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Cancer Genes and Genomics

Molecular Cloning and Characterization of the Catalytic Domain of Zebrafish Homologue of the Ataxia-Telangiectasia Mutated Gene¹

¹ Department of Genetics and Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana;
² Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana; and
³ Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

Requests for reprints: Bo Xu, Department of Genetics and Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, LSU Health Sciences Center, Room 406 CSRB Building, 533 Bolivar Street, New Orleans, LA 70112. Phone: (504) 568-2228; Fax: (504) 568-8500. E-mail: bxu{at}lsuhsc.edu

Inherited biallelic mutations of the ATM (ataxia-telangiectasia mutated) gene in humans cause ataxia-telangiectasia, a rare autosomal recessive disorder associated with progressive neuro-degeneration, cancer predisposition, immunodeficiency, and hypersensitivity to ionizing radiation. The ATM gene is highly conserved across a wide range of species. In an attempt to establish a zebrafish (Danio rerio) model of ataxia-telangiectasia, we cloned the coding sequence of the catalytic domain of the zebrafish homologue of ATM and found it to contain an open reading frame encoding 907 amino acids at the carboxyl terminus of the zebrafish ATM (zATM). The catalytic domain of zATM shares 67% and 66% homology with human ATM (hATM) and mouse ATM (mATM), respectively. The full-length mRNA encoding zATM is found to be approximately 11 kb by Northern hybridization, and the expression of zATM is observed in different adult and embryonic tissues. Overexpression of a kinase-inactive zATM domain in human cells has a dominant-negative effect against hATM function. Expression of the altered zATM in ZF4 cells leads to an A-T–like phenotype in response to ionizing radiation. These results taken together indicate that zATM is the homologue of hATM. Furthermore, using the kinase-inactive form of zATM should allow manipulation of zATM function in fish cells.