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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 283, Issue 8, 4658-4664, February 22, 2008
Requirements for the Interaction of Mouse Pol
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| ABSTRACT |
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protein is a eukaryotic member of the DinB/Pol
branch of the Y-family DNA polymerases, which are involved in the tolerance of DNA damage by replicative bypass. Despite universal conservation through evolution, the precise role(s) of Pol
in this process has remained unknown. Here we report that mouse Pol
can physically interact with ubiquitin by yeast two-hybrid screening, glutathione S-transferase pulldown, and immunoprecipitation methods. The association of Pol
with ubiquitin requires the ubiquitin-binding motifs located at the C terminus of Pol
. In addition, Pol
binds with monoubiquitinated proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) more robustly than with non-ubiquitinated PCNA. The ubiquitin-binding motifs mediate the enhanced association between monoubiquitinated PCNA and Pol
. The ubiquitin-binding motifs are also required for Pol
to form nuclear foci after UV radiation. However, the ubiquitin-binding motifs do not affect Pol
half-life. Finally, we have examined levels of Pol
expression following the exposure of mouse cells to benzo[a]pyrene-dihydrodiol epoxide or UVB radiation. | INTRODUCTION |
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Several specialized DNA polymerases are members of a novel polymerase family, the Y-family (3). These enzymes are devoid of 3'
5' proofreading exonuclease activity and replicate undamaged DNA in vitro with low fidelity and weak processivity (4). Members of this family in mammalian cells include Pol
, Pol
, and Pol
, all of which can extend primers for varying distances past various types of template damage (4). A fourth member of the Y-family, REV1 protein, is able to catalyze the incorporation of only one or two dCMP moieties, regardless of the template base composition (5). Pol
, Pol
, and Pol
have been shown to interact with REV1 protein via a highly conserved C-terminal domain in REV1 (6–8). These polymerases also interact with PCNA (9, 10), and recent observations suggest that PCNA plays a key role in promoting the access of specialized polymerases to arrested replication forks (11–15).
Disruption of the PolK gene in mouse and chicken cells results in significant sensitivity to killing by benzo[a]pyrene-dihydrodiol epoxide (BPDE) and UV radiation (16–18). Pol
-deficient mouse embryonic stem and fibroblast cells also show moderate sensitivity to methyl methanesulfonate (19). Consistent with these results, primer extension assays have shown that human Pol
can support TLS across sites of base loss, acetylaminofluorene-G adducts, benzo[a]pyrene-G adducts, and thymine glycol (4). However, the enzyme does not support primer extension past thymine-thymine (T<>T) dimers or [6,4]pyrimidine-pyrimidone photoproducts (4). Similar to DNA polymerase Pol
, Pol
is also efficient in extending sites of replicative bypass by other specialized polymerases during TLS, at least in vitro (12). Furthermore, overexpression of Pol
in mammalian cells promotes pleiotropic genetic alterations and tumorigenesis (20, 21).
The relaxed fidelity of Pol
renders it error prone when copying undamaged DNA. Hence, access of the enzyme to sites of undamaged DNA must be tightly regulated to avoid mutational catastrophes. It has been reported that Pol
accumulates in microscopically discrete nuclear foci in UV radiation- or BPDE-treated cells (22–24). In addition, the C-terminal 97 amino acids of Pol
, which include a C2HC zinc finger, a bipartite nuclear localization signal, and a putative PCNA binding site, are important for the localization of Pol
in nuclear foci (22). However, the underlying mechanism of TLS by Pol
and other specialized DNA polymerases remains unclear.
To further our understanding of the role of Pol
in TLS and in spontaneous and DNA damage-associated mutagenesis, we searched for proteins that interact with mouse Pol
by screening a mouse testis cDNA library using the yeast two-hybrid system (6). We report here that ubiquitin binds strongly to Pol
bait protein. We examined the interaction of ubiquitin with Pol
and show that this interaction requires two novel zinc fingers, called ubiquitin-binding motifs (UBZs) (25), resident in the C-terminal half of Pol
. We also demonstrate that Pol
binds monoubiquitinated PCNA more robustly than nonubiquitinated PCNA. The UBZs are required for Pol
to form nuclear foci after UV radiation. We measured the half-life of endogenous Pol
as 5.4 h and show that mutational disruption of the UBZs does not alter the half-life of Pol
protein. Finally, we examined levels of Pol
expression following exposure of mouse cells to BPDE or UVB radiation.
| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
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Yeast Two-hybrid Assay—The pGBT9/mouse PolK plasmid was used to screen a mouse testis cDNA library as described (6).
