Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Checkpoint Kinase 1”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Enhanced 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38) lethality by methylselenocysteine is associated with Chk2 phosphorylation at threonine-68 and down-regulation of Cdc6 expression.

Methylselenocysteine (MSC) is an organic selenium compound in preventative clinical trials involving prostate, lung, and colon carcinoma. We found that methioninase-activated MSC potentiates 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38)-induced cell lethality in vitro in the p53-defective human head and neck carcinoma A253 cells. Activated MSC increases chk2 phosphorylation at threonine-68 induced by SN-38, with no significant effect on chk1 phosphorylation. Cell cycle arrest induced by SN-38, however, was not abrogated or potentiated by MSC. These results suggest that the enhanced cellular lethality of SN-38 by MSC was not associated with cell cycle regulation pathways. Because chk2, in addition to its role in cell cycle arrest, can induce apoptosis by phosphorylation/activation, we examined whether increased chk2 phosphorylation could induce preapoptotic DNA fragmentation. DNA damage analysis showed that megabase DNA fragmentation is decreased, accompanied by the increased 30 to 300 kilobase pairs of DNA fragmentation after exposure to SN-38 with MSC, compared with SN-38 alone. No significant changes in the amount of DNA fragments were observed in cells treated with SN-38 or MSC alone. Moreover, proteolytic destruction of DNA replication-associated proteins cdc6, MCM2, and cdc25A may induce a DNA damage checkpoint response. The observed down-regulation of DNA replication proteins cdc6, MCM2, and cdc25A after exposure to SN-38 with MSC further indicates a relationship between drug response and DNA damage. Exposure to SN-38 with MSC resulted in a significant increase of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerasecleavage and caspase 3 activation. All together, the data support the hypothesis that enhanced lethality of this combination is associated with increased chk2 phosphorylation at Thr68 and down-regulation of specific DNA replication-associated proteins, which result in poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage, caspase 3 activation, and the induction of 30 to 300 kilobase pairs of DNA fragmentation.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic↗
PubMed2006

CDK2-dependent phosphorylation of FOXO1 as an apoptotic response to DNA damage.

The function of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) is often abolished after DNA damage. The inhibition of CDK2 plays a central role in DNA damage-induced cell cycle arrest and DNA repair. However, whether CDK2 also influences the survival of cells under genotoxic stress is unknown. Forkhead box O (FOXO) transcription factors are emerging as key regulators of cell survival. CDK2 specifically phosphorylated FOXO1 at serine-249 (Ser249) in vitro and in vivo. Phosphorylation of Ser249 resulted in cytoplasmic localization and inhibition of FOXO1. This phosphorylation was abrogated upon DNA damage through the cell cycle checkpoint pathway that is dependent on the protein kinases Chk1 and Chk2. Moreover, silencing of FOXO1 by small interfering RNA diminished DNA damage-induced death in both p53-deficient and p53-proficient cells. This effect was reversed by restored expression of FOXO1 in a manner depending on phosphorylation of Ser249. Functional interaction between CDK2 and FOXO1 provides a mechanism that regulates apoptotic cell death after DNA strand breakage.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Replication checkpoint enforced by kinases Cds1 and Chk1.

Cdc2, the kinase that induces mitosis, is regulated by checkpoints that couple mitosis to the completion of DNA replication and repair. The repair checkpoint kinase Chk1 regulates Cdc25, a phosphatase that activates Cdc2. Effectors of the replication checkpoint evoked by hydroxyurea (HU) are unknown. Treatment of fission yeast with HU stimulated the kinase Cds1, which appears to phosphorylate the kinase Wee1, an inhibitor of Cdc2. The protein kinase Cds1 was also required for a large HU-induced increase in the amount of Mik1, a second inhibitor of Cdc2. HU-induced arrest of cell division was abolished in cds1 chk1 cells. Thus, Cds1 and Chk1 appear to jointly enforce the replication checkpoint.

