PP2ACα deficiency impairs early cortical development through inducing DNA damage in neuroprojenitor cells.

The role of protein phosphatase 2ACα (PP2ACα) in brain development is poorly understood. To understand the function of PP2ACα in neurogenesis, we inactivated Pp2acα gene in the central nervous system (CNS) of mice by Cre/LoxP system and generated the PP2ACα deficient mice (designated as the Pp2acα-/- mice). PP2ACα deletion results in DNA damage in neuroprogenitor cells (NPCs), which impairs memory formation and cortical neurogenesis. We first identify that PP2ACα can directly associate with Ataxia telangiectasia mutant kinase (ATM) and Ataxia telangiectasia/Rad3-related kinase (ATR) in neocortex and NPCs. Importantly, the P53 and hypermethylated in cancer 1 (HIC1) function complex, the newly found down-stream executor of the ATR/ATM cascade, will be translocated into nuclei and interact with homeodomain interacting protein kinase 2 (HIPK2) to respond to DNA damage. Notably, HICI plays a direct transcriptional regulatory role in HIPK2 gene expression. The interplay among P53, HIC1 and HIPK2 maintains DNA stability in neuroprogenitor cells. Taken together, our findings highlight a new role of PP2ACα in regulating early neurogenesis through maintaining DNA stability in neuroprogenitor cells. The P53/HIC/HIPK2 regulation loop, directly targeted by the ATR/ATM cascade, is involved in DNA repair in neuroprogenitor cells.