title: DNA repair in mammalian cells: Direct DNA damage reversal: elegant solutions for nasty problems.
abstract: The genomic integrity of all living organisms is constantly jeopardized by physical [e.g. ultraviolet (UV) light, ionizing radiation] and chemical (e.g. environmental pollutants, endogenously produced reactive metabolites) agents that damage the DNA. To overcome the deleterious effects of DNA lesions, nature evolved a number of complex multi-protein repair processes with broad, partially overlapping substrate specificity. In marked contrast, cells may use very simple repair systems, referred to as direct DNA damage reversal, that rely on a single protein, remove lesions in a basically error-free manner, show high substrate specificity, and do not involve incision of the sugar-phosphate backbone or base excision. This concise review deals with two types of direct DNA damage reversal: (i) the repair of alkylating damage by alkyltransferases and dioxygenases, and (ii) the repair of UV-induced damage by spore photoproduct lyases and photolyases. (Part of a Multi-author Review).
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Center for Biomedical Genetics, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A P M
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Eker
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Quayle
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chaves
authors.forename: G T J
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: van der Horst
mesh_terms: D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000477:Alkylating Agents / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004249:DNA Damage; D004260:DNA Repair; D004255:Deoxyribodipyrimidine Photo-Lyase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D049308:Dioxygenases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010802:Phylogeny; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D000477:Alkylating Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D049308:Dioxygenases; D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; D004255:Deoxyribodipyrimidine Photo-Lyase