Helq acts in parallel to Fancc to suppress replication-associated genome instability.

ABSTRACT: HELQ is a superfamily 2 DNA helicase found in archaea and metazoans. It has been implicated in processing stalled replication forks and in repairing DNA double-strand breaks and inter-strand crosslinks. Though previous studies have suggested the possibility that HELQ is involved in the Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway, a dominant mechanism for inter-strand crosslink repair in vertebrates, this connection remains elusive. Here, we investigated this question in mice using the Helq(gt) and Fancc(-) strains. Compared with Fancc(-)(/)(-) mice lacking FANCC, a component of the FA core complex, Helq(gt/gt) mice exhibited a mild of form of FA-like phenotypes including hypogonadism and cellular sensitivity to the crosslinker mitomycin C. However, unlike Fancc(-)(/)(-) primary fibroblasts, Helq(gt/gt) ce

SUBMITTER: Luebben SW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3905894 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature