The adsorption dynamics of double-stranded DNA(dsDNA)molecules on a graphene oxide(GO)surface are important for applications of DNA/GO functional structures in biosensors,biomedicine and materials science.In this work...The adsorption dynamics of double-stranded DNA(dsDNA)molecules on a graphene oxide(GO)surface are important for applications of DNA/GO functional structures in biosensors,biomedicine and materials science.In this work,molecular dynamics simulations were used to examine the adsorption of different length dsDNA molecules(from 4 bp to24 bp)on the GO surface.The dsDNA molecules could be adsorbed on the GO surface through the terminal bases and stand on the GO surface.For short dsDNA(4 bp)molecules,the double-helix structure was partially or totally broken and the adsorption dynamics was affected by the structural fluctuation of short dsDNA and the distribution of the oxidized groups on the GO surface.For long dsDNA molecules(from 8 bp to 24 bp)adsorption is stable.By nonlinear fitting of the contact angle between the axis of the dsDNA molecule and the GO surface,we found that a dsDNA molecule adsorbed on a GO surface has the chance of orienting parallel to the GO surface if the length of the dsDNA molecule is longer than 54 bp.We attributed this behavior to the flexibility of dsDNA molecules.With increasing length,the flexibility of dsDNA molecules also increases,and this increasing flexibility gives an adsorbed dsDNA molecule more chance of reaching the GO surface with the free terminal.This work provides a whole picture of adsorption of dsDNA molecules on the GO surface and should be of benefit for the design of DNA/GO based biosensors.展开更多
Hepatitis B virus(HBV)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is one of the most fre-quently occurring cancers.Hepadnaviral DNA integrations are considered to be essential agents which can promote the process of the he...Hepatitis B virus(HBV)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is one of the most fre-quently occurring cancers.Hepadnaviral DNA integrations are considered to be essential agents which can promote the process of the hepatocarcinogenesis.More and more researches were designed to find the relationship of the two.In this study,we investigated whether HBV DNA integration occurred at sites of DNA double-strand breaks(DSBs),one of the most detrimental DNA damage.An 18-bp I-SceI homing endonuclease recognition site was introduced into the DNA of HepG2 cell line by stable DNA transfection,then cells were incubated in patients' serum with high HBV DNA copies and at the same time,DSBs were induced by transient expression of I-SceI after transfection of an I-SceI expression vector.By using nest PCR,the viral DNA was detected at the sites of the break.It appeared that integra-tion occurred between part of HBV x gene and the I-SceI induced breaks.The results suggested that DSBs,as the DNA damages,may serve as potential targets for hepadnaviral DNA insertion and the integrants would lead to widespread host genome changes necessarily.It provided a new site to investi-gate the integration.展开更多
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 damag...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.展开更多
Maintenance of cellular homeostasis and genome integrity is a critical responsibility of DNA double-strand break(DSB)signaling.P53-binding protein 1(53BP1)plays a critical role in coordinating the DSB repair pathway c...Maintenance of cellular homeostasis and genome integrity is a critical responsibility of DNA double-strand break(DSB)signaling.P53-binding protein 1(53BP1)plays a critical role in coordinating the DSB repair pathway choice and promotes the non-homologous end-joining(NHEJ)-mediated DSB repair pathway that rejoins DSB ends.New insights have been gained into a basic molecular mechanism that is involved in 53BP1 recruitment to the DNA lesion and how 53BP1 then recruits the DNA break-responsive effectors that promote NHEJ-mediated DSB repair while inhibiting homologous recombination(HR)signaling.This review focuses on the up-and downstream pathways of 53BP1 and how 53BP1 promotes NHEJ-mediated DSB repair,which in turn promotes the sensitivity of poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase inhibitor(PARPi)in BRCA1-deficient cancers and consequently provides an avenue for improving cancer therapy strategies.展开更多
