title: Putting PHDs to work: PHF11 clears the way for EXO1 in double-strand break repair.
abstract: In this issue of Genes & Development, Gong and colleagues (pp. 46-58) bring to light a functional role for plant homeodomain finger 11 (PHF11) in 5' end resection at DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Using the proteomics of isolated chromatin segments (PICh) technique to purify deprotected telomeres, PHF11 was enriched as cells mounted a DNA damage response (DDR) against exposed chromosome ends. The study reveals interactions between PHF11 and multiple DNA repair proteins and suggests that PHF11 mediates 5' end resection by negotiating RPA-coated DNA repair intermediates. This finding provides a novel context for mediator-catalyzed RPA exchanges during the multistep process of homologous recombination (HR).
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Biology, Department Pathology, Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Basser Research Center for BRCA, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Karl E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Zahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Biology, Department Pathology, Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Basser Research Center for BRCA, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Roger A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Greenberg
mesh_terms: D053903:DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; D004260:DNA Repair; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005090:Exodeoxyribonucleases / Q000235:genetics*; D059765:Homologous Recombination
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005090:Exodeoxyribonucleases
keywords: ATR; DSB; EXO1; PHF11; RPA; homologous recombination; resection