Charles Vadnais, Riyan Chen, Jennifer Fraszczak, Zhenbao Yu, Jonathan Boulais, Jordan Pinder, Daria Frank, Cyrus Khandanpour, Josée Hébert, Graham Dellaire, Jean-François Côté, Stéphane Richard, Alexandre Orthwein, Elliot Drobetsky, Tarik Möröy
GFI1 is a transcriptional regulator expressed in lymphoid cells, and an "oncorequisite" factor required for development and maintenance of T-lymphoid leukemia. GFI1 deletion causes hypersensitivity to ionizing radiation, for which the molecular mechanism remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that GFI1 is required in T cells for the regulation of key DNA damage signaling and repair proteins. Specifically, GFI1 interacts with the arginine methyltransferase PRMT1 and its substrates MRE11 and 53BP1. We demonstrate that GFI1 enables PRMT1 to bind and methylate MRE11 and 53BP1, which is necessary for their function in the DNA damage response...
April 12, 2018: Nature Communications