With its high efficiency for site-specific genome editing and easy manipulation,the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR associated protein 9(CAS9)system has become the most widely ...With its high efficiency for site-specific genome editing and easy manipulation,the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR associated protein 9(CAS9)system has become the most widely used gene editing technology in biomedical research.In addition,significant progress has been made for the clinical development of CRISPR/CAS9 based gene therapies of human diseases,several of which are entering clinical trials.Here we report that CAS9 protein can function as a genome mutator independent of any exogenous guide RNA(gRNA)in human cells,promoting genomic DNA double-stranded break(DSB)damage and genomic instability.CAS9 interacts with the KU86 subunit of the DNA-dependent protein kinase(DNA-PK)complex and disrupts the interaction between KU86 and its kinase subunit,leading to defective DNA-PK-dependent repair of DNA DSB damage via non-homologous end-joining(NHEJ)pathway.XCAS9 is a CAS9 variant with potentially higher fidelity and broader compatibility,and dCAS9 is a CAS9 variant without nuclease activity.We show that XCAS9 and dCAS9 also interact with KU86 and disrupt DNA DSB repair.Considering the critical roles of DNA-PK in maintaining genomic stability and the pleiotropic impact of DNA DSB damage responses on cellular proliferation and survival,our findings caution the interpretation of data involving CRISPR/CAS9-based gene editing and raise serious safety concerns of CRISPR/CAS9 system in clinical application.展开更多
Meiosis is an essential step in gametogenesis which is the key process in sexually reproducing organisms as meiotic aberrations may result in infertility. In meiosis, programmed DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation...Meiosis is an essential step in gametogenesis which is the key process in sexually reproducing organisms as meiotic aberrations may result in infertility. In meiosis, programmed DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation is one of the fundamental processes that are essential for maintaining homolog interactions and correcting segregation of chromosomes. Although the number and distribution of meiotic DSBs are tightly regulated, still abnormalities in DSB formation are known to cause meiotic arrest and infertility. This review is a detailed account of molecular bases of meiotic DSB formation, its evolutionary conservation, and variations in different species. We further reviewed the mutations of DSB formation genes in association with human infertility and also proposed the future directions and strategies about the study of meiotic DSB formation.展开更多
More than half of cancer patients are treated with radiotherapy,which kills tumor cells by directly and indirectly inducing DNA damage,including cytotoxic DNA double-strand breaks(DSBs).Tumor cells respond to these th...More than half of cancer patients are treated with radiotherapy,which kills tumor cells by directly and indirectly inducing DNA damage,including cytotoxic DNA double-strand breaks(DSBs).Tumor cells respond to these threats by activating a complex signaling network termed the DNA damage response(DDR).The DDR arrests the cell cycle,upregulates DNA repair,and triggers apoptosis when damage is excessive.The DDR signaling and DNA repair pathways are fertile terrain for therapeutic intervention.This review highlights strategies to improve therapeutic gain by targeting DDR and DNA repair pathways to radiosensitize tumor cells,overcome intrinsic and acquired tumor radioresistance,and protect normal tissue.Many biological and environmental factors determine tumor and normal cell responses to ionizing radiation and genotoxic chemotherapeutics.These include cell type and cell cycle phase distribution;tissue/tumor microenvironment and oxygen levels;DNA damage load and quality;DNA repair capacity;and susceptibility to apoptosis or other active or passive cell death pathways.We provide an overview of radiobiological parameters associated with X-ray,proton,and carbon ion radiotherapy;DNA repair and DNA damage signaling pathways;and other factors that regulate tumor and normal cell responses to radiation.We then focus on recent studies exploiting DSB repair pathways to enhance radiotherapy therapeutic gain.展开更多
