ROLE OF DNA REPAIR IN AGING AND MALIGNANCY

DNA repair enzymes are proteins that detect and repair physical damage to DNA induced by radiation, ultraviolet light, or reactive oxygen species. The repair of DNA damage prevents the loss of genetic information, the creation of double-strand breaks, and the formation of DNA crosslinks. The time-dependent reduction of functional properties is known as aging. Mitochondrial malfunction and the buildup of genetic damage are two common factors of aging. In fact, the poor maintenance of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA is likely a major factor in aging. When the DNA repair machinery isn't operating fine, DNA lesions and mutations can occur, which can lead to cancer development. In fact, the poor maintenance of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA is likely a major factor in aging. When the DNA repair enzymes isn't operating fine, DNA lesions and mutations can occur, which can lead to cancer development. The large number of alterations per cell, which can reach 105, has been identified as a driving mechanism in oncogenesis. These findings show that abnormalities in the DNA repair pathway contribute to the senescence as well as cancer. Nucleotide excision repair (NER), base excision repair (BER), double-strand break repair, mismatch repair (MMR), are all major DNA repair processes in mammalian cells. BER excises mostly oxidative and alkylation DNA damage, NER removes bulky, helix-distorting lesions from DNA (e.g., ultraviolet (UV) photodimers), MMR corrects replication errors

Role of deubiquitinating enzymes in DNA double-strand break repair / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

DNA is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. It is essential for maintaining accurate transmission of genetic information. In the life cycle, DNA replication, cell division, or genome damage, including that caused by endogenous and exogenous agents, may cause DNA aberrations. Of all forms of DNA damage, DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are the most serious. If the repair function is defective, DNA damage may cause gene mutation, genome instability, and cell chromosome loss, which in turn can even lead to tumorigenesis. DNA damage can be repaired through multiple mechanisms. Homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) are the two main repair mechanisms for DNA DSBs. Increasing amounts of evidence reveal that protein modifications play an essential role in DNA damage repair. Protein deubiquitination is a vital post-translational modification which removes ubiquitin molecules or polyubiquitinated chains from substrates in order to reverse the ubiquitination reaction. This review discusses the role of deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) in repairing DNA DSBs. Exploring the molecular mechanisms of DUB regulation in DSB repair will provide new insights to combat human diseases and develop novel therapeutic approaches.

Response of the G2-prophase checkpoint to genotoxic drugs in lymphocytes from healthy individuals

We analyzed the in vitro effects of the anti-tumoral drugs doxorubicin, cytosine arabinoside and hydroxyurea on the G2-prophase checkpoint in lymphocytes from healthy individuals. At biologically equivalent concentrations, the induced DNA damage activated the corresponding checkpoint. Thus: i) there was a concentration-dependent delay of G2 time and an increase of both the total DNA lesions produced and repaired before metaphase and; ii) G2-checkpoint adaptation took place as chromosome aberrations (CAs) started to appear in the metaphase, indicating the presence of unrepaired double-strand breaks (DSBs) in the previous G2. The checkpoint ATM/ATR kinases are involved in DSB repair, since the recorded frequency of CAs increased when both kinases were caffeine-abrogated. In genotoxic-treated cells about three-fold higher repair activity was observed in relation to the endogenous background level of DNA lesions. The maximum rate of DNA repaired was 3.4 CAs/100 metaphases/hour, this rise being accompanied by a modest 1.3 fold lengthening of late G2 prophase timing. Because of mitotic chromosome condensation, no DSBs repair can take place until the G1 phase of the next cell cycle, when it occurs by DNA non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). Chromosomal rearrangements formed as a consequence of these error-prone DSB repairs ensure the development of genome instability through the DNA-fusion-bridge cycle. Hence, adaptation of the G2 checkpoint supports the appearance of secondary neoplasia in patients pretreated with genotoxic drugs.

