TY - JOUR
T1 - Mouse models for human DNA mismatch-repair gene defects
AU - Wei, Kaichun
AU - Kucherlapati, Raju
AU - Edelmann, Winfried
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - The mammalian DNA mismatch-repair genes belong to a family of genes that comprise several homologs of the Escherichia coli mutS and mutL genes. The observation that mutations in the two human repair genes MSH2 and MLH1 are responsible for hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer, as well as a significant number of sporadic colorectal cancers, raises several questions about the role of these proteins and their family members in the initiation and progression of colorectal cancer. To address these questions, mice with inactivating mutations in all the known mutS and mutL homologs have been generated. The development of these mouse lines has permitted the systematic analysis of the role of each gene in the repair process and has underscored their significance in mutation avoidance and cancer susceptibility. These analyses were critical for our understanding of the function of these genes at the organismal level and also revealed an essential role for some of the DNA mismatch-repair genes in mammalian meiosis.
AB - The mammalian DNA mismatch-repair genes belong to a family of genes that comprise several homologs of the Escherichia coli mutS and mutL genes. The observation that mutations in the two human repair genes MSH2 and MLH1 are responsible for hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer, as well as a significant number of sporadic colorectal cancers, raises several questions about the role of these proteins and their family members in the initiation and progression of colorectal cancer. To address these questions, mice with inactivating mutations in all the known mutS and mutL homologs have been generated. The development of these mouse lines has permitted the systematic analysis of the role of each gene in the repair process and has underscored their significance in mutation avoidance and cancer susceptibility. These analyses were critical for our understanding of the function of these genes at the organismal level and also revealed an essential role for some of the DNA mismatch-repair genes in mammalian meiosis.
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U2 - 10.1016/S1471-4914(02)02359-6
DO - 10.1016/S1471-4914(02)02359-6
M3 - Review article
C2 - 12114115
AN - SCOPUS:0036303398
SN - 1471-4914
VL - 8
SP - 346
EP - 353
JO - Trends in Molecular Medicine
JF - Trends in Molecular Medicine
IS - 7
ER -