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From Proteopedia
Monomeric structure of the human MDC1 FHA domain in complex with an MDC1 phospho-T4 peptide
Structural highlights
FunctionMDC1_HUMAN Required for checkpoint mediated cell cycle arrest in response to DNA damage within both the S phase and G2/M phases of the cell cycle. May serve as a scaffold for the recruitment of DNA repair and signal transduction proteins to discrete foci of DNA damage marked by 'Ser-139' phosphorylation of histone H2AFX. Also required for downstream events subsequent to the recruitment of these proteins. These include phosphorylation and activation of the ATM, CHEK1 and CHEK2 kinases, and stabilization of TP53 and apoptosis. ATM and CHEK2 may also be activated independently by a parallel pathway mediated by TP53BP1.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Publication Abstract from PubMedMDC1 is a key mediator of the DNA-damage response in mammals with several phosphorylation-dependent protein interaction domains. The function of its N-terminal forkhead-associated (FHA) domain remains elusive. Here, we show with structural, biochemical and cellular data that the FHA domain mediates phosphorylation-dependent dimerization of MDC1 in response to DNA damage. Crystal structures of the FHA domain reveal a face-to-face dimer with pseudo-dyad symmetry. We found that the FHA domain recognizes phosphothreonine 4 (pT4) at the N-terminus of MDC1 and determined its crystal structure in complex with a pT4 peptide. Biochemical analysis further revealed that in the dimer, the FHA domain binds in trans to pT4 from the other subunit, which greatly stabilizes the otherwise unstable dimer. We show that T4 is phosphorylated primarily by ATM upon DNA damage. MDC1 mutants with the FHA domain deleted or impaired in its ability to dimerize formed fewer foci at DNA-damage sites, but the localization defect was largely rescued by an artificial dimerization module, suggesting that dimerization is the primary function of the MDC1 FHA domain. Our results suggest a novel mechanism for the regulation of MDC1 function through T4 phosphorylation and FHA-mediated dimerization. Structural mechanism of the phosphorylation-dependent dimerization of the MDC1 forkhead-associated domain.,Liu J, Luo S, Zhao H, Liao J, Li J, Yang C, Xu B, Stern DF, Xu X, Ye K Nucleic Acids Res. 2012 Jan 10. PMID:22234877[11] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. References
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