DNA replication licensing factor MCM8 (MCM8)

DNA replication licensing factor MCM8 (MCM8) is a highly conserved helicase and member of the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) family, essential for the initiation of eukaryotic genome replication and homologous recombination repair of DNA double-strand breaks[1][3][6][7]. MCM8 can form a hexameric or hetero-hexameric complex (notably with MCM9), functioning as an ATP-dependent DNA helicase that unwinds DNA to facilitate replication fork progression and repair. During meiosis and somatic cell division, MCM8 is crucial for genome maintenance; deficiency or mutation leads to sterility due to failed gametogenesis, chromosomal instability, and increased cancer risk[1][3][5]. In humans, loss-of-function mutations are linked to premature ovarian failure and susceptibility to certain tumors[1][3]. MCM8 acts at various stages of DNA replication and repair, interacting with multiple DNA replication and repair proteins (including MCM9, BRCA1, RAD51, and the MRN complex) to coordinate fork progression, fork protection under replication stress, and recombinational repair[1][2][3][5][6]. Notes: - No approved drugs or small molecules targeting MCM8 directly have been reported, and it is not currently an established drug target, although its role in genome stability and cancer makes it a protein of increasing clinical interest. - Mutations or deficiencies are diagnostic for specific infertility and tumor predisposition syndromes but have not yet translated into clinical biomarkers for therapy selection. - The molecule is not a classical cell-surface receptor, G protein-coupled receptor, ion channel, or transporter, but rather a critical nuclear ATPase helicase involved in DNA metabolism and genome maintenance.

Other names

DNA helicase MCM8Minichromosome maintenance 8C20orf154REC homolog (Drosophila)POF10dJ967N21.5RECMGC4816MGC12866MGC119522MGC119523minichromosome maintenance complex component 8