Fanconi anaemia (FA) is a genetic disorder that is characterized by bone marrow failure (BMF), developmental abnormalities and predisposition to cancer. Together with other proteins involved in DNA repair processes and cell division, the FA proteins maintain genome homeostasis, and germline mutation of any one of the genes that encode FA proteins causes FA. Monoallelic inactivation of some FA genes, such as FA complementation group D1 (FANCD1; also known as the breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene BRCA2), leads to adult-onset cancer predisposition but does not cause FA, and somatic mutations in FA genes occur in cancers in the general population. Carcinogenesis resulting from a dysregulated FA pathway is multifaceted, as FA proteins monitor multiple complementary genome-surveillance checkpoints throughout interphase, where monoubiquitylation of the FANCD2-FANCI heterodimer by the FA core complex promotes recruitment of DNA repair effectors to chromatin lesions to resolve DNA damage and mitosis. In this Review, we discuss how the FA pathway safeguards genome integrity throughout the cell cycle and show how studies of FA have revealed opportunities to develop rational therapeutics for this genetic disease and for malignancies that acquire somatic mutations within the FA pathway.

Background: P21-activated kinase (PAK1) is a downstream effector of the GTPase Cdc42. Results: Inhibition of Cdc42-PAK1 signaling in human islets inhibited insulin secretion. PAK1 knock-out mice showed defects in insulin release and skeletal muscle insulin action, underlying impaired whole body glucose homeostasis. Conclusion: Attenuated PAK1 abundance/activation may contribute to type 2 diabetes susceptibility. Significance: Cdc42-PAK1 signaling is crucial for regulating glucose homeostasis in vivo.

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Fanconi anemia (FA) is a heterogenous genetic disease with a high risk of cancer. The FA proteins are essential for interphase DNA damage repair; however, it is incompletely understood why FA-deficient cells also develop gross aneuploidy, leading to cancer. Here, we systematically evaluated the role of the FA proteins in chromosome segregation through functional RNAi screens and analysis of primary cells from patients with FA. We found that FA signaling is essential for the spindle assembly checkpoint and is therefore required for high-fidelity chromosome segregation and prevention of aneuploidy. Furthermore, we discovered that FA proteins differentially localize to key structures of the mitotic apparatus in a cell cycle-dependent manner. The essential role of the FA pathway in mitosis offers a mechanistic explanation for the aneuploidy and malignant transformation known to occur after disruption of FA signaling. Collectively, our findings provide insight into the genetically unstable cancers resulting from inactivation of the FA/BRCA pathway.

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Immune and bone cells are functionally coupled by pro-inflammatory cytokine intercellular signaling networks common to both tissues and their crosstalk may contribute to the etiologies of some immune-associated bone pathologies. For example, the receptor activator of NF-kappaB ligand (RANKL)/osteoprotegerin (OPG)/receptor activator of NF-kappaB (RANK) signaling axis plays a critical role in dendritic cell (DC) function as well as bone remodeling. The expression of RANKL by immune cells may contribute to bone loss in periodontitis, arthritis, and multiple myeloma. A recent discovery reveals that DCs release the chromatin protein high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) as a potent immunomodulatory cytokine mediating the interaction between DCs and T-cells, via HMGB1 binding to the membrane receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE). To determine whether osteoblasts or osteoclasts express and/or release HMGB1 into the bone microenvironment, we analyzed tissue, cells, and culture media for the presence of this molecule. Our immunohistochemical and immunocytochemical analyses demonstrate HMGB1 expression in primary osteoblasts and osteoclasts and that both cells express RAGE. HMGB1 is recoverable in the media of primary osteoblast cultures and cultures of isolated osteoclast precursors and osteoclasts. Parathyroid hormone (PTH), a regulator of bone remodeling, attenuates HMGB1 release in cultures of primary osteoblasts and MC3T3-E1 osteoblast-like cells but augments this release in the rat osteosarcoma cell line UMR 106-01, both responses primarily via activation of adenylyl cyclase. PTH-induced HMGB1 discharge by UMR cells exhibits similar release kinetics as reported for activated macrophages. These data confirm the presence of the HMGB1/RAGE signaling axis in bone.

