Non-homologous DNA end joining and alternative pathways to double-strand break repair

• Published in: Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology Vol. 18; no. 8; pp. 495 - 506
• Main Authors: Chang, Howard H. Y., Pannunzio, Nicholas R., Adachi, Noritaka, Lieber, Michael R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.08.2017; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/208/211; 631/337/1427/2122; 631/337/1427/2191; Ablation; Animals; Biochemistry; Cancer Research; Cell Biology; Cell cycle; Configurations; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Developmental Biology; DNA; DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; DNA damage; DNA End-Joining Repair - genetics; DNA End-Joining Repair - physiology; DNA repair; DNA Repair - genetics; DNA Repair - physiology; Double-strand break repair; Genetic recombination; Homology; Humans; Ionizing radiation; Life Sciences; Lymphocytes; Mammalian cells; Mutation; Non-homologous end joining; Physiological aspects; Proteins; Repair; review-article; Stem Cells

Key Points Mammalian non-homologous DNA end joining (NHEJ) is the primary pathway for the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) throughout the cell cycle, including during S and G2 phases. NHEJ relies on the Ku protein to thread onto each broken DNA end. Ku recruits the enzymes and complexes tha...