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Repetitive DNA sequences are abundant in the human genome and can adopt alternative (i.e., non-B) DNA structures. These sequences contribute to diverse biological functions, including genomic instability. Previously, we found that Z-DNA-, H-DNA- and cruciform DNA-forming sequences are mutagenic, implicating them in cancer etiology. These sequences can stimulate the formation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), causing deletions via cleavage by the endonuclease ERCC1-XPF. Interestingly, the activity of ERCC1-XPF in H-DNA-induced mutagenesis is nucleotide excision repair (NER)-dependent, but its role in Z-DNA-induced mutagenesis is NER-independent. Instead, Z-DNA is processed by ERCC1-XPF in a mechanism dependent on the mismatch repair (MMR) complex, MSH2-MSH3. These observations indicate distinct mechanisms of non-B-induced genomic instability. However, the roles of NER and MMR proteins, as well as additional nucleases (CtIP and MRE11), in the processing of cruciform DNA remain unknown. Here, we present data on the processing of cruciform-forming short inverted repeats (IRs) by DNA repair proteins using mammalian cell-based systems. From this pilot study, we show that, in contrast to H-DNA and Z-DNA, short IRs are processed in a NER- and MMR-independent manner, and the nucleases CtIP and MRE11 suppress short IR-induced genomic instability in mammalian cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiotherapy is an important means of tumor treatment, but radiotherapy resistance has been a difficult problem in the comprehensive treatment of clinical tumors. The mechanisms of radiotherapy resistance include the repair of sublethal damage and potentially lethal damage of tumor cells, cell repopulation, cell cycle redistribution, and reoxygenation. These processes are closely related to the regulation of epigenetic modifications. Histone deacetylases (HDACs), as important regulators of the epigenetic structure of cancer, are widely involved in the formation of tumor radiotherapy resistance by participating in DNA damage repair, cell cycle regulation, cell apoptosis, and other mechanisms. Although the important role of HDACs and their related inhibitors in tumor therapy has been reviewed, the relationship between HDACs and radiotherapy has not been systematically studied. This article systematically expounds for the first time the specific mechanism by which HDACs promote tumor radiotherapy resistance in vivo and in vitro and the clinical application prospects of HDAC inhibitors, aiming to provide a reference for HDAC-related drug development and guide the future research direction of HDAC inhibitors that improve tumor radiotherapy resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA damage created by endogenous or exogenous genotoxic agents can exist in multiple forms, and if allowed to persist, can promote genome instability and directly lead to various human diseases, particularly cancer, neurological abnormalities, immunodeficiency and premature aging. To avoid such deleterious outcomes, cells have evolved an array of DNA repair pathways, which carry out what is typically a multiple-step process to resolve specific DNA lesions and maintain genome integrity. To fully appreciate the biological contributions of the different DNA repair systems, one must keep in mind the cellular context within which they operate. For example, the human body is composed of non-dividing and dividing cell types, including, in the brain, neurons and glial cells. We describe herein the molecular mechanisms of the different DNA repair pathways, and review their roles in non-dividing and dividing cells, with an eye toward how these pathways may regulate the development of neurological disease.

