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Query: UMLS:C0004135 (ATM)
 13,001 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Cell cycle checkpoints are activated in response to DNA-damage to ensure that accurate copies of the cellular genome are passed on to the next generation and to avoid replication and segregation of damaged DNA. These cellular control systems can be overcome by combining conventional DNA-damaging agents with compounds that target the cell cycle regulatory pathways, to enhance cytotoxicity. Tumor cells often comprise a corrupted G(1) cell cycle checkpoint while the G(2) cell cycle checkpoint is still intact. This review describes the concept of G(2) checkpoint abrogation with recognized (methylxanthines, UCN-01) and novel G(2) checkpoint abrogators to potentiate the cytotoxicity of DNA-damaging drugs and ionizing radiation. It illustrates the potential of G(2) checkpoint abrogators to preferentially sensitize p53-mutated, treatment resistant tumor cells for genotoxic treatment. Identification of the targets of caffeine and UCN-01 to be key-players of the G(2) checkpoint (ATM/ATR and Chk1, respectively) promoted the search for novel inhibitors of this checkpoint. Even though a direct causal link between G(2) checkpoint abrogation and chemo-/radiosensitization is difficult to prove the multitude of these novel compounds validate that inhibition of critical elements of the G(2) checkpoint (ATM/ATR-Chk1/Chk2-CDC25C-cascade) potentiates the cytotoxicity of DNA-damaging agents.
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PMID:Potentiation of DNA-damage-induced cytotoxicity by G2 checkpoint abrogators. 1267 13

Eukaryotic cells control the initiation of DNA replication so that origins that have fired once in S phase do not fire a second time within the same cell cycle. Failure to exert this control leads to genetic instability. Here we investigate how rereplication is prevented in normal mammalian cells and how these mechanisms might be overcome during tumor progression. Overexpression of the replication initiation factors Cdt1 and Cdc6 along with cyclin A-cdk2 promotes rereplication in human cancer cells with inactive p53 but not in cells with functional p53. A subset of origins distributed throughout the genome refire within 2-4 hr of the first cycle of replication. Induction of rereplication activates p53 through the ATM/ATR/Chk2 DNA damage checkpoint pathways. p53 inhibits rereplication through the induction of the cdk2 inhibitor p21. Therefore, a p53-dependent checkpoint pathway is activated to suppress rereplication and promote genetic stability.
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PMID:A p53-dependent checkpoint pathway prevents rereplication. 1271 85

Topoisomerase inhibitors are among the most efficient inducers of apoptosis. The main pathways leading from topoisomerase-mediated DNA damage to cell death involve activation of caspases in the cytoplasm by proapoptotic molecules released from mitochondria. In some cells, apoptotic response also involves the death receptor Fas (APO-1/CD95). The engagement of these apoptotic effector pathways is tightly controlled by upstream regulatory pathways that respond to DNA lesions-induced by topoisomerase inhibitors in cells undergoing apoptosis. These include the proapoptotic Chk2, c-Abl and SAPK/JNK pathways, the survival PI(3)kinase-Akt-dependent pathway and the transcription factors p53 and NF-kappaB. Initiation of cellular responses to DNA lesions-induced by topoisomerase inhibitors is ensured by the protein kinases DNA-PK, ATM and ATR, which bind to DNA breaks. These kinases commonly called "DNA sensors" mediate their effects (DNA repair, cell cycle arrest and/or apoptosis) by phosphorylating a large number of substrates, including several downstream kinases such as c-Abl and the checkpoint protein Chk2. c-Abl induces apoptosis by activating cell death pathways (e.g., SAPK, p53 and p73) and inhibiting cell survival pathways [e.g., PI(3)kinase]. The DNA-damage regulating kinase Chk2, in addition to its role in cell cycle arrest and/or DNA repair, can induce apoptosis by phosphorylation/activation of the promyelocytic leukemia (PML) protein and p53. Finally, we will review the recent observations that support a role for topoisomerases in chromatin fragmentation during the execution phase of apoptosis.
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PMID:Apoptosis induced by topoisomerase inhibitors. 1276 73

