The C-terminal 20 Amino Acids of Drosophila Topoisomerase 2 Are Required for Binding to a BRCA1 C Terminus (BRCT) Domain-containing Protein, Mus101, and Fidelity of DNA Segregation

Eukaryotic topoisomerase 2 (Top2) and one of its interacting partners, topoisomerase IIβ binding protein 1 (TopBP1) are two proteins performing essential cellular functions. We mapped the interacting domains of these two proteins using co-immunoprecipitation and pulldown experiments with truncated or mutant Drosophila Top2 with various Ser-to-Ala substitutions. We discovered that the last 20 amino acids of Top2 represent the key region for binding with Mus101 (the Drosophila homolog of TopBP1) and that phosphorylation of Ser-1428 and Ser-1443 is important for Top2 to interact with the N terminus of Mus101, which contains the BRCT1/2 domains. The interaction between Mus101 and the Top2 C-terminal regulatory domain is phosphorylation-dependent because treatment with phosphatase abolishes their association in pulldown assays. The binding affinity of N-terminal Mus101 with a synthetic phosphorylated peptide spanning the last 25 amino acids of Top2 (with Ser(P)-1428 and Ser(P)-1443) was determined by surface plasmon resonance with a Kd of 0.57 μm In an in vitro decatenation assay, Mus101 can specifically reduce the decatenation activity of Top2, and dephosphorylation of Top2 attenuates this response. Next, we endeavored to establish a cellular system for testing the biological function of Top2-Mus101 interaction. Top2-silenced S2 cells rescued by Top2Δ20, Top2 with 20 amino acids truncated from the C terminus, developed abnormally high chromosome numbers, which implies that Top2-Mus101 interaction is important for maintaining the fidelity of chromosome segregation during mitosis.