A novel role for Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway effector protein FANCD2 in cell cycle progression of untransformed primary human cells.
Fanconi Anemia (FA) is a cancer-susceptibility syndrome characterized by cellular sensitivity to DNA inter-strand cross-link (ICL)-inducing agents. The Fanconia Anemia D2 (FANCD2) protein is implicated in repair of various forms of DNA damage including ICLs. Studies with replicating extracts from Xenopus eggs indicate a role for FANCD2 in processing and repair of DNA replication-associated double stranded breaks (DSB). We have investigated the role of FANCD2 in cell cycle progression of cultured human cells. Similar to Xenopus cell-free extracts, we show that chromatin association of FANCD2 in human cells is coupled to ongoing DNA replication. siRNA depletion experiments demonstrate that FANCD2 is necessary for efficient DNA synthesis. However, in contrast with Xenopus extracts, FANCD2-deficiency does not elicit a DNA damage response, and does not affect the elongation phase of DNA synthesis, suggesting that FANCD2 is dispensable for repair of replication-associated DNA damage. Using synchronized cultures of primary untransformed human dermal fibroblasts we demonstrate that FANCD2 is necessary for efficient initiation of DNA synthesis. Taken together, our results suggest a novel role for the FA pathway in regulation of DNA synthesis and cell cycle progression. Inefficient DNA replication may contribute to the genome instability and cancer-propensity of FA patients.
Department of Genetics & Genomics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Ihn Young
IY
Song
Laura R
LR
Barkley
Tovah A
TA
Day
Robert S
RS
Weiss
Cyrus
C
Vaziri
D000818:Animals; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D004249:DNA Damage; D004260:DNA Repair; D004261:DNA Replication; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005199:Fanconi Anemia / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D052236:Fanconi Anemia Complementation Group D2 Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D042822:Genomic Instability; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D052236:Fanconi Anemia Complementation Group D2 Protein; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D004247:DNA