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Lucio Comai
Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States of America

Faculty Member: CELL BIOLOGY > Control of gene expression [ since 25 July 2001 ]
[ Biography ] [ Homepage ] [ Evaluations ]
Biography

Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis. Postdoctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley. Currently Associate Professor, Institute for Genetic Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California.
Research topics: 1. RNA polymerase I transcription and nucleolar function; 2. Molecular basis of human aging with special emphasis on two premature aging diseases, Werner's syndrome and Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome.

Home page

http://www.usc.edu/schools/medicine/research/institutes/igm/face.php?C=comai

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Evaluations

Epigenetic control of rDNA loci in response to intracellular energy status.
Murayama A, Ohmori K, …, Shimizu T, Yanagisawa J
Cell 2008 May 16 133(4):627-39 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 25 Jun 2008

RNA Interference Guides Histone Modification during the S Phase of Chromosomal Replication.
Kloc A, Zaratiegui M, Nora E, Martienssen R
Curr Biol 2008 Apr 8 18(7):490-5 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 16 May 2008

Cell cycle control of centromeric repeat transcription and heterochromatin assembly.
Chen ES, Zhang K, …, Zofall M, Grewal SI
Nature 2008 Feb 7 451(7179):734-7 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Joel Huberman / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 16 May 2008

A chemical method for fast and sensitive detection of DNA synthesis in vivo.
Salic A, Mitchison TJ
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2008 Feb 19 105(7):2415-20 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Andy Groves / Fritz Eckstein / Ken Irvine / Stephen Kearsey / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 16 May 2008

Transcriptional repression mediated by repositioning of genes to the nuclear lamina.
Reddy KL, Zullo JM, Bertolino E, Singh H
Nature 2008 Mar 13 452(7184):243-7 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Peter Scambler / Lucio Comai / Deborah Andrew
Evaluated 18 Mar 2008

Concurrent fast and slow cycling of a transcriptional activator at an endogenous promoter.
Karpova TS, Kim MJ, …, Heliot L, McNally JG
Science 2008 Jan 25 319(5862):466-9 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai / Hiten Madhani
Evaluated 11 Feb 2008

Ctp1 is a cell-cycle-regulated protein that functions with Mre11 complex to control double-strand break repair by homologous recombination.
Limbo O, Chahwan C, …, Wittenberg C, Russell P
Mol Cell 2007 Oct 12 28(1):134-46 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Stephen Jackson / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 23 Nov 2007

Human CtIP promotes DNA end resection.
Sartori AA, Lukas C, …, Lukas J, Jackson SP
Nature 2007 Nov 22 450(7169):509-14 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 23 Nov 2007

Ku suppresses formation of telomeric circles and alternative telomere lengthening in Arabidopsis.
Zellinger B, Akimcheva S, …, Schirato M, Riha K
Mol Cell 2007 Jul 6 27(1):163-9 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 17 Sep 2007

Antitumour drugs impede DNA uncoiling by topoisomerase I.
Koster DA, Palle K, …, Bjornsti MA, Dekker NH
Nature 2007 Jul 12 448(7150):213-7 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 26 Jul 2007

Deficiencies in DNA damage repair limit the function of haematopoietic stem cells with age.
Rossi DJ, Bryder D, …, Hoeijmakers J, Weissman IL
Nature 2007 Jun 7 447(7145):725-9 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai / Guy Laurent
Evaluated 4 Jul 2007

Distinct faces of the Ku heterodimer mediate DNA repair and telomeric functions.
Ribes-Zamora A, Mihalek I, Lichtarge O, Bertuch AA
Nat Struct Mol Biol 2007 Apr 14(4):301-7 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 24 Apr 2007

RNA polymerase I in yeast transcribes dynamic nucleosomal rDNA.
Jones HS, Kawauchi J, …, Kent NA, Proudfoot NJ
Nat Struct Mol Biol 2007 Feb 14(2):123-30 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 22 Mar 2007

Variability and memory of protein levels in human cells.
Sigal A, Milo R, …, Perzov N, Alon U
Nature 2006 Nov 30 444(7119):643-6 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Rong Li / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 5 Jan 2007

Oncogene-induced senescence is part of the tumorigenesis barrier imposed by DNA damage checkpoints.
Bartkova J, Rezaei N, …, Bartek J, Gorgoulis VG
Nature 2006 Nov 30 444(7119):633-7 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Michael B. Yaffe / John Lazo / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 5 Jan 2007

