Kinesin-14 promotes DSB mobility.
It’s a discovery that could unlock secrets into how cancer operates. “Scientists knew that severely injured DNA was taken to specialized ‘hospitals’ in the cell to be repaired, but the big mystery was how it got there,” said Professor Karim Mekhail, He discovered this DNA ambulance, which is a kinesin-14 motor protein complex, by using yeast cells.
Mekhail’s team also found that the DNA hospital, ie nuclear pore complex, repairs damaged DNA inaccurately. This inaccurate fix is important because DNA contains the instructions for all our genetic information. While the repaired DNA can still replicate, it has irregular cell instructions – a scenario that could cause cancer.
Daniel Durocher, Senior Investigator at Mount Sinai’s Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, helped the team track the damaged DNA in living cells by using advanced microscopy. The tracking showed that this DNA ambulance is necessary for damaged DNA to efficiently change location within the nucleus. “Cancer often occurs when our chromosomes break and are misrepaired,” said Durocher. “This work teaches us that the location of the break within the cell’s nucleus has a big impact on the efficiency of repair.”
The implications could extend to a large number of developmental and disease settings. Now Mekhail’s team is searching for more DNA ambulances and roads while conducting a study to see what role they might play in causing cancer. “We expect that this may allow us to identify targets for a new class of anti-cancer drugs.” Â http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-07/uot-sdf072315.php
Recent Comments