Related topics: cancer , cells , stem cells , protein , cancer cells
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 |
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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 ...
New study overturns orthodoxy on how macrophages kill bacteria
Apr 27, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (9) |
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For decades, microbiologists assumed that macrophages, immune cells that can engulf and poison bacteria and other pathogens, killed microbes by damaging their DNA. A new study from the University of Illinois ...
What's in your water?: Disinfectants create toxic by-products
Mar 31, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (16) |
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Although perhaps the greatest public health achievement of the 20th century was the disinfection of water, a recent study now shows that the chemicals used to purify the water we drink and use in swimming pools react with ...
Scientists discover source of cancer stem cells' resistance to radiation
Feb 04, 2009 |
5 / 5 (6) |
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Much to the dismay of patients and physicians, cancer stem cells — tiny powerhouses that generate and maintain tumor growth in many types of cancers — are relatively resistant to the ionizing radiation often used as therapy ...
New step in DNA damage response in neurons discovered
Biology /
Jan 18, 2009 |
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Researchers have identified a biochemical switch required for nerve cells to respond to DNA damage. The finding, scheduled for advance online publication in Nature Cell Biology, illuminates a connection between proteins involv ...
Two proteins act as molecular tailors in DNA repair
Nov 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- On average, our cells encounter a very lethal form of DNA damage 10 times a day. Lucky for us, we have the capacity to repair each and every one of them. New research now reveals exactly how two well-known ...
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.
Study of huge numbers of genetic mutations point to oxidative stress as underlying cause
Sep 07, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
0
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 ...
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 ...
Scientists track impact of DNA damage in the developing brain
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jul 27, 2009 |
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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 ...
DNA-damaged cells communicate with neighbors to let them know they're in trouble
Jul 13, 2009 |
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When cells experiencing DNA damage fail to repair themselves, they send a signal to their neighbors letting them know they're in trouble. The discovery, which shows that a process dubbed the DDR (DNA Damage Response) also ...
