title: Ataxia-telangiectasia and related diseases.
abstract: Appropriate cellular signaling responses to DNA damage and the ability to repair DNA are fundamental processes that are required for organismal survival. Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is a rare neurodegenerative disease that results from defective DNA damage signaling. Understanding the molecular basis of A-T has provided many critical insights into the cellular response to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). A-T is a syndrome that shows pronounced neurodegeneration of the nervous system coincident with immune deficiency, radiosensitivity, and cancer proneness. A-T results from inactivation of the A-T mutated (ATM) kinase, a critical protein kinase that regulates the response to DNA-DSBs by selective phosphorylation of a variety of substrates. Therefore, understanding the ATM signaling program has important biological ramifications for nervous system homeostasis. Underscoring the importance of the DNA-DSBs response in the nervous system are other diseases related to A-T that also result from defects in this signaling pathway. In particular, defects in the DNA damage sensor, the Mre11-RAD50-NBS1 complex, also lead to syndromes with neurological deficits and overlapping phenotypes to A-T. Collectively, these diseases highlight the critical importance of appropriate responses to DNA-DSBs to maintain homeostasis in the nervous system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Tumor Cell Biology, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA.
authors.forename: Pierre-Olivier
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Frappart
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: McKinnon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001260:Ataxia Telangiectasia / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D064007:Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D053903:DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D049932:Nijmegen Breakage Syndrome / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; C576324:ATM protein, human; D064007:Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases