Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

12-27-2012

Journal

Cell Reports

Volume

Volume 2, Issue 6

Inclusive Pages

1657-1669

Keywords

Adenosine Triphosphatases--metabolism; Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; DNA Damage; Transcription Factors--metabolism

Abstract

Chromatin dynamics play a central role in maintaining genome integrity, but how this is achieved remains largely unknown. Here, we report that microrchidia CW-type zinc finger 2 (MORC2), an uncharacterized protein with a derived PHD finger domain and a conserved GHKL-type ATPase module, is a physiological substrate of p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1), an important integrator of extracellular signals and nuclear processes. Following DNA damage, MORC2 is phosphorylated on serine 739 in a PAK1-dependent manner, and phosphorylated MORC2 regulates its DNA-dependent ATPase activity to facilitate chromatin remodeling. Moreover, MORC2 associates with chromatin and promotes gamma-H2AX induction in a PAK1 phosphorylation-dependent manner. Consequently, cells expressing MORC2-S739A mutation displayed a reduction in DNA repair efficiency and were hypersensitive to DNA-damaging agent. These findings suggest that the PAK1-MORC2 axis is critical for orchestrating the interplay between chromatin dynamics and the maintenance of genomic integrity through sequentially integrating multiple essential enzymatic processes.

Comments

Reproduced with permission of Cell Reports

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Peer Reviewed

1

Open Access

1

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