BRCA1 is a central component of the DNA damage response mechanism and defects in BRCA1 confer sensitivity to a broad range of DNA damaging agents. BRCA1 is required for homologous recombination and DNA damage-induced S and G(2)/M phase arrest. We show here that BRCA1 is required for ATM- and ATR-dependent phosphorylation of p53, c-Jun, Nbs1 and Chk2 following exposure to ionizing or ultraviolet radiation, respectively, and is also required for ATM phosphorylation of CtIP. In contrast, DNA damage-induced phosphorylation of the histone variant H2AX is independent of BRCA1. We also show that the presence of BRCA1 is dispensable for DNA damage-induced phosphorylation of Rad9, Hus1 and Rad17, and for the relocalization of Rad9 and Hus1. We propose that BRCA1 facilitates the ability of ATM and ATR to phosphorylate downstream substrates that directly influence cell cycle checkpoint arrest and apoptosis, but that BRCA1 is dispensable for the phosphorylation of DNA-associated ATM and ATR substrates.
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PMID:A subset of ATM- and ATR-dependent phosphorylation events requires the BRCA1 protein. 1277

Chk2 is a serine/threonine protein kinase found mutated in certain hereditary and sporadic cancers. Ionizing radiation (IR) activates the kinase activity of Chk2 in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. ATM phosphorylates Chk2 on threonine 68, which promotes oligomerization and phosphorylation on threonines 383 and 387 within the activation loop of the catalytic domain. In this study, threonines 68, 383, and 387 were confirmed as sites of Chk2 phosphorylation both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, serine 516 was identified as a novel IR-inducible phosphorylation site in vivo and as a site of autophosphorylation in vitro. Interestingly, Chk2 was capable of autoactivation in the absence of IR when overproduced in bacteria, in 293 cells, and in murine embryonic fibroblasts lacking Chk2. A kinase-inactive mutant of Chk2 was phosphorylated on T68 and T383/T387 but not on S516 in cells containing Chk2 and on T68 but not T383/T387 or S516 in cells lacking Chk2. This establishes a dependency on Chk2 kinase activity for phosphorylation of T383/T387 and S516 but not for T68 in vivo. We demonstrate that T68 phosphorylation is regulated by kinases in addition to ATM and Chk2. Taken together, our data indicate that autophosphorylation of Chk2 can occur both in cis and in trans and suggest that oligomerization may regulate Chk2 activation by promoting these cis- and trans-phosphorylation events. The importance of oligomerization is underscored by the observation that substitution of isoleucine for threonine at position 157, a mutation found in a subset of patients with Li-Fraumeni syndrome, impairs both Chk2 oligomerization and autophosphorylation.
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PMID:Regulation of the Chk2 protein kinase by oligomerization-mediated cis- and trans-phosphorylation. 1280 7

Cell cycle checkpoints play a central role in genomic stability. The human DNA topoisomerase II-binding protein 1 (TopBP1) protein contains eight BRCA1 COOH terminus motifs and shares similarities with Cut5, a yeast checkpoint Rad protein. TopBP1 also shares many features with BRCA1. We report that, when expression of TopBP1 protein is inhibited in BRCA1 mutant cells, mimicking a TopBP1, BRCA1 double-negative condition, the G(2)-M checkpoint is strongly abrogated and apoptosis is increased after ionizing radiation. However, a BRCA1-negative or a TopBP1-negative background resulted in only partial abrogation of the G(2)-M checkpoint. The BRCA1 mutant and TopBP1-reduced condition specifically destroys regulation of the Chk1 kinase but not the Chk2 kinase, suggesting involvement in the ataxia telangiectasia-related pathway. These results indicate that both TopBP1 and BRCA1 specifically regulate the G(2)-M checkpoint, partially compensating each function.
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PMID:Both DNA topoisomerase II-binding protein 1 and BRCA1 regulate the G2-M cell cycle checkpoint. 1281 Jun 25

DNA damage is a key initiator of neuronal death. We have previously shown that the tumor suppressor p53, in conjunction with cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), regulates the mitochondrial pathway of death in neurons exposed to genotoxic agents. However, the mechanisms by which p53 is regulated is unclear. Presently, we show that p53 is phosphorylated on Ser-15 following DNA damage and this occurs independently of the CDK pathway. Instead, we show that p53 phosphorylation, stability, as well as neuronal death is regulated, in part, by the ataxia telangiectasia-mutated (ATM) protein. Previous reports have suggested that ATM regulation of p53 occurs through Chk2. However, in our present paradigms, we show that ATM functions separately from Chk2 to regulate p53 stability and neuronal death. Chk2 deficiency does not affect p53 stability or neuronal death induced by Topoisomerase I or II inhibition. Taken together, our results provide a model by which DNA damage can activate an ATM-dependent, Chk2-independent pathway of p53-mediated neuronal death.
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PMID:Ataxia telangiectasia-mutated protein can regulate p53 and neuronal death independent of Chk2 in response to DNA damage. 1285 58

