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