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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Study of the DNA Damage Checkpoint using Xenopus Egg Extracts
Published on: November 5, 2012
Claspin, a novel protein required for the activation of Chk1 during a DNA replication checkpoint response in Xenopus
1Division of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 91125, USA.
Abstract:
We have identified Claspin, a novel protein that binds to Xenopus Chk1 (Xchk1). Binding of Claspin to Xchk1 is highly elevated in the presence of DNA templates that trigger a checkpoint arrest of the cell cycle in Xenopus egg extracts. Xchk1 becomes phosphorylated during a checkpoint response, and we demonstrate directly that this phosphorylation results in the activation of Xchk1. Immunodepletion of Claspin from egg extracts abolishes both the phosphorylation and activation of Xchk1. Furthermore, Claspin-depleted extracts are unable to arrest the cell cycle in response to DNA replication blocks. Taken together, these findings indicate that Claspin is an essential upstream regulator of Xchk1.
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