The modulation of PCNA ubiquitination by p21 and its significance for DNA repair

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While in vitro experiments emphatically demonstrated the inhibitory effect of p21 on PCNA dependent DNA replication and repair it was much harder to arrive to similar conclusions in experiments performed in cells. This might depend, at least in part, on the convergent signals that prevent p21 up-regulation in S phase. We have come across the intriguing observation that a number of genotoxic treatments that induce transient or permanent arrest in S phase coordinately promote p21 down-regulation and PCNA ubiquitination. Moreover, stable p21 expression negatively modulates PCNA ubiquitination, a post-transcriptional modification of the sliding clamp relevant for its DNA repair-related activities. This observation prompt us to the study of novels aspects of PCNA regulation by p21. We propose to explore the mechanisms for p21 dependent inhibition of PCNA ubqiutination after UV irradiation. This will also facilitate the identification of other molecules that modulate PCNA ubiquitination and are targets of p21. The link between p21 degradation and PCNA ubiquitination will also allow the identification of pathways upstream that coordinate these events. The effects on cell survival of a stable p21 expression during the above mentioned genotoxic treatments might reveal the biological relevance of p21 down-regulation and might be significant for cancer therapy.