Accumulation of FFA-1, the Xenopus homolog of Werner helicase, and DNA polymerase delta on chromatin in response to replication fork arrest

J Biochem. 2006 Jul;140(1):95-103. doi: 10.1093/jb/mvj130. Epub 2006 Jun 23.

Abstract

Werner syndrome is a genetic disorder characterized by premature aging and cancer-prone symptoms, and is caused by mutation of the WRN gene. WRN is a member of the RecQ helicase family and is thought to function in processes implicated in DNA replication and repair to maintain genome stability; however, its precise function is still unclear. We found that replication fork arrest markedly enhances chromatin binding of focus-forming activity 1 (FFA-1), a Xenopus WRN homolog, in Xenopus egg extracts. In addition to FFA-1, DNA polymerase delta (Poldelta) and replication protein A, but not DNA polymerase epsilon and proliferating cell nuclear antigen, accumulated increasingly on replication-arrested chromatin. Elevated accumulation of these proteins was dependent on formation of pre-replicative complexes (pre-RCs). Double-strand break (DSB) formation also enhanced chromatin binding of FFA-1, but not Poldelta, independently of pre-RC formation. In contrast to FFA-1, chromatin binding of Xenopus Bloom syndrome helicase (xBLM) only slightly increased after replication arrest or DSB formation. Thus, WRN-specific, distinct processes can be reproduced in the in vitro system in egg extracts, and this system is useful for biochemical analysis of WRN functions during DNA metabolism.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenosine Triphosphatases / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Aphidicolin / pharmacology
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / pharmacology
  • Chromatin / drug effects
  • Chromatin / metabolism*
  • DNA Damage
  • DNA Helicases / metabolism
  • DNA Polymerase II / metabolism
  • DNA Polymerase III / metabolism*
  • DNA Replication / drug effects*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism*
  • Deoxycytosine Nucleotides / pharmacology
  • Female
  • Geminin
  • Male
  • Oocytes / drug effects
  • Oocytes / metabolism
  • Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / metabolism
  • RecQ Helicases
  • Replication Protein A / metabolism
  • Spermatozoa / metabolism
  • Werner Syndrome Helicase
  • Xenopus
  • Xenopus Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Chromatin
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Deoxycytosine Nucleotides
  • GMNN protein, Xenopus
  • Geminin
  • Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen
  • Replication Protein A
  • Xenopus Proteins
  • 2'-deoxycytidine 5'-triphosphate
  • Aphidicolin
  • DNA Polymerase II
  • DNA Polymerase III
  • Adenosine Triphosphatases
  • Bloom syndrome protein
  • DNA Helicases
  • RecQ Helicases
  • Werner Syndrome Helicase
  • WRN protein, Xenopus