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EMBO Press, EMBO Reports, 1(8), p. 56-62, 2006

DOI: 10.1038/sj.embor.7400847

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Structural model of full-length human Ku70–Ku80 heterodimer and its recognition of DNA and DNA-PKcs

Journal article published in 2006 by Angel Rivera-Calzada, Laura Spagnolo ORCID, Laurence H. Pearl, Oscar Llorca
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Recognition of DNA double-strand breaks during non-homologous end joining is carried out by the Ku70-Ku80 protein, a 150 kDa heterodimer that recruits the DNA repair kinase DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) to the lesion. The atomic structure of a truncated Ku70-Ku80 was determined; however, the subunit-specific carboxy-terminal domain of Ku80--essential for binding to DNA-PKcs--was determined only in isolation, and the C-terminal domain of Ku70 was not resolved in its DNA-bound conformation. Both regions are conserved and mediate protein-protein interactions specific to mammals. Here, we reconstruct the three-dimensional structure of the human full-length Ku70-Ku80 dimer at 25 A resolution, alone and in complex with DNA, by using single-particle electron microscopy. We map the C-terminal regions of both subunits, and their conformational changes after DNA and DNA-PKcs binding to define a molecular model of the functions of these domains during DNA repair in the context of full-length Ku70-Ku80 protein.