TY - JOUR T1 - Braking for Damage Control JF - Science's STKE JO - Sci. STKE SP - tw11 LP - tw11 DO - 10.1126/stke.2000.40.tw11 VL - 2000 IS - 40 A2 - , Y1 - 2000/07/11 UR - http://stke.sciencemag.org/content/2000/40/tw11.abstract N2 - Toxicological insults to DNA often lead to nucleotide mutations and DNA strand breaks that require repair before the next round of DNA synthesis and mitosis. Without DNA repair, mitosing cells might die or become transformed. The G2-phase cell-cycle checkpoint provides time for cells to determine whether repair is required. This response is mediated through proteins that bind DNA and send signals for a delay in DNA synthesis. Much research has been done on elucidating the signaling that occurs during the G2 checkpoint period. O'Connell et al. review what is known about the molecular mechanisms involved and discuss the physiological role of cyclin/Cdk kinase inhibitors during the checkpoint. O'Connell, M.J., Walworth, N.C., and Carr, A.M. (2000) The G2-phase DNA-damage checkpoint. Trends Cell Biol. 10:296-303 [Online Journal] ER -