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Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis Jun 2017Living organisms are continuously exposed to a myriad of DNA damaging agents that can impact health and modulate disease-states. However, robust DNA repair and... (Review)
Review
Living organisms are continuously exposed to a myriad of DNA damaging agents that can impact health and modulate disease-states. However, robust DNA repair and damage-bypass mechanisms faithfully protect the DNA by either removing or tolerating the damage to ensure an overall survival. Deviations in this fine-tuning are known to destabilize cellular metabolic homeostasis, as exemplified in diverse cancers where disruption or deregulation of DNA repair pathways results in genome instability. Because routinely used biological, physical and chemical agents impact human health, testing their genotoxicity and regulating their use have become important. In this introductory review, we will delineate mechanisms of DNA damage and the counteracting repair/tolerance pathways to provide insights into the molecular basis of genotoxicity in cells that lays the foundation for subsequent articles in this issue. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 58:235-263, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Topics: Animals; DNA Damage; DNA Repair; Humans; Mutagenesis; Telomere
PubMed: 28485537
DOI: 10.1002/em.22087 -
ELife Jan 2021Aging is a complex process that results in loss of the ability to reattain homeostasis following stress, leading, thereby, to increased risk of morbidity and mortality.... (Review)
Review
Aging is a complex process that results in loss of the ability to reattain homeostasis following stress, leading, thereby, to increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Many factors contribute to aging, such as the time-dependent accumulation of macromolecular damage, including DNA damage. The integrity of the nuclear genome is essential for cellular, tissue, and organismal health. DNA damage is a constant threat because nucleic acids are chemically unstable under physiological conditions and vulnerable to attack by endogenous and environmental factors. To combat this, all organisms possess highly conserved mechanisms to detect and repair DNA damage. Persistent DNA damage (genotoxic stress) triggers signaling cascades that drive cells into apoptosis or senescence to avoid replicating a damaged genome. The drawback is that these cancer avoidance mechanisms promote aging. Here, we review evidence that DNA damage plays a causal role in aging. We also provide evidence that genotoxic stress is linked to other cellular processes implicated as drivers of aging, including mitochondrial and metabolic dysfunction, altered proteostasis and inflammation. These links between damage to the genetic code and other pillars of aging support the notion that DNA damage could be the root of aging.
Topics: Aging; Animals; DNA Damage; Humans; Inflammation; Proteostasis
PubMed: 33512317
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.62852 -
Cells Jul 2020DNA is the source of genetic information, and preserving its integrity is essential in order to sustain life. The genome is continuously threatened by different types of... (Review)
Review
DNA is the source of genetic information, and preserving its integrity is essential in order to sustain life. The genome is continuously threatened by different types of DNA lesions, such as abasic sites, mismatches, interstrand crosslinks, or single-stranded and double-stranded breaks. As a consequence, cells have evolved specialized DNA damage response (DDR) mechanisms to sustain genome integrity. By orchestrating multilayer signaling cascades specific for the type of lesion that occurred, the DDR ensures that genetic information is preserved overtime. In the last decades, DNA repair mechanisms have been thoroughly investigated to untangle these complex networks of pathways and processes. As a result, key factors have been identified that control and coordinate DDR circuits in time and space. In the first part of this review, we describe the critical processes encompassing DNA damage sensing and resolution. In the second part, we illustrate the consequences of partial or complete failure of the DNA repair machinery. Lastly, we will report examples in which this knowledge has been instrumental to develop novel therapies based on genome editing technologies, such as CRISPR-Cas.