DNA double-strand breaks(DSBs)are one of the most lethal forms of DNA damage that is not efficiently repaired in prokaryotes.Certain microorganisms can handle chromosomal DSBs using the error-prone non-homologous end ...DNA double-strand breaks(DSBs)are one of the most lethal forms of DNA damage that is not efficiently repaired in prokaryotes.Certain microorganisms can handle chromosomal DSBs using the error-prone non-homologous end joining(NHEJ)system and ultimately cause genome mutagenesis.Here,we demonstrated that Enterobacteria phage T4 DNA ligase alone is capable of mediating in vivo chromosome DSBs repair in Escherichia coli.The ligation efficiency of DSBs with T4 DNA ligase is one order of magnitude higher than the NHEJ system from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.This process introduces chromosome DNA excision with different sizes,which can be manipulated by regulating the activity of host-exonuclease RecBCD.The DNA deletion length reduced either by inactivating recB or expressing the RecBCD inhibitor Gam protein fromλphage.Furthermore,we also found single nucleotide substitutions at the DNA junction,suggesting that T4 DNA ligase,as a single component non-homologous end joining system,has great potential in genome mutagenesis,genome reduction and genome editing.展开更多
Double-strand breaks(DSBs),one class of the most harmful DNA damage forms that bring elevated health risks,need to be repaired timely and effectively.However,an increasing number of environmental pollutants have been ...Double-strand breaks(DSBs),one class of the most harmful DNA damage forms that bring elevated health risks,need to be repaired timely and effectively.However,an increasing number of environmental pollutants have been identified to impair DSB repair from various mechanisms.Our previous work indicated that the formation of unsaturated Rec A nucleofilaments plays an essential role in homology recombination(HR) pathway which can accurately repair DSBs.In this study,by developing a benzonase cutting protection assay and combining it with traditional electrophoretic mobility shift assay(EMSA) analysis,we further investigated the assembly patterns of four Rec A mutants that display differential DSB repair ability and ATPase activity.We observed that the mutants(G204S and S69G) possessing both ATP hydrolysis and DSB repair activities form unsaturated nucleofilaments similar to that formed by the wild type Rec A,whereas the other two ATP hydrolysis-deficient mutants(K72R and E96D) that fail to mediate HR form more compacted nucleofilaments in the presence of ATP.These results establish a coupling of ATPase activity and effective DSB repair ability via the assembly status of Rec A nucleofilaments.This linkage provides a potential target for environmental factors to disturb the essential HR pathway for DSB repair by suppressing the ATPase activity and altering the assembly pattern of nucleofilaments.展开更多
Exonuclease 1(EXO1)can catalyze nucleotide chain excision with its conserved N-terminal domain of 5′ to 3′ exonuclease activity,enabling it to influence diverse biological processes facing the challenges of genotoxi...Exonuclease 1(EXO1)can catalyze nucleotide chain excision with its conserved N-terminal domain of 5′ to 3′ exonuclease activity,enabling it to influence diverse biological processes facing the challenges of genotoxic environmental factors such as ionizing radiation.This nuclease activity enables EXO1 to maintain replication forks and telomeres length,to facilitate post-replication DNA repair and to process the end resection step of homologous recombination of DNA double-strand breaks-induced by ionizing radiation.When DNA replication is disrupted or blocked,EXO1 can cleave the broken DNA ends to form 3’ssDNA,leading to repair pathways activation.Excess EXO1-mediated nucleotide excision,however,can introduce an abundance of single-stranded DNA that can cause mutation and recombination via micro-homology-mediated end joining or single-strand annealing mechanisms,contributing to a loss of genetic information.EXO1 activity must therefore be carefully regulated within healthy cells.The mutations and dysregulations of EXO1 can increase the sensitivity of cells to radiation injury and risk of oncogenic transformation,limit the adoption of specific treatments in a range of human diseases.As such,EXO1 represents a promising target for the treatment and prevention of cancer.In the present review,we delineate the structural properties and functional characteristics of EXO1,discuss the relationship between this exonuclease and cancer susceptibility as well as the second cancers related to radiotherapy.展开更多