Most primitive hematopoietic progenitor cells reside in vivo within the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle. By simultaneous DNA/RNA staining it is possible to distinguish G0 and G1 states and to isolate cells in defined phases of the cell cycle. We report here the use of cell cycle fractionation to separate human mobilized peripheral blood (MPB) CD34+ cells capable of repopulating the bone marrow (BM) of non-obese diabetic/severe combined immune-deficient (NOD/SCID) mice. In freshly isolated MPB, repopulating cells were predominant within the G0 phase, because transplantation of CD34+cells residing in G0 (G0CD34+) resulted on average in a 16.6- ± 3.2-fold higher BM chimerism than infusion of equal numbers of CD34+ cells isolated in G1. We then investigated the effect of ex vivo cell cycle progression, in the absence of cell division, on engraftment capacity. Freshly isolated G0CD34+ cells were activated by interleukin-3 (IL-3), stem cell factor (SCF), and flt3-ligand (FL) for a 36-hour incubation period during which a fraction of cells progressed from G0 into G1 but did not complete a cell cycle. The repopulating capacity of stimulated cells was markedly diminished compared with that of unmanipulated G0CD34+ cells. Cells that remained in G0 during the 36-hour incubation period and those that traversed into G1 were sorted and assayed separately in NOD/SCID recipients. The repopulating ability of cells remaining in G0 was insignificantly reduced compared with that of unstimulated G0CD34+ cells. On the contrary, CD34+ cells traversing from G0 into G1 were largely depleted of repopulating capacity. Similar results were obtained when G0CD34+ cells were activated by the combination of thrombopoietin-SCF-FL. These studies provide direct evidence of the quiescent nature of cells capable of repopulating the BM of NOD/SCID mice. Furthermore, these data also demonstrate that G0-G1 progression in vitro is associated with a decrease in engraftment capacity. © 1998 by The American Society of Hematology.

Fanconi anemia (FANC) is a heterogeneous genetic disorder characterized by a hypersensitivity to DNAdamaging agents, chromosomal instability, and defective DNA repair. Eight FANC genes have been identified so far, and five of them (FANCA, -C, -E, -F, and -G) assemble in a multinuclear complex and function at least in part in a complex to activate FANCD2 by monoubiquitination. Here Fanconi anemia (FANC) 1 is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by chromosomal instability and defective DNA repair, and FANC-deficient cells exhibit extreme sensitivity toward oxygen and DNA-cross-linking agents such as diepoxybutane and mitomycin C (1-3). The gene products of eight complementation groups of FANC have been identified and cloned (FANCA, FANCC, FANCD1, FANCD2, FANCE, FANCF, FANCG, and FANCL) (1-3). Mutations in any of the eight different genes lead to FANC disease, a degree of genetic heterogeneity comparable with that of other DNA repair disorders, suggesting that each group represents a distinct protein.FANCA and FANCG proteins are part of a large nuclear protein complex required for their function, and the disruption of this complex results in the specific cellular and clinical phenotype common to most FANC complementation groups (4). FANCA gene encodes a 162-kDa phosphoprotein and its phosphorylation correlated with FANCA/FANCC protein accumulation in the nucleus (5). FANCA mutant cells isolated from a FANC patient were defective in their phosphorylation and failed to bind to FANCC. Furthermore, a mutant FANCA protein failed to complement the mitomycin C (MMC) sensitivity of FANCAϪ/Ϫ cells, suggesting that FANCA phosphorylation may be involved in FANCC interaction, nuclear localization of FANCA, or its function in cross-link repair. FANCG gene encodes a 65-kDa protein that has been identified as human XRCC9. XRCC9 (FANCG) complements the Chinese hamster ovary mutant UV-40 cell line that is hypersensitive to UV, ionizing radiation, simple alkylating agents, and DNA-crosslinking agents (6, 7). The mutant cells also show a high level of spontaneous chromosomal aberrations that can be fully corrected by introduction of XRCC9 cDNA transformants (7). The possibility of the involvement of FANC proteins in DNA repair was strengthened by recent findings on the interaction of FANCD1 with BRCA1 following DNA damage (8). FANCD1 is identical to BRCA2 gene and is unique among FANC genes in that it is essential for the formation of Rad51 foci in response to ionizing radiation (9), suggesting that it may be involved in homologous recombination-mediated strand break repair.Cells lacking FANC gene showed a hypersensitive phenotype following H 2 O 2 treatment, suggesting a role for FANC proteins in redox signaling and repair of oxidative DNA damages (Refs. 10 -13 and data not shown). Interaction between FANCA and FANCG was well established by coimmunoprecipitation, cellular localization, and yeast two-hybrid analysis (4, 14 -18). Although the detailed functions of FANC proteins have yet to be determined, there is a growi...