Oncogene-induced senescence is a DNA damage response triggered by DNA hyper-replication.
Di Micco R, Fumagalli M, …, Pelicci PG, d'Adda di Fagagna F
Nature 2006 Nov 30 444(7119):638-42 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Peter Wipf / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 5 Jan 2007

Age-dependent usage of double-strand-break repair pathways.
Preston CR, Flores C, Engels WR
Curr Biol 2006 Oct 24 16(20):2009-15 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 14 Nov 2006

Escherichia coli induces DNA double-strand breaks in eukaryotic cells.
Nougayrède JP, Homburg S, …, Dobrindt U, Oswald E
Science 2006 Aug 11 313(5788):848-51 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Ilan Rosenshine / Christoph Dehio / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 5 Sep 2006


Intergenic transcripts regulate the epigenetic state of rRNA genes.
Mayer C, Schmitz KM, …, Grummt I, Santoro R
Mol Cell 2006 May 5 22(3):351-61 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 14 Jun 2006

Nuclear pore components are involved in the transcriptional regulation of dosage compensation in Drosophila.
Mendjan S, Taipale M, …, Saumweber H, Akhtar A
Mol Cell 2006 Mar 17 21(6):811-23 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai / Susan Wente
Evaluated 3 May 2006

A wiring of the human nucleolus.
Hinsby AM, Kiemer L, …, Mann M, Brunak S
Mol Cell 2006 Apr 21 22(2):285-95 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 27 Apr 2006

Cernunnos, a novel nonhomologous end-joining factor, is mutated in human immunodeficiency with microcephaly.
Buck D, Malivert L, …, de Villartay JP, Revy P
Cell 2006 Jan 27 124(2):287-99 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai / Michael Lieber
Evaluated 7 Feb 2006

XLF interacts with the XRCC4-DNA ligase IV complex to promote DNA nonhomologous end-joining.
Ahnesorg P, Smith P, Jackson SP
Cell 2006 Jan 27 124(2):301-13 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai / Michael Lieber
Evaluated 7 Feb 2006

Ku70, a component of DNA-dependent protein kinase, is a mammalian receptor for Rickettsia conorii.
Martinez JJ, Seveau S, …, Matsuyama S, Cossart P
Cell 2005 Dec 16 123(6):1013-23 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Dominique Soldati / Lucio Comai / Tracy Palmer / Rino Rappuoli
Evaluated 4 Jan 2006

Cytokinesis failure generating tetraploids promotes tumorigenesis in p53-null cells.
Fujiwara T, Bandi M, …, Bronson RT, Pellman D
Nature 2005 Oct 13 437(7061):1043-7 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Tom Misteli / Stephen Doxsey / Domenico Grieco / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 1 Nov 2005

Chromosome nondisjunction yields tetraploid rather than aneuploid cells in human cell lines.
Shi Q, King RW
Nature 2005 Oct 13 437(7061):1038-42 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai / Domenico Grieco / Thomas Ried
Evaluated 28 Oct 2005

Rev1 employs a novel mechanism of DNA synthesis using a protein template.
Nair DT, Johnson RE, …, Prakash S, Aggarwal AK
Science 2005 Sep 30 309(5744):2219-22 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Fred Dyda / Larry McLaughlin / Martin Egli / Lucio Comai / Barry Stoddard
Evaluated 21 Oct 2005

Accumulation of Werner protein at DNA double-strand breaks in human cells.
Lan L, Nakajima S, …, Oshima J, Yasui A
J Cell Sci 2005 Sep 15 118(Pt 18):4153-62 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 12 Sep 2005

The DNA damage pathway regulates innate immune system ligands of the NKG2D receptor.
Gasser S, Orsulic S, Brown EJ, Raulet DH
Nature 2005 Aug 25 436(7054):1186-90 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Lewis Lanier / Lucio Comai / Guy Laurent / Mark Smyth / John Abrams / Lutz Walter
Evaluated 18 Jul 2005

c-Myc-regulated microRNAs modulate E2F1 expression.
O'Donnell KA, Wentzel EA, …, Dang CV, Mendell JT
Nature 2005 Jun 9 435(7043):839-43 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai / Miles Wilkinson
Evaluated 14 Jun 2005

c-Myc associates with ribosomal DNA and activates RNA polymerase I transcription.
Arabi A, Wu S, …, Larsson LG, Wright AP
Nat Cell Biol 2005 Mar 7(3):303-10 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 29 Mar 2005

c-Myc binds to human ribosomal DNA and stimulates transcription of rRNA genes by RNA polymerase I.
Grandori C, Gomez-Roman N, …, Eisenman RN, White RJ
Nat Cell Biol 2005 Mar 7(3):311-8 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Jonathan R. Warner / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 29 Mar 2005

