The mismatch repair (MMR) family is a highly conserved group of proteins that function in correcting base-base and insertion-deletion mismatches generated during DNA replication. Disruption of this process results in characteristic microsatellite instability (MSI), repair defects, and susceptibility to cancer. However, a significant fraction of MSI-positive cancers express MMR genes at normal levels and do not carry detectable mutation in known MMR genes, suggesting that additional factors and/or mechanisms may exist to explain these MSI phenotypes in patients. To systematically investigate the MMR pathway, we conducted a proteomic analysis and identified MMR-associated protein complexes using tandem-affinity purification coupled with mass spectrometry (TAP-MS) method. The mass spectrometry data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD003014 and DOI 10.6019/PXD003014. We identified 230 high-confidence candidate interaction proteins (HCIPs). We subsequently focused on MSH2, an essential component of the MMR pathway and uncovered a novel MSH2-binding partner, WDHD1. We further demonstrated that WDHD1 forms a stable complex with MSH2 and MSH3 or MSH6,i.e.the MutS complexes. The specific MSH2/WDHD1 interaction is mediated by the second lever domain of MSH2 and Ala(1123)site of WDHD1. Moreover, we showed that, just like MSH2-deficient cells, depletion of WDHD1 also led to 6-thioguanine (6-TG) resistance, indicating that WDHD1 likely contributes to the MMR pathway. Taken together, our study uncovers new components involved in the MMR pathway, which provides candidate genes that may be responsible for the development of MSI-positive cancers.

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are the catalytic subunits of a family of mammalian heterodimeric serine/threonine kinases that play critical roles in the control of cell-cycle progression, transcription, and neuronal functions. However, the functions, substrates, and regulation of many CDKs are poorly understood. To systematically investigate these features of CDKs, we conducted a proteomic analysis of the CDK family and identified their associated protein complexes in two different cell lines using a modified SAINT (Significance Analysis of INTeractome) method. The mass spectrometry data were deposited to ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD000593 and DOI 10.6019/PXD000593. We identified 753 high-confidence candidate interaction proteins (HCIPs) in HEK293T cells and 352 HCIPs in MCF10A cells. We subsequently focused on a neuron-specific CDK, CDK5, and uncovered two novel CDK5-binding partners, KIAA0528 and fibroblast growth factor (acidic) intracellular binding protein (FIBP), in non-neuronal cells. We showed that these three proteins form a stable complex, with KIAA0528 and FIBP being required for the assembly and stability of the complex. Furthermore, CDK5-, KIAA0528-, or FIBP-depleted breast cancer cells displayed impaired proliferation and decreased migration, suggesting that this complex is required for cell growth and migration in non-neural cells. Our study uncovers new aspects of CDK functions, which provide direction for further investigation of these critical protein kinases.