2023-10-10 11:00:04
French researchers have just elucidated a previously unknown DNA repair mechanism. This mechanism relies on theta polymerase protein (Polθ), which has the ability to repair our DNA when all other already known mechanisms fail.
Image d’illustration Pixabay
The DNA of our cells is regularly damaged and among the most dangerous lesions, “double-strand breaks” present a high risk for the cell. These are breaks that simultaneously impact both strands of DNA. Our body knows how to repair this damage via different systems such as homologous recombination, but these sometimes present failures which are also the cause of half of breast and ovarian cancers. Researchers from Inserm and the Institut Curie have just identified another previously unknown DNA repair mechanism. unknown, which could prove very useful in the treatment of cancers.
Published in Nature, the results of this research are revolutionary in the field. Researchers have in fact identified a new actor in DNA repair: it is polymerase ( Polymerases (name taken from polymer) (EC 2.7.7.6/7/19/48/49) are enzymes which…) theta, also called Polθ. This actor had already been known for several years, but scientists have just identified that it intervenes where other DNA repair systems malfunction. Indeed, even though we thought that DNA repair was impossible during cell division, the team of scientists have demonstrated that Polθ is active and effective precisely during mitosis (from the Greek mitos which means filament (reference to the appearance of chromosomes in…) (cell division).
PolꝊ (green) marks DNA breaks (H2AX, red) at the level of mitotic chromosomes (DAPI, blue) Scale 5μM
To be able to repair DNA, Polθ must in fact be activated by an enzyme which is present specifically during cell division. Thus, Polθ may be effective during mitosis, but only during this stage. When activated, this protein repairs the junction (La Jonction is a district of the city of Geneva (Switzerland), its familiar name is “la Jonquille” ) broken ends of DNA (including in cancer cells). Conversely (In mathematics, the inverse of an element x of a set provided with a law of…), the tests carried out demonstrate that the inhibition of Polθ does indeed hinder the repair of double-strand breaks during cell division.
Understanding the role and functioning of theta polymerase in maintaining genome integrity will be essential for scientists to develop new avenues aimed at developing new therapeutic perspectives for the treatment of cancers.
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#Discovery #DNA #repair #system #cure #cancer