The multifunctional Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 (MRN) protein complex recruits ATM/Tel1 checkpoint kinase and CtIP/Ctp1 homologous recombination (HR) repair factor to double-strand breaks (DSBs). HR repair commences with the 5'-to-3' resection of DNA ends, generating 3' single-strand DNA (ssDNA) overhangs that bind Replication Protein A (RPA) complex, followed by Rad51 recombinase. In Saccharomyces cerevi...

5' strand resection at DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) is critical for homologous recombination (HR) and genomic stability. Here we develop a novel method to quantitatively measure single-stranded DNA intermediates in human cells and find that the 5' strand at endonuclease-generated break sites is resected up to 3.5 kb in a cell cycle-dependent manner. Depletion of CtIP, Mre11, Exo1 or SOSS1 bl...

The expansion of CAG·CTG repeat tracts is responsible for several neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington disease and myotonic dystrophy. Understanding the molecular mechanism of CAG·CTG repeat tract expansion is therefore important if we are to develop medical interventions limiting expansion rates. Escherichia coli provides a simple and tractable model system to understand the fundam...

To date, the results of studies exploring the relation between exonuclease 1 (Exo1) polymorphisms and cancer risks have differed. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the effect of the three most extensively studied Exo1 polymorphisms (Pro757Leu, Glu589Lys, and Glu670Gly) on cancer susceptibility. The related studies published before August 5, 2015, were collected by searc...

DNA damage is thought to play a critical role in the development of colorectal adenoma. Variation in DNA repair genes may alter their capacity to correct endogenous and exogenous DNA damage. We explored the association between common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DNA repair genes and adenoma risk with a case-control study nested in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer S...

Maintenance of telomere capping is absolutely essential to the survival of eukaryotic cells. Telomere capping proteins, such as Cdc13 and POT1, are essential for the viability of budding yeast and mammalian cells, respectively. Here we identify, for the first time, three genetic modifications that allow budding yeast cells to survive without telomere capping by Cdc13. We found that simultaneous...