title: RECQL4 in genomic instability and aging.
abstract: Helicases are ubiquitous proteins that unwind DNA and participate in DNA metabolism including replication, repair, transcription, and chromatin organization. The highly conserved RecQ helicase family proteins are important in these transactions and have been termed the guardians of the genome. Humans have five members of this family: WRN, BLM, RECQL4, RECQL1, and RECQL5. The first three of are associated with premature aging and cancer prone syndromes, but the latter two proteins have not yet been implicated in any human disease. Although WRN and BLM have been fairly well characterized, RECQL4 has only recently been intensively investigated. The sum of this work to date has shown that RECQL4 has helicase activity and localizes to telomeres and mitochondria. In addition, new protein partners are emerging, implicating RECQL4 in novel processes. Here, we describe these recent findings which place RECQL4 at the crossroads of genomic instability and aging processes.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, 251 Bayview Boulevard Suite 100, Baltimore, MD 21040, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Croteau
authors.forename: Dharmendra Kumar
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hoh Ferrarelli
authors.forename: Huiming
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Vilhelm A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Bohr
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D042822:Genomic Instability; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D053484:RecQ Helicases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D011038:Rothmund-Thomson Syndrome / Q000235:genetics; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C506731:RECQL4 protein, human; D053484:RecQ Helicases