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Updated: May 2, 2026
Visualizing and Quantifying Endonuclease-Based Site-Specific DNA Damage
Published on: August 21, 2021
What's the damage? The impact of pathogens on pathways that maintain host genome integrity
Matthew D Weitzman1, Jonathan B Weitzman2
1Division of Cancer Pathobiology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Abstract:
Maintaining genome integrity and transmission of intact genomes is critical for cellular, organismal, and species survival. Cells can detect damaged DNA, activate checkpoints, and either enable DNA repair or trigger apoptosis to eliminate the damaged cell. Aberrations in these mechanisms lead to somatic mutations and genetic instability, which are hallmarks of cancer. Considering the long history of host-microbe coevolution, an impact of microbial infection on host genome integrity is not unexpected, and emerging links between microbial infections and oncogenesis further reinforce this idea. In this review, we compare strategies employed by viruses, bacteria, and parasites to alter, subvert, or otherwise manipulate host DNA damage and repair pathways. We highlight how microbes contribute to tumorigenesis by directly inducing DNA damage, inactivating checkpoint controls, or manipulating repair processes. We also discuss indirect effects resulting from inflammatory responses, changes in cellular metabolism, nuclear architecture, and epigenome integrity, and the associated evolutionary tradeoffs.
Insights
Microbial infections can compromise host genome integrity, contributing to cancer development. This review explores how pathogens manipulate DNA damage and repair pathways, both directly and indirectly.
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Microbiology
- Cancer Biology
Background:
- Genome integrity is crucial for survival; its loss leads to mutations and cancer.
- Host-microbe coevolution suggests infections can impact host DNA.
- Links between microbial infections and oncogenesis are increasingly recognized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review how viruses, bacteria, and parasites affect host DNA damage and repair pathways.
- To highlight microbial mechanisms contributing to cancer.
- To discuss direct and indirect effects of infections on genome integrity.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of microbial strategies.
- Review of existing literature on host-pathogen interactions and DNA repair.
- Examination of oncogenesis mechanisms linked to infection.
Main Results:
- Microbes employ diverse strategies to disrupt host DNA integrity.
- Pathogens directly induce DNA damage or interfere with repair mechanisms.
- Indirect effects include inflammation, metabolic changes, and epigenetic alterations.
Conclusions:
- Microbial infections are significant contributors to cancer development.
- Understanding these interactions is key to developing novel cancer prevention and treatment strategies.
- Evolutionary tradeoffs influence host-pathogen dynamics in genome integrity.
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