Cell Culture and Treatments—COS7 cells were grown in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. For transient transfection experiments COS7 and HEK293T (human embryonic kidney) cells were transfected with the indicated constructs using FuGENE 6 (Roche Applied Science) according to the manufacturer's protocol. Cells were harvested for further analysis 48 h after transfection. The SV40-transformed human fibroblast MRC5 was kindly provided by Dr. Alan R. Lehmann, University of Sussex. MRC5 cells were grown in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. Transfection and UV irradiation were carried out as described previously (10).
Nuclear Protein Extraction and Western Blotting—Wild-type MEFs were prepared and maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum as described (17). Treatments using genotoxic agents were as follows. 1), BPDE (NCI National Institutes of Health carcinogen repository) was dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide. 1 mM BPDE was added to exponentially growing cells and incubated for 1 h, and the cells were washed twice with phosphate-buffered saline and incubated with fresh medium. 2), UVB radiation at 25 J/m2 was performed in a UV cross-linker (UV Stratalinker 2400, Stratagene). Nuclear extracts were harvested as described previously (27) at different time points.
Protein Half-life Determination—COS7 cells were transfected with the wild-type and UBZs mutant HA-Pol
constructs. Twenty-four h later, the transfected cells were aliquoted into 8–10 35-mm dishes to continue to culture for
16 h. The half-life of Pol
was determined by treating cells with 25 µg/ml cycloheximide (CHX) (Sigma) for 0–7 h to inhibit protein synthesis and then preparing cell lysates to determine Pol
levels by Western blotting. For endogenous Pol
, wild-type MEFs were treated with 25 µg/ml CHX for 0–9 h. The content of Pol
and β-actin bands was quantified by Photoshop histogram. To calculate the half-life of Pol
protein, the content of the Pol
Western blot bands at each time point was normalized to the control (0 h) Pol
content and also refers to the β-actin content. The normalized data from several independent experiments were averaged together and semi-log plots were generated in Origin 4.1. Linear regression was performed, and the half-life was calculated from the fitted line equation.
Antibodies—Rabbit polyclonal anti-HA and mouse monoclonal anti-HA and anti-Myc were purchased from Covance. Anti-FLAG M2 agarose affinity gel and anti-FLAG M2 monoclonal antibodies were purchased from Sigma. Hamster polyclonal antiserum against mouse Pol
was made by our laboratory (27). Rabbit polyclonal antiserum against mouse Pol
was generated with a 14-amino acid peptide (CNYLKIDTPRQEANE) containing an N-terminal cysteine residue conjugated with keyhole limpet hemocyanin as described (28). Anti-PCNA antibodies were purchased from Santa Cruz Biotechnology.
Lysate Preparation, Co-immunoprecipitation, and Western Blotting—COS7 cells were transfected with pCMV-HA-mPol
and pCMV5-FLAG-Ub. Harvested cell lysates were immunoprecipitated with anti-FLAG antibodies. HEK293T cells were transfected with pCMV-Myc-mPol
and pcDNA3-HA-Ub. Harvested cell lysates were immunoprecipitated with anti-Myc antibodies. Immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting were performed as described (26). MRC cells were transfected with HA-mPol
, and 40 h later they were UV-irradiated (25 J/m2). They were then incubated for 7 h prior to Triton extraction and cross-linking. Triton-insoluble proteins were solubilized and immunoprecipitated with anti-PCNA as described (10).
GST Pulldown Assay—GST fusion proteins were expressed and purified on glutathione-agarose (Sigma) as described (6). Purified mPol
was pulled down by GST-Ub as described previously (26). For interaction between truncated/mutant mPol
and GST-PCNA or GST-Ub constructs, transfected COS7/MRC5 cells were lysed with HEPES buffer and incubated with equal amounts of GST fusion proteins as described previously (10, 26). Samples were separated by SDS-PAGE and detected by immunoblotting with polyclonal antibodies against mPol
or with monoclonal antibodies against Myc (9E10), HA (16B12), or PCNA.
