Protein involved in childhood disorder linked...( e involved in DNA checkpoint responses....)

e involved in DNA checkpoint responses. Curious to see if microcephalin is involved in these responses, Stern and Xu, along with Juhie Lee, M.D./Ph.D., engineered cells with reduced microcephalin. They found that when they damaged the DNA in these cells with radiation, the checkpoint response was impaired. They also found that, like other mediator proteins, microcephalin is recruited to sites of DNA breaks. From this, the scientists concluded that microcephalin is an important participant in or regulator of DNA checkpoint responses.

This discovery has many potential therapeutic applications. "The finding that MCPH1 is involved in DNA damage responses suggests that MCPH1 loss of function may promote carcinogenesis," said Stern and Xu. "If so, then restoration of MCPH1 function through gene therapy, or upregulation of pathways involving MCPH1 through other means, could forestall cancer development in individuals known to harbor such mutations. Also, drugs that antagonize MCPH1 in tumors that also have other checkpoint defects may sensitize those tumors to genotoxic therapies."

'"/>

Contact: Nicole Kresge
nkresge@asbmb.org
301-634-7415
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
31-Aug-2004

Page: 1 2
Related biology news :

1. Protein is key to fatal disorder and normal cell function
2. Protein is key for digestive function of the pancreas
3. Proteins show promise for mosquito control
4. Protein fishing in America: The movie
5. Protein vaccine fully protects mice from lethal aerosol challenge with ricin toxin
6. Protein key to trafficking in nerve terminals
7. Protein controls acid in cells by direct detection of volume changes, study finds
8. Protein believed to control formation of memory identified by Scripps & UCSD scientists
9. Protein stops blood-vessel growth, holds promise as cancer therapy
10. Proteins transform DNA into molecular velcro
11. Protein engineered to detect nerve gas