Dephosphorylation of DBC1 by Protein Phosphatase 4 Is Important for p53-Mediated Cellular Functions

• Published in: Molecules and cells Vol. 38; no. 8; pp. 697 - 704
• Main Authors: Lee, Jihye, Adelmant, Guillaume, Marto, Jarrod A, Lee, Dong-Hyun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DNA damage response; deleted in breast cancer-1; depho-sphorylation; protein phosphatase 4
• ISSN: 1016-8478; 0219-1032

Deleted in breast cancer-1 (DBC1) contributes to the regulation of cell survival and apoptosis. Recent studies demonstrated that DBC is phosphorylated at Thr454 by ATM/ATR kinases in response to DNA damage, which is a critical event for p53 activation and apoptosis. However, how DBC1 phosphorylation is regulated has not been studied. Here we show that protein phosphatase 4 (PP4) dephosphorylates DBC1, regulating its role in DNA damage response. PP4R2, a regulatory subunit of PP4, mediates the interaction between DBC1 and PP4C, a catalytic subunit. PP4C efficiently dephosphorylates pThr454 on DBC1 in vitro, and the depletion of PP4C/PP4R2 in cells alters the kinetics of DBC1 phosphorylation and p53 activation, and increases apoptosis in response to DNA damage, which are compatible with the expression of the phosphomimetic DBC-1 mutant (T454E). These suggest that the PP4-mediated dephosphorylation of DBC1 is necessary for efficient damage responses in cells.