CDC2 Protein Kinase↗
PubMed1999

Heterozygous germ line hCHK2 mutations in Li-Fraumeni syndrome.

The hCHK2 gene encodes the human homolog of the yeast Cds1 and Rad53 G2 checkpoint kinases, whose activation in response to DNA damage prevents cellular entry into mitosis. Here, it is shown that heterozygous germ line mutations in hCHK2 occur in Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a highly penetrant familial cancer phenotype usually associated with inherited mutations in the TP53 gene. These observations suggest that hCHK2 is a tumor suppressor gene conferring predisposition to sarcoma, breast cancer, and brain tumors, and they also provide a link between the central role of p53 inactivation in human cancer and the well-defined G2 checkpoint in yeast.

Alleles↗
PubMed2006

DNA damage and tumor surveillance: one trigger for two pathways.

Biological evolution ensures that several backup mechanisms always exist to prevent the failure of cellular processes of critical importance for life. This notion applies to processes aimed at preventing cancer development. Recent research suggests that the DNA damage response, activated in one of the earliest cellular responses to transformation, may elicit two independent tumor surveillance mechanisms. The first, and most well known, is activation of the proapoptotic molecule p53 and subsequent cellular suicide. The second, reported in a recent study, is induction of the expression of ligands for the activating immune receptor NKG2D. That DNA damage induces two independent tumor surveillance responses demonstrates how one tumor surveillance mechanism may be assisted by another to secure efficient protection against early tumorigenesis. The results also support the immunosurveillance theory of cancer and suggest that it may operate at very early stages of tumorigenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Basis for the checkpoint signal specificity that regulates Chk1 and Cds1 protein kinases.

Six checkpoint Rad proteins (Rad1, Rad3, Rad9, Rad17, Rad26, and Hus1) are needed to regulate checkpoint protein kinases Chk1 and Cds1 in fission yeast. Chk1 is required to prevent mitosis when DNA is damaged by ionizing radiation (IR), whereas either kinase is sufficient to prevent mitosis when DNA replication is inhibited by hydroxyurea (HU). Checkpoint Rad proteins are required for IR-induced phosphorylation of Chk1 and HU-induced activation of Cds1. IR activates Cds1 only during the DNA synthesis (S) phase, whereas HU induces Chk1 phosphorylation only in cds1 mutants. Here, we investigate the basis of the checkpoint signal specificity of Chk1 phosphorylation and Cds1 activation. We show that IR fails to induce Chk1 phosphorylation in HU-arrested cells. Release from the HU arrest following IR causes substantial Chk1 phosphorylation. These and other data indicate that Cds1 prevents Chk1 phosphorylation in HU-arrested cells, which suggests that Cds1 actively suppresses a repair process that leads to Chk1 phosphorylation. Cds1 becomes more highly concentrated in the nucleus only during the S phase of the cell cycle. This finding correlates with S-phase specificity of IR-induced activation of Cds1. However, constitutive nuclear localization of Cds1 does not enhance IR-induced activation of Cds1. This result suggests that Cds1 activation requires DNA structures or protein activities that are present only during S phase. These findings help to explain how Chk1 and Cds1 respond to different checkpoint signals.

Cell Cycle↗
PubMed2000

Mechanism of caffeine-induced checkpoint override in fission yeast.

Mitotic checkpoints restrain the onset of mitosis (M) when DNA is incompletely replicated or damaged. These checkpoints are conserved between the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and mammals. In both types of organisms, the methylxanthine caffeine overrides the synthesis (S)-M checkpoint that couples mitosis to completion of DNA S phase. The molecular target of caffeine was sought in fission yeast. Caffeine prevented activation of Cds1 and phosphorylation of Chk1, two protein kinases that enforce the S-M checkpoint triggered by hydroxyurea. Caffeine did not inhibit these kinases in vitro but did inhibit Rad3, a kinase that regulates Cds1 and Chk1. In accordance with this finding, caffeine also overrode the G(2)-M DNA damage checkpoint that requires Rad3 function. Rad3 coprecipitated with Cds1 expressed at endogenous amounts, a finding that supports the hypothesis that Rad3 is involved in direct activation of Cds1.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

p53 down-regulates CHK1 through p21 and the retinoblastoma protein.