Immunofluorescence Microscopy—MRC5 cells were transfected using a panel of mutated/truncated EGFP-mPol
and EGFP-hPol
constructs and cultured for
40 h. They were then UV-irradiated and processed for immunofluorescence as described previously (10). Images were acquired using a Nikon Eclipse TE2000-U confocal laser scanning microscope and processed using Adobe Photoshop 7.0. A minimum of 200 nuclei were analyzed for each construct and treatment.
| RESULTS |
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Interacts with Ubiquitin via Two Ubiquitin-binding Zinc Finger Domains and Undergoes Ubiquitination in Vivo—By screening a mouse testis cDNA library using mouse Pol
as bait, we identified both ubiquitin B and REV1 as interacting moieties. Because ubiquitin B is a polypeptide containing four tandem ubiquitin moieties, we anticipated that Pol
would also bind to monoubiquitin. This was confirmed by GST pull-down using purified Pol
and GST-ubiquitin (Fig. 1A). We observed that mouse Pol
protein, in addition to binding ubiquitin, undergoes monoubiquitination in vivo. HA-Pol
and FLAG-ubiquitin were expressed in COS7 cells, and cell lysates were immunoprecipitated with anti-FLAG antibodies. Not surprisingly, HA-Pol
protein was detected in the immunoprecipitate, reflecting its interaction with ubiquitin (Fig. 1B). However, an additional slower migrating band was reproducibly observed, suggesting the presence of monoubiquitinated HA-Pol
protein (Fig. 1B). This was directly confirmed by immunoprecipitation of Pol
from cells cotransfected with Myc-Pol
and HA-Ub followed by immunoblotting with anti-HA antibodies (Fig. 1C).
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(29) are in fact novel ubiquitin-binding domains called UBZs (25). The mouse UBZs (each
30 amino acids in length) are located between amino acid residues 608 and 800 (Fig. 2A). To determine whether the UBZs in Pol
are required for binding ubiquitin, we incubated a fragment of Pol
bearing just the two UBZs (UBZ1 + UBZ2) with GST-ubiquitin and confirmed the interaction (Fig. 2B). To further document the requirement of the UBZs in Pol
for its interaction with ubiquitin, we generated a series of mutant constructs that deleted the N-terminal UBZ (UBZ1) (Pol
-UBZ1
), the C-terminal UBZ (UBZ2) (Pol
-UBZ2
), or both (Pol
-UBZ
). Additionally, we generated constructs in which the amino acids Asp-642 and/or Asp-784 were mutated to Ala (D642A in UBZ1*, D784A in UBZ2*, D642A and D784A in UBZ*). Deletion of either UBZ significantly impaired binding to GST-ubiquitin (Fig. 2C), and deletion of both UBZs completely eliminated the interaction (Fig. 2C). Similar results were obtained when selected amino acids in the Pol
UBZs were mutated to alanine (Fig. 2D). Mutational inactivation of the UBZs in Pol
also impaired its monoubiquitination (Fig. 2E), and their deletion completely abolished monoubiquitination of Pol
(Fig. 2E). Collectively, these results suggest that the Polk UBZs are required for interaction between Pol
and ubiquitin and for monoubiquitination of the polymerase.
