Phosphorylation of p65(RelA) on Ser(547) by ATM represses NF-kappaB-dependent transcription of specific genes after genotoxic stress

The NF-kappaB pathway is involved in immune and inflammation responses, proliferation, differentiation and cell death or survival. It is activated by many external stimuli including genotoxic stress. DNA double-strand breaks activate NF-kappaB in an ATM-dependent manner. In this manuscript, a direct interaction between p65(RelA) and the N-terminal extremity of ATM is reported. We also report that only one of the five potential ATM-(S/T)Q target sites present in p65, namely Ser(547), is specifically phosphorylated by ATM in vitro. A comparative transcriptomic analysis performed in HEK-293 cells expressing either wild-type HA-p65 or a non-phosphorylatable mutant HA-p65(S547A) identified several differentially transcribed genes after an etoposide treatment (e.g. IL8, A20, SELE). The transcription of these genes is increased in cells expressing the mutant. Substitution of Ser(547) to alanine does not affect p65 binding abilities on the kappaB site of the IL8 promoter but reduces p65 interaction with HDAC1. Cells expressing p65(S547A) have a higher level of histone H3 acetylated on Lys(9) at the IL8 promoter, which is in agreement with the higher gene induction observed. These results indicate that ATM regulates a sub-set of NF-kappaB dependent genes after a genotoxic stress by direct phosphorylation of p65.