9q8x
Ku70/80 bound to a 153 bp H2AX nucleosome
Structural highlights
FunctionXRCC6_HUMAN Single stranded DNA-dependent ATP-dependent helicase. Has a role in chromosome translocation. The DNA helicase II complex binds preferentially to fork-like ends of double-stranded DNA in a cell cycle-dependent manner. It works in the 3'-5' direction. Binding to DNA may be mediated by XRCC6. Involved in DNA non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) required for double-strand break repair and V(D)J recombination. The XRCC5/6 dimer acts as regulatory subunit of the DNA-dependent protein kinase complex DNA-PK by increasing the affinity of the catalytic subunit PRKDC to DNA by 100-fold. The XRCC5/6 dimer is probably involved in stabilizing broken DNA ends and bringing them together. The assembly of the DNA-PK complex to DNA ends is required for the NHEJ ligation step. Required for osteocalcin gene expression. Probably also acts as a 5'-deoxyribose-5-phosphate lyase (5'-dRP lyase), by catalyzing the beta-elimination of the 5' deoxyribose-5-phosphate at an abasic site near double-strand breaks. 5'-dRP lyase activity allows to 'clean' the termini of abasic sites, a class of nucleotide damage commonly associated with strand breaks, before such broken ends can be joined. The XRCC5/6 dimer together with APEX1 acts as a negative regulator of transcription.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Publication Abstract from PubMedDNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are highly deleterious lesions that can trigger cell death or carcinogenesis if unrepaired or misrepaired. In mammals, most DSBs are repaired by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ), which begins when Ku70/80 binds DNA ends and recruits DNA-PKcs to form the DNA-PK holoenzyme. Although recent cryo-EM studies have resolved several NHEJ assemblies, how these factors access DSBs within nucleosomes remains unclear. Here, we present cryo-EM structures of human Ku70/80 and DNA-PK bound to nucleosomes. Ku70/80 binds the DNA end and bends it away from the nucleosome core, while the Ku70 C-terminal SAP domain makes an additional, specific DNA contact. Our DNA-PK-nucleosome structure further reveals the opening of the Ku80 vWA domain, and we show that non-hydrolysable ATP promotes synapsis by stabilising the Ku80-mediated DNA-PK dimer. These structures reveal a model for DSB recognition on nucleosomal DNA and provide insights relevant to targeting NHEJ in cancer therapy. Cryo-EM structures of NHEJ assemblies with nucleosomes.,Hall C, Frit P, Kefala-Stavridi A, Pelletier A, Hardwick SW, Amin H, Bilyard MK, Maia De Oliviera T, Tariq A, Zahid S, Chirgadze DY, Balasubramanian S, Meek K, Ropars V, Charbonnier JB, Modesti M, Calsou P, Britton S, Blundell TL, Schalch T, Chaplin AK Nat Commun. 2025 Dec 24. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-67376-2. PMID:41444611[8] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. References
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