Nonhomologous end joining: A good solution for bad ends

• Published in: DNA repair Vol. 17; pp. 39 - 51
• Main Authors: Waters, Crystal A., Strande, Natasha T., Wyatt, David W., Pryor, John M., Ramsden, Dale A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.05.2014
• Subjects: Animals; Binding Sites; DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; DNA damage; DNA End-Joining Repair; DNA Repair Enzymes - chemistry; DNA Repair Enzymes - metabolism; Double strand break repair; Humans; Models, Molecular; Nonhomologous end joining; PAR; DNA-PKcs; SET; TdT; PNKP; DNA damage; MRN; Nonhomologous end joining; HR; Ku; PARP; SCID; HEAT; Double strand break repair; DSB; WRN; XLF; SSBR; X4–L4 complex; BRCT; vWa; DNA-PK; XRCC4; RQC; HRDC; IR; PBZ; SAP domain; APTX; BER; NAP1; dRP/AP; β-Casp; Tdp2; Tdp1; APLF; ROS; ATM; Alt-EJ; NHEJ; PIKK; dsDNA; FHA; ATR
• ISSN: 1568-7864; 1568-7856
• DOI: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2014.02.008

•We review here how diverse ends at chromosome breaks are resolved by NHEJ.•We summarize structures, interactions, and activities of factors implicated in NHEJ.•NHEJ employs an amalgam of strategies used by other repair pathways.•This gives NHEJ flexibility, but implies strategy choice must be regulated.•We speculate on why such regulation might be important. Double strand breaks pose unique problems for DNA repair, especially when broken ends possess complex structures that interfere with standard DNA transactions. Nonhomologous end joining can use multiple strategies to solve these problems. It further uses sophisticated means to ensure the strategy chosen provides the ideal balance of flexibility and accuracy.