Links to Articles About DNA Repair Functions

Age-related Changes In DNA Repair Illuminate The Connection Between Age And Genetic Damage is the title of a Science Daily article about a very important topic. Genetic damage and DNA repair is important, not only as far as the ageing process is concerned, but has significance for a broad array of diseases and health issues in general.

A PLOS Pathogens paper entitled Viral Oncogene–Induced DNA Damage Response Is Activated in Kaposi Sarcoma Tumorigenesis which is authored by Sonja Koopal, Johanna H. Furuhjelm, Annika Järviluoma, Sari Jäämaa, Pawan Pyakurel, Christel Pussinen, Maria Wirzenius, Peter Biberfeld, Kari Alitalo, Marikki Laiho, and Päivi M. Ojala, contains this introductory paragraph:

Recent findings suggest that DNA damage checkpoints become activated in early stages of human tumorigenesis, leading to growth arrest or apoptosis and thereby hindering tumor progression. Likewise, very recent reports have indicated that oncogene-induced senescence triggered by DNA replication stress also has a role as a tumorigenesis barrier. DNA damage checkpoint markers like phosphorylated ATM and Chk2 kinases and phosphorylated histone H2AX and p53 are activated in precancerous lesions (early stages of tumorigenesis) of several different human cancers, including bladder, breast, colon, and lung cancer [1,2]. These checkpoint responses precede p53 mutations and the appearance of gross chromosomal abnormalities. The tumorigenic events early in the progression of major human cancer types activate the ATR/ATM-regulated checkpoint as a guard against tumor progression and genetic instability. Candidate inducers of the response include oncogenes such as Myc [3,4], Ras [5], Cdc6 [1], Cdc25A, E2F1, or overexpressed cyclin E [6].

This Medical Science News item- Mechanistic model of DNA repair- seeks to shed some light on the question of where DNA damage repair occurs. Is it at the damage site or perhaps also at cellular sites whose function entails hosting DNA repair activity?

A Biocompare article entitled Chromosome Glue Repairs Damaged DNA describes a cellular phenomenon known as cohesion which involves a critical chromosome binding function during cell division. It ensures that daughter cells receive the correct number of chromosomes when properly functioning.