Both fission yeast and mammalian cells require the function of the checkpoint kinase CHK1 for G2 arrest after DNA damage. The tumor suppressor p53, a well-studied stress response factor, has also been shown to play a role in DNA damage G2 arrest, although in a manner that is probably independent of CHK1. p53, however, can be phosphorylated and regulated by both CHK1 as well as another checkpoint kinase, hCds1 (also called CHK2). It was therefore of interest to determine whether reciprocally, p53 affects either CHK1 or CHK2. We found that induction of p53 either by diverse stress signals or ectopically using a tetracycline-regulated promoter causes a marked reduction in CHK1 protein levels. CHK1 downregulation by p53 occurs as a result of reduced CHK1 RNA accumulation, indicating that repression occurs at the level of transcription. Repression of CHK1 by p53 requires p21, since p21 alone is sufficient for this to occur and cells lacking p21 cannot downregulate CHK1. Interestingly, pRB is also required for CHK1 downregulation, suggesting the possible involvement of E2F-dependent transcription in the regulation of CHK1. Our results identify a new repression target of p53 and suggest that p53 and CHK1 play interdependent and complementary roles in regulating both the arrest and resumption of G2 after DNA damage.

Cell Line↗
PubMed2004

Rereplication by depletion of geminin is seen regardless of p53 status and activates a G2/M checkpoint.

Genomic DNA replication is tightly controlled to ensure that DNA replication occurs once per cell cycle; loss of this control leads to genomic instability. Geminin, a DNA replication inhibitor, plays an important role in regulation of DNA replication. To investigate the role of human geminin in the maintenance of genomic stability, we eliminated geminin by RNA interference in human cancer cells. Depletion of geminin led to overreplication and the formation of giant nuclei in cells that had wild-type or mutant p53. We found that overreplication caused by depletion of geminin activated both Chk1 and Chk2, which then phosphorylated Cdc25C on Ser216, resulting in its sequestration outside the nucleus, thus inhibiting cyclin B-Cdc2 activity. This activated G(2)/M checkpoint prevented cells with overreplicated DNA from entering mitosis. Addition of caffeine, UCN-01, or inhibitors of checkpoint pathways or silencing of Chk1 suppressed the accumulation of overreplicated cells and promoted apoptosis. From these results, we conclude that geminin is required for suppressing overreplication in human cells and that a G(2)/M checkpoint restricts the proliferation of cells with overreplicated DNA.

Apoptosis↗
PubMed2004

Artemis is a phosphorylation target of ATM and ATR and is involved in the G2/M DNA damage checkpoint response.

Mutations in Artemis in both humans and mice result in severe combined immunodeficiency due to a defect in V(D)J recombination. In addition, Artemis mutants are radiosensitive and chromosomally unstable, which has been attributed to a defect in nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ). We show here, however, that Artemis-depleted cell extracts are not defective in NHEJ and that Artemis-deficient cells have normal repair kinetics of double-strand breaks after exposure to ionizing radiation (IR). Artemis is shown, however, to interact with known cell cycle checkpoint proteins and to be a phosphorylation target of the checkpoint kinase ATM or ATR after exposure of cells to IR or UV irradiation, respectively. Consistent with these findings, our results also show that Artemis is required for the maintenance of a normal DNA damage-induced G2/M cell cycle arrest. Artemis does not appear, however, to act either upstream or downstream of checkpoint kinase Chk1 or Chk2. These results define Artemis as having a checkpoint function and suggest that the radiosensitivity and chromosomal instability of Artemis-deficient cells may be due to defects in cell cycle responses after DNA damage.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

The fission yeast Crb2/Chk1 pathway coordinates the DNA damage and spindle checkpoint in response to replication stress induced by topoisomerase I inhibitor.

