Current Biology
Volume 11, Issue 3, 6 February 2001, Pages 191-194
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Brief communication
Synthetic lethality between mutation in Atm and DNA-PKcs during murine embryogenesis

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Abstract

The gene product mutated in ataxia telangiectasia, ATM, is a ubiquitously expressed 370 kDa protein kinase that is a key mediator of the cellular response to DNA damage [1]. ATM-deficient cells are radiosensitive and show impaired cell cycle arrest and increased chromosome breaks in response to ionizing radiation. ATM is a member of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)-related protein kinase superfamily, which includes the catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PKcs) and ATR [2]. DNA-PK is a 470 kDa protein kinase that is required for proper end-to-end rejoining of DNA double-strand breaks [3]. Prkdcscid/scid mice have a homozygous mutation in the gene encoding DNA-PKcs and, like Atm−/− mice, are viable and radiosensitive 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. To determine if Atm and DNA-PKcs show genetic interaction, we attempted to generate mice deficient in both gene products. However, no scid/scid Atm−/− pups were recovered from scid/scid Atm+/− intercrosses. Developmental arrest of scid/scid Atm−/− embryos occurred around E7.5, a developmental stage when embryonic cells are hypersensitive to DNA damage [9]. This reveals synthetic lethality between mutations in Atm and DNA-PK and suggests that Atm and DNA-PK have complementary functions that are essential for development.

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