The construction of DNA polymerase theta, which serves to repair double-strand breaks in DNA (at high) by bridging the hanging single-stranded ends and catalyzing DNA synthesis throughout the break. Researchers from Rice University and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, studied the enzyme’s position in a course of often known as microhomology-mediated finish becoming a member of and found it might be a promising goal for precision most cancers remedy. Credit: Illustration by Chuxuan Li/Gao Lab
Researchers from Rice University and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, Have taken a detailed have a look at one of many methods cells restore damaged strands of DNA and found particulars that might assist make a specific enzyme a promising goal for precision most cancers remedy.
Not not like patching a tire, the job of DNA polymerase theta (aka Pol theta) is to repair double-strand breaks in DNA, bridging the hanging single-stranded ends and catalyzing DNA synthesis throughout the break, a course of often known as microhomology-mediated finish becoming a member of (MMEJ).
MMEJ is complementary to 2 different processes—homologous recombination and non-homologous finish becoming a member of—that restore DNA double-strand breaks, however with decrease constancy as a result of Pol theta is liable to mutation, insertion and deletion errors.
But therein lies the benefit: MMEJ wants Pol theta to restore a double strand.
A brand new examine by Rice and St. Jude’s researchers within the journal Nucleic Acids Research reveals for the primary time the structural foundation of Pol theta-mediated MMEJ, exhibiting how its distinctive insertion loops assist stabilize brief DNA binding because it prepares a web site for MMEJ restore.
Yang Gao, a Rice assistant professor of biosciences, Ji Sun, an assistant member of the Structural Biology Department at St. Jude, and postdoctoral researchers Chuxuan…
2023-01-05 17:03:41 DNA restore scheme will get nearer search for most cancers remedy
Article from phys.org