title: Caffeine inhibits checkpoint responses without inhibiting the ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated (ATM) and ATM- and Rad3-related (ATR) protein kinases.
abstract: The ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated (ATM) and ATM- and Rad3-related (ATR) kinases regulate cell cycle checkpoints by phosphorylating multiple substrates including the CHK1 and -2 protein kinases and p53. Caffeine has been widely used to study ATM and ATR signaling because it inhibits these kinases in vitro and overcomes cell cycle checkpoint responses in vivo. Thus, caffeine has been thought to overcome the checkpoint through its ability to prevent phosphorylation of ATM and ATR substrates. Surprisingly, I have found that multiple ATM-ATR substrates including CHK1 and -2 are hyperphosphorylated in cells treated with caffeine and genotoxic agents such as hydroxyurea or ionizing radiation. ATM autophosphorylation in cells is also increased when caffeine is used in combination with inhibitors of replication suggesting that ATM activity is not inhibited in vivo by caffeine. Furthermore, CHK1 hyperphosphorylation induced by caffeine in combination with hydroxyurea is ATR-dependent suggesting that ATR activity is stimulated by caffeine. Finally, the G2/M checkpoint in response to ionizing radiation or hydroxyurea is abrogated by caffeine treatment without a corresponding decrease in ATM-ATR-dependent signaling. This data suggests that although caffeine is an inhibitor of ATM-ATR kinase activity in vitro, it can block checkpoints without inhibiting ATM-ATR activation in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA. david.cortez@vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cortez
mesh_terms: D064007:Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins; D002110:Caffeine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D064447:Checkpoint Kinase 2; D004249:DNA Damage; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D016195:G2 Phase / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008938:Mitosis / Q000187:drug effects; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D002110:Caffeine; D011494:Protein Kinases; D064447:Checkpoint Kinase 2; C576324:ATM protein, human; C576597:ATR protein, human; D064007:Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins; C578634:CHEK2 protein, human; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases