title: DNA excision repair at telomeres.
abstract: DNA damage is caused by either endogenous cellular metabolic processes such as hydrolysis, oxidation, alkylation, and DNA base mismatches, or exogenous sources including ultraviolet (UV) light, ionizing radiation, and chemical agents. Damaged DNA that is not properly repaired can lead to genomic instability, driving tumorigenesis. To protect genomic stability, mammalian cells have evolved highly conserved DNA repair mechanisms to remove and repair DNA lesions. Telomeres are composed of long tandem TTAGGG repeats located at the ends of chromosomes. Maintenance of functional telomeres is critical for preventing genome instability. The telomeric sequence possesses unique features that predispose telomeres to a variety of DNA damage induced by environmental genotoxins. This review briefly describes the relevance of excision repair pathways in telomere maintenance, with the focus on base excision repair (BER), nucleotide excision repair (NER), and mismatch repair (MMR). By summarizing current knowledge on excision repair of telomere damage and outlining many unanswered questions, it is our hope to stimulate further interest in a better understanding of excision repair processes at telomeres and in how these processes contribute to telomere maintenance.
authors.affiliation: Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, United States.
authors.forename: Pingping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, United States.
authors.forename: Chengtao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Her
authors.affiliation: Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, United States; School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, United States. Electronic address: wchai@wsu.edu.
authors.forename: Weihang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D004249:DNA Damage; D004260:DNA Repair; D042822:Genomic Instability; D006801:Humans; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016615:Telomere / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004247:DNA
keywords: Base excision repair; Genome stability; Mismatch repair; Nucleotide excision repair; Telomere