Summary Modulation of intracellular chloride concentration ([Cl−]i) plays a fundamental role in cell volume regulation and neuronal response to GABA. Cl− exit via K-Cl cotransporters (KCCs) is a major determinant of [Cl−]I; however, mechanisms governing KCC activities are poorly understood. We identified two sites in KCC3 that are rapidly dephosphorylated in hypotonic conditions in cultured cells and human red blood cells in parallel with increased transport activity. Alanine substitutions at these sites result in constitutively active cotransport. These sites are highly phosphorylated in plasma membrane KCC3 in isotonic conditions, suggesting that dephosphorylation increases KCC3's intrinsic transport activity. Reduction of WNK1 expression via RNA interference reduces phosphorylation at these sites. Homologous sites are phosphorylated in all human KCCs. KCC2 is partially phosphorylated in neonatal mouse brain and dephosphorylated in parallel with KCC2 activation. These findings provide insight into regulation of [Cl−]i and have implications for control of cell volume and neuronal function.

Persons with the autosomal recessive disorder Bloom syndrome are predisposed to cancers of many types due to loss-of-function mutations in the BLM gene, which encodes a recQ-like helicase. Here we show that mice heterozygous for a targeted null mutation of Blm, the murine homolog of BLM, develop lymphoma earlier than wild-type littermates in response to challenge with murine leukemia virus and develop twice the number of intestinal tumors when crossed with mice carrying a mutation in the Apc tumor suppressor. These observations indicate that Blm is a modifier of tumor formation in the mouse and that Blm haploinsufficiency is associated with tumor predisposition, a finding with important implications for cancer risk in humans.

Summary Modulation of intracellular chloride concentration ([Cl−] i ) plays a fundamental role in cell volume regulation and neuronal response to GABA. Cl − exit via K-Cl cotransporters (KCCs) is a major determinant of [Cl − ] I ; however, mechanisms governing KCC activities are poorly understood. We identified two sites in KCC3 that are rapidly dephosphorylated in hypotonic conditions in cultured cells and human red blood cells in parallel with increased transport activity. Alanine substitutions at these sites result in constitutively active cotransport. These sites are highly phosphorylated in plasma membrane KCC3 in isotonic conditions, suggesting that dephosphorylation increases KCC3's intrinsic transport activity. Reduction of WNK1 expression via RNA interference reduces phosphorylation at these sites. Homologous sites are phosphorylated in all human KCCs. KCC2 is partially phosphorylated in neonatal mouse brain and dephosphorylated in parallel with KCC2 activation. These findings provide insight into regulation of [Cl − ] i and have implications for control of cell volume and neuronal function.

Exposure to DNA-damaging agents triggers signal transduction pathways that are thought to play a role in maintenance of genomic stability. A key protein in the cellular processes of nucleotide excision repair, DNA recombination, and DNA double-strand break repair is the single-stranded DNA binding protein, RPA. We showed previously that the p34 subunit of RPA becomes hyperphosphorylated as a delayed response (4-8 h) to UV radiation (10-30 J/m(2)). Here we show that UV-induced RPA-p34 hyperphosphorylation depends on expression of ATM, the product of the gene mutated in the human genetic disorder ataxia telangiectasia (A-T). UV-induced RPA-p34 hyperphosphorylation was not observed in A-T cells, but this response was restored by ATM expression. Furthermore, purified ATM kinase phosphorylates the p34 subunit of RPA complex in vitro at many of the same sites that are phosphorylated in vivo after UV radiation. Induction of this DNA damage response was also dependent on DNA replication; inhibition of DNA replication by aphidicolin prevented induction of RPA-p34 hyperphosphorylation by UV radiation. We postulate that this pathway is triggered by the accumulation of aberrant DNA replication intermediates, resulting from DNA replication fork blockage by UV photoproducts. Further, we suggest that RPA-p34 is hyperphosphorylated as a participant in the recombinational postreplication repair of these replication products. Successful resolution of these replication intermediates reduces the accumulation of chromosomal aberrations that would otherwise occur as a consequence of UV radiation.