Ku is a dimeric protein complex that binds to DNA double-strand break

ends End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: **End (category theory) **End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron football) ...

and is required for the

non-homologous end joining Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) is a pathway that repairs double-strand breaks in DNA. NHEJ is referred to as "non-homologous" because the break ends are directly ligated without the need for a homologous template, in contrast to homology direct ...

(NHEJ) pathway of

DNA repair DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as radiation can cause DNA dam ...

. Ku is evolutionarily conserved from bacteria to humans. The ancestral bacterial Ku is a homodimer (two copies of the same protein bound to each other). Eukaryotic Ku is a

heterodimer In biochemistry, a protein dimer is a macromolecular complex formed by two protein monomers, or single proteins, which are usually non-covalently bound. Many macromolecules, such as proteins or nucleic acids, form dimers. The word ''dimer'' has ...

of two polypeptides, Ku70 (XRCC6) and Ku80 (XRCC5), so named because the

molecular weight A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioch ...

of the human Ku proteins is around 70 kDa and 80 kDa. The two Ku subunits form a basket-shaped structure that threads onto the

DNA end DNA ends refer to the properties of the ends of linear DNA molecules, which in molecular biology are described as "sticky" or "blunt" based on the shape of the complementary strands at the terminus. In sticky ends, one strand is longer than the ...

. Once bound, Ku can slide down the DNA strand, allowing more Ku molecules to thread onto the end. In higher eukaryotes, Ku forms a complex with the DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) to form the full DNA-dependent protein kinase, DNA-PK. Ku is thought to function as a molecular scaffold to which other proteins involved in NHEJ can bind, orienting the double-strand break for ligation. The Ku70 and Ku80 proteins consist of three structural domains. The

N-terminal The N-terminus (also known as the amino-terminus, NH2-terminus, N-terminal end or amine-terminus) is the start of a protein or polypeptide, referring to the free amine group (-NH2) located at the end of a polypeptide. Within a peptide, the ami ...

domain is an

alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whic ...

/beta domain. This domain only makes a small contribution to the dimer interface. The domain comprises a six-stranded

beta sheet The beta sheet, (β-sheet) (also β-pleated sheet) is a common motif of the regular protein secondary structure. Beta sheets consist of beta strands (β-strands) connected laterally by at least two or three backbone hydrogen bonds, forming a g ...

of the Rossmann fold. The central domain of Ku70 and Ku80 is a DNA-binding beta-barrel domain. Ku makes only a few contacts with the sugar-phosphate backbone, and none with the

DNA bases Nucleobases, also known as ''nitrogenous bases'' or often simply ''bases'', are nitrogen-containing biological compounds that form nucleosides, which, in turn, are components of nucleotides, with all of these monomers constituting the basic b ...

, but it fits

sterically Steric effects arise from the spatial arrangement of atoms. When atoms come close together there is a rise in the energy of the molecule. Steric effects are nonbonding interactions that influence the shape ( conformation) and reactivity of ions ...

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and

minor groove Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory * Minor chord ** Bar ...

contours forming a ring that encircles duplex DNA, cradling two full turns of the DNA molecule. By forming a bridge between the broken DNA ends, Ku acts to

structurally A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

support and align the DNA ends, to protect them from degradation, and to prevent promiscuous binding to unbroken DNA. Ku effectively aligns the DNA, while still allowing access of polymerases,

nuclease A nuclease (also archaically known as nucleodepolymerase or polynucleotidase) is an enzyme capable of cleaving the phosphodiester bonds between nucleotides of nucleic acids. Nucleases variously effect single and double stranded breaks in their ta ...

s and

ligases In biochemistry, a ligase is an enzyme that can catalyze the joining (ligation) of two large molecules by forming a new chemical bond. This is typically via hydrolysis of a small pendant chemical group on one of the larger molecules or the enzym ...

to the broken DNA ends to promote end joining. The C-terminal arm is an alpha helical region which embraces the central beta-barrel domain of the opposite

subunit Subunit may refer to: *Subunit HIV vaccine, a class of HIV vaccine *Protein subunit, a protein molecule that assembles with other protein molecules *Monomer, a molecule that may bind chemically to other molecules to form a polymer *Sub-subunit, a ...

