Translation of the radioresistance kinase TLK1B is induced by γ-irradiation through activation of mTOR and phosphorylation of 4E-BP1

BACKGROUND: The mammalian protein kinase TLK1 is a homologue of Tousled, a gene involved in flower development in Arabidopsis thaliana. The function of TLK1 is not well known, although knockout of the gene in Drosophila, or expression of a dominant negative mutant in mouse cells causes loss of nuclear divisions and chromosome missegregation probably due to alterations in chromatin remodeling capacity. Overexpression of TLK1B, a spliced variant of the TLK1 mRNA, in a model mouse cell line increases their resistance to ionizing radiation, also likely through changes in chromatin remodeling. The TLK1B mRNA is translationally repressed by its 5'UTR and is regulated by the availability of eIF4E. We now report that radiation or doxorubicin result in an increase in the translation of TLK1B, and we have uncovered the likely mechanism for this effect. RESULTS: Radiation causes a shift in the polysomal distribution of TLK1B mRNA, from the untranslated region and small polysomes to the large polysomes, concomitant with an increase in the expression of TLK1B protein. This change is preceded by an increase in phosphorylation of the eIF4E inhibitory protein 4E-BP1, which releases eIF4E when it is phosphorylated. The phosphorylation of 4E-BP1 depends on mTOR, since rapamycin blocked the increase in phosphorylation induced by radiation, and prevented the increase in TLK1B protein expression. The activation of mTOR was likely due to the rapid activation of Akt following radiation. The activation of Akt could be inhibited with wortmannin, an inhibitor of PI3 kinase, hence placing PI3 kinase upstream of Akt as a very early event following radiation. Wortmannin also inhibited translation of TLK1B mRNA following activation by IR. This was shown both by western blot and by measuring the initiation capacity of the mRNA, as indicated by its distribution on polysomes. CONCLUSIONS: The translational upregulation of TLK1B elicited by DNA double strand breaks represents an interesting mechanism of translational regulation of a protein involved in radioprotection and highlights a novel mechanism of the stress response following radiation

A dominant negative mutant of TLK1 causes chromosome missegregation and aneuploidy in normal breast epithelial cells

BACKGROUND: In Arabidopsis thaliana, the gene Tousled encodes a protein kinase of unknown function, but mutations in the gene lead to flowering and leaf morphology defects. We have recently cloned a mammalian Tousled-Like Kinase (TLK1B) and found that it phosphorylates specifically histone H3, in vitro and in vivo. We now report the effects that overexpression of a kinase-dead mutant of TLK1B mediates in a normal diploid cell line. RESULTS: Expression of a kinase-dead mutant resulted in reduction of phosphorylated histone H3, which could have consequences in mitotic segregation of chromosomes. When analyzed by FACS and microscopy, these cells displayed high chromosome number instability and aneuploidy. This phenomenon was accompanied by less condensed chromosomes at mitosis; failure of a number of chromosomes to align properly on the metaphase plate; failure of some chromosomes to attach to microtubules; and the occasional presentation of two bipolar spindles. We also used a different method (siRNA) to reduce the level of endogenous TLK1, but in this case, the main result was a strong block of cell cycle progression suggesting that TLK1 may also play a role in progression from G1. This block in S phase progression could also offer a different explanation of some of the later mitotic defects. CONCLUSIONS: TLK1 has a function important for proper chromosome segregation and maintenance of diploid cells at mitosis in mammalian cells that could be mediated by reduced phosphorylation of histone H3 and condensation of chromosomes, although other explanations to the phenotype are possible

The radioresistance kinase TLK1B protects the cells by promoting repair of double strand breaks

BACKGROUND: The mammalian protein kinase TLK1 is a homologue of Tousled, a gene involved in flower development in Arabidopsis thaliana. The function of TLK1 is not well known, although knockout of the gene in Drosophila or expression of a dominant negative mutant in mouse cells causes loss of nuclear divisions and missegregation of chromosomes probably, due to alterations in chromatin remodeling capacity. Overexpression of TLK1B, a spliced variant of the TLK1 mRNA, in a model mouse cell line increases it's resistance to ionizing radiation (IR) or the radiomimetic drug doxorubicin, also likely due to changes in chromatin remodeling. TLK1B is translationally regulated by the availability of the translation factor eIF4E, and its synthesis is activated by IR. The reason for this mechanism of regulation is likely to provide a rapid means of promoting repair of DSBs. TLK1B specifically phosphorylates histone H3 and Asf1, likely resulting in changes in chromatin structure, particularly at double strand breaks (DSB) sites. RESULTS: In this work, we provide several lines of evidence that TLK1B protects the cells from IR by facilitating the repair of DSBs. First, the pattern of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of H2AX and H3 indicated that cells overexpressing TLK1B return to pre-IR steady state much more rapidly than controls. Second, the repair of episomes damaged with DSBs was much more rapid in cells overexpressing TLK1B. This was also true for repair of genomic damage. Lastly, we demonstrate with an in vitro repair system that the addition of recombinant TLK1B promotes repair of a linearized plasmid incubated with nuclear extract. In addition, TLK1B in this in vitro system promotes the assembly of chromatin as shown by the formation of more highly supercoiled topomers of the plasmid. CONCLUSION: In this work, we provide evidence that TLK1B promotes the repair of DSBs, likely as a consequence of a change in chromatin remodeling capacity that must precede the assembly of repair complexes at the sites of damage

