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DNA damage checkpoints are key regulatory signaling cascades that arrest cell cycle progression upon DNA damage or upon DNA replication stalling and allow time for repair or correction. Failure to elicit these checkpoints can lead to genomic instability that can result in cell death or mutations, ultimately leading to diseases such as cancer. Components of the DNA damage checkpoint are attractive targets for precision medicine to treat cancers. Over the last several years, cutting-edge structural techniques have provided molecular insights into the highly coordinated checkpoint signaling that occurs in response to DNA damage or other obstacles to replication progression. This review summarizes our current mechanistic understanding of the DNA damage checkpoint in eukaryotes, with an emphasis on the sensor kinases ATM (Tel1) and ATR (Mec1), highlighting structure-function and cellular studies.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-biochem-072324-031915 | DOI Listing |
Mutat Res Rev Mutat Res
September 2025
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China. Electronic address:
To maintain genomic stability, cells have evolved complex mechanisms collectively known as the DNA damage response (DDR), which includes DNA repair, cell cycle checkpoints, apoptosis, and gene expression regulation. Recent studies have revealed that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are pivotal regulators of the DDR. Beyond their established roles in recruiting repair proteins and modulating gene expression, emerging evidence highlights two particularly intriguing functions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnnu Rev Pathol
September 2025
3Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA;
Clonal hematopoiesis, originally identified as a precursor to hematologic malignancies, has emerged as a significant factor in various nonmalignant diseases. Recent research highlights how somatic mutations in hematopoietic stem cells lead to the expansion of circulating mutated immune cells that exert profound effects on organ function and disease progression. These mutated clones display altered inflammatory profiles and tissue-specific functional consequences, contributing to various diseases including atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, heart failure, and neurodegenerative conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Comput Biol
September 2025
Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
Fanconi Anemia (FA) is a heritable syndrome characterized by DNA damage repair deficits, frequent malformations and a significantly elevated risk of bone marrow failure, leukemia, and mucosal head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy can prevent marrow failure and lower leukemia risk, but mucosal gene therapy to lower HNSCC risk remains untested. Major knowledge gaps include an incomplete understanding of how rapidly gene-corrected cellular lineages could spread through the oral epithelium, and which delivery parameters are critical for ensuring efficient gene correction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
September 2025
Cancer Research Center of Marseille: Team DNA Damage and Genome Instability|CNRS, Inserm, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Aix Marseille Université, Marseille 13009, France.
Following encounter with an unrepaired DNA lesion, replication is halted and can restart downstream of the lesion leading to the formation of a single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) gap. To complete replication, this ssDNA gap is filled in by one of the two lesion tolerance pathways: the error-prone Translesion Synthesis (TLS) or the error-free Homology Directed Gap Repair (HDGR). In the present work, we evidence a role for the RecBC complex distinct from its canonical function in homologous recombination at DNA double strand breaks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
September 2025
Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139.
The mutagenic translesion synthesis (TLS) pathway, which is critically dependent on REV1's ability to recruit inserter TLS polymerases and the POLζ extender polymerase, enables cancer cells to bypass DNA lesions while introducing mutations that likely contribute to the development of chemotherapy resistance and secondary malignancies. Targeting this pathway represents a promising therapeutic strategy. Here, we demonstrate that the expression of the C-terminal domain (CTD) of human REV1, a ca.
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