title: The mechanics of base excision repair, and its relationship to aging and disease.
abstract: Base excision repair (BER) is the major pathway responsible for averting the mutagenic and cytotoxic effects of spontaneous hydrolytic, oxidative, and non-enzymatic alkylation DNA damage. In particular, this pathway recognizes and repairs base modifications, such as uracil and 8-hydroxyguanine, as well as abasic sites and DNA single-strand breaks. In this review, we outline the basic mechanics of the BER process, and describe the potential association of this pathway with aging and age-related disease, namely cancer and neurodegeneration.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, National Institute on Aging/NIH, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Vilhelm A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Bohr
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics*; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000235:genetics*; D006147:Guanine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C024829:8-hydroxyguanine; D006147:Guanine