Topics: Animals; Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats; DNA Damage; DNA Repair; Gene Editing; Humans
PubMed: 32664329
DOI: 10.3390/cells9071665 -
International Journal of Molecular... Mar 2018A large number of chemicals and several physical agents, such as UV light and γ-radiation, have been associated with the etiology of human cancer. Generation of DNA... (Review)
Review
A large number of chemicals and several physical agents, such as UV light and γ-radiation, have been associated with the etiology of human cancer. Generation of DNA damage (also known as DNA adducts or lesions) induced by these agents is an important first step in the process of carcinogenesis. Evolutionary processes gave rise to DNA repair tools that are efficient in repairing damaged DNA; yet replication of damaged DNA may take place prior to repair, particularly when they are induced at a high frequency. Damaged DNA replication may lead to gene mutations, which in turn may give rise to altered proteins. Mutations in an oncogene, a tumor-suppressor gene, or a gene that controls the cell cycle can generate a clonal cell population with a distinct advantage in proliferation. Many such events, broadly divided into the stages of initiation, promotion, and progression, which may occur over a long period of time and transpire in the context of chronic exposure to carcinogens, can lead to the induction of human cancer. This is exemplified in the long-term use of tobacco being responsible for an increased risk of lung cancer. This mini-review attempts to summarize this wide area that centers on DNA damage as it relates to the development of human cancer.
Topics: DNA Adducts; DNA Damage; Humans; Mutagenesis; Neoplasms
PubMed: 29570697
DOI: 10.3390/ijms19040970 -
Cell Metabolism Dec 2014Accumulation of DNA damage has been linked to the process of aging and to the onset of age-related diseases including diabetes. Studies on progeroid syndromes have... (Review)
Review
Accumulation of DNA damage has been linked to the process of aging and to the onset of age-related diseases including diabetes. Studies on progeroid syndromes have suggested that the DNA damage response is involved in regulation of metabolic homeostasis. DNA damage could impair metabolic organ functions by causing cell death or senescence. DNA damage also could induce tissue inflammation that disturbs the homeostasis of systemic metabolism. Various roles of molecules related to DNA repair in cellular metabolism are being uncovered, and such molecules could also have an impact on systemic metabolism. This review explores mechanisms by which the DNA damage response could contribute to metabolic dysfunction.
Topics: Animals; DNA Damage; DNA Repair; Humans; Metabolic Diseases
PubMed: 25456739
DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2014.10.008 -
Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis Jul 2015The discovery of DNA damage response proteins such as γH2AX, ATM, 53BP1, RAD51, and the MRE11/RAD50/NBS1 complex, that accumulate and/or are modified in the vicinity of... (Review)
Review
The discovery of DNA damage response proteins such as γH2AX, ATM, 53BP1, RAD51, and the MRE11/RAD50/NBS1 complex, that accumulate and/or are modified in the vicinity of a chromosomal DNA double-strand break to form microscopically visible, subnuclear foci, has revolutionized the detection of these lesions and has enabled studies of the cellular machinery that contributes to their repair. Double-strand breaks are induced directly by a number of physical and chemical agents, including ionizing radiation and radiomimetic drugs, but can also arise as secondary lesions during replication and DNA repair following exposure to a wide range of genotoxins. Here we aim to review the biological meaning and significance of DNA damage foci, looking specifically at a range of different settings in which such markers of DNA damage and repair are being studied and interpreted.
Topics: Animals; Biomarkers; DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; DNA Damage; DNA Repair; Histones; Humans; Mutagenicity Tests; Radiation Monitoring; Radiation, Ionizing
PubMed: 25773265
DOI: 10.1002/em.21944 -
DNA Repair Feb 2016This review discusses the role of DNA mismatch repair (MMR) in the DNA damage response (DDR) that triggers cell cycle arrest and, in some cases, apoptosis. Although the... (Review)
Review
This review discusses the role of DNA mismatch repair (MMR) in the DNA damage response (DDR) that triggers cell cycle arrest and, in some cases, apoptosis. Although the focus is on findings from mammalian cells, much has been learned from studies in other organisms including bacteria and yeast [1,2]. MMR promotes a DDR mediated by a key signaling kinase, ATM and Rad3-related (ATR), in response to various types of DNA damage including some encountered in widely used chemotherapy regimes. An introduction to the DDR mediated by ATR reveals its immense complexity and highlights the many biological and mechanistic questions that remain. Recent findings and future directions are highlighted.
