Recruitment of the cell cycle checkpoint kinase ATR to chromatin during S-phase

J Biol Chem. 2004 Apr 16;279(16):16433-40. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M314212200. Epub 2004 Feb 9.

Abstract

The ataxia telangiectasia-mutated (ATM) and Rad3-related kinase (ATR) is a central component of the cell cycle checkpoint machinery required to induce cell cycle arrest in response to DNA damage. Accumulating evidence suggests a role for ATR in signaling DNA damage during S-phase. Here we show that ATR is recruited to nuclear foci induced by replication fork stalling in a manner that is dependent on the single stranded binding protein replication protein A (RPA). ATR associates with chromatin in asynchronous cell cultures, and we use a variety of approaches to examine the association of ATR with chromatin in the absence of agents that cause genotoxic stress. Under our experimental conditions, ATR exhibits a decreased affinity for chromatin in quiescent cells and cells synchronized at mitosis but an increased affinity for chromatin as cells re-enter the cell cycle. Using centrifugal elutriation to obtain cells enriched at various stages of the cell cycle, we show that ATR associates with chromatin in a cell cycle-dependent manner, specifically during S-phase. Cell cycle association of ATR with chromatin mirrors that of RPA in addition to claspin, a cell cycle checkpoint protein previously shown to be a component of the replication machinery. Furthermore, association of ATR with chromatin occurs in the absence of detectable DNA damage and cell cycle checkpoint activation. These data are consistent with a model whereby ATR is recruited to chromatin during the unperturbed cell cycle and points to a role of ATR in monitoring genome integrity during normal S-phase progression.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cell Division
  • Chromatin / physiology*
  • DNA Damage
  • DNA Replication
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism*
  • Replication Protein A
  • S Phase / physiology*
  • Swiss 3T3 Cells

Substances

  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Chromatin
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Replication Protein A
  • Rpa1 protein, mouse
  • Atr protein, mouse
  • Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases