Tuesday, July 22, 2008

A new pathway in the G2 DNA damage response as seen by Florian Bassermann and Konstantin Keim




In response to DNA damage, cells must arrest the cell cycle and initiate damage repair to protect genomic integrity. Bassermann and colleagues unravel a new pathway in the G2 DNA damage response that is initiated by nuclear translocation of the Cdc14B phosphatase. This event results in the activation of the APC/CCdh1 ubiquitin ligase and the subsequent degradation of the promitotic kinase Plk1.
This illustration represents the translocation process of Cdc14B upon DNA damage in G2. The three small icons represent a symbol of DNA damage (left), the DNA double helix (center), and a symbol of movement (right). A timeline running down the center of the cover symbolizes chronology. The large circular figure in the center represents a cell with the two distinct states in which Cdc14B is found before (nucleoli) and after DNA damage (nucleoplasm).

Tuesday, July 15, 2008