title: A direct role for small non-coding RNAs in DNA damage response.
abstract: Historically, the role of cellular RNA has been subordinate and ancillary to DNA. Protein-coding mRNA conveys the information content of DNA, and transfer RNAs and ribosomal RNAs allow the polymerization of amino acids into proteins. The discovery of non-protein-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) provided an additional role for RNA in finely tuning DNA expression. However, it has recently become apparent that the safeguard of DNA integrity depends on small ncRNAs acting at the site of DNA lesions to signal the presence of DNA damage in the cell, and on the genes involved in their biogenesis to achieve accurate DNA repair. I review here evidence supporting a role for small ncRNAs, termed DNA damage-response RNAs (DDRNAs) or double-strand break (DSB)-induced RNAs (diRNAs), that are generated at sites of DNA damage and control the DNA damage response (DDR). I also discuss their biogenesis, potential mechanisms of action, and their relevance in cancer.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Firc di Oncologia Molecolare (IFOM) Foundation - Fondazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (FIRC) Institute of Molecular Oncology Foundation, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy; Istituto di Genetica Molecolare - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Abbiategrasso 207, 27100 Pavia, Italy. Electronic address: fabrizio.dadda@ifom.eu.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: d'Adda di Fagagna
mesh_terms: D053903:DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000235:genetics*; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D058727:RNA, Small Untranslated / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D058727:RNA, Small Untranslated
keywords: DDRNA; DICER; DNA damage response (DDR); DROSHA; diRNA; non-coding RNA (ncRNA)