A novel antibody-based approach to detect the functional ERCC1-202 isoform.

ERCC1/XPF endonuclease plays an important role in multiple DNA repair pathways and stands as a potential prognostic and predictive biomarker for cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Four distinct ERCC1 isoforms arising from alternative splicing have been described (201, 202, 203 and 204) but only the 202 isoform is functional in DNA excision repair, when interacting with its obligate partner XPF. Currently, there is no tool to assess specifically the expression of ERCC1-202 due to high sequence homology between the four isoforms.

DNA repair deficiency sensitizes lung cancer cells to NAD+ biosynthesis blockade.

Synthetic lethality is an efficient mechanism-based approach to selectively target DNA repair defects. Excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) deficiency is frequently found in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), making this DNA repair protein an attractive target for exploiting synthetic lethal approaches in the disease. Using unbiased proteomic and metabolic high-throughput profiling on a unique in-house-generated isogenic model of ERCC1 deficiency, we found marked metabolic rewiring of ERCC1-deficient populations, including decreased levels of the metabolite NAD+ and reduced expression of the rate-limiting NAD+ biosynthetic enzyme nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT).

Hijacking of the O-GlcNAcZYME complex by the HTLV-1 Tax oncoprotein facilitates viral transcription.

The viral Tax oncoprotein plays a key role in both Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-replication and HTLV-1-associated pathologies, notably adult T-cell leukemia. Tax governs the transcription from the viral 5'LTR, enhancing thereby its own expression, via the recruitment of dimers of phosphorylated CREB to cAMP-response elements located within the U3 region (vCRE). In addition to phosphorylation, CREB is also the target of O-GlcNAcylation, another reversible post-translational modification involved in a wide range of diseases, including cancers.

Crizotinib-Resistant ROS1 Mutations Reveal a Predictive Kinase Inhibitor Sensitivity Model for ROS1- and ALK-Rearranged Lung Cancers.

Background: The identification of molecular mechanisms conferring resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) is a key step to improve therapeutic results for patients with oncogene addiction. Several alterations leading to EGFR and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) resistance to TKI therapy have been described in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Only two mutations in the ROS1 kinase domain responsible for crizotinib resistance have been described in patients thus far.

Development of a human breast-cancer derived cell line stably expressing a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET)-based phosphatidyl inositol-3 phosphate (PIP3) biosensor.

Stimulation of tyrosine kinase receptors initiates a signaling cascade that activates PI3K. Activated PI3K uses PIP2 to generate PIP3, which recruit Akt to the plasma membrane through its pleckstrin homology (PH) domain, permitting its activation by PDKs. Activated Akt controls important biological functions, including cell metabolism, proliferation and survival.

O-GlcNAcylation of FoxO1 in pancreatic β cells promotes Akt inhibition through an IGFBP1-mediated autocrine mechanism.

O-GlcNAcylation on serine/threonine is a post-translational modification that controls the activity of nucleocytoplasmic proteins according to glucose availability. We previously showed that O-GlcNAcylation of FoxO1 in liver cells increases its transcriptional activity. In the present study, we evaluated the potential involvement of FoxO1 O-GlcNAcylation in the context of pancreatic β-cell glucotoxicity.

Structural and mutational analyses of Deinococcus radiodurans UvrA2 provide insight into DNA binding and damage recognition by UvrAs.

UvrA proteins are key actors in DNA damage repair and play an essential role in prokaryotic nucleotide excision repair (NER), a pathway that is unique in its ability to remove a broad spectrum of DNA lesions. Understanding the DNA binding and damage recognition activities of the UvrA family is a critical component for establishing the molecular basis of this process. Here we report the structure of the class II UvrA2 from Deinococcus radiodurans in two crystal forms.

O-GlcNAc modification of transcription factors, glucose sensing and glucotoxicity.

Regulation of proteins by O-GlcNAc modification is becoming a major area of research. This reversible modification depends on glucose concentrations and, therefore, constitutes a powerful mechanism to regulate protein activities according to glucose availability. Its importance in glucose-dependent gene transcription is underlined by its role in pancreatic insulin biosynthesis (through PDX-1 and NeuroD1 O-GlcNAc modifications) and leptin synthesis in adipose tissue (through Sp1 O-GlcNAc modification).

O-GlcNAc modification of FoxO1 increases its transcriptional activity: a role in the glucotoxicity phenomenon?

O-GlcNAc glycosylations on serines or threonines are reversible post-translational modifications that control the localisation, the activity or the stability of cytosolic and nuclear proteins. These dynamic modifications are tightly dependent on the availability of glucose and on its flux through the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway. We recently showed that treatments that increase protein O-GlcNAc glycosylation (high-glucose concentrations, glucosamine) or inhibit their deglycosylation (PUGNAc), induced O-GlcNAc modification of FoxO1 in HEK293 cells.

O-glycosylation of FoxO1 increases its transcriptional activity towards the glucose 6-phosphatase gene.

Mono-O-glycosylations post-translationally regulate the activity of nucleocytoplasmic proteins. We showed that glucosamine and an inhibitor of deglycosylation (PUGNAc) induced O-glycosylation of FoxO1, resulting in increased expression of a glucose-6-phosphatase reporter gene. This effect was independent of FoxO1 re-localisation, since it was also observed with constitutively nuclear FoxO1-AAA mutant.

Regulation of RcsA by the ClpYQ (HslUV) protease in Escherichia coli.

Escherichia coli ClpYQ protease and Lon protease possess a redundant function for degradation of SulA, a cell division inhibitor. An experimental cue implied that the capsule synthesis activator RcsA, a known substrate of Lon, is probably a specific substrate for the ClpYQ protease. This paper shows that overexpression of ClpQ and ClpY suppresses the mucoid phenotype of a lon mutant.