Università della Svizzera italiana

The MRE11 complex : a versatile toolkit for the repair of broken DNA

Reginato, Giordano ; Cejka, Petr

In: DNA repair, 2020, vol. 91–92, no. July–August, p. 13 p

When DNA breaks, the ends need to be stabilized and processed to facilitate subsequent repair, which can occur by either direct but error-prone end-joining with another broken DNA molecule or a more accurate homology-directed repair by the recombination machinery. At the same time, the presence of broken DNA triggers a signaling cascade that regulates the repair events and cellular progression...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Main steps in DNA double-strand break repair : An introduction to homologous recombination and related processes

Ranjha, Lepakshi ; Howard, Sean Michael ; Cejka, Petr

In: Chromosoma, 2018, vol. 127, no. 2 (June), p. 187–214

DNA double-strand breaks arise accidentally upon exposure of DNA to radiation, chemicals or result from faulty DNA metabolic processes. DNA breaks can also be introduced in a programmed manner, such as during the maturation of the immune system, meiosis or cancer chemo- or radiotherapy. Cells have developed a variety of repair pathways, which are fine-tuned to the specific needs of a cell....