Close

Nuclear myosin VI maintains replication fork stability

Jie Shi, Kristine Hauschulte, Ivan Mikicic, Srijana Maharjan, Valerie Arz, Jan B. Heidelberger, Jonas V. Schaefer, Birgit Dreier, Andreas Plückthun, Petra Beli, Helle D. Ulrich, Hans-Peter Wollscheid

Posted on: 13 December 2022

Preprint posted on 31 July 2022

Article now published in Nature Communications at http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39517-y

Myosin VI: a new shield to protect replication forks

Selected by Pierre Caron

Background

The duplication of our genome is a challenging time since replication forks encounter many obstacles that could lead to their collapse. Following replication stress, the fork reversal process reverses fork direction to form a Holliday junction-like structure. This protective mechanism ensures proper DNA damage repair and replication restart. However, the fork ends that result from fork reversal are subject to degradation by nucleases which is linked to increased genomic instability. Among the different key players in reversed fork protection, Breast And Ovarian Cancer Susceptibility Protein 1 and 2 (BRCA1 and BRCA2) and The ATPase Werner Helicase-Interacting Protein 1 (WRNIP1) play a central role. Indeed, these factors counteract the nucleolytic activity against fork ends of MRE11/MUS81 and DNA2, SLX4/ERCC1 nucleases, respectively. Similarly, proteins implicated in chromatin dynamics were found to promote reversed fork protection following replication stress (Quinet et al., 2017; Tye et al., 2021).

Considering the emerging roles of nuclear cytoskeleton proteins in regulating DNA repair and DNA replication (Caridi et al., 2019), a role for these factors in regulating reversed fork stability could be anticipated.

 

In this preprint, the Ulrich group unveils how Myosin VI protects reversed forks from nucleolytic attacks.

 

Key Findings

In human cells, the authors showed that Myosin VI interacts with DNA repair factors and many replication-associated factors and found that this factor is required for efficient DNA replication. Remarkably, following replication stress induced by hydroxyurea (HU), the absence of nuclear Myosin VI led to reversed fork degradation to the same extent as could be found in conditions where BRCA2 and WRNIP1 were depleted. In addition, Myosin VI directly associated with damaged forks (Fig 1A) and protected them from nucleolytic degradation by DNA2, but not MRE11. Mechanistically, the authors found that Myosin VI is required for WRNIP1 accrual at reversed forks following replication stress (Fig 1B), thus preventing DNA2 activity toward fork ends.

This study thus uncovers that the nuclear cytoskeleton factor Myosin VI is required for reversed fork protection and genomic stability through a pathway involving the factor WRNIP1, but distinct from BRCA2.

 

Figure 1 with panels from (Jie Shi et al., 2022)

Figure 1 with panels from (Jie Shi et al., 2022).

A. Representative micrographs of in situ protein interactions at a nascent replication forks (SIRF) assay in human U2OS cells to monitor PCNA, WRNIP1 and Myosin VI (Myo6) accrual levels at fork replication following (or not) DNA replication stress induced by hydroxyurea (HU).

B. Representative micrographs of SIRF assay in human U2OS cells either proficient (siCtrl) or depleted for Myosin VI (siMyo6) to monitor PCNA, WRNIP1 levels at replication fork following (or not) DNA replication stress induced by HU.

 

References

Caridi, C. P., Plessner, M., Grosse, R., & Chiolo, I. (2019). Nuclear actin filaments in DNA repair dynamics. Nature Cell Biology, 21(9), 1068–1077. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-019-0379-1

Jie Shi, Kristine Hauschulte, Ivan Mikicic, Srijana Maharjan, Valerie Arz, Jan BHeidelberger, Jonas V. Schaefer, Birgit Dreier, Andreas Plückthun, Petra Beli, Helle D. Ulrich, & Hans-Peter Wollscheid. (2022). Nuclear myosin VI maintains replication fork stability. BioRxiv.