Expression of Histone H2AX Phosphorylation and Its Potential to Modulate Adriamycin Resistance in K562/A02 Cell Line / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

DNA repair processes play a role in the development of drug resistance which represents a huge obstacle to leukemia chemotherapy.Histone H2AX phosphorylation (ser139) (γH2AX) occurs rapidly at the onset of DNA double strand break (DSB) and is critical to the regulation of DSB repair.If DNA repair is successful,cells exposed to anti-neoplastic drugs will keep entering the cycle and develop resistance to the drugs.In this study,we investigated whether γH2AX can be used as an indicator of tumor chemosensitivity and a potential target for enhancing chemotherapy.K562 and multi-drug resistant cell line K562/A02 were exposed to adriamycin (ADR) and γH2AX formed.Flow cytometry revealed that percentage of cells expressing γH2AX was increased in a dose-dependent manner and the percentage of K562/A02 cells was lower than that of K562 cells when treated with the same concentration of ADR.In order to test the potential of γH2AX to reverse drug resistance,K562/A02 cells were treated with PI3K inhibitor LY294002.It was found that LY249002 decreased ADR-induced γH2AX expression and increased the sensitivity of K562/A02 cells to ADR.Additionally,the single-cell gel electrophoresis assay and the Western blotting showed that LY249002 enhanced DSBs and decreased the expression of repair factor BRCAl.These results illustrate chemosensitivity can partly be measured by detecting γH2AX and drug resistance can be reversed by inhibiting γH2AX.

Ser1778 of 53BP1 Plays a Role in DNA Double-strand Break Repairs

53BP1 is an important genome stability regulator, which protects cells against double-strand breaks. Following DNA damage, 53BP1 is rapidly recruited to sites of DNA breakage, along with other DNA damage response proteins, including gamma-H2AX, MDC1, and BRCA1. The recruitment of 53BP1 requires a tandem Tudor fold which associates with methylated histones H3 and H4. It has already been determined that the majority of DNA damage response proteins are phosphorylated by ATM and/or ATR after DNA damage, and then recruited to the break sites. 53BP1 is also phosphorylated at several sites, like other proteins after DNA damage, but this phosphorylation is not critically relevant to recruitment or repair processes. In this study, we evaluated the functions of phosphor-53BP1 and the role of the BRCT domain of 53BP1 in DNA repair. From our data, we were able to detect differences in the phosphorylation patterns in Ser25 and Ser1778 of 53BP1 after neocarzinostatin-induced DNA damage. Furthermore, the foci formation patterns in both phosphorylation sites of 53BP1 also evidenced sizeable differences following DNA damage. From our results, we concluded that each phosphoryaltion site of 53BP1 performs different roles, and Ser1778 is more important than Ser25 in the process of DNA repair.

Pathways and genes of DNA double-strand break repair associated with head and neck cancer

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) occur commonly in the all living and in cycling cells. They constitute one of the most severe form of DNA damage, because they affect both strand of DNA. DSBs result in cell death or a genetic alterations including deletion, loss of heterozygosity, translocation, and chromosome loss. DSBs arise from endogenous sources like metabolic products and reactive oxygen, and also exogenous factors like ionizing radiation. Defective DNA DSBs can lead to toxicity and large scale sequence rearrangement that can cause cancer and promote premature aging. There are two major pathways for their repair: homologous recombination(HR) and non-homologous end-joining(NHEJ). The HR pathway is a known "error-free" repair mechanism, in which a homologous sister chromatid serves as a template. NHEJ, on the other hand, is a "error-prone" pathway, in which the two termini of the broken DNA molecule are used to form compatible ends that are directly ligated. This review aims to provide a fundamental understanding of how HR and NHEJ pathways operate, cause genome instability, and what kind of genes during the pathways are associated with head and neck cancer.

