title: Autoantigen Ku and its role in multiple cellular processes.
abstract: Ku is a DNA binding protein composed of 70 and 80 kDa subunits which was discovered as autoantigen in a patient with scleroderma-polymyositis overlap syndrome. Ku can bind to the end of DNA and also to some internal sequences. Ku-autoantigen acts as a potential transcription factor for several RNA polymerase II genes and RNA polymerase I gene. Ku is also associated with DNA-dependent protein kinase and involved in V(D)J recombination and DNA break repair mechanisms. Ku may be involved in replication, helicase activity and cell signaling. Therefore, Ku-autoantigen is a very important cellular factor which plays important role in the multiple cellular processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, VA West Side Medical Center 60612, USA. Ghoshak@uic.edu
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Ghosh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D034961:Antigens, Nuclear; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000502:physiology*; D004265:DNA Helicases; D004260:DNA Repair; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D000072200:Ku Autoantigen; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D034961:Antigens, Nuclear; D001324:Autoantigens; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D004265:DNA Helicases; C106893:XRCC5 protein, human; C000606509:Xrcc6 protein, human; D000072200:Ku Autoantigen