Oxidized dNTPs and the OGG1 and MUTYH DNA glycosylases combine to induce CAG/CTG repeat instability.

DNA trinucleotide repeat (TNR) expansion underlies several neurodegenerative disorders including Huntington's disease (HD). Accumulation of oxidized DNA bases and their inefficient processing by base excision repair (BER) are among the factors suggested to contribute to TNR expansion. In this study, we have examined whether oxidation of the purine dNTPs in the dNTP pool provides a source of DNA damage that promotes TNR expansion.

Formation and Repair of Mismatches Containing Ribonucleotides and Oxidized Bases at Repeated DNA Sequences.

The cellular pool of ribonucleotide triphosphates (rNTPs) is higher than that of deoxyribonucleotide triphosphates. To ensure genome stability, DNA polymerases must discriminate against rNTPs and incorporated ribonucleotides must be removed by ribonucleotide excision repair (RER). We investigated DNA polymerase β (POL β) capacity to incorporate ribonucleotides into trinucleotide repeated DNA sequences and the efficiency of base excision repair (BER) and RER enzymes (OGG1, MUTYH, and RNase H2) when presented with an incorrect sugar and an oxidized base.

Microglial polarization and plasticity: evidence from organotypic hippocampal slice cultures.

Increasing evidence indicates that "functional plasticity" is not solely a neuronal attribute but a hallmark of microglial cells, the main brain resident macrophage population. Far from being a univocal phenomenon, microglial activation can originate a plethora of functional phenotypes, encompassing the classic M1 proinflammatory and the alternative M2 anti-inflammatory phenotypes. This concept overturns the popular view of microglial activation as a synonym of neurotoxicity and neurogenesis failure in brain disorders.