RB-dependent S-phase response to DNA damage

The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (RB) is a potent inhibitor of cell proliferation. Rb is expressed throughout the cell cycle, but its antiproliferative activity is neutralized by phosphorylation during the G₁/S transition. Rb plays an essential role in the G₁ arrest induced by a variety of growth inhibitory signals. In this report, RB is shown to also be required for an intra-S-phase response to DNA damage. Treatment with cisplatin, etoposide, or mitomycin C inhibited S-phase progression in Rb(+/+) but not in Rb(-/-) mouse embryo fibroblasts. Dephosphorylation of RB in S-phase cells temporally preceded the inhibition of DNA synthesis. This S-phase dephosphorylation of RB and subsequent inhibition of DNA replication was observed in p21(Cip1) deficient cells. The induction of the RB-dependent intra-S-phase arrest persisted for days and correlated with a protection against DNA damage-induced cell death. These results demonstrate that RB plays a protective role in response to genotoxic stress by inhibiting cell cycle progression in G₁ and in S phase.