Generation of phenothiazine with potent anti-TLK1 activity for prostate cancer therapy

Through in vitro kinase assays and docking studies, we report the synthesis and biological evaluation of a phenothiazine analog J54 with potent TLK1 inhibitory activity for prostate cancer (PCa) therapy. Most PCa deaths result from progressive failure in standard androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), leading to metastatic castration-resistant PCa. Treatments that can suppress the conversion to mCRPC have high potential to be rapidly implemented in the clinics. ADT results in increased expression of TLK1B, a key kinase upstream of NEK1 and ATR and mediating the DNA damage response that typically results in temporary cell-cycle arrest of androgen-responsive PCa cells, whereas its abrogation leads to apoptosis. We studied J54 as a potent inhibitor of this axis and as a mediator of apoptosis in vitro and in LNCaP xenografts, which has potential for clinical investigation in combination with ADT. J54 has low affinity for the dopamine receptor in modeling and competition studies and weak detrimental behavioral effects in mice and C. elegans

Tousled kinase TLK1B mediates chromatin assembly in conjunction with Asf1 regardless of its kinase activity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Tousled Like Kinases (TLKs) are involved in chromatin dynamics, including DNA replication and repair, transcription, and chromosome segregation. Indeed, the first two TLK1 substrates were identified as the histone H3 and Asf1 (a histone H3/H4 chaperone), which immediately suggested a function in chromatin remodeling. However, despite the straightforward assumption that TLK1 acts simply by phosphorylating its substrates and hence modifying their activity, TLK1 also acts as a chaperone. In fact, a kinase-dead (KD) mutant of TLK1B is functional in stimulating chromatin assembly in vitro. However, subtle effects of Asf1 phosphorylation are more difficult to probe in chromatin assembly assays. Not until very recently was the Asf1 site phosphorylated by TLK1 identified. This has allowed for probing directly the functionality of a site-directed mutant of Asf1 in chromatin assembly assays.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Addition of either wt or non-phosphorylatable mutant Asf1 to nuclear extract stimulates chromatin assembly on a plasmid. Similarly, TLK1B-KD stimulates chromatin assembly and it synergizes in reactions with supplemental Asf1 (wt or non-phosphorylatable mutant).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although the actual function of TLKs as mediators of Asf1 activity cannot be easily studied in vivo, particularly since in mammalian cells there are two TLK genes and two Asf1 genes, we were able to study specifically the stimulation of chromatin assembly in vitro. In such assays, clearly the TLK1 kinase activity was not critical, as neither a non-phosphorylatable Asf1 nor use of the TLK1B-KD impaired the stimulation of nucleosome formation.</p

Differential requirements for Tousled-like kinases 1 and 2 in mammalian development

The regulation of chromatin structure is critical for a wide range of essential cellular processes. The Tousled-like kinases, TLK1 and TLK2, regulate ASF1, a histone H3/H4 chaperone, and likely other substrates, and their activity has been implicated in transcription, DNA replication, DNA repair, RNA interference, cell cycle progression, viral latency, chromosome segregation and mitosis. However, little is known about the functions of TLK activity in vivo or the relative functions of the highly similar TLK1 and TLK2 in any cell type. To begin to address this, we have generated Tlk1- and Tlk2-deficient mice. We found that while TLK1 was dispensable for murine viability, TLK2 loss led to late embryonic lethality because of placental failure. TLK2 was required for normal trophoblast differentiation and the phosphorylation of ASF1 was reduced in placentas lacking TLK2. Conditional bypass of the placental phenotype allowed the generation of apparently healthy Tlk2-deficient mice, while only the depletion of both TLK1 and TLK2 led to extensive genomic instability, indicating that both activities contribute to genome maintenance. Our data identifies a specific role for TLK2 in placental function during mammalian development and suggests that TLK1 and TLK2 have largely redundant roles in genome maintenance

A role for the arginine methylation of Rad9 in checkpoint control and cellular sensitivity to DNA damage

The genome stability is maintained by coordinated action of DNA repairs and checkpoints, which delay progression through the cell cycle in response to DNA damage. Rad9 is conserved from yeast to human and functions in cell cycle checkpoint controls. Here, a regulatory mechanism for Rad9 function is reported. In this study Rad9 has been found to interact with and be methylated by protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5). Arginine methylation of Rad9 plays a critical role in S/M and G2/M cell cycle checkpoints. The activation of the Rad9 downstream checkpoint effector Chk1 is impaired in cells only expressing a mutant Rad9 that cannot be methylated. Additionally, Rad9 methylation is also required for cellular resistance to DNA damaging stresses. In summary, we uncovered that arginine methylation is important for regulation of Rad9 function, and thus is a major element for maintaining genome integrity

Tissue microarray analysis of eIF4E and its downstream effector proteins in human breast cancer

Correction to Kleiner HE, Krishnan P, Tubbs J, Smith M, Meschonat C, Shi R, Lowery-Nordberg M, Adegboyega P, Unger M, Cardelli J et al: Tissue microarray analysis of eIF4E and its downstream effector proteins in human breast cancer. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2009, 28:5