Living organisms experience constant threats that challenge their genome stability. The DNA damage checkpoint pathway coordinates cell cycle progression with DNA repair when DNA is damaged, thus ensuring faithful transmission of the genome. The spindle assembly checkpoint inhibits chromosome segregation until all chromosomes are properly attached to the spindle, ensuring accurate partition of the genetic material. Both the DNA damage and spindle checkpoint pathways participate in genome integrity. However, no clear connection between these two pathways has been described. Here, we analyze mutants in the BRCT domains of fission yeast Crb2, which mediates Chk1 activation, and provide evidence for a novel function of the Chk1 pathway. When the Crb2 mutants experience damaged replication forks upon inhibition of the religation activity of topoisomerase I, the Chk1 DNA damage pathway induces sustained activation of the spindle checkpoint, which in turn delays metaphase-to-anaphase transition in a Mad2-dependent fashion. This new pathway enhances cell survival and genome stability when cells undergo replicative stress in the absence of a proficient G(2)/M DNA damage checkpoint.

Alleles↗
PubMed2005

Chk1-dependent S-M checkpoint delay in vertebrate cells is linked to maintenance of viable replication structures.

We investigated mitotic delay during replication arrest (the S-M checkpoint) in DT40 B-lymphoma cells deficient in the Chk1 or Chk2 kinase. We show here that cells lacking Chk1, but not those lacking Chk2, enter mitosis with incompletely replicated DNA when DNA synthesis is blocked, but only after an initial delay. This initial delay persists when S-M checkpoint failure is induced in Chk2-/- cells with the Chk1 inhibitor UCN-01, indicating that it does not depend on Chk1 or Chk2 activity. Surprisingly, dephosphorylation of tyrosine 15 did not accompany Cdc2 activation during premature entry to mitosis in Chk1-/- cells, although mitotic phosphorylation of cyclin B2 did occur. Previous studies have shown that Chk1 is required to stabilize stalled replication forks during replication arrest, and strikingly, premature mitosis occurs only in Chk1-deficient cells which have lost the capacity to synthesize DNA as a result of progressive replication fork inactivation. These results suggest that Chk1 maintains the S-M checkpoint indirectly by preserving the viability of replication structures and that it is the continued presence of such structures, rather than the activation of Chk1 per se, which delays mitosis until DNA replication is complete.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Protein phosphatase 2A antagonizes ATM and ATR in a Cdk2- and Cdc7-independent DNA damage checkpoint.

We previously used a soluble cell-free system derived from Xenopus eggs to investigate the role of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) in chromosomal DNA replication. We found that immunodepletion of PP2A or inhibition of PP2A by okadaic acid (OA) inhibits initiation of DNA replication by preventing loading of the initiation factor Cdc45 onto prereplication complexes. Evidence was provided that PP2A counteracts an inhibitory protein kinase that phosphorylates and inactivates a crucial Cdc45 loading factor. Here, we report that the inhibitory effect of OA is abolished by caffeine, an inhibitor of the checkpoint kinases ataxia-telangiectasia mutated protein (ATM) and ataxia-telangiectasia related protein (ATR) but not by depletion of ATM or ATR from the extract. Furthermore, we demonstrate that double-strand DNA breaks (DSBs) cause inhibition of Cdc45 loading and initiation of DNA replication and that caffeine, as well as immunodepletion of either ATM or ATR, abolishes this inhibition. Importantly, the DSB-induced inhibition of Cdc45 loading is prevented by addition of the catalytic subunit of PP2A to the extract. These data suggest that DSBs and OA prevent Cdc45 loading through different pathways, both of which involve PP2A, but only the DSB-induced checkpoint implicates ATM and ATR. The inhibitory effect of DSBs on Cdc45 loading does not result from downregulation of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (Cdk2) or Cdc7 activity and is independent of Chk2. However, it is partially dependent on Chk1, which becomes phosphorylated in response to DSBs. These data suggest that PP2A counteracts ATM and ATR in a DNA damage checkpoint in Xenopus egg extracts.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Stalled replication induces p53 accumulation through distinct mechanisms from DNA damage checkpoint pathways.