Quinet, A., Lemaçon, D., & Vindigni, A. (2017). Replication Fork Reversal: Players and Guardians. Molecular Cell, 68(5), 830–833. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2017.11.022

Tye, S., Ronson, G. E., & Morris, J. R. (2021). A fork in the road: Where homologous recombination and stalled replication fork protection part ways. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology, 113, 14–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcdb.2020.07.004

 

What I liked about this preprint

I really like this study presented by the Ulrich group as it unveils a new role for nuclear cytoskeleton factors in regulating DNA replication and sheds light on the mechanism that regulates WRNIP1 accrual to fork ends in response to replication stress.

Considering the emerging roles of nuclear cytoskeleton factors in promoting genome stability by regulating DNA repair processes and chromatin mobility in response to DNA damage, this study therefore opens up new perspectives on how genome integrity is regulated by these factors.

 

Questions to the authors

Q1: Do you think that Myosin VI can protect damaged replication forks by also acting on their position in the nucleus, together with other elements of the nuclear cytoskeleton, in order to avoid aberrant recombination processes between different forks that might be physically close to each other?

Q2: Your study also unveils a crucial role for the Ubiquitin binding domains (MIU and MyUB) of Myosin VI in reversed fork protection. Could you share your thoughts about the interplay between Myosin VI and the ubiquitin system in response to replication stress? Do you envision a role for an ubiquitin ligase in Myosin VI accrual to reversed forks in response to replication stress?

Tags: dna replication, myosin vi

doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/prelights.33286

Read preprint (1 votes)

Author's response

Hans-Peter Wollscheid shared

Questions to the authors

Q1: Do you think that Myosin VI can protect damaged replication forks by also acting on their position in the nucleus, together with other elements of the nuclear cytoskeleton, in order to avoid aberrant recombination processes between different forks that might be physically close to each other?

A1: Here we can only speculate. Considering the role of F-actin in HDR, where it supports double strand break mobility to facilitate homology search and its reported function in the relocalization of PCNA positive replication stress foci, we can well imagine a role of myosin VI in the (re-) distribution of (a certain pool of) damaged replication forks. It will be very interesting to explore further cytoskeletal elements in their contribution to replication fork stability. From a myosin point of view, there is an additional aspect to consider. Myosin VI is the only described pointed end-directed motor, while the rest of the myosin superfamily moves towards the barbed end of actin filaments. We still do not know whether nuclear actin filaments are arranged with a specific orientation. In that case, it would be interesting to investigate a potential competition between plus and minus end directed motors.

 

Q2: Your study also unveils a crucial role for the Ubiquitin binding domains (MIU and MyUB) of Myosin VI in reversed fork protection. Could you share your thoughts about the interplay between Myosin VI and the ubiquitin system in response to replication stress? Do you envision a role for an ubiquitin ligase in Myosin VI accrual to reversed forks in response to replication stress?

A2: The contribution of myosin VI´s ubiquitin binding domains (UBDs) to fork stability is very intriguing, Although ubiquitylation is known to regulate virtually all cellular processes, very little is known about ubiquitin modification during the process of fork reversal and reversed fork protection. Not only myosin VI but also WRNIP1 harbors ubiquitin binding properties, making it tempting to speculate about a role of this posttranslational modification at least in this particular branch of the pathway. The identification of ubiquitin ligases and their respective targets is one of the future challenges that will help us to characterize fork reversal as a major genome stability pathway in more detail.

Have your say

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sign up to customise the site to your preferences and to receive alerts

Register here

Also in the cancer biology category:

Integrin conformation-dependent neutrophil slowing obstructs the capillaries of the pre-metastatic lung in a model of breast cancer

Frédéric Fercoq, Gemma S. Cairns, Marco De Donatis, et al.

Selected by 07 October 2024

Simon Cleary

Cancer Biology

Mitochondria-derived nuclear ATP surge protects against confinement-induced proliferation defects

Ritobrata Ghose, Fabio Pezzano, Savvas Kourtis, et al.

Selected by 16 May 2024

Teodora Piskova

Cell Biology

Spatial transcriptomics elucidates medulla niche supporting germinal center response in myasthenia gravis thymoma

Yoshiaki Yasumizu, Makoto Kinoshita, Martin Jinye Zhang, et al.

Selected by 27 March 2024

Jessica Chevallier

Immunology

Also in the cell biology category:

Motor Clustering Enhances Kinesin-driven Vesicle Transport

Rui Jiang, Qingzhou Feng, Daguan Nong, et al.

