Abstract
FANCM is named after Fanconi anemia (FA) complement group M. The clinical symptoms of Fanconi anemia include congenital abnormalities, pancytopenia and cancer proneness. However, recent studies reveal that bi-allelic inactivation of FANCM does not cause the constellation of Fanconi anemia symptoms, but predisposes patients to cancer and infertility. FANCM is a tumour suppressor gene that encodes a conserved and structure-specific DNA translocase. It controls the outcome of homologous recombination and facilitates DNA replication across a variety of natural and chemically-induced obstacles. This review details our current understanding of FANCM as a facilitator of the cellular functions of caretaker proteins, including Fanconi anemia, Bloom syndrome and Ataxia telangiectasia and RAD3 related proteins, which collectively ensure the maintenance of chromosome stability during DNA replication.