CREB-binding protein regulates Ku70 acetylation in response to ionization radiation in neuroblastoma

Ku70 was originally described as an autoantigen, but it also functions as a DNA repair protein in the nucleus and as an antiapoptotic protein by binding to Bax in the cytoplasm, blocking Bax-mediated cell death. In neuroblastoma (NB) cells, Ku70's binding with Bax is regulated by Ku70 acetylation such that increasing Ku70 acetylation results in Bax release, triggering cell death. Although regulating cytoplasmic Ku70 acetylation is important for cell survival, the role of nuclear Ku70 acetylation in DNA repair is unclear. Here, we showed that Ku70 acetylation in the nucleus is regulated by the CREB-binding protein (CBP), and that Ku70 acetylation plays an important role in DNA repair in NB cells. We treated NB cells with ionization radiation and measured DNA repair activity as well as Ku70 acetylation status. Cytoplasmic and nuclear Ku70 were acetylated after ionization radiation in NB cells. Interestingly, cytoplasmic Ku70 was redistributed to the nucleus following irradiation. Depleting CBP in NB cells results in reducing Ku70 acetylation and enhancing DNA repair activity in NB cells, suggesting nuclear Ku70 acetylation may have an inhibitory role in DNA repair. These results provide support for the hypothesis that enhancing Ku70 acetylation, through deacetylase inhibition, may potentiate the effect of ionization radiation in NB cells.