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Updated: Aug 9, 2026
Characterizing DNA Repair Processes at Transient and Long-lasting Double-strand DNA Breaks by Immunofluorescence Microscopy
Published on: June 8, 2018
DNA viruses and the cellular DNA-damage response
Andrew S Turnell1, Roger J Grand1
1School of Cancer Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
Abstract:
It is clear that a number of host-cell factors facilitate virus replication and, conversely, a number of other factors possess inherent antiviral activity. Research, particularly over the last decade or so, has revealed that there is a complex inter-relationship between viral infection and the host-cell DNA-damage response and repair pathways. There is now a realization that viruses can selectively activate and/or repress specific components of these host-cell pathways in a temporally coordinated manner, in order to promote virus replication. Thus, some viruses, such as simian virus 40, require active DNA-repair pathways for optimal virus replication, whereas others, such as adenovirus, go to considerable lengths to inactivate some pathways. Although there is ever-increasing molecular insight into how viruses interact with host-cell damage pathways, the precise molecular roles of these pathways in virus life cycles is not well understood. The object of this review is to consider how DNA viruses have evolved to manage the function of three principal DNA damage-response pathways controlled by the three phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-related protein kinases ATM, ATR and DNA-PK and to explore further how virus interactions with these pathways promote virus replication.
Insights
Viruses manipulate host DNA damage response pathways to replicate. This review examines how DNA viruses manage ATM, ATR, and DNA-PK pathways for their life cycles.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Molecular Biology
- Cellular Biology
Background:
- Host-cell factors influence viral replication, with some promoting it and others inhibiting it.
- A complex interplay exists between viral infections and host-cell DNA damage response and repair pathways.
- Viruses can modulate these pathways to favor their own replication.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review how DNA viruses manage key DNA damage-response pathways.
- To explore the roles of ATM, ATR, and DNA-PK in viral replication.
- To understand virus-host interactions at the molecular level.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on DNA virus interactions with host DNA damage pathways.
- Focus on the roles of ATM, ATR, and DNA-PK signaling.
- Analysis of how viruses manipulate these pathways.
Main Results:
- Viruses selectively activate or repress components of DNA damage pathways.
- Some viruses, like simian virus 40, require active repair pathways.
- Other viruses, like adenovirus, inactivate specific pathways.
Conclusions:
- DNA viruses have evolved sophisticated strategies to manage host DNA damage responses.
- Understanding these interactions is crucial for deciphering virus life cycles.
- Further research is needed to fully elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved.
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