Recently Hari Shroff and his collaborators[Nano Letters 5(2005)]developed a nanoscopic force sensor,but the force which they measured in their single molecular experiment was much lower than the theoretical critical v...Recently Hari Shroff and his collaborators[Nano Letters 5(2005)]developed a nanoscopic force sensor,but the force which they measured in their single molecular experiment was much lower than the theoretical critical value.In order to fix this problem,we investigate the micromechanics of dsDNA based on the worm-like chain model and flexible hinge model by using Monte Carlo algorithm.The simulation results not only address Hari Shroff’s experiment difficulty reasonably,but also provide strong support for flexible hinge mechanism put forward recently by Yan and Marko[Phys.Rev.Lett.93(2004)].展开更多
CRISPR(Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)technology has emerged as a powerful technology for genome editing and is now widely used in basic biomedical research to explore gene function.More rec...CRISPR(Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)technology has emerged as a powerful technology for genome editing and is now widely used in basic biomedical research to explore gene function.More recently,this technology has been increasingly applied to the study or treatment of human diseases,including Barth syndrome effects on the heart,Duchenne muscular dystrophy,hemophilia,b-Thalassemia,and cystic fibrosis.CRISPR/Cas9(CRISPR-associated protein 9)genome editing has been used to correct diseasecausing DNA mutations ranging from a single base pair to large deletions in model systems ranging from cells in vitro to animals in vivo.In addition to genetic diseases,CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing has also been applied in immunology-focused applications such as the targeting of C-C chemokine receptor type 5,the programmed death 1 gene,or the creation of chimeric antigen receptors in T cells for purposes such as the treatment of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome(AIDS)or promoting anti-tumor immunotherapy.Furthermore,this technology has been applied to the genetic manipulation of domesticated animals with the goal of producing biologic medical materials,including molecules,cells or organs,on a large scale.Finally,CRISPR/Cas9 has been teamed with induced pluripotent stem(iPS)cells to perform multiple tissue engineering tasks including the creation of disease models or the preparation of donor-specific tissues for transplantation.This review will explore the ways in which the use of CRISPR/Cas9 is opening new doors to the treatment of human diseases.展开更多
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.11974366)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities+2 种基金Chinathe Supercomputer Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciencesthe Shanghai Supercomputer Center of China。
文摘The adsorption dynamics of double-stranded DNA(dsDNA)molecules on a graphene oxide(GO)surface are important for applications of DNA/GO functional structures in biosensors,biomedicine and materials science.In this work,molecular dynamics simulations were used to examine the adsorption of different length dsDNA molecules(from 4 bp to24 bp)on the GO surface.The dsDNA molecules could be adsorbed on the GO surface through the terminal bases and stand on the GO surface.For short dsDNA(4 bp)molecules,the double-helix structure was partially or totally broken and the adsorption dynamics was affected by the structural fluctuation of short dsDNA and the distribution of the oxidized groups on the GO surface.For long dsDNA molecules(from 8 bp to 24 bp)adsorption is stable.By nonlinear fitting of the contact angle between the axis of the dsDNA molecule and the GO surface,we found that a dsDNA molecule adsorbed on a GO surface has the chance of orienting parallel to the GO surface if the length of the dsDNA molecule is longer than 54 bp.We attributed this behavior to the flexibility of dsDNA molecules.With increasing length,the flexibility of dsDNA molecules also increases,and this increasing flexibility gives an adsorbed dsDNA molecule more chance of reaching the GO surface with the free terminal.This work provides a whole picture of adsorption of dsDNA molecules on the GO surface and should be of benefit for the design of DNA/GO based biosensors.
