Oxidative DNA Damage Repair

[TECH NEWS]

Oxidative stress is the cause of many serious diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, arteriosclerosis and diabetes. It occurs when the body is exposed to excessive amounts of electrically charged, aggressive oxygen compounds. These are normally produced during breathing and other metabolic processes, but also in the case of ongoing stress, exposure to UV light or X-rays. If the oxidative stress is too high, it overwhelms the body’s natural defenses. The aggressive oxygen compounds destroy genetic material, resulting in what are referred to as harmful 8-oxo-guanine base mutations in the DNA. Now Enni Markkanen, a veterinarian and researcher at the University of Zurich, together with others from the universities of Zurich and Oxford, has decoded and characterized the repair mechanism for the mutated DNA bases. This mechanism efficiently copies thousands of 8-oxo-guanines without their harmful mutations, thus normally preventing the negative consequences of 8-oxo-guanine damage. In their study, published in PNAS, the researchers outline the detailed processes involved in the local and temporal coordination of this repair mechanism.

Dec 27, 2011,  University of Zurich