical regulator of DSB repair. A portion of PABPN1 relocalizes to DSB sites and is phosphorylated on Ser95 in an ATM-dependent manner. PABPN1 depletion sensitizes cells to DSBinducing agents and prolongs the DSB-induced G2/M cell-cycle arrest, and DSB repair is hampered by PABPN1 depletion or elimination of its phosphorylation site. PABPN1 is required for optimal DSB repair via both nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination repair (HRR), and specifically is essential for efficient DNAend resection, an initial, key step in HRR. Using mass spectrometry analysis, we capture DNA damage-induced interactions of phospho-PABPN1, including well-established DDR players as well as other RNA metabolizing proteins. Our results uncover a novel ATM-dependent axis in the rapidly growing interface between RNA metabolism and the DDR.
Project description:The TEA domain family members 1-4 (TEADs) are major transcription factors for YAP/TAZ transcription activators in the Hippo pathway, regulating many biological processes, including development, tissue homeostasis, and tumorigenesis through target genes. Their amplification/upregulation correlates with poor prognosis in cancer patients. Although the Hippo pathway continues to be elucidated, it is clear that TEAD largely exerts its actions via transcriptional regulation. Here, we uncover an unexpected role for TEADs in the DNA damage response. Using comparative mass spectrometry, we demonstrate that TEADs interact with several DNA repair proteins. We further show that TEADs form DNA damage-induced nuclear foci that co-localize with DNA damage markers. We also found that TEADs are required for resistance to DNA damage, maintaining genome stability, and resolution of double strand break repair that is independent from the Hippo pathway and its transcriptional role. Our results establish a new role for TEADs in DNA repair and therefore, highlight a critical consideration in therapeutically targeting the Hippo pathway.
Project description:Dicer, also known as endoribonuclease Dicer or helicase with RNase motif, cleaves double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and pre-microRNA (pre-miRNA) into short mature double-stranded RNA fragments called small interfering RNA and microRNA, respectively. MicroRNAs are potent post-transcriptional regulators in developmental switches, lineage commitment and gene expression regulation. To evaluate their post-transcriptional role in gene expression of Medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECS) we knocked down Dicer transcript by means of siRNA transfection in a Mus musculus mTEC cell line (3.10 mTEC). The Agilent oligo microarrays were used to determine the large scale microRNA (miRNA) transcriptional profiles of control or Dicer-knockdown 3.10 mTECs.