title: ATM phosphorylates histone H2AX in response to DNA double-strand breaks.
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.
authors.affiliation: Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burma
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurimasa
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000730:Androstadienes / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D064007:Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004247:DNA / Q000528:radiation effects; D004249:DNA Damage; D051747:DNA-Activated Protein Kinase; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000502:physiology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D000077191:Wortmannin
chemical_list: D000730:Androstadienes; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C491779:Elf4 protein, mouse; D006657:Histones; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D004247:DNA; D064007:Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins; C576325:Atm protein, mouse; D051747:DNA-Activated Protein Kinase; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D000077191:Wortmannin