2. Academic Validation
  3. Nbs1 Converts the Human Mre11/Rad50 Nuclease Complex into an Endo/Exonuclease Machine Specific for Protein-DNA Adducts

Nbs1 Converts the Human Mre11/Rad50 Nuclease Complex into an Endo/Exonuclease Machine Specific for Protein-DNA Adducts

  • Mol Cell. 2016 Nov 3;64(3):593-606. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2016.10.010.
Rajashree A Deshpande 1,  Ji-Hoon Lee 1,  Sucheta Arora 1,  Tanya T Paull 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular Biosciences, Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
  • 2 Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular Biosciences, Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA. Electronic address: tpaull@utexas.edu.
PMID: 27814491 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2016.10.010
Abstract

The human Mre11/Rad50/Nbs1 (hMRN) complex is critical for the sensing, processing, and signaling of DNA double-strand breaks. The nuclease activity of Mre11 is essential for mammalian development and cell viability, although the regulation and substrate specificity of Mre11 have been difficult to define. Here we show that hMRN catalyzes sequential endonucleolytic and exonucleolytic activities on both 5' and 3' strands of DNA ends containing protein adducts, and that Nbs1, ATP, and adducts are essential for this function. In contrast, Nbs1 inhibits Mre11/Rad50-catalyzed 3'-to-5' exonucleolytic degradation of clean DNA ends. The hMRN endonucleolytic cleavage events are further stimulated by the phosphorylated form of the human C-terminal binding protein-interacting protein (CtIP) DNA repair Enzyme, establishing a role for CtIP in regulating hMRN activity. These results illuminate the important role of Nbs1 and CtIP in determining the substrates and consequences of human Mre11/Rad50 nuclease activities on protein-DNA lesions.

Figures