Targeting DNA Replication before it Starts

Where it all starts: eukaryotic origins of DNA replication.

Chromosomal origins of DNA replication in eukaryotic cells not only are crucial for understanding the basic process of DNA duplication but also provide a tool to analyze how cell cycle regulators are linked to the replication machinery. During the past decade much progress has been made in identifying replication origins in eukaryotic genomes. More recently, replication initiation point (RIP) m...

Stopping breast cancer before it starts.

Chronic headache: stop the pain before it starts.

Familiarity with the risks associated with medication overuse and the importance of headache prophylaxis is key to easing your patient's pain.

Targeting DNA Replication Stress for Cancer Therapy

The human cellular genome is under constant stress from extrinsic and intrinsic factors, which can lead to DNA damage and defective replication. In normal cells, DNA damage response (DDR) mediated by various checkpoints will either activate the DNA repair system or induce cellular apoptosis/senescence, therefore maintaining overall genomic integrity. Cancer cells, however, due to constitutive g...

Intranuclear targeting of DNA replication factors.

Mammalian nuclei are highly organized into functional compartments. Major nuclear processes like DNA replication and RNA processing take place in distinct foci. These microscopically visible foci are formed by the assembly of, for example, DNA replication factors and associated proteins into megadalton complexes often referred to as protein machines or factories. Thus far, two proteins, DNA lig...