DYRK2 maintains genome stability via neddylation of cullins in response to DNA damage

Neural precursor cell-expressed developmentally down-regulated 8 (NEDD8), an ubiquitin-like protein, is an essential regulator of the DNA damage response. Numerous studies have shown that neddylation (conjugation of NEDD8 to target proteins) dysfunction causes several human diseases, such as cancer. Hence clarifying the regulatory mechanism of neddylation could provide insight into the mechanism of genome stability underlying the DNA damage response (DDR) and carcinogenesis. Here, we demonstrate that dual-specificity tyrosine-regulated kinase 2 (DYRK2) is a novel regulator of neddylation and maintains genome stability. Deletion of DYRK2 leads to persistent DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and subsequent genome instability. Mechanistically, DYRK2 promotes neddylation through forming a complex with NAE1, which is a component of NEDD8-activating enzyme E1, and maintaining its protein level by suppressing polyubiquitylation. The present study is the first to demonstrate that DYRK2 controls neddylation and is necessary for maintaining genome stability. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.