DNA Repair Mechanisms

Every time a cell divides or encounters environmental stress, its DNA sustains thousands of lesions that, if left uncorrected, can scramble the genome and drive cells toward cancer. Molecular biologists studying the DNA damage response have mapped out an elaborate signaling network—anchored by kinases such as ATM and ATR—that detects breaks, halts the cell cycle at checkpoints, and coordinates repair through pathways like homologous recombination, with histone H2AX serving as an early molecular flag that marks damage sites across chromatin. Despite substantial progress, researchers are still working out how cells choose between competing repair pathways depending on the type of lesion and the phase of the cell cycle, and how failures in this decision-making process tip the balance toward genomic instability. A central open challenge is translating that mechanistic understanding into cancer therapies that selectively exploit repair deficiencies in tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue.

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Keywords

DNA DamageRepairGenomic InstabilityATM and ATR KinasesHomologous RecombinationCell Cycle Checkpoints