DNA repair

KU Cancer Center researchers are developing approaches to manipulate the DNA damage response to treat and prevent disease

Targeting pathway could increase potency of some current drugs

Achievement using cryo-electron microscopy to aid gene research and drug development

SDSC’s ‘Gordon’ helps describe complex process that’s fundamental to cancer initiation

This enzyme—known as Flap endonuclease 1, or FEN1—is often highly overexpressed or faulty in cancer and other types of diseases

Researchers now know how key proteins get where they need to be to facilitate the process

Time-lapse imaging helps provide new insights into process

The new experimental assay can help scientists find the precise locations of repair of DNA damage caused by UV radiation and common chemotherapies. The invention could lead to better cancer drugs or improvements in the potency of existing ones.

Sites where DNA is damaged may cause a molecule that slides along the DNA strand to scan for damage to slow on its patrol, delaying it long enough to recognize and initiate repair. The finding suggests that the delay itself may be the key that allows the protein molecule to find its target, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Ribonucleotides, units of RNA, can become embedded in genomic DNA during processes such as DNA replication and repair, affecting the stability of the genome by contributing to DNA fragility and mutability. Scientists have known about the presence of ribonucleotides in DNA, but until now had not been able to determine exactly what they are and where they are located in the DNA sequences.