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Phospho‐dependent interactions between NBS1 and MDC1 mediate chromatin retention of the MRN complex at sites of DNA damage
Author(s) -
Chapman J Ross,
Jackson Stephen P
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
embo reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.584
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1469-3178
pISSN - 1469-221X
DOI - 10.1038/embor.2008.103
Subject(s) - chromatin , g2 m dna damage checkpoint , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , dna repair , dna damage , cell cycle checkpoint , rad50 , dna , dna binding protein , cell cycle , genetics , transcription factor , cell , gene
Mammalian cells respond to DNA double‐strand breaks (DSBs) by recruiting DNA repair and cell‐cycle checkpoint proteins to such sites. Central to these DNA damage response (DDR) events is the DNA damage mediator protein MDC1. MDC1 interacts with several DDR proteins, including the MRE11–RAD50–NBS1 (MRN) complex. Here, we show that MDC1 is phosphorylated on a cluster of conserved repeat motifs by casein kinase 2 (CK2). Moreover, we establish that this phosphorylation of MDC1 promotes direct, phosphorylation‐dependent interactions with NBS1 in a manner that requires the closely apposed FHA and twin BRCT domains in the amino terminus of NBS1. Finally, we show that these CK2‐targeted motifs in MDC1 are required to mediate NBS1 association with chromatin‐flanking sites of unrepaired DSBs. These findings provide a molecular explanation for the MDC1–MRN interaction and yield insights into how MDC1 coordinates the focal assembly and activation of several DDR factors in response to DNA damage.