Structural Aspects of Double Strand Break Repair

ABSTRACT

Double strand breaks are extremely deleterious to the stability of the genome as they lead to loss of whole chromosome fragments or chromosomal rearrangements with the consequent cell death or tumor development. The principal players in the cellular response to DNA damage have been rigorously studied. At the same time, knowledge about the organization of the repair process in the context of local chromatin and the nucleus as a whole has started to emerge only recently. Here, we summerize the most pertinent results regarding the spatial organization of the double strand break repair. On the basis of the data obtained by others and us, we propose a possible chain of events that may take place in chromatin in the vicinity of the breaks to balance the needs for spatial stability and accessibility of the damaged DNA.

Keywords:

• double strand break
• homologous recombination
• nonhomologous end joining
• acetylation/deacetylation of histones
• chromatin remodeling
• INO80
• TIP60
• cohesion
• H2AX