Differential involvement of the hMRE11/hRAD50/NBS1 complex, BRCA1 and MLH1 in NF-κB activation by camptothecin and X-ray

Camptothecin (CPT) and X-ray (XR) generate double-strand breaks (DSB) that can be processed by homologous or nonhomologous recombination. We studied the participation of proteins involved in recombination pathways and cell cycle control in the signal transduction between DNA damage and NF-kappaB. Cells harbouring mutated NBS, hMRE11, BRCA1 or MLH1 were analysed. NBS- and hMRE11-deficient cells present a classical kinetic of NF-kappaB induction after camptothecin treatment. When DSB are generated by XR, NBS-deficient cells exhibit a delayed and strongly reduced level of NF-kappaB induction, whereas the hMRE11 mutated cells do not induce NF-kappaB at all. This indicates an important role of the hMRE11/hRAD50/NBS complex in the signal transduction initiated by XR. In HCC1937 cells that express a truncated version of BRCA1, XR induces a very rapid and transient NF-kappaB activation, whereas CPT leads to a delayed activation suggesting that BRCA1 modulates the transduction pathways in different manners after these two stresses. Finally, we found that a proficient MMR pathway is essential to the NF-kappaB activation after both CPT and XR. These results indicate that DSB originating from XR or CPT do not induce NF-kappaB in a unique way. MMR participates in both cascades, whereas the hMRE11/hRAD50/NBS trimer is specifically involved in the response elicited by XR.