基金supported by grants from National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (No.30872237)the National Basic Research Program of China(No.2007CB512900)
文摘Hepatitis B virus(HBV)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is one of the most fre-quently occurring cancers.Hepadnaviral DNA integrations are considered to be essential agents which can promote the process of the hepatocarcinogenesis.More and more researches were designed to find the relationship of the two.In this study,we investigated whether HBV DNA integration occurred at sites of DNA double-strand breaks(DSBs),one of the most detrimental DNA damage.An 18-bp I-SceI homing endonuclease recognition site was introduced into the DNA of HepG2 cell line by stable DNA transfection,then cells were incubated in patients' serum with high HBV DNA copies and at the same time,DSBs were induced by transient expression of I-SceI after transfection of an I-SceI expression vector.By using nest PCR,the viral DNA was detected at the sites of the break.It appeared that integra-tion occurred between part of HBV x gene and the I-SceI induced breaks.The results suggested that DSBs,as the DNA damages,may serve as potential targets for hepadnaviral DNA insertion and the integrants would lead to widespread host genome changes necessarily.It provided a new site to investi-gate the integration.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 91749115 and 81872298)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (No. 20181BAB205044), China。
文摘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.
文摘Maintenance of cellular homeostasis and genome integrity is a critical responsibility of DNA double-strand break(DSB)signaling.P53-binding protein 1(53BP1)plays a critical role in coordinating the DSB repair pathway choice and promotes the non-homologous end-joining(NHEJ)-mediated DSB repair pathway that rejoins DSB ends.New insights have been gained into a basic molecular mechanism that is involved in 53BP1 recruitment to the DNA lesion and how 53BP1 then recruits the DNA break-responsive effectors that promote NHEJ-mediated DSB repair while inhibiting homologous recombination(HR)signaling.This review focuses on the up-and downstream pathways of 53BP1 and how 53BP1 promotes NHEJ-mediated DSB repair,which in turn promotes the sensitivity of poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase inhibitor(PARPi)in BRCA1-deficient cancers and consequently provides an avenue for improving cancer therapy strategies.
基金This study was supported by the a grant from the National High-tech R&D Program(863 Program No.2015AA020310)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.815300045,91959204,81930084,81871197,U1601222)+4 种基金the leading talents of Guangdong Province Program(No.00201516)a grant from the Key Research and Development Program of Guangdong Province(2019B020235003)Major basic research developmental project of the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province(2014A030308018)Development and Reform Commission of Shenzhen Municipality(S2016004730009)Shenzhen“Sanming”Project of Medicine(SZSM201602102).
文摘With its high efficiency for site-specific genome editing and easy manipulation,the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR associated protein 9(CAS9)system has become the most widely used gene editing technology in biomedical research.In addition,significant progress has been made for the clinical development of CRISPR/CAS9 based gene therapies of human diseases,several of which are entering clinical trials.Here we report that CAS9 protein can function as a genome mutator independent of any exogenous guide RNA(gRNA)in human cells,promoting genomic DNA double-stranded break(DSB)damage and genomic instability.CAS9 interacts with the KU86 subunit of the DNA-dependent protein kinase(DNA-PK)complex and disrupts the interaction between KU86 and its kinase subunit,leading to defective DNA-PK-dependent repair of DNA DSB damage via non-homologous end-joining(NHEJ)pathway.XCAS9 is a CAS9 variant with potentially higher fidelity and broader compatibility,and dCAS9 is a CAS9 variant without nuclease activity.We show that XCAS9 and dCAS9 also interact with KU86 and disrupt DNA DSB repair.Considering the critical roles of DNA-PK in maintaining genomic stability and the pleiotropic impact of DNA DSB damage responses on cellular proliferation and survival,our findings caution the interpretation of data involving CRISPR/CAS9-based gene editing and raise serious safety concerns of CRISPR/CAS9 system in clinical application.
基金This work was supported by the National Key Research and Developmental Program of China(2018YFC1003700,2018YFC1003400,and 2016YFC1000600)the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB19000000)+1 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31890780,31630050,32061143006,82071709,and 31871514)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(YD2070002006).