Transferred DNA (T- DNA) from Agrobacterium tumefaciens can be integrated into the plant genome. The double-stranded break repair ( DSBR) pathway is a major model for T- DNA integration. From this model, we expect that two ends of a T- DNA molecule would invade into a single DNA double-stranded break ( DSB) or independent DSBs in the plant genome. We call the later phenomenon a heterogeneous T- DNA integration, which has never been observed. In this work, we demonstrated it in an Arabidopsis T- DNA insertion mutant seb19. To resolve the chromosomal structural changes caused by T- DNA integration at both the nucleotide and chromosome levels, we performed inverse PCR, genome resequencing, fluorescence in situ hybridization and linkage analysis. We found, in seb19, a single T- DNA connected two different chromosomal loci and caused complex chromosomal rearrangements. The specific break-junction pattern in seb19 is consistent with the result of heterogeneous T- DNA integration but not of recombination between two T- DNA insertions. We demonstrated that, in seb19, heterogeneous T- DNA integration evoked a cascade of incorrect repair of seven DSBs on chromosomes 4 and 5, and then produced translocation, inversion, duplication and deletion. Heterogeneous T- DNA integration supports the DSBR model and suggests that two ends of a T- DNA molecule could be integrated into the plant genome independently. Our results also show a new origin of chromosomal abnormalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eukaryotic cell is faced with more than 10 000 various kinds of DNA lesions per day. Failure to repair such lesions can lead to mutations, genomic instability, or cell death. Therefore, cells have developed 5 major repair pathways in which different kinds of DNA damage can be detected and repaired: homologous recombination, nonhomologous end joining, nucleotide excision repair, base excision repair, and mismatch repair. However, the efficient repair of DNA damage is complicated by the fact that the genomic DNA is packaged through histone and nonhistone proteins into chromatin, a highly condensed structure that hinders DNA accessibility and its subsequent repair. Therefore, the cellular repair machinery has to circumvent this natural barrier to gain access to the damaged site in a timely manner. Repair of DNA lesions in the context of chromatin occurs with the assistance of ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling enzymes and histone-modifying enzymes, which allow access of the necessary repair factors to the lesion. Here we review recent studies that elucidate the interplay between chromatin modifiers / remodelers and the major DNA repair pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Transcription-coupled DNA double-strand break repair (TC-DSBR). • Roles of transcription and chromatin in repairing DSB at the active gene. • Roles of RNAs in DSBR. The genomic DNA is constantly under attack by cellular and/or environmental factors. Fortunately, the cell is armed to safeguard its genome by various mechanisms such as nucleotide excision, base excision, mismatch and DNA double-strand break repairs. While these processes maintain the integrity of the genome throughout, DNA repair occurs preferentially faster at the transcriptionally active genes. Such transcription-coupled repair phenomenon plays important roles to maintain active genome integrity, failure of which would interfere with transcription, leading to an altered gene expression (and hence cellular pathologies/diseases). Among the various DNA damages, DNA double-strand breaks are quite toxic to the cells. If DNA double-strand break occurs at the active gene, it would interfere with transcription/gene expression, thus threatening cellular viability. Such DNA double-strand breaks are found to be repaired faster at the active gene in comparison to its inactive state or the inactive gene, thus supporting the existence of a new phenomenon of transcription-coupled DNA double-strand break repair. Here, we describe the advances of this repair process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mitochondrial genome encodes proteins essential for the oxidative phosphorylation and, consequently, for proper mitochondrial function. Its localization and, possibly, structural organization contribute to higher DNA damage accumulation, when compared to the nuclear genome. In addition, the mitochondrial genome mutates at rates several times higher than the nuclear, although the causal relationship between these events are not clearly established. Maintaining mitochondrial DNA stability is critical for cellular function and organismal fitness, and several pathways contribute to that, including damage tolerance and bypass, degradation of damaged genomes and DNA repair. Despite initial evidence suggesting that mitochondria lack DNA repair activities, most DNA repair pathways have been at least partially characterized in mitochondria from several model organisms, including humans. In this chapter, we review what is currently known about how the main DNA repair pathways operate in mitochondria and contribute to mitochondrial DNA stability, with focus on the enzymology of mitochondrial DNA repair., (© 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Alkylating agents are frequently used as first-line chemotherapeutics for various newly diagnosed cancers. Disruption of genome integrity by such agents can lead to cell lethality if DNA lesions are not removed. Several DNA repair mechanisms participate in the recovery of mono- or bi-functional DNA alkylation. Thus, DNA repair capacity is correlated with the therapeutic response. Here, we assessed the function of novel water-soluble N-mustard BO-1055 (ureidomustin) in DNA damage response and repair mechanisms. As expected, BO-1055 induces ATM and ATR-mediated DNA damage response cascades, including downstream Chk1/Chk2 phosphorylation, S/G2 cell-cycle arrest, and cell death. Further investigation revealed that cell survival sensitivity to BO-1055 is comparable to that of mitomycin C. Both compounds require nucleotide excision repair and homologous recombination, but not non-homologous end-joining, to repair conventional cross-linking DNA damage. Interestingly and unlike mitomycin C and melphalan, MGMT activity was also observed in BO-1055 damage repair systems, which reflects the occurrence of O-alkyl DNA lesions. Combined treatment with ATM/ATR kinase inhibitors significantly increases BO-1055 sensitivity. Our study pinpoints that BO-1055 can be used for treating tumors that with deficient NER, HR, and MGMT DNA repair genes, or for synergistic therapy in tumors that DNA damage response have been suppressed.

