The versatile functions of ATM kinase.

Ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase, the mutation of which causes the autosomal recessive disease ataxia-telangiectasia, plays an essential role in the maintenance of genome stability. Extensive studies have revealed that activated ATM signals to a massive list of proteins to facilitate cell cycle checkpoints, DNA repair, and many other aspects of physiological responses in the event of DNA double-strand breaks. ATM also plays functional roles beyond the well-characterized DNA damage response (DDR). In this review article, we discuss the recent findings on the molecular mechanisms of ATM in DDR, the mitotic spindle checkpoint, as well as hyperactive ATM signaling in cancer invasion and metastasis.