The telomerase complex is responsible for telomere maintenance and represents a promising neoplasia therapeutic target. In order to determine whether G-quadruplex-interactive telomerase inhibitor, telomestatin (SOT-095), might have effects on telomere dynamics and to evaluate the clinical utility, we assessed the effects of telomestatin on BCR-ABL-positive human leukemia cells. We found that treatment with telomestatin reproducibly inhibited telomerase activity in the BCR-ABL-positive leukemic cell lines OM9;22 and K562, resulting in telomere shortening. Inhibition of telomerase activity by telomestatin disrupts telomere maintenance and ultimately results in telomere dysfunction. Telomestatin completely suppressed the plating efficiency of K562 cells at 1 microM; however, telomestatin had less effects on BFU-Es and CFU-GMs colony formation from normal bone marrow CD34-positive cells. Enhanced chemosensitivity toward imatinib and chemotherapeutic agents was also observed in telomestatin-treated K562 cells. Further, the combination of telomestatin plus imatinib more effectively inhibited hematopoietic colony formation by primary human chronic myelogenous leukemia cells. Last, telomestatin induced the activation of ATM and Chk2, and subsequently increased the expression of p21(CIP1) and p27(KIP1). These results demonstrate that telomere dysfunction induced by telomestatin activates the ATM-dependent DNA damage response. We conclude that telomerase inhibitors combined with the use of imatinib and other chemotherapeutic agents may be very useful for the treatment of human leukemia.
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PMID:Activity of a novel G-quadruplex-interactive telomerase inhibitor, telomestatin (SOT-095), against human leukemia cells: involvement of ATM-dependent DNA damage response pathways. 1291 35

The human Tousled-like kinases 1 and 2 (TLK) have been shown to be active during S phase of the cell cycle. TLK activity is rapidly suppressed by DNA damage and by inhibitors of replication. Here we report that the signal transduction pathway, which leads to transient suppression of TLK activity after the induction of double-strand breaks (DSBs) in the DNA, is dependent on the presence of a functional ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated kinase (ATM). Interestingly, we have discovered that rapid suppression of TLK activity after low doses of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation or aphidicolin-induced replication block is also ATM-dependent. The nature of the signal that triggers ATM-dependent downregulation of TLK activity after UVC and replication block remains unknown, but it is not due exclusively to DSBs in the DNA. We also demonstrate that TLK suppression is dependent on the presence of a functional Nijmegan Breakage Syndrome protein (NBS1). ATM-dependent phosphorylation of NBS1 is required for the suppression of TLK activity, indicating a role for NBS1 as an adaptor or scaffold in the ATM/TLK pathway. ATM does not phosphorylate TLK directly to regulate its activity, but Chk1 does phosphorylate TLK1 GST-fusion proteins in vitro. Using Chk1 siRNAs, we show that Chk1 is essential for the suppression of TLK activity after replication block, but that ATR, Chk2 and BRCA1 are dispensable for TLK suppression. Overall, we propose that ATM activation is not linked solely to DSBs and that ATM participates in initiating signaling pathways in response to replication block and UV-induced DNA damage.
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PMID:Suppression of Tousled-like kinase activity after DNA damage or replication block requires ATM, NBS1 and Chk1. 1295 71

Non-homologous DNA end-joining (NHEJ) is a major pathway of double strand break (DSB) repair in human cells. Here we show that vanillin (3-methoxy-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde)--a naturally occurring food component and an acknowledged antimutagen, anticlastogen and anticarcinogen--is an inhibitor of NHEJ. Vanillin blocked DNA end-joining by human cell extracts by directly inhibiting the activity of DNA-PK, a crucial NHEJ component. Inhibition was selective and vanillin had no detectable effect on other steps of the NHEJ process, on an unrelated protein kinase or on DNA mismatch repair by cell extracts. Subtoxic concentrations of vanillin did not affect the ATM/ATR-dependent phosphorylation of Chk2 or the S-phase checkpoint response after ionising radiation. They significantly potentiated the cytotoxicity of cisplatin, but did not affect sensitivity to UVC. A limited screen of structurally related compounds identified two substituted vanillin derivatives that were 100- and 50-fold more potent than vanillin as DNA-PK inhibitors. These compounds also sensitised cells to cisplatin. The inhibition of NHEJ is consistent with the antimutagenic and other biological properties of vanillin, possibly altering the balance between DSB repair by NHEJ and homologous recombination.
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PMID:Vanillins--a novel family of DNA-PK inhibitors. 1450 Aug 12


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