Selected by 16 November 2024

Sharvari Pitke

Biophysics

Cellular signalling protrusions enable dynamic distant contacts in spinal cord neurogenesis

Joshua Hawley, Robert Lea, Veronica Biga, et al.

Selected by 15 November 2024

Ankita Walvekar

Developmental Biology

Green synthesized silver nanoparticles from Moringa: Potential for preventative treatment of SARS-CoV-2 contaminated water

Adebayo J. Bello, Omorilewa B. Ebunoluwa, Rukayat O. Ayorinde, et al.

Selected by 14 November 2024

Safieh Shah, Benjamin Dominik Maier

Epidemiology

Also in the molecular biology category:

Non-disruptive inducible labeling of ER-membrane contact sites using the Lamin B Receptor

Laura Downie, Nuria Ferrandiz, Megan Jones, et al.

Selected by 15 October 2024

Jonathan Townson

Cell Biology

HIF1A contributes to the survival of aneuploid and mosaic pre-implantation embryos

Estefania Sanchez-Vasquez, Marianne E. Bronner, Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz

Selected by 11 October 2024

Anchel De Jaime Soguero

Developmental Biology

The RNA binding protein HNRNPA2B1 regulates RNA abundance and motor protein activity in neurites

Joelle Lo, Katherine F. Vaeth, Gurprit Bhardwaj, et al.

Selected by 24 September 2024

Felipe Del Valle Batalla

Neuroscience

preLists in the cancer biology category:

BSCB-Biochemical Society 2024 Cell Migration meeting

This preList features preprints that were discussed and presented during the BSCB-Biochemical Society 2024 Cell Migration meeting in Birmingham, UK in April 2024. Kindly put together by Sara Morais da Silva, Reviews Editor at Journal of Cell Science.

 



List by Reinier Prosee

CSHL 87th Symposium: Stem Cells

Preprints mentioned by speakers at the #CSHLsymp23

 



List by Alex Eve

Journal of Cell Science meeting ‘Imaging Cell Dynamics’

This preList highlights the preprints discussed at the JCS meeting 'Imaging Cell Dynamics'. The meeting was held from 14 - 17 May 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal and was organised by Erika Holzbaur, Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, Rob Parton and Michael Way.

 



List by Helen Zenner

CellBio 2022 – An ASCB/EMBO Meeting

This preLists features preprints that were discussed and presented during the CellBio 2022 meeting in Washington, DC in December 2022.

 



List by Nadja Hümpfer et al.

Fibroblasts

The advances in fibroblast biology preList explores the recent discoveries and preprints of the fibroblast world. Get ready to immerse yourself with this list created for fibroblasts aficionados and lovers, and beyond. Here, my goal is to include preprints of fibroblast biology, heterogeneity, fate, extracellular matrix, behavior, topography, single-cell atlases, spatial transcriptomics, and their matrix!

 



List by Osvaldo Contreras

Single Cell Biology 2020

A list of preprints mentioned at the Wellcome Genome Campus Single Cell Biology 2020 meeting.

 



List by Alex Eve

ASCB EMBO Annual Meeting 2019

A collection of preprints presented at the 2019 ASCB EMBO Meeting in Washington, DC (December 7-11)

 



List by Madhuja Samaddar et al.

Lung Disease and Regeneration

This preprint list compiles highlights from the field of lung biology.

 



List by Rob Hynds

Anticancer agents: Discovery and clinical use

Preprints that describe the discovery of anticancer agents and their clinical use. Includes both small molecules and macromolecules like biologics.

 



List by Zhang-He Goh

Biophysical Society Annual Meeting 2019

Few of the preprints that were discussed in the recent BPS annual meeting at Baltimore, USA

 



List by Joseph Jose Thottacherry

Also in the cell biology category:

BSCB-Biochemical Society 2024 Cell Migration meeting

This preList features preprints that were discussed and presented during the BSCB-Biochemical Society 2024 Cell Migration meeting in Birmingham, UK in April 2024. Kindly put together by Sara Morais da Silva, Reviews Editor at Journal of Cell Science.

