RNA in DNA repair

Our genome is constantly subject to damage from exogenous and endogenous sources, and cells respond to such damage by initiating a DNA damage response (DDR). Failure to induce an adequate DDR can result in increased mutation load, chromosomal aberrations and a variety of human diseases, including cancer. A rapidly growing body of evidence suggests that a large number of RNA binding proteins are involved in the DDR, and several canonical DNA repair factors have moonlighting functions in RNA metabolism. RNA polymerases and RNA itself have been implicated at various stages of the DDR, including damage sensing, recruitment of DNA repair factors and tethering of broken DNA ends. RNA may even serve as a template for DNA repair under certain conditions. Given the vast number of non-coding RNAs in cells, we have barely started to decipher their potential involvement in genomic maintenance and future research on the interrelationship between RNA and DNA repair may open entirely new treatment options for human disease.