. In some cases a fourth domain is present at the C-terminus, which binds to DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit. Both subunits of Ku have been experimentally knocked out in mice. These mice exhibit

chromosomal instability Chromosomal instability (CIN) is a type of genome instability, genomic instability in which chromosomes are unstable, such that either whole chromosomes or parts of chromosomes are duplicated or deleted. More specifically, CIN refers to the increas ...

, indicating that NHEJ is important for genome maintenance. In many organisms, Ku has additional functions at

telomere A telomere (; ) is a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences associated with specialized proteins at the ends of linear chromosomes. Although there are different architectures, telomeres, in a broad sense, are a widespread genetic feature mos ...

s in addition to its role in DNA repair. Abundance of Ku80 seems to be related to species longevity.

Aging

Mutant mice defective in Ku70, or Ku80, or double mutant mice deficient in both Ku70 and Ku80 exhibit early aging. The mean lifespans of the three mutant mouse strains were similar to each other, at about 37 weeks, compared to 108 weeks for the wild-type control. Six specific signs of aging were examined, and the three mutant mice were found to display the same aging signs as the control mice, but at a much earlier age. Cancer incidence was not increased in the mutant mice. These results suggest that Ku function is important for longevity assurance and that the NHEJ pathway of DNA repair (mediated by Ku) has a key role in repairing DNA double-strand breaks that would otherwise cause early aging. (Also see DNA damage theory of aging.)

Plants

Ku70 and Ku80 have also been experimentally characterized in plants, where they appear to play a similar role to that in other eukaryotes. In rice, suppression of either protein has been shown to promote

homologous recombination Homologous recombination is a type of genetic recombination in which genetic information is exchanged between two similar or identical molecules of double-stranded or single-stranded nucleic acids (usually DNA as in cellular organisms but may ...

(HR) This effect was exploited to improve

gene targeting Gene targeting (also, replacement strategy based on homologous recombination) is a genetic technique that uses homologous recombination to modify an endogenous gene. The method can be used to delete a gene, remove exons, add a gene and modify ind ...

(GT) efficiency in ''

Arabidopsis thaliana ''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small flowering plant native to Eurasia and Africa. ''A. thaliana'' is considered a weed; it is found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land. A winter a ...

''. In the study, the frequency of HR-based GT using a

zinc-finger nuclease Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) are artificial restriction enzymes generated by fusing a zinc finger DNA-binding domain to a DNA-cleavage domain. Zinc finger domains can be engineered to target specific desired DNA sequences and this enables zinc ...

(ZFN) was increased up to sixteen times in ''ku70'' mutants This result has promising implications for genome editing across eukaryotes as DSB repair mechanisms are highly conserved. A substantial difference is that in plants, Ku is also involved in maintaining an alternate telomere morphology characterized by blunt-ends or short (≤ 3-nt) 3’ overhangs. This function is independent of the role of Ku in DSB repair, as removing the ability of the Ku complex to translocate along DNA has been shown to preserve blunt-ended telomeres while impeding DNA repair.

and archaea

Bacteria usually have only one Ku gene (if they have one at all). Unusually, ''

Mesorhizobium loti ''Mesorhizobium loti'', formerly known as ''Rhizobium loti'', is a Gram negative species of bacteria found in the root nodules of many plant species. Its name is a reference to ''Lotus corniculatus ''Lotus corniculatus'' is a flowering plan ...

'' has two, ''mlr9624'' and ''mlr9623''. Archaea usually also only have one Ku gene (for the ~4% of species that have one at all). The evolutionary history is blurred by extensive horizontal gene transfer with bacteria. Bacterial and archaeal Ku proteins are unlike their eukaryotic counterparts in that they only have the central beta-barrel domain.

Name

The name 'Ku' is derived from the surname of the Japanese patient in which it was discovered.

References

{{InterPro content, IPR014893 Protein families DNA repair Protein domains DNA-binding proteins