 



List by Reinier Prosee

‘In preprints’ from Development 2022-2023

A list of the preprints featured in Development's 'In preprints' articles between 2022-2023

 



List by Alex Eve, Katherine Brown

preLights peer support – preprints of interest

This is a preprint repository to organise the preprints and preLights covered through the 'preLights peer support' initiative.

 



List by preLights peer support

The Society for Developmental Biology 82nd Annual Meeting

This preList is made up of the preprints discussed during the Society for Developmental Biology 82nd Annual Meeting that took place in Chicago in July 2023.

 



List by Joyce Yu, Katherine Brown

CSHL 87th Symposium: Stem Cells

Preprints mentioned by speakers at the #CSHLsymp23

 



List by Alex Eve

Journal of Cell Science meeting ‘Imaging Cell Dynamics’

This preList highlights the preprints discussed at the JCS meeting 'Imaging Cell Dynamics'. The meeting was held from 14 - 17 May 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal and was organised by Erika Holzbaur, Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, Rob Parton and Michael Way.

 



List by Helen Zenner

9th International Symposium on the Biology of Vertebrate Sex Determination

This preList contains preprints discussed during the 9th International Symposium on the Biology of Vertebrate Sex Determination. This conference was held in Kona, Hawaii from April 17th to 21st 2023.

 



List by Martin Estermann

Alumni picks – preLights 5th Birthday

This preList contains preprints that were picked and highlighted by preLights Alumni - an initiative that was set up to mark preLights 5th birthday. More entries will follow throughout February and March 2023.

 



List by Sergio Menchero et al.

CellBio 2022 – An ASCB/EMBO Meeting

This preLists features preprints that were discussed and presented during the CellBio 2022 meeting in Washington, DC in December 2022.

 



List by Nadja Hümpfer et al.

Fibroblasts

The advances in fibroblast biology preList explores the recent discoveries and preprints of the fibroblast world. Get ready to immerse yourself with this list created for fibroblasts aficionados and lovers, and beyond. Here, my goal is to include preprints of fibroblast biology, heterogeneity, fate, extracellular matrix, behavior, topography, single-cell atlases, spatial transcriptomics, and their matrix!

 



List by Osvaldo Contreras

EMBL Synthetic Morphogenesis: From Gene Circuits to Tissue Architecture (2021)

A list of preprints mentioned at the #EESmorphoG virtual meeting in 2021.

 



List by Alex Eve

FENS 2020

A collection of preprints presented during the virtual meeting of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) in 2020

 



List by Ana Dorrego-Rivas

Planar Cell Polarity – PCP

This preList contains preprints about the latest findings on Planar Cell Polarity (PCP) in various model organisms at the molecular, cellular and tissue levels.

 



List by Ana Dorrego-Rivas

BioMalPar XVI: Biology and Pathology of the Malaria Parasite

[under construction] Preprints presented at the (fully virtual) EMBL BioMalPar XVI, 17-18 May 2020 #emblmalaria

 



List by Dey Lab, Samantha Seah

1

Cell Polarity

Recent research from the field of cell polarity is summarized in this list of preprints. It comprises of studies focusing on various forms of cell polarity ranging from epithelial polarity, planar cell polarity to front-to-rear polarity.

 



List by Yamini Ravichandran

TAGC 2020

Preprints recently presented at the virtual Allied Genetics Conference, April 22-26, 2020. #TAGC20

 



List by Maiko Kitaoka et al.

3D Gastruloids

A curated list of preprints related to Gastruloids (in vitro models of early development obtained by 3D aggregation of embryonic cells). Updated until July 2021.

 



List by Paul Gerald L. Sanchez and Stefano Vianello

ECFG15 – Fungal biology

Preprints presented at 15th European Conference on Fungal Genetics 17-20 February 2020 Rome

 



List by Hiral Shah

ASCB EMBO Annual Meeting 2019

A collection of preprints presented at the 2019 ASCB EMBO Meeting in Washington, DC (December 7-11)

 



List by Madhuja Samaddar et al.

EMBL Seeing is Believing – Imaging the Molecular Processes of Life

Preprints discussed at the 2019 edition of Seeing is Believing, at EMBL Heidelberg from the 9th-12th October 2019

 



List by Dey Lab

Autophagy

Preprints on autophagy and lysosomal degradation and its role in neurodegeneration and disease. Includes molecular mechanisms, upstream signalling and regulation as well as studies on pharmaceutical interventions to upregulate the process.

 



List by Sandra Malmgren Hill

Lung Disease and Regeneration

This preprint list compiles highlights from the field of lung biology.

 



List by Rob Hynds

Cellular metabolism

A curated list of preprints related to cellular metabolism at Biorxiv by Pablo Ranea Robles from the Prelights community. Special interest on lipid metabolism, peroxisomes and mitochondria.

 



List by Pablo Ranea Robles

BSCB/BSDB Annual Meeting 2019

Preprints presented at the BSCB/BSDB Annual Meeting 2019

 



List by Dey Lab

MitoList

This list of preprints is focused on work expanding our knowledge on mitochondria in any organism, tissue or cell type, from the normal biology to the pathology.

 



List by Sandra Franco Iborra

ASCB/EMBO Annual Meeting 2018

This list relates to preprints that were discussed at the recent ASCB conference.

 



List by Dey Lab, Amanda Haage

Also in the molecular biology category:

2024 Hypothalamus GRC

This 2024 Hypothalamus GRC (Gordon Research Conference) preList offers an overview of cutting-edge research focused on the hypothalamus, a critical brain region involved in regulating homeostasis, behavior, and neuroendocrine functions. The studies included cover a range of topics, including neural circuits, molecular mechanisms, and the role of the hypothalamus in health and disease. This collection highlights some of the latest advances in understanding hypothalamic function, with potential implications for treating disorders such as obesity, stress, and metabolic diseases.

 



List by Nathalie Krauth

BSCB-Biochemical Society 2024 Cell Migration meeting

This preList features preprints that were discussed and presented during the BSCB-Biochemical Society 2024 Cell Migration meeting in Birmingham, UK in April 2024. Kindly put together by Sara Morais da Silva, Reviews Editor at Journal of Cell Science.

 



List by Reinier Prosee

‘In preprints’ from Development 2022-2023

A list of the preprints featured in Development's 'In preprints' articles between 2022-2023

 



List by Alex Eve, Katherine Brown

CSHL 87th Symposium: Stem Cells

Preprints mentioned by speakers at the #CSHLsymp23

 



List by Alex Eve

9th International Symposium on the Biology of Vertebrate Sex Determination

This preList contains preprints discussed during the 9th International Symposium on the Biology of Vertebrate Sex Determination. This conference was held in Kona, Hawaii from April 17th to 21st 2023.

 



List by Martin Estermann

Alumni picks – preLights 5th Birthday

This preList contains preprints that were picked and highlighted by preLights Alumni - an initiative that was set up to mark preLights 5th birthday. More entries will follow throughout February and March 2023.

 



List by Sergio Menchero et al.

CellBio 2022 – An ASCB/EMBO Meeting

This preLists features preprints that were discussed and presented during the CellBio 2022 meeting in Washington, DC in December 2022.

 



List by Nadja Hümpfer et al.

EMBL Synthetic Morphogenesis: From Gene Circuits to Tissue Architecture (2021)

A list of preprints mentioned at the #EESmorphoG virtual meeting in 2021.

 



List by Alex Eve

FENS 2020

A collection of preprints presented during the virtual meeting of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) in 2020

 



List by Ana Dorrego-Rivas

ECFG15 – Fungal biology

Preprints presented at 15th European Conference on Fungal Genetics 17-20 February 2020 Rome

 



List by Hiral Shah

ASCB EMBO Annual Meeting 2019

A collection of preprints presented at the 2019 ASCB EMBO Meeting in Washington, DC (December 7-11)

 



List by Madhuja Samaddar et al.

Lung Disease and Regeneration

This preprint list compiles highlights from the field of lung biology.

 



List by Rob Hynds

MitoList

This list of preprints is focused on work expanding our knowledge on mitochondria in any organism, tissue or cell type, from the normal biology to the pathology.

 



List by Sandra Franco Iborra
Close