Cyclin D activates the Rb tumor suppressor by mono-phosphorylation
- University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, United States
- Sanofi Oncology, United States
- Harvard Medical School, United States
Abstract
The widely accepted model of G1 cell cycle progression proposes that cyclin D:Cdk4/6 inactivates the Rb tumor suppressor during early G1 phase by progressive multi-phosphorylation, termed hypo-phosphorylation, to release E2F transcription factors. However, this model remains unproven biochemically and the biologically active form(s) of Rb remains unknown. Here we find that Rb is exclusively mono-phosphorylated in early G1 phase by cyclin D:Cdk4/6. Mono-phosphorylated Rb is composed of 14 independent isoforms that are all targeted by the E1a oncoprotein, but show preferential E2F binding patterns. At the late G1 Restriction Point, cyclin E:Cdk2 inactivates Rb by quantum hyper-phosphorylation. Cells undergoing a DNA damage response activate cyclin D:Cdk4/6 to generate mono-phosphorylated Rb that regulates global transcription, whereas cells undergoing differentiation utilize un-phosphorylated Rb. These observations fundamentally change our understanding of G1 cell cycle progression and show that mono-phosphorylated Rb, generated by cyclin D:Cdk4/6, is the only Rb isoform in early G1 phase.
Article and author information
Author details
Copyright
© 2014, Narasimha et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
Metrics
-
- 15,151
- views
-
- 2,251
- downloads
-
- 340
- citations
Views, downloads and citations are aggregated across all versions of this paper published by eLife.
Download links
Further reading
-
- Biochemistry and Chemical Biology
- Microbiology and Infectious Disease
Birnaviruses are a group of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) viruses infecting birds, fish, and insects. Early endosomes (EE) constitute the platform for viral replication. Here, we study the mechanism of birnaviral targeting of EE membranes. Using the Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (IBDV) as a model, we validate that the viral protein 3 (VP3) binds to phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate (PI3P) present in EE membranes. We identify the domain of VP3 involved in PI3P-binding, named P2 and localized in the core of VP3, and establish the critical role of the arginine at position 200 (R200), conserved among all known birnaviruses. Mutating R200 abolishes viral replication. Moreover, we propose a two-stage modular mechanism for VP3 association with EE. Firstly, the carboxy-terminal region of VP3 adsorbs on the membrane, and then the VP3 core reinforces the membrane engagement by specifically binding PI3P through its P2 domain, additionally promoting PI3P accumulation.
-
- Biochemistry and Chemical Biology
- Microbiology and Infectious Disease
In the bacterium M. smegmatis, an enzyme called MftG allows the cofactor mycofactocin to transfer electrons released during ethanol metabolism to the electron transport chain.
