A major switch for the Fanconi anemia DNA damage-response pathway

Abstract

The Fanconi anemia pathway is part of the DNA-damage network including breast cancer-susceptibility proteins BRCA1 and BRCA2. This pathway is activated by the ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR) kinase, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. A new study demonstrates that a major switch activating the pathway is the ATR-dependent phosphorylation of FANCI. © 2008 Nature Publishing Group.