Biomedical subjects

G Lucchini

Publications and source records attributed to G Lucchini.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Hugoniot data of plastic foams obtained from laser-driven shocks.

In this paper we present Hugoniot data for plastic foams obtained with laser-driven shocks. Relative equation-of-state data for foams were obtained using Al as a reference material. The diagnostics consisted in the detection of shock breakout from double layer Al/foam targets. The foams [poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) with density 130 > rho > 60 mg/cm3] were produced at the Institute of Laser Engineering of Osaka University. The experiment was performed using the Prague PALS iodine laser working at 0.44 microm wavelength and irradiances up to a few 10(14) W/cm2. Pressures as high as 3.6 Mbar (previously unreached for such low-density materials) where generated in the foams. Samples with four different values of initial density were used, in order to explore a wider region of the phase diagram. Shock acceleration when the shock crosses the Al/foam interface was also measured.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Hugoniot data for carbon at megabar pressures.

We present an experimental point for the carbon equation of state (EOS) at megabar pressures, obtained by laser-driven shock waves. The rear side emissivity of "two-materials two-steps" targets (Al-C) was recorded with space and time resolution and, by applying the impedance mismatch method, allowed a direct determination of relative EOS points. Experiments were performed at the PALS and LULI laboratories using carbon samples with two different values of initial density, in order to explore a wider region of the phase diagram. Previously unreached pressures were obtained. The results are compared with previous experiments and with available theoretical models and seem to show a high compressibility of carbon at megabar pressures.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Ablation pressure scaling at short laser wavelength.

The ablation pressure at a 0.44-microm laser wavelength has been measured at irradiance up to 2 x 10(14) W/cm(2). The diagnostics consisted in the detection of shock breakout from stepped Al targets. By adopting large focal spots and smoothed laser beams, the lateral energy transport and "drilling effects" have been avoided. The measured scaling shows a fair agreement with analytical models.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2001

Bub3 interaction with Mad2, Mad3 and Cdc20 is mediated by WD40 repeats and does not require intact kinetochores.

The kinetochore checkpoint pathway, involving the Mad1, Mad2, Mad3, Bub1, Bub3 and Mps1 proteins, prevents anaphase entry and mitotic exit by inhibiting the anaphase promoting complex activator Cdc20 in response to monopolar attachment of sister kinetochores to spindle fibres. We show here that Cdc20, which had previously been shown to interact physically with Mad2 and Mad3, associates also with Bub3 and association is up-regulated upon checkpoint activation. Moreover, co-fractionation experiments suggest that Mad2, Mad3 and Bub3 may be concomitantly present in protein complexes with Cdc20. Formation of the Bub3-Cdc20 complex requires all kinetochore checkpoint proteins but, surprisingly, not intact kinetochores. Conversely, point mutations altering the conserved WD40 motifs of Bub3, which might be involved in the formation of a beta-propeller fold devoted to protein-protein interactions, disrupt its association with Mad2, Mad3 and Cdc20, as well as proper checkpoint response. We suggest that Bub3 could serve as a platform for interactions between kinetochore checkpoint proteins, and its association with Mad2, Mad3 and Cdc20 might be instrumental for checkpoint activation.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

PubMed2001

Hyperactivation of the yeast DNA damage checkpoint by TEL1 and DDC2 overexpression.

The evolutionarily conserved yeast Mec1 and Tel1 protein kinases, as well as the Mec1-interacting protein Ddc2, are involved in the DNA damage checkpoint response. We show that regulation of Tel1 and Ddc2-Mec1 activities is important to modulate both activation and termination of checkpoint-mediated cell cycle arrest. In fact, overproduction of either Tel1 or Ddc2 causes a prolonged cell cycle arrest and cell death in response to DNA damage, impairing the ability of cells to recover from checkpoint activation. This cell cycle arrest is independent of Mec1 in UV-irradiated Tel1-overproducing cells, while it is strictly Mec1 dependent in similarly treated DDC2-overexpressing cells. The Rad53 checkpoint kinase is instead required in both cases for cell cycle arrest, which correlates with its enhanced and persistent phosphorylation, suggesting that unscheduled Rad53 phosphorylation might prevent cells from re-entering the cell cycle after checkpoint activation. In addition, Tel1 overproduction results in transient nuclear division arrest and concomitant Rad53 phosphorylation in the absence of exogenous DNA damage independently of Mec1 and Ddc1.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

PubMed2001

The set1Delta mutation unveils a novel signaling pathway relayed by the Rad53-dependent hyperphosphorylation of replication protein A that leads to transcriptional activation of repair genes.

