Loading...

Daily news and top headlines for life science research professionals

FREE Email Newsletter View Sample


Unlocking the Secrets of DNA Repair

Featured In: Academia News | Cancer

Wednesday, October 31, 2024

See today's top life science stories and headlines - Sign up now!

newsvine diigo google
slashdot
Share
Loading...

Research led by Dr David Williams from the University of Sheffield's Department of Chemistry and an international collaboration of expert researchers has discovered how some proteins recognise damaged bases within DNA which, if untreated, could lead to cancer.

Dr Williams said: "Proteins carry out all the day-to-day processes needed for survival. If the DNA bases become damaged the associated protein may not function or in some cases, too much of a certain protein can be produced – which might lead to cancer.

"Everyday humans are exposed to chemicals known as alkylating agents which may be derived from environmental sources or from dietary sources such as a high intake of red or processed meat or exposure to tobacco smoke. Alkylating agents can chemically modify the bases in DNA which can, in turn, lead to non-functional proteins being produced or indeed cancer.

"Fortunately humans have a large number of different DNA repair proteins whose task it is to find and repair damaged bases in DNA. However DNA base damage, although highly problematic, is rare and often only one or two bases per million or even fewer. The task of locating a damaged base is similar to finding a needle in a haystack."

DNA contains all the information needed for life within the sequence of its four bases; adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine. Specific sequences of bases in DNA known as genes instruct what proteins are made and furthermore genes may be switched on or off to control how much of each protein is made.

The pioneering research, published in the journal: Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), was conducted by scientists from the University of Sheffield, University of Manchester and the Scripps Research Institute in California and focuses on damage to the guanine base to form O6-alkylguanine, a type of damage that is particularly prevalent in colon or bowel cancer.

"In humans this is repaired by alkyltransferase proteins that simply reverse the damage of these modified bases, converting them back to guanine," said Dr Williams.

"We have uncovered an exquisite mechanism whereby a positively charged side chain of the amino acid arginine found in the Alt1 protein is used to check the electronic charge distribution across the DNA base, which is altered by alkylation damage.

"This method of recognition, we believe, may also be used by many other DNA repair proteins to recognise damaged bases within DNA. A further exciting discovery we have made is to show that the alkyltransferase-like protein Alt1 can detect all known types of O6-alkylguanine modification.

"Consequently, Alt1 has potential for use in identifying and quantifying levels of certain O6- alkylguanines in human tissue biopsies. This would be informative to clinicians about individual susceptibility to certain cancers, particularly colorectal."

Source: University of Sheffield

Join the Discussion
Rate Article: Average 0 out of 5
register or log in to comment on this article!

0 Comments

Add Comment

Text Only 2000 character limit

Page 1 of 1

Research Exchange

Live Cell Analysis of Autophagy

Sep 4

Analysis of autophagosome formation using fluorescent cellular imaging and lentiviral biosensors.

Deconstructing 3D Cell Culture

Aug 31

3D culture models offer the potential to significantly reduce drug failure.

Safety Without Sacrifice

Safety Without Sacrifice

Jun 26

Liquid handling ergonomics and performance considerations

ELNs: The Beating Heart of a Scientist’s World

ELNs: The Beating Heart of a Scientist’s World

May 22

As ELNs deliver more benefits to researchers, the cost of changing working practice is outweighed by access to high quality, high context collaboration.

Evaluation of a New Nano-Type UV-Vis Spectrophotometer

Mar 3 2011

Analysis of one- to four-microliter size samples for nucleic acids has become routine in many life science laboratories. However, until now, available instruments require considerable manipulation of the instrument and sample; some require manually recording the data. The user must typically lower and raise the arm manually, then wipe the sample manually from the target after each analysis. And fiberoptics used in some of these instruments are subject to deterioration.

Production of Recombinant Proteins and Monoclonal Antibodies in Hollow Fiber Bioreactors

Jan 25 2011

While well-understood, robust and convenient, classical batch-style 2-D culture on non-porous supports or 3-D suspension culture in other devices are really not very biologically relevant models. Cell culture conditions can affect the quality of the antibody or protein produced.

Selecting Robots for Use in Drug Discovery and Testing

Dec 6 2010

Drug discovery and testing, with their need for speed, repeatability and verification, are ideally suited to benefit from robot automation. It is therefore not surprising that robots have been at the forefront of automation developments in both these areas.