The UBZs Are Required for Enhanced Association between Pol
and Monoubiquitinated PCNA—Recent studies have demonstrated that monoubiquitination of PCNA in cells exposed to UV radiation promotes a more robust interaction of this accessory replication protein with Pol
, Pol
, and REV1 protein (10, 11, 25, 30). To determine whether an enhanced association also exists between Pol
and monoubiquitinated PCNA, we examined their interaction by GST pulldown experiments (26). Consistent with results shown previously (31), the interaction of purified Pol
with PCNA-Ub was more robust than with native PCNA (Fig. 3A). To determine whether the enhanced interaction is mediated via the UBZ domains, we incubated cell lysates expressing wild-type Pol
or those carrying mutations in the UBZ domains with GST-PCNA fusion proteins. As shown in Fig. 3B, the enhanced association with GST-PCNA-Ub was not observed with UBZ mutant preparations. To further support the result, HA-Pol
and its UBZ deletion derivatives were expressed in cells exposed to UV radiation to generate monoubiquitinated PCNA. The chromatin fraction was then isolated and immunoprecipitated with PCNA antibodies. Consistent with the results shown above, the amount of precipitated wild-type, but not UBZ-deleted, Pol
was significantly increased after UVC treatment (Fig. 3C). Interestingly, the level of UBZ-deleted Pol
in chromatin fractions was significantly reduced after UVC treatment (Fig. 3C). We isolated the chromatin fraction from wild-type cells after UVC treatment and immunoprecipitated it with anti-PCNA antibodies. Consistent with the results shown above, the amount of precipitated endogenous Pol
was significantly increased after UVC treatment (Fig. 3D).
In summary, the results of the experiments reported thus far indicate that mouse Pol
can interact with ubiquitin in vitro, an interaction that requires functional UBZs, and that Pol
can itself undergo monoubiquitination. A robust association between monoubiquitinated PCNA and Pol
also requires functional UBZs.
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UBZs Are Required for Association of Pol
with Replication Factories in Cells Exposed to UV Radiation—To validate the results described above in living cells, we transfected wild-type and UBZ-deleted EGFP-mouse Pol
constructs into fibroblasts. We observed strict nuclear localization of EGFP-mouse Pol
protein, regardless of the presence or absence of the UBZs (Fig. 4A). As reported previously for human Pol
(22), in
4% of cells transfected with wild-type EGFP-mouse Pol
the protein was concentrated in nuclear foci (Fig. 4A). When cells transfected with EGFP-mouse Pol
were exposed to UV radiation and incubated for 8–16 h, the fraction of cells with discrete nuclear foci increased to
55.3% (Fig. 4B). Interestingly, the number of cells with mouse Pol
foci was higher than that observed when cells were transfected with human Polk and exposed to UV radiation (Fig. 4B). This observation was confirmed using a different EGFP-human Pol
construct (22). Furthermore, foci were not detected (with or without UV radiation exposure) in cells transfected with EGFP-mouse Pol
lacking the UBZs (Fig. 4A). Similar results were obtained with EGFP-mouse Pol
carrying mutations in the UBZs (Fig. 4B). Hence, the UBZ domains are required for association of Pol
with replication factories in cells exposed to UV radiation.
Mutation of the Pol
UBZs Does Not Alter the Half-life of the Protein—Given that Pol
is intrinsically error prone, regulation of Pol
levels is presumably important for maintenance of genetic integrity. To investigate the stability of Pol
in vivo, MEFs were treated with CHX for various lengths of time. Endogenous Pol
was degraded slowly with a half-life of 5.4 h (Fig. 5A). To determine whether the UBZ domains affect the half-life of the protein, COS7 cells were transfected with wild-type and UBZ mutant Pol
and were treated with CHX for various lengths of time. Although the turnover rate of these exogenous proteins (
3.7–4.2 h) was relatively faster than that of endogenous Pol
, we observed essentially similar half-lives between wild-type and UBZ mutant Pol
(Fig. 5, B and C).
Levels of Pol
Expression Are Increased in Cells Exposed to BPDE or UVB Radiation—Cells from two groups of independently generated Pol
knock-out mice are abnormally sensitive to BPDE and less so to UV radiation exposure (16, 17). To elucidate the underlying mechanism of this sensitivity, we examined the levels of nuclear Pol
after UVB and BPDE treatments. Examination of MEFs exposed to UVB radiation at different times revealed a progressive increase in the amount of Pol
24–48 h after UVB exposure (Fig. 6A). Similarly, increased steady-state levels of Pol
were observed 8–30 h after exposure of MEFs to 1 mM BPDE for 1 h (Fig. 6B). To further support this conclusion, whole cell lysates were harvested at different times after exposure of MEFs to 1 mM BPDE for 1 h. Equal amounts of whole cell lysate were immunoprecipitated with rabbit anti-Pol
antibodies, and bound endogenous Pol
was detected with hamster anti-Pol
antibodies. Consistent with the results shown in Fig. 6B, increased levels of Pol
were observed 8–24 h after BPDE treatment (Fig. 6C).
