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The influence of the Ku80 carboxy-terminus on activation of the DNA-dependent protein kinase and DNA repair is dependent on the structure of DNA cofactors

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In mammalian cells DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) are highly variable with respect to sequence and structure all of which are recognized by the DNA- dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), a critical component for the resolution of these breaks. Previously studies have shown that DNA-PK does not respond the same way to all DSBs but how DNA-PK senses differences in DNA substrate sequence and structure is unknown. Here we explore the enzymatic mechanism by which DNA-PK is activated by various DNA substrates. We provide evidence that recognition of DNA structural variations occur through distinct protein-protein interactions between the carboxy terminal (C-terminal) region of Ku80 and DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs). Discrimination of terminal DNA sequences, on the other hand, occurs independently of Ku 80 C-terminal interactions and results exclusively from DNA-PKcs interactions with the DNA. We also show that sequence differences in DNA termini can drastically influence DNA repair through altered DNA-PK activation. Our results indicate that even subtle differences in DNA substrates influence DNA-PK activation and ultimately Non-homologous End Joining (NHEJ) efficiency.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:IUPUI/oai:scholarworks.iupui.edu:1805/4665
Date11 July 2014
CreatorsWoods, Derek S.
ContributorsTurchi, John J., Harrington, Maureen A., Malkova, Anna L., Takagi, Yuichiro
Source SetsIndiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis

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