SET domain proteins are present in chromosomal proteins involved in epigenetic control of transcription. The yeast SET domain protein Set1p regulates chromatin structure, DNA repair, and telomeric functions. We investigated the mechanism by which the absence of Set1p increases DNA repair capacities of checkpoint mutants. We show that deletion of SET1 induces a response relayed by the signaling kinase Rad53p that leads to the MEC1/TEL1-independent hyperphosphorylation of replication protein A middle subunit (Rfa2p). Consequently, the binding of Rfa2p to upstream repressing sequences (URS) of repair genes is decreased, thereby leading to their derepression. Our results correlate the set1Delta-dependent phosphorylation of Rfa2p with the transcriptional induction of repair genes. Moreover, we show that the deletion of the amino-terminal region of Rfa2p suppresses the sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation of a mec3Delta checkpoint mutant, abolishes the URS-mediated repression, and increases the expression of repair genes. This work provides an additional link for the role of Rfa2p in the regulation of the repair capacity of the cell and reveals a role for the phosphorylation of Rfa2p and unveils unsuspected connections between chromatin, signaling pathways, telomeres, and DNA repair.

Cell Cycle Proteins↗

PubMed2001

Role of the kinetochore protein Ndc10 in mitotic checkpoint activation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Mitotic checkpoints delay cell cycle progression in response to alterations in the mitotic apparatus, thus ensuring correct chromosome segregation. While improper spindle orientation activates the Bub2/Bfa1-dependent checkpoint in budding yeast, delaying exit from mitosis, lack of bipolar kinetochore-microtubule attachment activates a signal transduction cascade that prevents both anaphase onset and exit from mitosis by inhibiting the Cdc20/APC (Anaphase Promoting Complex)-mediated proteolysis of securin and inactivation of mitotic cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), respectively. Proteolysis of the securin Pdsl is necessary to liberate the separase Esp1, which then triggers sister chromatid separation, whereas inactivation of mitotic CDKs is a prerequisite for exit from mitosis and for starting a new round of DNA replication in the next cell cycle. In budding yeast, this latter checkpoint response involves the proteins Mad1, 2, 3, Bub1 and Bub3, whose vertebrate counterparts localize to unattached kinetochores. Mutations that alter other kinetochore proteins result in mitotic checkpoint activation, while the ndc10-1 mutation not only impairs kinetochore function, but also disrupts the checkpoint response, indicating a role for Ndc10 in this process. Here we present evidence that Ndc10 is not part of the Bub2/Bfa1-dependent pathway, and its role in the checkpoint response might also be different from that of the other Mad and Bub proteins. Indeed, Ndc10, unlike other mitotic checkpoint proteins, is not required for the mitotic block induced by overexpression of the Mpsl protein kinase, which is implicated in mitotic checkpoint control. Furthermore, the delay in mitotic exit caused by non-degradable Pds1, which does not require Mad and Bub proteins, depends on Ndc10 function. We propose that a pathway involving Ndc10 might monitor defects in the mitotic apparatus independently of the Mad and Bub proteins. Since the Espl separase is required for exit from mitosis in both ndc10-1 and nocodazole-treated mad2delta cells, the two signal transduction cascades might ultimately converge on the inactivation of Esp1.

Cell Cycle↗

PubMed2001

Characterization of mec1 kinase-deficient mutants and of new hypomorphic mec1 alleles impairing subsets of the DNA damage response pathway.