文摘Meiosis is an essential step in gametogenesis which is the key process in sexually reproducing organisms as meiotic aberrations may result in infertility. In meiosis, programmed DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation is one of the fundamental processes that are essential for maintaining homolog interactions and correcting segregation of chromosomes. Although the number and distribution of meiotic DSBs are tightly regulated, still abnormalities in DSB formation are known to cause meiotic arrest and infertility. This review is a detailed account of molecular bases of meiotic DSB formation, its evolutionary conservation, and variations in different species. We further reviewed the mutations of DSB formation genes in association with human infertility and also proposed the future directions and strategies about the study of meiotic DSB formation.
文摘More than half of cancer patients are treated with radiotherapy,which kills tumor cells by directly and indirectly inducing DNA damage,including cytotoxic DNA double-strand breaks(DSBs).Tumor cells respond to these threats by activating a complex signaling network termed the DNA damage response(DDR).The DDR arrests the cell cycle,upregulates DNA repair,and triggers apoptosis when damage is excessive.The DDR signaling and DNA repair pathways are fertile terrain for therapeutic intervention.This review highlights strategies to improve therapeutic gain by targeting DDR and DNA repair pathways to radiosensitize tumor cells,overcome intrinsic and acquired tumor radioresistance,and protect normal tissue.Many biological and environmental factors determine tumor and normal cell responses to ionizing radiation and genotoxic chemotherapeutics.These include cell type and cell cycle phase distribution;tissue/tumor microenvironment and oxygen levels;DNA damage load and quality;DNA repair capacity;and susceptibility to apoptosis or other active or passive cell death pathways.We provide an overview of radiobiological parameters associated with X-ray,proton,and carbon ion radiotherapy;DNA repair and DNA damage signaling pathways;and other factors that regulate tumor and normal cell responses to radiation.We then focus on recent studies exploiting DSB repair pathways to enhance radiotherapy therapeutic gain.
基金This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China[31730003,31670077]Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province[ZR2017ZB0210].
文摘DNA double-strand breaks(DSBs)are one of the most lethal forms of DNA damage that is not efficiently repaired in prokaryotes.Certain microorganisms can handle chromosomal DSBs using the error-prone non-homologous end joining(NHEJ)system and ultimately cause genome mutagenesis.Here,we demonstrated that Enterobacteria phage T4 DNA ligase alone is capable of mediating in vivo chromosome DSBs repair in Escherichia coli.The ligation efficiency of DSBs with T4 DNA ligase is one order of magnitude higher than the NHEJ system from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.This process introduces chromosome DNA excision with different sizes,which can be manipulated by regulating the activity of host-exonuclease RecBCD.The DNA deletion length reduced either by inactivating recB or expressing the RecBCD inhibitor Gam protein fromλphage.Furthermore,we also found single nucleotide substitutions at the DNA junction,suggesting that T4 DNA ligase,as a single component non-homologous end joining system,has great potential in genome mutagenesis,genome reduction and genome editing.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.21927807 and 91743201)the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Nos.2018YFC1005003 and Y9L10301)。
文摘Double-strand breaks(DSBs),one class of the most harmful DNA damage forms that bring elevated health risks,need to be repaired timely and effectively.However,an increasing number of environmental pollutants have been identified to impair DSB repair from various mechanisms.Our previous work indicated that the formation of unsaturated Rec A nucleofilaments plays an essential role in homology recombination(HR) pathway which can accurately repair DSBs.In this study,by developing a benzonase cutting protection assay and combining it with traditional electrophoretic mobility shift assay(EMSA) analysis,we further investigated the assembly patterns of four Rec A mutants that display differential DSB repair ability and ATPase activity.We observed that the mutants(G204S and S69G) possessing both ATP hydrolysis and DSB repair activities form unsaturated nucleofilaments similar to that formed by the wild type Rec A,whereas the other two ATP hydrolysis-deficient mutants(K72R and E96D) that fail to mediate HR form more compacted nucleofilaments in the presence of ATP.These results establish a coupling of ATPase activity and effective DSB repair ability via the assembly status of Rec A nucleofilaments.This linkage provides a potential target for environmental factors to disturb the essential HR pathway for DSB repair by suppressing the ATPase activity and altering the assembly pattern of nucleofilaments.
