Cellular life depends upon the preservation and transmission of genetic material. Double stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) cause catastrophic gene loss in cell division and must be promptly and accurately repaired. In eukaryotes DSBs may be repaired by either non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ), single strand annealing or homologous recombination (HR). Vertebrate NHEJ has been shown to depend upon the DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) consisting of the phosphatidylinositol 3 (PI 3)-kinase like (PIKK) catalytic sub-unit (DNA-PKcs) and the DNA targeting factor Ku. Our analysis of recently completed genomes found several novel PIKKs in Anopheles gambiae and Drosophila melanogaster including a novel mosquito DNA-PKcs orthologue, the first non-vertebrate DNA-PKcs described to date. We also detected a DNA-PKcs fragment in the high quality EST set of Apis mellifera ligustica (honey bee) suggesting that DNA-PK is a far older and more important eukaryotic complex than previously thought.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dnarep.2003.09.003 | DOI Listing |
Nucleic Acids Res
January 2025
Department of Convergent Bioscience and Informatics, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, 99, Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea.
Large genetic variants can be generated via homologous recombination (HR), such as polymerase theta-mediated end joining (TMEJ) or single-strand annealing (SSA). Given that these HR-based mechanisms leave specific genomic signatures, we developed GDBr, a genomic signature interpretation tool for DNA double-strand break repair mechanisms using high-quality genome assemblies. We applied GDBr to a draft human pangenome reference.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNucleic Acids Res
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology and College of Life Science and Technology, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Shizishan Road No.1, Hongshan District, 430070 Wuhan, China.
Primase-polymerases (PrimPols) play divergent functions from DNA replication to DNA repair in all three life domains. In archaea and bacteria, numerous and diverse PPs are encoded by mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and act as the replicases for their MGEs. However, their varying activities and functions are not fully understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNucleic Acids Res
January 2025
Kansai Institute for Photon Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa-shi, Kyoto 619-0215, Japan.
Ionizing radiation induces various types of DNA damage, and the reparability and lethal effects of DNA damage differ depending on its spatial density. Elucidating the structure of radiation-induced clustered DNA damage and its repair processes will enhance our understanding of the lethal impact of ionizing radiation and advance progress toward precise therapeutics. Previously, we developed a method to directly visualize DNA damage using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and classified clustered DNA damage into simple base damage clusters (BDCs), complex BDCs and complex double-strand breaks (DSBs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCytokine Growth Factor Rev
January 2025
Center for Precision Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan. Electronic address:
Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are membrane sensors that monitor alterations in the extracellular milieu and translate this information into appropriate cellular responses. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is the most well-known model in which gene expression is upregulated by mitogenic signals through the activation of multiple signaling cascades or by nuclear translocation of the full-length EGFR protein. RON (Receptuer d'Origine Nantatise, also known as macrophage stimulating 1 receptor, MST1R) has recently gained attention as a therapeutic target for human cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Mol Sci
December 2024
Immunology and Molecular Oncology Diagnostics, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, 35128 Padua, Italy.
Increased expression of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) transaminase 1 (BCAT1) often correlates with tumor aggressiveness and drug resistance in cancer. We have recently reported that BCAT1 was overexpressed in a subgroup of T-cell acute lymphoblastic (T-ALL) samples, especially those with NOTCH1 activating mutations. Interestingly, BCAT1-depleted cells showed pronounced sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents such as etoposide; however, how BCAT1 regulates this sensitivity remains uncertain.
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