DNA damage checkpoints lead to the inhibition of cell cycle progression following DNA damage. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mec1 checkpoint protein, a phosphatidylinositol kinase-related protein, is required for transient cell cycle arrest in response to DNA damage or DNA replication defects. We show that mec1 kinase-deficient (mec1kd) mutants are indistinguishable from mec1Delta cells, indicating that the Mec1 conserved kinase domain is required for all known Mec1 functions, including cell viability and proper DNA damage response. Mec1kd variants maintain the ability to physically interact with both Ddc2 and wild-type Mec1 and cause dominant checkpoint defects when overproduced in MEC1 cells, impairing the ability of cells to slow down S phase entry and progression after DNA damage in G(1) or during S phase. Conversely, an excess of Mec1kd in MEC1 cells does not abrogate the G(2)/M checkpoint, suggesting that Mec1 functions required for response to aberrant DNA structures during specific cell cycle stages can be separable. In agreement with this hypothesis, we describe two new hypomorphic mec1 mutants that are completely defective in the G(1)/S and intra-S DNA damage checkpoints but properly delay nuclear division after UV irradiation in G(2). The finding that these mutants, although indistinguishable from mec1Delta cells with respect to the ability to replicate a damaged DNA template, do not lose viability after UV light and methyl methanesulfonate treatment suggests that checkpoint impairments do not necessarily result in hypersensitivity to DNA-damaging agents.

Alleles↗

PubMed2000

The checkpoint protein Ddc2, functionally related to S. pombe Rad26, interacts with Mec1 and is regulated by Mec1-dependent phosphorylation in budding yeast.

DDC2 is a novel component of the DNA integrity checkpoint pathway, which is required for proper checkpoint response to DNA damage and to incomplete DNA replication. Moreover, Ddc2 overproduction causes sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents and checkpoint defects. Ddc2 physically interacts with Mec1 and undergoes Mec1-dependent phosphorylation both in vitro and in vivo. The phosphorylation of Ddc2 takes place in late S phase and in G(2) phase during an unperturbed cell cycle and is further increased in response to DNA damage. Because Ddc2 phosphorylation does not require any other known tested checkpoint factors but Mec1, the Ddc2-Mec1 complex might respond to the presence of some DNA structures independently of the other known checkpoint proteins. Our findings suggest that Ddc2 may be the functional homolog of Schizosaccharomyces pombe Rad26, strengthening the hypothesis that the mechanisms leading to checkpoint activation are conserved throughout evolution.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed2000

Checkpoint proteins influence telomeric silencing and length maintenance in budding yeast.

A complex network of surveillance mechanisms, called checkpoints, interrupts cell cycle progression when damage to the genome is detected or when cells fail to complete DNA replication, thus ensuring genetic integrity. In budding yeast, components of the DNA damage checkpoint regulatory network include the RAD9, RAD17, RAD24, MEC3, DDC1, RAD53, and MEC1 genes that are proposed to be involved in different aspects of DNA metabolism. We provide evidence that some DNA damage checkpoint components play a role in maintaining telomere integrity. In fact, rad53 mutants specifically enhance repression of telomere-proximal transcription via the Sir-mediated pathway, suggesting that Rad53 might be required for proper chromatin structure at telomeres. Moreover, Rad53, Mec1, Ddc1, and Rad17 are necessary for telomere length maintenance, since mutations in all of these genes cause a decrease in telomere size. The telomeric shortening in rad53 and mec1 mutants is further enhanced in the absence of SIR genes, suggesting that Rad53/Mec1 and Sir proteins contribute to chromosome end protection by different pathways. The finding that telomere shortening, but not increased telomeric repression of gene expression in rad53 mutants, can be suppressed by increasing dNTP synthetic capacity in these strains suggests that transcriptional silencing and telomere integrity involve separable functions of Rad53.

Blotting, Southern↗

PubMed1999

Cell cycle progression in the presence of irreparable DNA damage is controlled by a Mec1- and Rad53-dependent checkpoint in budding yeast.

We studied the response of nucleotide excision repair (NER)-defective rad14Delta cells to UV irradiation in G(1) followed by release into the cell cycle. Only a subset of checkpoint proteins appears to mediate cell cycle arrest and regulate the timely activation of replication origins in the presence of unrepaired UV-induced lesions. In fact, Mec1 and Rad53, but not Rad9 and the Rad24 group of checkpoint proteins, are required to delay cell cycle progression in rad14Delta cells after UV damage in G(1). Consistently, Mec1-dependent Rad53 phosphorylation after UV irradiation takes place in rad14Delta cells also in the absence of Rad9, Rad17, Rad24, Mec3 and Ddc1, and correlates with entry into S phase. Two-dimensional gel analysis indicates that late replication origins are not fired in rad14Delta cells UV-irradiated in G(1) and released into the cell cycle, which instead initiate DNA replication from early origins and accumulate replication and recombination intermediates. Progression through S phase of UV-treated NER-deficient mec1 and rad53 mutants correlates with late origin firing, suggesting that unregulated DNA replication in the presence of irreparable UV-induced lesions might result from a failure to prevent initiation at late origins.

