The yeast and human RAD51 genes encode strand-transfer proteins that are thought to be involved in both recombinational repair of DNA damage and meiotic recombination. In yeast, the Rad51 family of related proteins also includes Rad55, Rad57 and Dmc1. In mammalian cells, five genes in this family have been identified (HsRAD51, XRCC2, XRCC3, RAD51B/hREC2 and HsDMC1), and here we report the isola...

Introduction Endometrial cancer is a component of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal carcinoma, primarily the consequence of mutations in genes involved in mismatch repair (MMR; MSH2, MLH1, PMS1, and PMS2). In addition to the repair of DNA replication errors, MMR genes have been implicated in homologous recombination repair (HRR) in yeast and in mammalian cells (1, 2). The involvement of the MM...

Exposure of cells to DNA-damaging agents results in a rapid increase in the formation of subnuclear complexes containing Rad51. To date, it has not been determined to what extent DNA damage-induced cytoplasmic to nuclear transport of Rad51 may contribute to this process. We have analyzed subcellular fractions of HeLa and HCT116 cells and found a significant increase in nuclear Rad51 levels foll...

A diet rich in fruit and vegetables can be effective in the reduction of oxidative stress, through the antioxidant effects of phytochemicals and other mechanisms. Protection against the carcinogenic effects of chemicals may also be exerted by an enhancement of detoxification and DNA damage repair mechanisms. To investigate a putative effect of flavonoids, a class of polyphenols, on the regulati...

Genetic polymorphisms in double-strand break repair genes may influence DNA repair capacity and, in turn, confer predisposition to breast cancer. We prospectively assessed the associations of candidate polymorphisms G31479A (R188H) in XRCC2, A4541G (5'-UTR), A17893G (IVS5-14) and C18067T (T241 M) in XRCC3, and C299T (5'-UTR) and T1977C (D501D) in Ligase IV with breast cancer risk in a nested ca...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of lung cancer in China will be the world's highest if allowed to proceed uncurbed. To unravel its genetic underpinnings, we sought to investigate the association of three well-characterized nonsynonymous polymorphisms in XRCC1 (Arg194Trp and Arg399Gln) and XRCC3 (Thr241Met) genes with lung cancer risk in northeastern Chinese. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS This stud...

Non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR) represent the two main pathways for repairing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). During the G2 phase of the mammalian cell cycle, both processes can operate and chromatin structure is one important factor which determines DSB repair pathway choice. ATM facilitates the repair of heterochromatic DSBs by phosphorylating and inactiva...

National Institute of Occupational Health, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark [N. R. J., H. W., U. V.]; Institute of Human Genetics, University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark [B. A. N.]; Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, The Danish Cancer Society, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark [A. O., A. T.]; and Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aalborg Hospital and Aarhus University Hospital, and Department o...