Myc-dependent regulation of ribosomal RNA synthesis during Drosophila development.
Grewal SS, Li L, …, Eisenman RN, Edgar BA
Nat Cell Biol 2005 Mar 7(3):295-302 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 24 Mar 2005

Plant nuclear RNA polymerase IV mediates siRNA and DNA methylation-dependent heterochromatin formation.
Onodera Y, Haag JR, …, Pontes O, Pikaard CS
Cell 2005 Mar 11 120(5):613-22 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Daniel Reines / Frank Lyko / Sui Huang / Lucio Comai / Vivian Irish / Motoaki Seki
Evaluated 24 Mar 2005

Human telomeric protein TRF2 associates with genomic double-strand breaks as an early response to DNA damage.
Bradshaw PS, Stavropoulos DJ, Meyn MS
Nat Genet 2005 Feb 37(2):193-7 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 3 Feb 2005

UBF-binding site arrays form pseudo-NORs and sequester the RNA polymerase I transcription machinery.
Mais C, Wright JE, …, Raggett SL, McStay B
Genes Dev 2005 Jan 1 19(1):50-64 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 4 Jan 2005

RNA polymerase I remains intact without subunit exchange through multiple rounds of transcription in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Schneider DA, Nomura M
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2004 Oct 19 101(42):15112-7 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Daniel Reines / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 9 Nov 2004

Upstream binding factor association induces large-scale chromatin decondensation.
Chen D, Belmont AS, Huang S
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2004 Oct 19 101(42):15106-11 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 3 Nov 2004

Direct charging of tRNA(CUA) with pyrrolysine in vitro and in vivo.
Blight SK, Larue RC, …, Chan MK, Krzycki JA
Nature 2004 Sep 16 431(7006):333-5 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 1 Oct 2004

Abnormal cytokinesis in cells deficient in the breast cancer susceptibility protein BRCA2.
Daniels MJ, Wang Y, Lee M, Venkitaraman AR
Science 2004 Oct 29 306(5697):876-9 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Lucio Comai / Mohan Balasubramanian
Evaluated 30 Sep 2004

The CBP/p300 TAZ1 domain in its native state is not a binding partner of MDM2.
Matt T, Martinez-Yamout MA, Dyson HJ, Wright PE
Biochem J 2004 Aug 1 381(Pt 3):685-91 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Esther Bullitt / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 11 Aug 2004

Polyadenylation of rRNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Kuai L, Fang F, Butler JS, Sherman F
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2004 Jun 8 101(23):8581-6 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 9 Aug 2004

Transcriptional disruption by the L1 retrotransposon and implications for mammalian transcriptomes.
Han JS, Szak ST, Boeke JD
Nature 2004 May 20 429(6989):268-74 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai / Ian Dunham / Ulf Pettersson
Evaluated 28 May 2004

Normal telomere erosion rates at the single cell level in Werner syndrome fibroblast cells.
Baird DM, Davis T, …, Jones CJ, Kipling D
Hum Mol Genet 2004 Jul 15 13(14):1515-24 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 28 May 2004

Modulation of mammalian life span by the short isoform of p53.
Maier B, Gluba W, …, Thorner M, Scrable H
Genes Dev 2004 Feb 1 18(3):306-19 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 26 May 2004

Simian virus 40 large T antigen targets the spindle assembly checkpoint protein Bub1.
Cotsiki M, Lock RL, …, Jat PS, Gjoerup OV
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2004 Jan 27 101(4):947-52 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 28 Apr 2004

Transcriptional termination by RNA polymerase I requires the small subunit Rpa12p.
Prescott EM, Osheim YN, …, Beyer AL, Proudfoot NJ
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2004 Apr 20 101(16):6068-73 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 28 Apr 2004

mTOR-dependent activation of the transcription factor TIF-IA links rRNA synthesis to nutrient availability.
Mayer C, Zhao J, Yuan X, Grummt I
Genes Dev 2004 Feb 15 18(4):423-34 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 12 Mar 2004

