Post-Translational Regulation of the RSF1 Chromatin Remodeler under DNA Damage

Chromatin remodeling factors are involved in many cellular processes such as transcription, replication, and DNA damage response by regulating chromatin structure. As one of chromatin remodeling factors, remodeling and spacing factor 1 (RSF1) is recruited at double strand break (DSB) sites and regulates ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) -dependent checkpoint pathway upon DNA damage for the efficient repair. RSF1 is overexpressed in a variety of cancers, but regulation of RSF1 levels remains largely unknown. Here, we showed that protein levels of RSF1 chromatin remodeler are temporally upregulated in response to different DNA damage agents without changing the RSF1 mRNA level. In the absence of SNF2h, a binding partner of RSF1, the RSF1 protein level was significantly diminished. Intriguingly, the level of RSF1-3SA mutant lacking ATM-mediated phosphorylation sites significantly increased, and upregulation of RSF1 levels under DNA damage was not observed in cells overexpressing ATM kinase. Furthermore, failure in the regulation of RSF1 level caused a significant reduction in DNA repair, whereas reconstitution of RSF1, but not of RSF1-3SA mutants, restored DSB repair. Our findings reveal that temporal regulation of RSF1 levels at its post-translational modification by SNF2h and ATM is essential for efficient DNA repair.