Relevance of Simultaneous Mono-Ubiquitinations of Multiple Units of PCNA Homo-Trimers in DNA Damage Tolerance

DNA damage tolerance (DDT) pathways, including translesion synthesis (TLS) and additional unknown mechanisms, enable recovery from replication arrest at DNA lesions. DDT pathways are regulated by post-translational modifications of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) at its K164 residue. In particular, mono-ubiquitination by the ubiquitin ligase RAD18 is crucial for Polη-mediated TLS. Although the importance of modifications of PCNA to DDT pathways is well known, the relevance of its homo-trimer form, in which three K164 residues are present in a single ring, remains to be elucidated. Here, we show that multiple units of a PCNA homo-trimer are simultaneously mono-ubiquitinated in vitro and in vivo. RAD18 catalyzed sequential mono-ubiquitinations of multiple units of a PCNA homo-trimer in a reconstituted system. Exogenous PCNA formed hetero-trimers with endogenous PCNA in WI38VA13 cell transformants. When K164R-mutated PCNA was expressed in these cells at levels that depleted endogenous PCNA homo-trimers, multiple modifications of PCNA complexes were reduced and the cells showed defects in DDT after UV irradiation. Notably, ectopic expression of mutant PCNA increased the UV sensitivities of Polη-proficient, Polη-deficient, and REV1-depleted cells, suggesting the disruption of a DDT pathway distinct from the Polη- and REV1-mediated pathways. These results suggest that simultaneous modifications of multiple units of a PCNA homo-trimer are required for a certain DDT pathway in human cells.