Background Information: Mitosis is crucial for the faithful transmission of genetic material, and disruptions can result in chromosomal instability (CIN), a hallmark of cancer. CIN is a known driver of tumor heterogeneity and anti-cancer drug resistance, thus highlighting the need to assess CIN levels in cancer cells to design effective targeted therapy. While micronuclei are widely recognized as CIN markers, we have recently identified the toroidal nucleus, a novel ring-shaped nuclear phenotype arising as well from chromosome mis-segregation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSolving the problems that replication forks encounter when synthesizing DNA is essential to prevent genomic instability. Besides their role in DNA repair in the G2 phase, several homologous recombination proteins, specifically RAD51, have prominent roles in the S phase. Using different cellular models, RAD51 has been shown not only to be present at ongoing and arrested replication forks but also to be involved in nascent DNA protection and replication fork restart.
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