Analysis of gene transcription in cells lacking DNA-PK activity

The DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), comprised of the Ku70/Ku80 (now known as G22p1/Xrcc5) heterodimer and the catalytic subunit DNA-PKcs (now known as Prkdc), is required for the nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway of DNA double-strand break repair. The mechanism of action of DNA-PK remains unclear. We have investigated whether DNA-PK regulates gene transcription in vivo after DNA damage using the subtractive hybridization technique of cDNA representational difference analysis (cDNA RDA). Differential transcription, both radiation-dependent and independent, was detected and confirmed in primary mouse embryo fibroblasts from DNA-PKcs(-/-) and DNA-PKcs(+/+) mice. We present evidence that transcription of the extracellular matrix gene laminin alpha 4 (Lama4) is regulated by DNA-PK in a radiation-independent manner. However, screening of both primary and immortalized DNA-PKcs-deficient cell lines demonstrates that the majority of differences were not consistently dependent on DNA-PK status. Similar results were obtained in experiments using KU mutant hamster cell lines, indicating heterogeneity of transcription between closely related cell lines. Our results suggest that while DNA-PK may be involved in limited gene-specific transcription, it does not play a major role in the transcriptional response to DNA damage.