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Targeting BER enzymes in cancer therapy
Torkild Visnes1, Maurice Grube2, Bishoy Magdy Fekry Hanna2
1Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, S-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Biotechnology and Nanomedicine, SINTEF Industry, N-7034 Trondheim, Norway.
DNA Repair
|September 20, 2018
Summary
Base excision repair (BER) is crucial for fixing DNA damage in cancer. Targeting BER offers new therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment by exploiting DNA repair pathways.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Cancer Research
- Genetics
Background:
- Base excision repair (BER) is a critical DNA repair pathway.
- BER addresses mutagenic and genotoxic DNA base lesions, implicated in cancer etiology and treatment.
- Oxidative lesions and deamination products are significant mutational signatures in cancer.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the relevance of BER in cancer chemotherapy.
- To discuss potential treatment strategies involving BER.
- To summarize progress in developing inhibitors for BER-related factors.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on BER in cancer.
- Analysis of therapeutic strategies targeting BER.
- Summary of inhibitor development for BER proteins.
Main Results:
- BER plays a role in cancer cell survival under stress and therapeutic intervention.
- Synthetic lethality approaches targeting BER are emerging.
- Inhibitors for core BER proteins and related factors are under development.
Conclusions:
- BER is a promising target for novel cancer therapies.
- Targeting BER can be achieved through multiple strategies, including synthetic lethality.
- Further development of BER inhibitors holds potential for cancer treatment.
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