title: Double-strand break repair mediated by DNA end-joining.
abstract: DNA double-strand breaks formed by ionizing irradiation or other stresses are repaired by homologous recombination or DNA end-joining. This review focuses on the mechanism of double-strand break repair mediated by DNA end-joining, in which many factors have recently been identified. After DNA double-strand breakage, DNA end-joining takes place between the DNA ends that have nonhomologous sequences or very short regions ofhomology. The broken DNA is repaired if the DNA end-joining occurs in the same molecule, while it causes chromosome aberrations such as deletions, insertions, translocations and inversions if it occurs between different molecules. Rad50 and its relatives, Ku-proteins, DNA ligase VI and silencing factors, are involved in DNA end-joining in yeast and mammalian cells. These findings led us to propose a model in which the formation of a heterochromatin-like complex at broken ends is an important element in DNA end-joining.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsukamoto
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ikeda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D004260:DNA Repair; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D011995:Recombination, Genetic
chemical_list: D004247:DNA