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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Electrophoretic Analysis of Replication Through Structure-Prone DNA Repeats Within the SV40-Based Human Episome
Published on: September 13, 2024
Transcription promotes contraction of CAG repeat tracts in human cells
Yunfu Lin1, Vincent Dion, John H Wilson
1Verna and Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, One Baylor Plaza, Texas 77030, USA.
Abstract:
Induced transcription through CAG repeats in human cells increases repeat contraction approximately 15-fold in both confluent and proliferating cells. Repeats are stabilized against contraction by siRNA knockdown of MSH2, MSH3 or XPA, but not by knockdown of MSH6, XPC or FEN1. These results define a pathway for CAG.CTG repeat contraction that is initiated by transcription, depends on elements of mismatch and nucleotide-excision repair and does not require DNA replication.
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