A Billion Daily Repairs: How Our Cells Mend Broken DNA
New Discovery Sheds Light on Cancer, Infertility, and Genetic Diseases
A major new discovery could inspire improved treatments for cancer and genetic diseases.
Coiled within our cells are fragile threads of DNA that contain the codes of life— determining when each of our 30 trillion cells must grow, divide, sit tight — or simply die. This arrangement is precarious. Billions of times per day, our DNA is severed by stray chemical reactions. Our cells must rebuild the broken DNA without making mistakes – or the consequences can be dire.
A team including three UC Davis scientists has now mapped the structure of the tiny machine that repairs these dangerous breaks. Their discovery was published March 2 in the journal Nature.
“We experience DNA damage every day and every minute,” says Wolf-Dietrich Heyer, a distinguished professor and chair of microbiology and molecular genetics. “The proteins that repair these breaks have to be unbelievably reliable — this is central to human health.” Defects in DNA repair can trigger cancer, infertility, and genetic diseases.
The team’s discovery reconstructs the step-by-step movements of a protein called RAD51 and its five helper proteins – called paralogs – that perform this delicate task.