Stalled replication forks induce p53, which is required to maintain the replication checkpoint. In contrast to the well-established mechanisms of DNA damage-activated p53, the downstream effectors and upstream regulators of p53 during replication blockade remain to be deciphered. Hydroxyurea triggered accumulation of p53 through an increase in protein stability. The requirement of p53 accumulation for the replication checkpoint was not due to p21(CIP1/WAF1) as its down-regulation with short-hairpin RNA did not affect the checkpoint. Similar to DNA damage, stalled replication triggered the activation of the MRN-ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM)/ATM and Rad3-related-CHK1/CHK2 axis. Down-regulation of CHK1 or CHK2, however, reduced p53 basal expression but not the hydroxyurea-dependent induction. Moreover, p53 was still stabilized in ataxia telangiectasia cells or in cells treated with caffeine, suggesting that ATM was not a critical determinant. These data also suggest that the functions of ATM, CHK1, and CHK2 in the replication checkpoint were not through the p53-p21(CIP1/WAF1) pathway. In contrast, induction of p53 by hydroxyurea was defective in cells lacking NBS1 and BLM. In this connection, the impaired replication checkpoint in several other genetic disorders has little correlation with the ability to stabilize p53. These data highlighted the different mechanisms involved in the stabilization of p53 after DNA damage and stalled replication forks.

Acid Anhydride Hydrolases↗
PubMed2006

Targeting the double-strand DNA break repair pathway as a therapeutic strategy.

DNA repair pathways are crucial for the maintenance of genome integrity. The pathway that repairs DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) has components involved in both signaling and repairing DNA damage. Impairing DSB repair using specific inhibitors of signaling or repair might, in principle, sensitize tumor cells to particular DNA-damaging agents. Moreover, the existence of specific defects in DNA repair pathways in tumors provides the rationale for the use of "synthetic lethal" approaches targeting this cellular "Achilles' heel." Here, we discuss the mechanisms involved in DSB repair and detail potential therapeutic approaches based on targeting this pathway.

Checkpoint Kinase 1↗
PubMed2006

Involvement of the ATR- and ATM-dependent checkpoint responses in cell cycle arrest evoked by pierisin-1.

Pierisin-1 identified from the cabbage butterfly, Pieris rapae, is a novel mono-ADP-ribosylating toxin that transfers the ADP-ribose moiety of NAD at N(2) of dG in DNA. Resulting mono-ADP-ribosylated DNA adducts cause mutations and the induction of apoptosis. However, little is known about checkpoint responses elicited in mammalian cells by the formation of such bulky DNA adducts. In the present study, it was shown that DNA polymerases were blocked at the specific site of mono-ADP-ribosylated dG, which might lead to the replication stress. Pierisin-1 treatment of HeLa cells was found to induce an intra-S-phase arrest through both ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and Rad3-related (ATR) and ATM pathways, and ATR pathway also contributes to a G(2)-M-phase delay. In the colony survival assays, Rad17(-/-) DT40 cells showed greater sensitivity to pierisin-1-induced cytotoxicity than wild-type and ATM(-/-) DT40 cells, possibly due to defects of checkpoint responses, such as the Chk1 activation. Furthermore, apoptotic 50-kb DNA fragmentation was observed in the HeLa cells, which was well correlated with occurrence of phosphorylation of Chk2. These results thus suggest that pierisin-1 treatment primarily activates ATR pathway and eventually activates ATM pathway as a result of the induction of apoptosis. From these findings, it is suggested that mono-ADP-ribosylation of DNA causes a specific type of fork blockage that induces checkpoint activation and signaling.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