Ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) protein is a member of the phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate kinase (PI3-K)-related protein kinase (PIKK) family and is implicated in the initiation of signaling pathways following DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) elicited by exposure to ionizing irradiation (IR) or radiomimetic compounds. Loss of function of the ATM gene product results in the human genetic disorder ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) characterized by neurodegeneration, immunodeficiency, genomic instability, and cancer predisposition. In response to DSBs, ATM is activated and phosphorylates Ser/Thr-Gln (S/T-Q) sequences on numerous proteins participating in DNA-damage responses. Among these proteins, phosphorylation of the tumor suppressor p53 at Ser15 is known as a target for ATM, which leads to the dissociation of MDM2, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, from p53 to prevent MDM2-dependent p53 degradation. Ser46 on p53 is phosphorylated in response to DSBs and contributes to the preferential transactivation of pro-apoptotic genes, such as p53AIP1, Noxa, and PUMA, to prevent tumor formation. Our group have shown that not only ATM preferentially phosphorylates S/T-Q sequences, but also Ser46, which is a noncanonical site with an S-P sequence for ATM. Ser46 on p53 is directly phosphorylated by ATM in a p53 conformation-dependent manner using the ATP analogue-accepting ATM mutant (ATM-AS) system. This protocol summarizes an approach to identify direct numerous targets for ATM kinase and is used to elucidate ATM signaling pathways in the DNA damage responses.
Keywords: ATM; ATP analogues; Ataxia–telangiectasia; DNA damage response; PI3-kinase family; Protein phosphorylation; p53.