title: Sit down, relax and unwind: structural insights into RecQ helicase mechanisms.
abstract: Helicases are specialized molecular motors that separate duplex nucleic acids into single strands. The RecQ family of helicases functions at the interface of DNA replication, recombination and repair in bacterial and eukaryotic cells. They are key, multifunctional enzymes that have been linked to three human diseases: Bloom's, Werner's and Rothmund-Thomson's syndromes. This review summarizes recent studies that relate the structures of RecQ proteins to their biochemical activities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, 550 Medical Science Center, 1300 University Avenue, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53706-1532, USA.
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Killoran
authors.forename: James L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Keck
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D001816:Bloom Syndrome / Q000235:genetics; D004265:DNA Helicases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004261:DNA Replication / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D006868:Hydrolysis; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary / Q000502:physiology*; D053484:RecQ Helicases; D011038:Rothmund-Thomson Syndrome / Q000235:genetics; D014898:Werner Syndrome / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; C506725:RECQL protein, human; D004265:DNA Helicases; D053484:RecQ Helicases