Browsing by Author "Shao, Lijian"

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    EEPD1 Rescues Stressed Replication Forks and Maintains Genome Stability by Promoting End Resection and Homologous Recombination Repair
    (Public Library of Science (PloS), 2015-12) Wu, Yuehan; Lee, Suk-Hee; Williamson, Elizabeth A.; Reinert, Brian L.; Cho, Ju Hwan; Xia, Fen; Jaiswal, Aruna Shanker; Srinivasan, Gayathri; Patel, Bhavita; Brantley, Alexis; Zhou, Daohong; Shao, Lijian; Pathak, Rupak; Hauer-Jensen, Martin; Singh, Sudha; Kong, Kimi; Wu, Xaiohua; Kim, Hyun-Suk; Beissbarth, Timothy; Gaedcke, Jochen; Burma, Sandeep; Nickoloff, Jac A.; Hromas, Robert A.; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, IU School of Medicine
    Replication fork stalling and collapse is a major source of genome instability leading to neoplastic transformation or cell death. Such stressed replication forks can be conservatively repaired and restarted using homologous recombination (HR) or non-conservatively repaired using micro-homology mediated end joining (MMEJ). HR repair of stressed forks is initiated by 5' end resection near the fork junction, which permits 3' single strand invasion of a homologous template for fork restart. This 5' end resection also prevents classical non-homologous end-joining (cNHEJ), a competing pathway for DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair. Unopposed NHEJ can cause genome instability during replication stress by abnormally fusing free double strand ends that occur as unstable replication fork repair intermediates. We show here that the previously uncharacterized Exonuclease/Endonuclease/Phosphatase Domain-1 (EEPD1) protein is required for initiating repair and restart of stalled forks. EEPD1 is recruited to stalled forks, enhances 5' DNA end resection, and promotes restart of stalled forks. Interestingly, EEPD1 directs DSB repair away from cNHEJ, and also away from MMEJ, which requires limited end resection for initiation. EEPD1 is also required for proper ATR and CHK1 phosphorylation, and formation of gamma-H2AX, RAD51 and phospho-RPA32 foci. Consistent with a direct role in stalled replication fork cleavage, EEPD1 is a 5' overhang nuclease in an obligate complex with the end resection nuclease Exo1 and BLM. EEPD1 depletion causes nuclear and cytogenetic defects, which are made worse by replication stress. Depleting 53BP1, which slows cNHEJ, fully rescues the nuclear and cytogenetic abnormalities seen with EEPD1 depletion. These data demonstrate that genome stability during replication stress is maintained by EEPD1, which initiates HR and inhibits cNHEJ and MMEJ.
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    The neurotransmitter receptor Gabbr1 regulates proliferation and function of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell
    (American Society of Hematology, 2021) Shao, Lijian; Elujoba-Bridenstine, Adedamola; Zink, Katherine E.; Sanchez, Laura M.; Cox, Brian J.; Pollok, Karen E.; Sinn, Anthony L.; Bailey, Barbara J.; Sims, Emily C.; Cooper, Scott H.; Broxmeyer, Hal E.; Pajcini, Kostandin V.; Tamplin, Owen J.; Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine
    Hematopoietic and nervous systems are linked via innervation of bone marrow (BM) niche cells. Hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) express neurotransmitter receptors, such as the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type B receptor subunit 1 (GABBR1), suggesting that HSPCs could be directly regulated by neurotransmitters like GABA that directly bind to GABBR1. We performed imaging mass spectrometry and found that the endogenous GABA molecule is regionally localized and concentrated near the endosteum of the BM niche. To better understand the role of GABBR1 in regulating HSPCs, we generated a constitutive Gabbr1-knockout mouse model. Analysis revealed that HSPC numbers were significantly reduced in the BM compared with wild-type littermates. Moreover, Gabbr1-null hematopoietic stem cells had diminished capacity to reconstitute irradiated recipients in a competitive transplantation model. Gabbr1-null HSPCs were less proliferative under steady-state conditions and upon stress. Colony-forming unit assays demonstrated that almost all Gabbr1-null HSPCs were in a slow or noncycling state. In vitro differentiation of Gabbr1-null HSPCs in cocultures produced fewer overall cell numbers with significant defects in differentiation and expansion of the B-cell lineage. To determine whether a GABBR1 agonist could stimulate human umbilical cord blood (UCB) HSPCs, we performed brief ex vivo treatment prior to transplant into immunodeficient mice, with significant increases in long-term engraftment of HSPCs compared with GABBR1 antagonist or vehicle treatments. Our results indicate a direct role for GABBR1 in HSPC proliferation, and identify a potential target to improve HSPC engraftment in clinical transplantation.