Cell Cycle↗

PubMed1999

Budding yeast Bub2 is localized at spindle pole bodies and activates the mitotic checkpoint via a different pathway from Mad2.

The mitotic checkpoint blocks cell cycle progression before anaphase in case of mistakes in the alignment of chromosomes on the mitotic spindle. In budding yeast, the Mad1, 2, 3, and Bub1, 2, 3 proteins mediate this arrest. Vertebrate homologues of Mad1, 2, 3, and Bub1, 3 bind to unattached kinetochores and prevent progression through mitosis by inhibiting Cdc20/APC-mediated proteolysis of anaphase inhibitors, like Pds1 and B-type cyclins. We investigated the role of Bub2 in budding yeast mitotic checkpoint. The following observations indicate that Bub2 and Mad1, 2 probably activate the checkpoint via different pathways: (a) unlike the other Mad and Bub proteins, Bub2 localizes at the spindle pole body (SPB) throughout the cell cycle; (b) the effect of concomitant lack of Mad1 or Mad2 and Bub2 is additive, since nocodazole-treated mad1 bub2 and mad2 bub2 double mutants rereplicate DNA more rapidly and efficiently than either single mutant; (c) cell cycle progression of bub2 cells in the presence of nocodazole requires the Cdc26 APC subunit, which, conversely, is not required for mad2 cells in the same conditions. Altogether, our data suggest that activation of the mitotic checkpoint blocks progression through mitosis by independent and partially redundant mechanisms.

Calcium-Binding Proteins↗

PubMed1999

The beta4 integrin interactor p27(BBP/eIF6) is an essential nuclear matrix protein involved in 60S ribosomal subunit assembly.

p27(BBP/eIF6) is an evolutionarily conserved protein that was originally identified as p27(BBP), an interactor of the cytoplasmic domain of integrin beta4 and, independently, as the putative translation initiation factor eIF6. To establish the in vivo function of p27(BBP/eIF6), its topographical distribution was investigated in mammalian cells and the effects of disrupting the corresponding gene was studied in the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In epithelial cells containing beta4 integrin, p27(BBP/eIF6) is present in the cytoplasm and enriched at hemidesmosomes with a pattern similar to that of beta4 integrin. Surprisingly, in the absence and in the presence of the beta4 integrin subunit, p27(BBP/eIF6) is in the nucleolus and associated with the nuclear matrix. Deletion of the IIH S. cerevisiae gene, encoding the yeast p27(BBP/eIF6) homologue, is lethal, and depletion of the corresponding gene product is associated with a dramatic decrease of the level of free ribosomal 60S subunit. Furthermore, human p27(BBP/eIF6) can rescue the lethal effect of the iihDelta yeast mutation. The data obtained in vivo suggest an evolutionarily conserved function of p27(BBP/eIF6) in ribosome biogenesis or assembly rather than in translation. A further function related to the beta4 integrin subunit may have evolved specifically in higher eukaryotic cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1998

DNA damage checkpoint in budding yeast.

Eukaryotic cells have evolved a network of control mechanisms, known as checkpoints, which coordinate cell-cycle progression in response to internal and external cues. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been invaluable in dissecting genetically the DNA damage checkpoint pathway. Recent results on posttranslational modifications and protein-protein interactions of some key factors provide new insights into the architecture of checkpoint protein complexes and their order of function.

Cell Cycle↗

PubMed1998

Mec1p is essential for phosphorylation of the yeast DNA damage checkpoint protein Ddc1p, which physically interacts with Mec3p.