The Bloom's syndrome helicase suppresses crossing over during homologous recombination.
Wu L, Hickson ID
Nature 2003 Dec 18 426(6968):870-4 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai / Steven Brill
Evaluated 15 Jan 2004

Disruption of the nucleolus mediates stabilization of p53 in response to DNA damage and other stresses.
Rubbi CP, Milner J
EMBO J 2003 Nov 17 22(22):6068-77 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Jonathan R. Warner / Lucio Comai / Christoph Borner
Evaluated 13 Jan 2004

Chromatin-mediated regulation of nucleolar structure and RNA Pol I localization by TOR.
Tsang CK, Bertram PG, …, Drenan R, Zheng XF
EMBO J 2003 Nov 17 22(22):6045-56 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 26 Nov 2003

Histone H2AX: a dosage-dependent suppressor of oncogenic translocations and tumors.
Bassing CH, Suh H, …, Lee C, Alt FW
Cell 2003 Aug 8 114(3):359-70 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 8 Sep 2003

H2AX haploinsufficiency modifies genomic stability and tumor susceptibility.
Celeste A, Difilippantonio S, …, Bonner WM, Nussenzweig A
Cell 2003 Aug 8 114(3):371-83 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 8 Sep 2003

FACT facilitates transcription-dependent nucleosome alteration.
Belotserkovskaya R, Oh S, …, Studitsky VM, Reinberg D
Science 2003 Aug 22 301(5636):1090-3 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Michael Meisterernst / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 8 Sep 2003

Werner syndrome protein limits MYC-induced cellular senescence.
Grandori C, Wu KJ, …, Dalla-Favera R, Monnat RJ
Genes Dev 2003 Jul 1 17(13):1569-74 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 24 Jul 2003

Structure of the replicative helicase of the oncoprotein SV40 large tumour antigen.
Li D, Zhao R, …, Szakonyi G, Chen XS
Nature 2003 May 29 423(6939):512-8 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 13 Jun 2003

In exponentially growing Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells, rRNA synthesis is determined by the summed RNA polymerase I loading rate rather than by the number of active genes.
French SL, Osheim YN, …, Nomura M, Beyer AL
Mol Cell Biol 2003 Mar 23(5):1558-68 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Jonathan R. Warner / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 4 Apr 2003

RNA polymerase I propagates unidirectional spreading of rDNA silent chromatin.
Buck SW, Sandmeier JJ, Smith JS
Cell 2002 Dec 27 111(7):1003-14 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [order article]
Selected by | Pamela Geyer / Lucio Comai / Thomas Jenuwein
Evaluated 20 Jan 2003

A nucleolar mechanism controlling cell proliferation in stem cells and cancer cells.
Tsai RY, McKay RD
Genes Dev 2002 Dec 1 16(23):2991-3003 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Brent Cochran / Martine Roussel / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 20 Jan 2003

Hmo1, an HMG-box protein, belongs to the yeast ribosomal DNA transcription system.
Gadal O, Labarre S, Boschiero C, Thuriaux P
EMBO J 2002 Oct 15 21(20):5498-507 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 12 Nov 2002

Identification of a DNA nonhomologous end-joining complex in bacteria.
Weller GR, Kysela B, …, Jackson SP, Doherty AJ
Science 2002 Sep 6 297(5587):1686-9 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [FREE full text]
Selected by | Martin Marinus / Jonathan A. Eisen / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 1 Oct 2002

Release of chromatin protein HMGB1 by necrotic cells triggers inflammation.
Scaffidi P, Misteli T, Bianchi ME
Nature 2002 Jul 11 418(6894):191-5 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Peter B. Becker / Lucio Comai
Evaluated 30 Aug 2002

Dynamics of ATP-dependent chromatin assembly by ACF.
Fyodorov DV, Kadonaga JT
Nature 2002 Aug 22 418(6900):897-900 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [full text] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio Comai
Evaluated 30 Aug 2002

The histone variant H3.3 marks active chromatin by replication-independent nucleosome assembly.
Ahmad K, Henikoff S
Mol Cell 2002 Jun 9(6):1191-200 [abstract on PubMed] [related articles] [order article]
Selected by | Lucio