Pathways and genes of DNA double-strand break repair associated with head and neck cancer

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) occur commonly in the all living and in cycling cells. They constitute one of the most severe form of DNA damage, because they affect both strand of DNA. DSBs result in cell death or a genetic alterations including deletion, loss of heterozygosity, translocation, and chromosome loss. DSBs arise from endogenous sources like metabolic products and reactive oxygen, and also exogenous factors like ionizing radiation. Defective DNA DSBs can lead to toxicity and large scale sequence rearrangement that can cause cancer and promote premature aging. There are two major pathways for their repair: homologous recombination(HR) and non-homologous end-joining(NHEJ). The HR pathway is a known "error-free" repair mechanism, in which a homologous sister chromatid serves as a template. NHEJ, on the other hand, is a "error-prone" pathway, in which the two termini of the broken DNA molecule are used to form compatible ends that are directly ligated. This review aims to provide a fundamental understanding of how HR and NHEJ pathways operate, cause genome instability, and what kind of genes during the pathways are associated with head and neck cancer.

Cellular Responses to DNA Double Strand Breaks and Its Medical Significance / 生物化学与生物物理进展

The DNA damage response is a cornerstone of genomic stability.The cell utilizes mutiple mechanisms including damage detection,cell cycle regulation,damage repair and apoptosis to keep cell homeostasis.The DNA damage response include several biochemical pathways:first,the recognition and repair of damaged DNA;second,the activation of DNA damage checkpoint,which arrests cell cycle progression so as to provides time for DNA repair and prevention of the transmission of genomic abnormalities to the daughter cells;third,apoptosis,which eliminates serious damaged cells.The double strand break(DSB) is believed to be one of the most severe types of DNA damage,and errors in DSB repair could result in genomic instability that might lead to malignancy.It has been reported recently that constitutive activation of the ATM-Chk2-p53 pathway and phosphorylation of histone H2AX acts as an inducible anti-cancer barrier in the early stages of human tumorigenesis.This ATM-regulated DNA damage response network maintains genomic integrity and delays or prevents cancer by eliciting growth arrest or cell death.In context with a recent report,the ATM-dependent DNA-damage cellular signaling has also been shown to be involved in the integration of human immunodeficiency virus type-1(HIV-1) into host genomes,and KU55933,a specific ATM inhibitor,attenuated the infection of HIV-1 into host cells.The regulation and mechanisms of the signaling pathways of DSB response,and its role in HIV-1 infection and malignancy genesis were reviewed.

DETECTION OF STRAND BREAKS OF DNA IN HUMAN EARLY CHORIONIC VILLUS CELLS INDUCED BY DIAGNOSTIC ULTRASOUND USING 32p-LABELED ALU HYBRIDIZATION / 药物分析学报

Objective To explore if strand breaks of DNA in human early chorionic villus cells in uterus were induced by diagnostic ultrasound and to evaluate the method used for detection of single-stranded breaks and doublestranded breaks in human DNA. Methods 60 normal pregnant women aged 20-30, who underwent artificial abortion during 6-8 weeks of gestation, were randomly divided into 2 experimental groups: All 30 cases were exposed to diagnostic ultrasound in uterus for 10 minutes, and 24 hours later chorionic villi were extracted; the other 30 cases were taken as the control group. Single-stranded DNA and double-stranded DNA in villus cells in all cases were isolated by the alkaline unwinding combined with hydroxylapatite chromatography, and were quantitatively detected using32 P-labeled Alu probe for dot-blotting hybridization. Results There was no significant difference in quantity and percentage in single-stranded DNA and double-stranded DNA between 2 groups (P＞0.05). 32 P-Alu probe could only hybridize with human DNA, and could detect DNA isolated from as few as 2.5 × 103 chorionic villus cells and 0.45 ng DNA in human leukocytes. Conclusion The results suggested that there were no DNA strand damages in human chorionic villus cells when the uterus was exposed to diagnostic ultrasound for 10 minutes. The method, 32P-Alu probe for dot-blotting hybridization, was even more specific, sensitive and accurate than conventional approaches.