Cell cycle checkpoint
Cell cycle checkpoints are control mechanisms in the eukaryotic cell cycle which ensure its proper progression. Each checkpoint serves as a potential termination point along the cell cycle, during which the conditions of the cell are assessed, with progression through the various phases of the cell cycle occurring only when favorable conditions are met. There are many checkpoints in the cell cycle,[1] but the three major ones are: the G1 checkpoint, also known as the Start or restriction checkpoint or Major Checkpoint; the G2/M checkpoint; and the metaphase-to-anaphase transition, also known as the spindle checkpoint.[2] Progression through these checkpoints is largely determined by the activation of cyclin-dependent kinases by regulatory protein subunits called cyclins, different forms of which are produced at each stage of the cell cycle to control the specific events that occur therein.[3][4]
Background[edit]
All living organisms are the products of repeated rounds of cell growth and division.[5] During this process, known as the cell cycle, a cell duplicates its contents and then divides in two. The purpose of the cell cycle is to accurately duplicate each organism's DNA and then divide the cell and its contents evenly between the two resulting cells. In eukaryotes, the cell cycle consists of four main stages: G1, during which a cell is metabolically active and continuously grows; S phase, during which DNA replication takes place; G2, during which cell growth continues and the cell synthesizes various proteins in preparation for division; and the M (mitosis) phase, during which the duplicated chromosomes (known as the sister chromatids) separate into two daughter nuclei, and the cell divides into two daughter cells, each with a full copy of DNA.[6] Compared to the eukaryotic cell cycle, the prokaryotic cell cycle (known as binary fission) is relatively simple and quick: the chromosome replicates from the origin of replication, a new membrane is assembled, and the cell wall forms a septum which divides the cell into two.[7]
As the eukaryotic cell cycle is a complex process, eukaryotes have evolved a network of regulatory proteins, known as the cell cycle control system, which monitors and dictates the progression of the cell through the cell cycle.[5] This system acts like a timer, or a clock, which sets a fixed amount of time for the cell to spend in each phase of the cell cycle, while at the same time it also responds to information received from the processes it controls. The cell cycle checkpoints play an important role in the control system by sensing defects that occur during essential processes such as DNA replication or chromosome segregation, and inducing a cell cycle arrest in response until the defects are repaired.[8] The main mechanism of action of the cell cycle checkpoints is through the regulation of the activities of a family of protein kinases known as the cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), which bind to different classes of regulator proteins known as cyclins, with specific cyclin-CDK complexes being formed and activated at different phases of the cell cycle. Those complexes, in turn, activate different downstream targets to promote or prevent cell cycle progression.[9]
Cancer[edit]
DNA repair processes and cell cycle checkpoints have been intimately linked with cancer due to their functions regulating genome stability and cell progression, respectively. The precise molecular mechanisms that connect dysfunctions in these pathways to the onset of particular cancers are not well understood in most cases.[32] The loss of ATM has been shown to precede lymphoma development presumably due to excessive homologous recombination, leading to high genomic instability.[33] Disruption of Chk1 in mice led significant misregulation of cell cycle checkpoints, an accumulation of DNA damage, and an increased incidence of tumorigenesis.[34] Single mutant inheritance of BRCA1 or BRCA2 predisposes females toward breast and ovarian cancers.[35] BRCA1 is known to be required for S and G2/M transitions, and is involved in the cellular response to DNA damage. BRCA2 is believed to be involved in homologous recombination and regulating the S-phase checkpoint, and mutations of deficiencies in BRCA2 are strongly linked to tumorigenesis.[36]