Cross-talk between DNA damage response and the central carbon metabolic network underlies selective vulnerability of Purkinje neurons in ataxia-telangiectasia

Cerebellar ataxia is often the first and irreversible outcome in the disease of ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), as a consequence of selective cerebellar Purkinje neuronal degeneration. A-T is an autosomal recessive disorder resulting from the loss-of-function mutations of the ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated ATM gene. Over years of research, it now becomes clear that functional ATM-a serine/threonine kinase protein product of the ATM gene-plays critical roles in regulating both cellular DNA damage response and central carbon metabolic network in multiple subcellular locations. The key question arises is how cerebellar Purkinje neurons become selectively vulnerable when all other cell types in the brain are suffering from the very same defects in ATM function. This review intended to comprehensively elaborate the unexpected linkages between these two seemingly independent cellular functions and the regulatory roles of ATM involved, their integrated impacts on both physical and functional properties, hence the introduction of selective vulnerability to Purkinje neurons in the disease will be addressed.