‘TREX1’ protein removes damaged DNA fragments… Discovered by Standard Institute’s own measurement technology
The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science discovered a protein that breaks down DNA damaged fragments in the body and proved it in a test tube.
Intracellular DNA is continuously damaged every day by carcinogens such as ultraviolet rays and smoking and metabolites in the body. However, there is a system in the body that repairs damaged DNA, so genetic information is preserved. If recovery is not smooth, aging can be accelerated and serious diseases including cancer can occur.
Pieces of DNA damage that are inevitably generated during the DNA repair process can cause inflammation or an inappropriate immune response to cause disease, which gradually decreases in the body over time. The research team revealed for the first time in the world that the TREX1 protein contributes to the breakdown of damaged DNA fragments and proved it in vitro.
This research result was possible thanks to the world’s best technology for measuring trace DNA damage fragments developed by Standard-Yeon Standard. Following the successful detection of DNA-damaged fragments caused by various carcinogens for the first time in the world in 2015, the technology has been continuously advanced, and now it is possible to precisely analyze DNA-damaged fragments that occur within 3 minutes of DNA damage. In addition, the amount of sample required for detection has been reduced to about one-tenth of that of the previous one, so it is possible to analyze even a 10-picogram level sample. DNA is known to be about 6 picograms.
By using this technology, it is possible to directly compare the DNA repair activity of each individual, and it is expected that it will be helpful in developing a personalized cancer treatment by calculating the cancer risk or anticancer treatment effect. In the future, the Institute for Standards plans to further develop the technology for measuring trace DNA damaged fragments to lay a foothold for clinical application.
Senior Researcher Junhyeok Choi said, “When DNA fragments are not properly regulated, they cause aging and disease, and are known to induce resistance to chemotherapy in cancer cells. It will be useful information for research.”
The results of this research conducted with support from the National Research Foundation’s major project and the National Research Foundation’s mid-level researcher support project were published on April 22 in Nucleic Acids Research, a renowned academic journal in the life sciences. It was also selected as the thesis of ‘People Who Lighted Korea’ by the Center for Biological Research and Information (BRIC). Kim Seon-hee and Kim Geun-hoe, UST master’s students, led by Researcher Choi Jun-hyeok participated as lead authors of the thesis.
By Kim Young-jun, staff reporter [email protected]