REPAIRtoire - a database of DNA repair pathways

Welcome! Click here to login or here to register.
Home
Proteins
DNA damage
Diseases
Homologs
Pathways
Keywords
Publications
Draw a picture
 
Search
 
Links
Help
Contact





Bujnicki Lab Homepage

"ATM phosphorylates histone H2AX in response to DNA double-strand breaks."

Burma S, Chen BP, Murphy M, Kurimasa A, Chen DJ



Published Nov. 9, 2001 in J Biol Chem volume 276 .

Pubmed ID: 11571274

Abstract:
A very early step in the response of mammalian cells to DNA double-strand breaks is the phosphorylation of histone H2AX at serine 139 at the sites of DNA damage. Although the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases, DNA-PK (DNA-dependent protein kinase), ATM (ataxia telangiectasia mutated), and ATR (ATM and Rad3-related), have all been implicated in H2AX phosphorylation, the specific kinase involved has not yet been identified. To definitively identify the specific kinase(s) that phosphorylates H2AX in vivo, we have utilized DNA-PKcs-/- and Atm-/- cell lines and mouse embryonic fibroblasts. We find that H2AX phosphorylation and nuclear focus formation are normal in DNA-PKcs-/- cells and severely compromised in Atm-/- cells. We also find that ATM can phosphorylate H2AX in vitro and that ectopic expression of ATM in Atm-/- fibroblasts restores H2AX phosphorylation in vivo. The minimal H2AX phosphorylation in Atm-/- fibroblasts can be abolished by low concentrations of wortmannin suggesting that DNA-PK, rather than ATR, is responsible for low levels of H2AX phosphorylation in the absence of ATM. Our results clearly establish ATM as the major kinase involved in the phosphorylation of H2AX and suggest that ATM is one of the earliest kinases to be activated in the cellular response to double-strand breaks.


This publication refers to following REPAIRtoire entries:

Proteins


Last modification of this entry: Oct. 6, 2010

Add your own comment!

There is no comment yet.
Welcome stranger! Click here to login or here to register.
Valid HTML 4.01! This site is Emacs powered. Made with Django.