Human SMC5/6 complex promotes sister chromatid homologous recombination by recruiting the SMC1/3 cohesin complex to double-strand breaks EMBO JOURNAL Potts, P. R., Porteus, M. H., Yu, H. 2006; 25 (14): 3377-3388

Abstract

The structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) family of proteins has been implicated in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by homologous recombination (HR). The SMC1/3 cohesin complex is thought to promote HR by maintaining the close proximity of sister chromatids at DSBs. The SMC5/6 complex is also required for DNA repair, but the mechanism by which it accomplishes this is unclear. Here, we show that RNAi-mediated knockdown of the SMC5/6 complex components in human cells increases the efficiency of gene targeting due to a specific requirement for hSMC5/6 in sister chromatid HR. Knockdown of the hSMC5/6 complex decreases sister chromatid HR, but does not reduce nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) or intra-chromatid, homologue, or extrachromosomal HR. The hSMC5/6 complex is itself recruited to nuclease-induced DSBs and is required for the recruitment of cohesin to DSBs. Our results establish a mechanism by which the hSMC5/6 complex promotes DNA repair and suggest a novel strategy to improve the efficiency of gene targeting in mammalian somatic cells.

View details for DOI 10.1038/sj.emboj.7601218

View details for Web of Science ID 000239625900013

View details for PubMedID 16810316