Topics: Animals; DNA Adducts; DNA Damage; DNA Methylation; DNA Mismatch Repair; Humans; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 26704428
DOI: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2015.11.019 -
Nature Reviews. Cancer Jan 2016DNA is vulnerable to damage resulting from endogenous metabolites, environmental and dietary carcinogens, some anti-inflammatory drugs, and genotoxic cancer... (Review)
Review
DNA is vulnerable to damage resulting from endogenous metabolites, environmental and dietary carcinogens, some anti-inflammatory drugs, and genotoxic cancer therapeutics. Cells respond to DNA damage by activating complex signalling networks that decide cell fate, promoting not only DNA repair and survival but also cell death. The decision between cell survival and death following DNA damage rests on factors that are involved in DNA damage recognition, and DNA repair and damage tolerance, as well as on factors involved in the activation of apoptosis, necrosis, autophagy and senescence. The pathways that dictate cell fate are entwined and have key roles in cancer initiation and progression. Furthermore, they determine the outcome of cancer therapy with genotoxic drugs. Understanding the molecular basis of these pathways is important not only for gaining insight into carcinogenesis, but also in promoting successful cancer therapy. In this Review, we describe key decision-making nodes in the complex interplay between cell survival and death following DNA damage.
Topics: Cell Death; Cell Survival; DNA Damage; DNA Repair; Humans; Neoplasms
PubMed: 26678314
DOI: 10.1038/nrc.2015.2 -
Nature Reviews. Urology Aug 2017DNA damage, largely owing to oxidative stress, is a leading cause of defective sperm function. High levels of oxidative stress result in damage to sperm DNA, RNA... (Review)
Review
DNA damage, largely owing to oxidative stress, is a leading cause of defective sperm function. High levels of oxidative stress result in damage to sperm DNA, RNA transcripts, and telomeres and, therefore might provide a common underlying aetiology of male infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss, in addition to congenital malformations, complex neuropsychiatric disorders, and childhood cancers in children fathered by men with defective sperm cells. Spermatozoa are highly vulnerable to oxidative stress owing to limited levels of antioxidant defence and a single, limited DNA-damage detection and repair mechanism. Oxidative stress is predominantly caused by a host of lifestyle-related factors, the majority of which are modifiable. Antioxidant regimens and lifestyle modifications could both be plausible therapeutic approaches that enable the burden of oxidative-stress-induced male factor infertility to be overcome. Lifestyle interventions including yoga and meditation can substantially improve the integrity of sperm DNA by reducing levels of oxidative DNA damage, regulating oxidative stress and by increasing the expression of genes responsible for DNA repair, cell-cycle control and anti-inflammatory effects. Oxidative stress is caused by various modifiable factors, and the use of simple interventions can decrease levels of oxidative stress, and therefore reduce the incidence of both infertility and complex diseases in the resultant offspring.
Topics: Antioxidants; DNA Damage; DNA Repair; Humans; Infertility, Male; Male; Oxidative Stress; Risk Reduction Behavior; Spermatozoa
PubMed: 28508879
DOI: 10.1038/nrurol.2017.69 -
Annual Review of Medicine 2015Cellular responses to DNA damage are important determinants of both cancer development and cancer outcome following radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Identification of... (Review)
Review
Cellular responses to DNA damage are important determinants of both cancer development and cancer outcome following radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Identification of molecular pathways governing DNA damage signaling and DNA repair in response to different types of DNA lesions allows for a better understanding of the effects of radiation and chemotherapy on normal and tumor cells. Although dysregulation of the DNA damage response (DDR) is associated with predisposition to cancer development, it can also result in hypersensitivity or resistance of tumors to therapy and can be exploited for improvement of cancer treatment. We highlight the DDR pathways that are activated after treatment with radiation and different classes of chemotherapeutic drugs and describe mechanisms determining tumor sensitivity and resistance to these agents. Further, we discuss approaches to enhance tumor sensitivity to radiation and chemotherapy by modulating the DDR with a goal of enhancing the effectiveness of cancer therapies.
Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; DNA Damage; DNA Methylation; DNA Repair; Humans; Neoplasms; Radiotherapy
PubMed: 25423595
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-med-081313-121208