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| DISCUSSION |
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To further our understanding of the biological role of Pol
during TLS in mammalian cells, we searched for interacting partners and identified ubiquitin. Hence, like the other Y-family polymerases, Pol
, Pol
, and Rev1 (25, 26, 30), Pol
binds ubiquitin. Although the precise biological function of this interaction remains to be determined, this binding likely reflects an interaction of Pol
with monoubiquitinated PCNA (31). The present study demonstrates that recently identified ubiquitin-binding motifs in Pol
(UBZs) are required for its interaction with PCNA, suggesting specific molecular events associated with the Pol
/PCNA interaction, especially in cells exposed to DNA-damaging agents such as UV radiation. Our studies represent the first demonstration of this phenomenon in living cells. Similar to the UBZs in Pol
and the ubiquitin-binding motif in Pol
(25), the UBZs in Pol
are critical for the accumulation of the protein in replication foci when cells suffer DNA damage. Unlike the ubiquitin-binding motifs in REV1 (26), deletion/mutation of the UBZs completely abolished the basal level of focus formation by wild-type Pol
protein, suggesting that the basal level of Pol
foci may represent a response to spontaneous DNA damage. Surprisingly, the number of cells with visible mouse Pol
foci (
55.3%) is significantly greater than that observed with human Pol
(
25%) upon exposure to UV radiation (22).
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protein can be monoubiquitinated and that the UBZs in the protein are required for this modification. The biological significance of monoubiquitination of Y-family polymerases is not understood. However, this post-translational modification may contribute to regulation of Y-family polymerases in or out of replication factories (25, 33).
We reported previously the presence of multiple PolK transcripts in mouse testis (27). Many of the putative Pol
protein isoforms thus identified lack UBZ domains. It is thus of considerable interest to determine whether the putative Pol
isoforms are indeed expressed in vivo and what novel biological functions they may have.
In addition to protein-protein interactions, Pol
activity may be regulated by its cellular levels. Pol
is apparently a relatively stable protein in vivo, and mutation of the UBZs does not alter the half-life of the protein. Consistent with this observation, the majority of Pol
in vivo is not monoubiquitinated, and polyubiquitinated Pol
is apparently absent.
Pol
-deficient mouse and chicken cells manifest sensitivity to killing by BPDE (16), suggesting a specific requirement for Pol
to bypass this planar polycyclic lesion in DNA. Conceivably, adducts in DNA with similar planer polycyclic structures generated by cholesterol and cholesterol derivatives, such as steroid hormones and estrogen, generate the same requirement. Consistent with this notion, PolK mRNA is highly expressed in the adrenal cortex early during mouse embryonic development (28).
We and other laboratories reported previously that the mouse PolK gene is transcriptionally up-regulated following exposure to UVB and BPDE treatments (28, 34), suggesting that exposure to these DNA-damaging agents promotes up-regulation of the gene. Consistent with this interpretation, the present studies demonstrate a progressive increase in steady-state levels of Pol
protein after such treatments. The biological significance of these expression patterns remains to be established.
| FOOTNOTES |
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1 Supported by the Ernst Schering Foundation. ![]()
2 To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 214-648-4020; Fax: 214-648-4067; E-mail: friedberg.errol{at}pathology.swmed.edu.
3 The abbreviations used are: TLS, translesion DNA synthesis; UBZ, ubiquitin-binding zinc finger motif; Ub, ubiquitin; CHX, cycloheximide; GST, glutathione S-transferase; PCNA, proliferating cell nuclear antigen; BPDE, benzo-[a]pyrene-dihydrodiol epoxide; mPol
, mouse Pol
; hPol
, human Pol
; EGFP, enhanced green fluorescent protein; HA, hemagglutinin; MEF, mouse embryonic fibroblast. ![]()
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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plasmid, Dr. Valerie Gerlach for preparing EGFP-C1-hPol
construct and rabbit anti-Pol
, Drs. Tom Gillete and Lisa McDaniel for helpful discussion, and J. Nicole Kosarek for critical reading of the manuscript. | REFERENCES |
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