Background: Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. Despite several factors such as ionizing radiation exposure or rare genetic syndromes have been associated with the development of glioblastoma, no underlying cause has been identified for the majority of cases. We thus aimed to investigate the role of DNA repair polymorphisms in modulating glioblastoma risk., Methods: Genotypic and allelic frequencies of seven common polymorphisms in DNA repair genes involved in nucleotide excision repair (ERCC1 rs11615, ERCC2 rs13181, ERCC6 rs4253079), base excision repair (APEX1 rs1130409, XRCC1 rs25487), double-strand break repair (XRCC3 rs861539) and mismatch repair (MLH1 rs1800734) pathways were analyzed in 115 glioblastoma patients and 200 healthy controls. Haplotype analysis was also performed for ERCC1 rs11615 and ERCC2 rs13181 polymorphisms, located on the same chromosomal region (19q13.32)., Results: Our results indicated that carriers of the ERCC2 Gln/Gln genotype were associated with a lower glioblastoma risk (OR=0.32, 95% CI 0.12-0.89; P=0.028), whereas carriers of the MLH1 AA genotype were associated with an increased risk of glioblastoma (OR=3.14, 95% CI 1.09-9.06; P=0.034). Furthermore, the haplotype containing the C allele of ERCC2 rs13181 polymorphism and the T allele of ERCC1 rs11615 polymorphism was significantly associated with a protective effect of developing glioblastoma (OR=0.34, 95% CI 0.16-0.71; P=0.004)., Conclusions: These results pointed out that MLH1 rs1800734 and ERCC2 rs13181 polymorphisms might constitute glioblastoma susceptibility factors, and also suggested that the chromosomal region 19q could be important in glioblastoma pathogenesis., (Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

We performed a case-control study to assess the relationship between six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group F (XPF) on glioma risk in a Chinese population. The six SNPs were genotyped in 330 glioma cases and 652 cancer-free controls using a 384-well plate format on the Sequenom MassARRAY platform (Sequenom, San Diego, USA). Rs1800067 did not follow the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in the control group, and the genotype distributions differed significantly between the two groups for SNPs rs1800067 and rs2276466. For rs1800067, the variant genotype T/T was strongly associated with an increased risk of glioma when compared with the A/A genotype (OR=3.77, 95% CI=2.38-6.01). Individuals with the rs1800067 G allele had a relatively high risk of glioma in a dominant model (OR=3.47, 95% CI=2.26-5.37). The rs2276466 G/G genotype was significantly associated with a moderate increased risk of glioma (OR=1.82, 95% CI=1.10-3.02) in a codominant model, and variation of rs25489 was associated with a 1.31- and 1.78-fold glioma risk in dominant and recessive models, respectively. Our study is the first to identify polymorphisms in rs1800067 and rs2276466 as correlated with glioma susceptibility., (© 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

γ-ray irradiation can induce DNA damages which include base damages, single-strand breaks and double-strand breaks in various type cells. The DNA repair protein XRCC1, as a part of the BER pathway, forms complexes with DNA polymerase beta, DNA ligase III and poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) in the repair of DNA single strand breaks and also affects the repair of double strand breaks. However, it is still not known well whether XRCC1 contributes to affect the irradiation sensitivity and DNA damage in HepG2 cell and the potential mechanism. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore whether abrogation of XRCC1 gene expression by shRNA could reduce DNA repair and thus sensitize HepG2 cells to γ-ray. Cell viability was measured by Trypan blue staining and cloning efficiency assay. The DNA damage was detected by Comet assay. Apoptosis and cell cycle were detected by flow cytometry. The DNA-PKcs and gadd153 mRNA expression were determined by Real-time PCR. Our results showed that abrogation of XRCC 1 could sensitize HepG2 cells to γ-ray. This enhanced sensitivity could be attributed to the increased DNA damage and increased cell cycle arrest, which might be related with the increasing of DNA-PKcs and gadd153 mRNA expression. Therefore, our results suggested that the γ-ray irradiation sensitivity could be increased by targeting inhibition of XRCC1 in HepG2 cell., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)