ATM+/- fibroblasts and thymocytes showed intermediately defective responses to irradiation but no growth defect, suggesting that the increased cancer risk of AT heterozygotes could be attributable to poor checkpoint function.
Initial evaluation of the ATM knockout animals indicates that inactivation of the mouse ATM gene recreates much of the phenotype of ataxia-telangiectasia.
We previously generated a mouse model with a mutation in the murine Atm gene that recapitulates many aspects of the childhood neurodegenerative disease ataxia-telangiectasia.
Motor incoordination, immune deficiencies, and an increased risk of cancer are the characteristic features of the hereditary disease ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), which is caused by mutations in the ATM gene.
ATM, the gene mutated in the human immunodeficiency disorder ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), plays a central role in recognizing ionizing radiation damage in DNA and in controlling several cell cycle checkpoints.
Thus, our study sheds light on the poorly understood role of ATM in the pathogenesis of glucose intolerance in A-T patients and provides insight into the role of ATM in glucose metabolism.
Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), an autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in the ATM gene is characterised by cerebellar atrophy and progressive neurodegeneration which has been poorly recapitulated in Atm mutant mice.