Researchers have identified a new mechanism by which a protein known for repairing damaged DNA also protects the integrity of DNA by preserving its structural shape. The discovery, involving the protein 53BP1, offers insight into understanding how cells maintain the integrity of DNA in the nucleus, which is critical for preventing diseases like premature aging and cancer.

The discovery, involving the protein 53BP1, offers insight into understanding how cells maintain the integrity of DNA in the nucleus, which is critical for preventing diseases like premature aging and cancer.

A research team led by Youwei Zhang, an associate professor of pharmacology at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and a member of the Molecular Oncology Program at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, conducted the study. The findings were published (Jan. 18, 2022) in Nature Communications.

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the chemical name for the molecule that carries genetic instructions in all living things.

53BP1 is a large protein known for determining how cells will repair a particular type of DNA damage — DNA double-strand break (DSB), in which the two strands of DNA are both broken, leaving a free DNA end floating around in the cell’s nucleus.

When DSB occurs, if not repaired, DNA ends could fuse to what it should not under normal conditions, which leads to the disruption of genetic information. In the short term, cells with unrepaired DNA may kill themselves off; but if a cell lost this self-surveillance, it may start the journey toward cancer.

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