MCM2
Description
The MCM2 (minichromosome maintenance complex component 2) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 3.
MCM2 is a protein involved in the initiation of eukaryotic genome replication. It is one of the six highly conserved mini-chromosome maintenance proteins (MCM) that form a hexameric complex, a key component of the pre-replication complex (pre-RC). MCM2 is part of a complex with MCM4, 6, and 7, and regulates the helicase activity of the complex. It is phosphorylated and regulated by protein kinases CDC2 and CDC7.
MCM2 is essential for DNA replication initiation and elongation in eukaryotic cells. It is a component of the MCM2-7 complex, also known as the MCM complex, which acts as the replicative helicase. MCM2 is also a core component of the CDC45-MCM-GINS (CMG) helicase, a molecular machine that unwinds template DNA during replication. The CMG helicase is crucial for the formation of the replisome, which is responsible for DNA synthesis. The active ATPase sites in the MCM2-7 ring are formed through interactions between neighboring subunits, contributing differentially to the complex helicase activity. MCM2 is required for entry into S phase and for cell division. It plays a role in the development of terminally differentiated hair cells in the cochlea and induces cell apoptosis.
MCM2 is also known as BM28, CCNL1, CDCL1, D3S3194, DFNA70, MITOTIN, cdc19.
