Ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) is one of the three main apical kinases at the crux of DNA damage response and repair in mammalian cells. ATM activates a cascade of downstream effector proteins to regulate DNA repair and cell cycle checkpoints in response to DNA double-strand breaks. While ATM is predominantly known for its role in DNA damage response and repair, new roles of ATM have recently begun to emerge, such as in regulating oxidative stress or metabolic pathways. Here, we report the surprising discovery that ATM inhibition and deletion lead to reduced expression of the nuclear envelope protein lamin A. Lamins are nuclear intermediate filaments that modulate nuclear shape, structure, and stiffness. Accordingly, inhibition or deletion of ATM resulted in increased nuclear deformability and enhanced cell migration through confined spaces, which requires substantial nuclear deformation. These findings point to a novel connection between ATM and lamin A and may have broad implications for cells with ATM mutations—as found in patients suffering from Ataxia Telangiectasia and many human cancers—which could lead to enhanced cell migration and increased metastatic potential.
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The Human DNA Mismatch Repair Protein MSH3 Contains Nuclear Localization and Export Signals That Enable Nuclear-Cytosolic Shuttling in Response to Inflammation
ABSTRACT Inactivation of DNA mismatch repair propels colorectal cancer (CRC) tumorigenesis. CRCs exhibiting e levated m icrosatellite a lterations at s elected t etranucleotide repeats (EMAST) show reduced nuclear MutS homolog 3 (MSH3) expression with surrounding inflammation and portend poor patient outcomes. MSH3 reversibly exits from the nucleus to the cytosol in response to the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), suggesting that MSH3 may be a shuttling protein. In this study, we manipulated three putative nuclear localization (NLS1 to -3) and two potential nuclear export signals (NES1 and -2) within MSH3. We found that both NLS1 and NLS2 possess nuclear import function, with NLS1 responsible for nuclear localization within full-length MSH3. We also found that NES1 and NES2 work synergistically to maximize nuclear export, with both being required for IL-6-induced MSH3 export. We examined a 27-bp deletion (Δ27bp) within the polymorphic exon 1 that occurs frequently in human CRC cells and neighbors NLS1. With oxidative stress, MSH3 with this deletion (Δ27bp MSH3) localizes to the cytoplasm, suggesting that NLS1 function in Δ27bp MSH3 is compromised. Overall, MSH3’s shuttling in response to inflammation enables accumulation in the cytoplasm; reduced nuclear MSH3 increases EMAST and DNA damage. We suggest that polymorphic sequences adjacent to NLS1 may enhance cytosolic retention, which has clinical implications for inflammation-associated neoplastic processes.
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- PAR ID:
- 10230321
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Molecular and Cellular Biology
- Volume:
- 40
- Issue:
- 13
- ISSN:
- 0270-7306
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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