Khanna K, Lavin M, Jackson S and Mulhern T. (2001) ATM,
a central controller of cellular responses to DNA damage. Cell Death Differ.
8:1052-1065.
Mutations in the ATM gene lead to the genetic disorder ataxia-telangiectasia.
ATM encodes a protein kinase that is mainly distributed in the nucleus of
proliferating cells. Recent studies reveal that ATM regulates multiple cell
cycle checkpoints by phosphorylating different targets at different stages
of the cell cycle. ATM also functions in the regulation of DNA repair and
apoptosis, suggesting that it is a central regulator of responses to DNA double-strand
breaks.