基金supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.31870847).
文摘Exonuclease 1(EXO1)can catalyze nucleotide chain excision with its conserved N-terminal domain of 5′ to 3′ exonuclease activity,enabling it to influence diverse biological processes facing the challenges of genotoxic environmental factors such as ionizing radiation.This nuclease activity enables EXO1 to maintain replication forks and telomeres length,to facilitate post-replication DNA repair and to process the end resection step of homologous recombination of DNA double-strand breaks-induced by ionizing radiation.When DNA replication is disrupted or blocked,EXO1 can cleave the broken DNA ends to form 3’ssDNA,leading to repair pathways activation.Excess EXO1-mediated nucleotide excision,however,can introduce an abundance of single-stranded DNA that can cause mutation and recombination via micro-homology-mediated end joining or single-strand annealing mechanisms,contributing to a loss of genetic information.EXO1 activity must therefore be carefully regulated within healthy cells.The mutations and dysregulations of EXO1 can increase the sensitivity of cells to radiation injury and risk of oncogenic transformation,limit the adoption of specific treatments in a range of human diseases.As such,EXO1 represents a promising target for the treatment and prevention of cancer.In the present review,we delineate the structural properties and functional characteristics of EXO1,discuss the relationship between this exonuclease and cancer susceptibility as well as the second cancers related to radiotherapy.
基金This research was supported by the Young Investigator Award received by Yan in 2006 and the Foundation for the Visiting PhD Candidate of the Chinese Academy of Science received by Liu in 2006Liu is also supported by the Innovation Foundation for Graduate Students of Guizhou University(2007022).
文摘Recently Hari Shroff and his collaborators[Nano Letters 5(2005)]developed a nanoscopic force sensor,but the force which they measured in their single molecular experiment was much lower than the theoretical critical value.In order to fix this problem,we investigate the micromechanics of dsDNA based on the worm-like chain model and flexible hinge model by using Monte Carlo algorithm.The simulation results not only address Hari Shroff’s experiment difficulty reasonably,but also provide strong support for flexible hinge mechanism put forward recently by Yan and Marko[Phys.Rev.Lett.93(2004)].
基金The authors apologize for the omission of additional applications of CRISPR/Cas9 or citations due to space limitations.This work was supported by Grant R01 AI087645(to H.H.)from the National Institutes of Health(NIH)/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases(NIAID)Grants ES017761,AG044768,AG013319,and AG044271(to A.L.F.)from the NIH as well as funds from the South Texas VA Healthcare System(ALF).
文摘CRISPR(Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)technology has emerged as a powerful technology for genome editing and is now widely used in basic biomedical research to explore gene function.More recently,this technology has been increasingly applied to the study or treatment of human diseases,including Barth syndrome effects on the heart,Duchenne muscular dystrophy,hemophilia,b-Thalassemia,and cystic fibrosis.CRISPR/Cas9(CRISPR-associated protein 9)genome editing has been used to correct diseasecausing DNA mutations ranging from a single base pair to large deletions in model systems ranging from cells in vitro to animals in vivo.In addition to genetic diseases,CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing has also been applied in immunology-focused applications such as the targeting of C-C chemokine receptor type 5,the programmed death 1 gene,or the creation of chimeric antigen receptors in T cells for purposes such as the treatment of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome(AIDS)or promoting anti-tumor immunotherapy.Furthermore,this technology has been applied to the genetic manipulation of domesticated animals with the goal of producing biologic medical materials,including molecules,cells or organs,on a large scale.Finally,CRISPR/Cas9 has been teamed with induced pluripotent stem(iPS)cells to perform multiple tissue engineering tasks including the creation of disease models or the preparation of donor-specific tissues for transplantation.This review will explore the ways in which the use of CRISPR/Cas9 is opening new doors to the treatment of human diseases.