Checkpoints prevent DNA replication or nuclear division when chromosomes are damaged. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae DDC1 gene belongs to the RAD17, MEC3 and RAD24 epistasis group which, together with RAD9, is proposed to act at the beginning of the DNA damage checkpoint pathway. Ddc1p is periodically phosphorylated during unperturbed cell cycle and hyperphosphorylated in response to DNA damage. We demonstrate that Ddc1p interacts physically in vivo with Mec3p, and this interaction requires Rad17p. We also show that phosphorylation of Ddc1p depends on the key checkpoint protein Mec1p and also on Rad24p, Rad17p and Mec3p. This suggests that Mec1p might act together with the Rad24 group of proteins at an early step of the DNA damage checkpoint response. On the other hand, Ddc1p phosphorylation is independent of Rad53p and Rad9p. Moreover, while Ddc1p is required for Rad53p phosphorylation, it does not play any major role in the phosphorylation of the anaphase inhibitor Pds1p, which requires RAD9 and MEC1. We suggest that Rad9p and Ddc1p might function in separated branches of the DNA damage checkpoint pathway, playing different roles in determining Mec1p activity and/or substrate specificity.

Cell Cycle↗

PubMed1998

A 9359 bp fragment from the right arm of Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome VII includes the FOL2 and YTA7 genes and three unknown open reading frames.

In the framework of the EU programme for systematic sequencing of the Saccharomyces cervisiae genome we determined the sequence of a 9359 bp fragment of the right arm of chromosome VII. Five open reading frames (ORFs) of at least 300 nucleotides were found in this region. YGR267c encodes a protein with significant similarity to the enzyme GTP-cyclohydrolase I, that controls the first step in the biosynthetic pathway leading to various pterins and shows a high degree of sequence conservation from bacteria to mammals. We have recently demonstrated (Nardese et al., 1996) that YGR267c corresponds to the FOL2 gene, previously localized in the same chromosomal region by genetic mapping. The protein deduced from YGR270w belongs to the superfamily of putative ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities. It corresponds to the YTA7 gene, a member of a set of yeast genes coding for putative ATPases with high similarity to constituents of the 26S protease. The three ORFs YGR266w, YGR268c and YGR269w encode putative products of unknown function, with neither significant similarity to proteins in databases nor recognizable domains. YGR268c and YGR269w are partially overlapping ORFs: YGR268c seems to correspond to a real gene. whereas YGR269w is probably a fortuitous ORF.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

PubMed1997

The novel DNA damage checkpoint protein ddc1p is phosphorylated periodically during the cell cycle and in response to DNA damage in budding yeast.

The DDC1 gene was identified, together with MEC3 and other checkpoint genes, during a screening for mutations causing synthetic lethality when combined with a conditional allele altering DNA primase. Deletion of DDC1 causes sensitivity to UV radiation, methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) and hydroxyurea (HU). ddc1Delta mutants are defective in delaying G1-S and G2-M transition and in slowing down the rate of DNA synthesis when DNA is damaged during G1, G2 or S phase, respectively. Therefore, DDC1 is involved in all the known DNA damage checkpoints. Conversely, Ddc1p is not required for delaying entry into mitosis when DNA synthesis is inhibited. ddc1 and mec3 mutants belong to the same epistasis group, and DDC1 overexpression can partially suppress MMS and HU sensitivity of mec3Delta strains, as well as their checkpoint defects. Moreover, Ddc1p is phosphorylated periodically during a normal cell cycle and becomes hyperphosphorylated in response to DNA damage. Both phosphorylation events are at least partially dependent on a functional MEC3 gene.

Cell Cycle↗

PubMed1997

A role for DNA primase in coupling DNA replication to DNA damage response.

The temperature-sensitive yeast DNA primase mutant pri1-M4 fails to execute an early step of DNA replication and exhibits a dominant, allele-specific sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents. pri1-M4 is defective in slowing down the rate of S phase progression and partially delaying the G1-S transition in response to DNA damage. Conversely, the G2 DNA damage response and the S-M checkpoint coupling completion of DNA replication to mitosis are unaffected. The signal transduction pathway leading to Rad53p phosphorylation induced by DNA damage is proficient in pri1-M4, and cell cycle delay caused by Rad53p overexpression is counteracted by the pri1-M4 mutation. Altogether, our results suggest that DNA primase plays an essential role in a subset of the Rad53p-dependent checkpoint pathways controlling cell cycle progression in response to DNA damage.

Blotting, Western↗