L2DTL/CDT2 interacts with the CUL4/DDB1 complex and PCNA and regulates CDT1 proteolysis in response to DNA damage.

The CUL4 (cullin 4) proteins are the core components of a new class of ubiquitin E3 ligases that regulate cell cycle, DNA replication and DNA damage response. To determine the composition of CUL4 ubiquitin E3 ligase complex, we used anti-CUL4 antibody affinity chromatography to isolate the proteins that associated with human CUL4 complexes and identified them by mass-spectrometry. A novel and conserved WD40 domain-containing protein, the human homologue of Drosophila lethal(2) denticleless protein (L2DTL) or fission yeast CDT2, was found to associate with CUL4 and DDB1.

L2DTL/CDT2 and PCNA interact with p53 and regulate p53 polyubiquitination and protein stability through MDM2 and CUL4A/DDB1 complexes.

The CUL4-ROC1 E3 ligase complex regulates genome stability, replication and cell cycle progression. A novel WD40 domain-containing protein, L2DTL/CDT2 and PCNA were identified as proteins associated with CUL4/DDB1 complexes. Inactivation of CUL4A, L2DTL, PCNA, DDB1 or ROC1 induced p53 stabilization and growth arrest.

Involvement of CUL4 ubiquitin E3 ligases in regulating CDK inhibitors Dacapo/p27Kip1 and cyclin E degradation.

The CUL4 (cullin 4) proteins are the core components of a new class of ubiquitin E3 ligases that regulate replication and transcription. To examine the roles of CUL4 in cell cycle regulation, we analyzed the effect of inactivation of CUL4 in both Drosophila and human cells. We found that loss of CUL4 in Drosophila cells causes G(1) cell cycle arrest and an increased protein level of the CDK inhibitor Dacapo.

Radiation-mediated proteolysis of CDT1 by CUL4-ROC1 and CSN complexes constitutes a new checkpoint.

Genomic integrity is maintained by checkpoints that guard against undesired replication after DNA damage. Here, we show that CDT1, a licensing factor of the pre-replication complex (preRC), is rapidly proteolysed after UV- or gamma-irradiation. The preRC assembles on replication origins at the end of mitosis and during G1 to license DNA for replication in S phase.