DNA repair
hideDNA repair refers to a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as UV light and Radiation can cause DNA damage, resulting in as many as 1 million individual molecular lesions per cell per day. Many of these lesions cause structural damage to the DNA molecule and can alter or eliminate the cell's ability to transcribe the gene that the affected DNA encodes. Other lesions induce potentially harmful mutations in the cell's genome, which affect the survival of its daughter cells after it undergoes mitosis. Consequently, the DNA repair process is constantly active as it responds to damage in the DNA structure.
The rate of DNA repair is dependent on many factors, including the cell type, the age of the cell, and the extracellular environment. A cell that has accumulated a large amount of DNA damage, or one that no longer effectively repairs damage incurred to its DNA, can enter one of three possible states:
The DNA repair ability of a cell is vital to the integrity of its genome and thus to its normal functioning and that of the organism. Many genes that were initially shown to influence lifespan have turned out to be involved in DNA damage repair and protection. Failure to correct molecular lesions in cells that form gametes can introduce mutations into the genomes of the offspring and thus influence the rate of evolution.
For more information about DNA repair, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with dna damage
Nanoparticles may cause DNA damage across a cellular barrier
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 05, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (9) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have shown in the laboratory that metal nanoparticles damaged the DNA in cells on the other side of a cellular barrier. The research, by the University of Bristol, is published ...
Researchers use drug-radiation combo to eradicate lung cancer
Oct 29, 2009 |
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Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have eliminated non-small cell lung (NSCL) cancer in mice by using an investigative drug called BEZ235 in combination with low-dose radiation.
Loss of Tumor-Suppressor and DNA-Maintenance Proteins Causes Tissue Demise, Study Finds
Oct 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A study published in the October issue of Nature Genetics demonstrates that loss of the tumor-suppressor protein p53, coupled with elimination of the DNA-maintenance protein ATR, severely disrup ...
Heat forms potentially harmful substance in high-fructose corn syrup
Oct 14, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (4) |
4
Researchers have established the conditions that foster formation of potentially dangerous levels of a toxic substance in the high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) often fed to honey bees. Their study, which appears ...
Scientists find missing puzzle piece of powerful DNA repair complex
Oct 01, 2009 |
5 / 5 (6) |
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Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have found, crystallized, and biologically characterized a poorly defined component of a key molecular complex that helps people to avoid cancer, but that also ...
Reactive oxygen in fruit flies acts as a cell signalling mechanism for immune response
Sep 24, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For years, health conscious people have been taking antioxidants to reduce the levels of reactive oxygen in their blood and prevent the DNA damage done by free radicals, which are the result of oxidative ...
Cancer predisposition from genetic variation shows strong gender bias
Sep 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Cancer predisposition resulting from the presence of a specific gene variant shows a strong gender bias, researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have demonstrated.
Yeast unravels effects of chemotherapy drugs
Sep 09, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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Until now, the mode of action of nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate (N-BP) cancer drugs, used to relieve bone pain and to prevent skeletal complications in bone metastasis, has been almost entirely unknown. Researchers writing ...
Study of huge numbers of genetic mutations point to oxidative stress as underlying cause
Sep 07, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
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A study that tracked genetic mutations through the human equivalent of about 5,000 years has demonstrated for the first time that oxidative DNA damage is a primary cause of the process of mutation - the fuel for evolution ...
Chemotherapy resistance: Checkpoint protein provides armor against cancer drugs
Aug 27, 2009 |
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Cell cycle checkpoints act like molecular tripwires for damaged cells, forcing them to pause and take stock. Leave the tripwire in place for too long, though, and cancer cells will press on regardless, making ...
Heat forms potentially harmful substance in high-fructose corn syrup
Aug 26, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
2
Researchers have established the conditions that foster formation of potentially dangerous levels of a toxic substance in the high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) often fed to honey bees. Their study, which appears ...
Raising the alarm when DNA goes bad (w/ Video)
Aug 13, 2009 |
2 / 5 (1) |
1
Scientists have known for a long time that when DNA is damaged, a key enzyme sets off a cellular "alarm bell" to alert the cell to start the repair process, but until recently little was known about how the cell detects and ...
Scientists track impact of DNA damage in the developing brain
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jul 27, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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Switching off a key DNA repair system in the developing nervous system is linked to smaller brain size as well as problems in brain structures vital to movement, memory and emotion, according to new research led by St. Jude ...
New information about DNA repair mechanism could lead to better cancer drugs
Jul 16, 2009 |
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Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shed new light on a process that fixes breaks in the genetic material of the body's cells. Their findings could lead to ways of enhancing chemotherapy ...
Solving the mystery of DNA repair
Jul 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Penny Beuning, an assistant professor of chemical biology and biotechnology at Northeastern, this month received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early-Career Development grant ...
