Cell Cycle/DNA Damage

The G1 checkpoint, also known as the restriction point in mammalian cells and the start point in yeast, is the point at which the cell becomes committed to entering the cell cycle. As the cell progresses through G1, depending on internal and external conditions, it can either delay G1, enter a quiescent state known as G0, or proceed past the restriction point.DNA damage is the main indication for a cell to "restrict" and not enter the cell cycle. The decision to commit to a new round of cell division occurs when the cell activates cyclin-CDK-dependent transcription which promotes entry into S phase. This check point ensures the further process.

During early G1, there are three transcriptional repressors, known as pocket proteins, that bind to E2F transcription factors. The E2F gene family is a group of transcription factors that target many genes that are important for control of the cell cycle, including cyclins, CDKs, checkpoint regulators, and DNA repair proteins. Misregulation of the E2F family is often found in cancer cases, providing evidence that the E2F family is essential for the tight regulation of DNA replication and division.The three pocket proteins are Retinoblastoma (Rb), p107, and p130, which bind to the E2F transcription factors to prevent progression past the G1 checkpoint.

The E2F gene family contains some proteins with activator mechanisms and some proteins with repressing mechanisms. P107 and p130 act as co-repressors for E2F 4 and E2F 5, which work to repress transcription of G1-to-S promoting factors. The third pocket protein, Rb, binds to and represses E2F 1, E2F 2, and E2F 3, which are the E2F proteins with activating abilities.

Positive feedback plays an essential role in regulating the progression from G1 to S phase, particularly involving the phosphorylation of Rb by a protein complex. Rb without a phosphate, or unphosphorylated Rb, regulates G0 cell cycle exit and differentiation. During the beginning of the G1 phase, growth factors and DNA damage signal for the rise of cyclin D levels, which then binds to form the complex.This complex is known to inactivate Rb by phosphorylation. However, the details of Rb phosphorylation are quite complex and specific compared to previous knowledge about the G1checkpoint. places only one phosphate, or monophosphorylates, Rb at one of its fourteen accessible and unique phosphorylation sites. Each of the fourteen specific mono-phosphorylated isoforms has a differential binding preference to E2F family members, which likely adds to the diversity of cellular processes within the mammalian body.

E2F 4 and E2F 5 are dependent on p107 and p130 to maintain their nuclear localization. However, also phosphorylates p107 and p130, a process which releases their bind from E2F 4 and 5 (which then escape to the cytoplasm), and allowing for E2F 1–3 to bind to the DNA and initiate transcription of Cyclin E.Rb proteins maintain their mono-phosphorylated state during early G1 phase, while Cyclin E is accumulating and binding to Cdk2.

Plays an additional important phosphorylation role in the G1-to-S transition. Particularly, CyclinE:Cdk2 promotes a positive feedback loop which creates an “all or nothing” switch. In many genetic control networks, positive feedback ensures that cells do not slip back and forth between cell cycle phases proceeds to phosphorylate Rb at all of its phosphorylation sites, also termed “hyper-phosphorylate”, which ensures complete inactivation of Rb. The hyper phosphorylation of Rb is considered the late G1 restriction point, after which the cell cannot go backwards in the cell cycle. At this point, E2F 1-3 proteins bind to DNA and transcribe Cyclin A and Cdc 6.

Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B (CDKN1B), also known as p27, binds to and prevents the activation of by inhibition. However, as Cyclin A accumulates and binds to Cdk2, they form a complex and inhibit p27. The G1 phase cyclin-dependent kinase works together with S phase cyclin-dependent kinase targeting p27 for degradation. In turn, this allows for full activation , a complex which phosphorylates E2F 1-3 initiating their disassociation from the DNA promoter sites. This allows E2F 6–8 to bind to the DNA and inhibit transcription.The negative feedback loop used to successfully inhibit the inhibitor, p27, is another essential process used by cells to ensure mono-directional movement and no backtrack through the cell cycle.

When DNA damage occurs, or when the cell detects any defects which necessitate it to delay or halt the cell cycle in G1, arrest occurs through several mechanisms. The rapid response involves phosphorylation events that initiate with either kinase ATM (Ataxia telangiectasia mutated) or ATR (Ataxia Telangiectasia and Rad3 related), which act as sensors, depending on the type of damage. These kinases phosphorylate and activate the effector kinases Chk2 and Chk1, respectively, which in turn phosphorylate the phosphatase Cdc25A, thus marking it for ubiquitination and degradation. As Cdc25A activates the previously mentioned cyclin E-CDK2 complex by removing inhibitory phosphates from CDK2, in the absence of Cdc25A, cyclin E-CDK2 remains inactive, and the cell remains in G1.

To maintain the arrest, another response is initiated, by which Chk2 or Chk1 phosphorylate p53, a tumor suppressor, and this stabilizes p53 by preventing it from binding Mdm2, a ubiquitin ligase which inhibits p53 by targeting it for degradation. The stable p53 then acts a transcriptional activator of several target genes, including p21, an inhibitor of the G1-to-S promoting complex cyclin E-CDK2. In addition, another mechanism by which p21 is activated is through the accumulation of p16 in response to DNA damage. p16 disrupts cyclin D-CDK4 complexes, thus causing the release of p21 from the complexes, which leads to the dephosphorylation and activation of Rb, which allows Rb to bind and inhibit E2F 1–3, thus keeping the cell from transitioning to S phase.Recently, some aspects of this model have been disputed.