Description
CHEK1 is a 56 kd serine/threonine protein kinase that was originally identified in fission yeast to play a role in activation of the DNA damage checkpoint in the G2 phase of the cell cycle. CHEK1 appears to function downstream of several of the known fission yeast checkpoint gene products, including that encoded by rad3+, a gene with sequence similarity to the ATM gene mutated in patients with ataxia telangiectasia. In vitro, CHEK1 binds to and phosphorylates the dual-specificity protein phosphatases Cdc25A, Cdc25B, and Cdc25C, which control cell cycle transitions by dephosphorylating cyclin-dependent kinases