HP Scalable Network Storage Systems for Life Sciences

Sep 13 2010

Life sciences research today is advancing exponentially, each step bringing us closer to the realization of truly personalized medicine–preventive care and treatments designed specifically for each individual. In the near future, PCPGM healthcare researchers expect to be able to use predictive genetic testing to create custom treatment plans for individuals and deliver dramatic improvements over today’s one-size-fits-all approach. But research capabilities are only part of the equation; current storage and operating capacities must also evolve to accommodate ever-expanding amounts of data before the goal of personalized medicine can be realized.

Using the Tecan Genesis Workstation to Automate a Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) Immunoassay

Mar 11 2010

The poster describe the process involved in automating a Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) immunoassay developed to measure relative concentrations of serum antibodies against Tetanus (TT), Sperm Whale Myoglobin (SWM) and Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH) in KLH-immunized volunteers.

Ensuring Quality in Assays Performed with Automated Liquid Handlers

Feb 2 2010

The focus of this presentation is to highlight the need of ensuring quality in important assays performed with automated liquid handlers. Nearly all assays performed within a laboratory are volume-dependent. In turn, all concentrations of biological and chemical components in these assays, as well as the associated dilution protocols, are volume-dependent. Because analyte concentration is volume-dependent, an assay’s results might be falsely interpreted if liquid handler variability and inaccuracies are unknown or if the system(s) go unchecked for a long period.

Inkjet System for Protein Crystallography

Feb 1 2010

X-ray crystallography is used routinely by scientists to obtain the three dimensional structure of a biological molecule of interest.Such information can be used to determine how a pharmaceutical interacts with a protein target and what changes might improve functionality. However, the crystallization of macromolecules still remains a serious hindrance in structural determination despite impressive advances in screening methods and technologies.

Attention Deficit & Hyperactivity in a Drosophila Memory Mutant

Attention Deficit & Hyperactivity in a Drosophila Memory Mutant

Nov 9 2009

Action selection is modulated by external stimuli either directly or via memory retrieval. In a constantly changing environment, animals have evolved attention-like processes to effectively filter the incoming sensory stream. These attention-like processes, in turn, are modulated by memory. The neurobiological nature of how attention, action selection and memory are inter-connected is unknown. We describe here new phenotypes of the memory mutant radish in the fruit fly Drosophila.

Red Meat Consumption and Mortality: Results From 2 Prospective Cohort Studies

Mar 16

BACKGROUND: Red meat consumption has been associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases. However, its relationship with mortality remains uncertain. METHODS: We prospectively observed 37 698 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2008)...

Structural analysis of eyespots: dynamics of morphogenic signals that govern elemental positions in butterfly wings.

Mar 15

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: To explain eyespot colour-pattern determination in butterfly wings, the induction model has been discussed based on colour-pattern analyses of various butterfly eyespots. However, a detailed structural analysis of eyespots that can serve as...

Prokariotic Cell Collection in Denmark

Nov 6 2009

I would like to know about a prokariotic cell collection in Denmark. Is there a cell bank in this country? I need a Lactobacillus strain for a fermentation assay and this information about the bank is very helpful for me.

Request for Entries

Oct 16 2009

Ask the Experts is your chance to get the answers to questions on applications, materials, methods, processes, and technologies. Email you question to bst_web@advantagemedia.com, and the editors of Bioscience Technology will find an appropriate expert to answer it. Watch this space in the future to see the questions your colleagues are posting.

STAY INFORMED: SUBSCRIBE TO

Magazine and E-mail Newsletters

Loading...
Loading...

Free Life Science Industry
Subscriptions

Magazine

wireless week

Newsletters

newsletters

Sign up now



MULTIMEDIA

Video:

Epigenetics

Aug 30

Hank & his clone Circus Hank explain the power of epigenetics, which studies the factors that determine how much or whether some genes are expressed in your body.

Podcasts:

Futures In Biotech 93: Snyder's Omics

May 17

Host: Marc Pelletier Co-Host: Andre Nantel, Ph.D. The technologies that our guest has developed are playing an important role in changing the world, not like the car, the microwave and the cell phone, but as in Drs. Flox, McCoy, and Crusher. Guest: Dr. Michael Snyder We invite...

Top Stories and Headlines
EVERY DAY!

FREE Email Newsletter

Information: