Scientific background: |
CHEK1, Cell cycle checkpoint kinase, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CHEK1 gene. By fluorescence in situ hybridization,the human CHEK1 gene is mapped to 11q24, near the ATM gene at 11q23. CHEK1is a kinase that phosphorylates cdc25, an important phosphatase in cell cycle control, particularly for entry into mitosis. CHEK1 acts to integrate signals from ATM and ATR, and is involved in monitoring meiotic recombination, a process that involves programmed DNA breaks. |
References: |
1. Flaggs, G., Plug, A. W., Dunks, K. M., Mundt, K. E., Ford, J. C., Quiggle, M. R. E., Taylor, E. M., Westphal, C. H., Ashley, T., Hoekstra, M. F., Carr, A. M. Atm-dependent interactions of a mammalian Chk1 homolog with meiotic chromosomes. Curr. Biol. 7: 977-986, 1997.
2. Sanchez, Y., Wong, C., Thoma, R. S., Richman, R., Wu, Z., Piwnica-Worms, H., Elledge, S. J. Conservation of the Chk1 checkpoint pathway in mammals: linkage of DNA damage to Cdk regulation through Cdc25. Science 277: 1497-1501, 1997.
3. Zhang, Y.-W., Otterness, D. M., Chiang, G. G., Xie, W., Liu, Y.-C., Mercurio, F., Abraham, R. T. Genotoxic stress targets human Chk1 for degradation by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Molec. Cell 19: 607-618, 2005.
|