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Updated: Aug 7, 2025

Immunofluorescence Imaging of DNA Damage and Repair Foci in Human Colon Cancer Cells
Published on: June 9, 2020
DNA Damage and Its Role in Cancer Therapeutics
Jaeyoung Moon1, Ichiwa Kitty1, Kusuma Renata1,2
1Department of Integrated Biomedical Science, Soonchunhyang Institute of Medi-bio Science (SIMS), Soonchunhyang University, Cheonan 31151, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
DNA damage is a double-edged sword in cancer cells. On the one hand, DNA damage exacerbates gene mutation frequency and cancer risk. Mutations in key DNA repair genes, such as breast cancer 1 (BRCA1) and/or breast cancer 2 (BRCA2), induce genomic instability and promote tumorigenesis. On the other hand, the induction of DNA damage using chemical reagents or radiation kills cancer cells effectively. Cancer-burdening mutations in key DNA repair-related genes imply relatively high sensitivity to chemotherapy or radiotherapy because of reduced DNA repair efficiency. Therefore, designing specific inhibitors targeting key enzymes in the DNA repair pathway is an effective way to induce synthetic lethality with chemotherapy or radiotherapy in cancer therapeutics. This study reviews the general pathways involved in DNA repair in cancer cells and the potential proteins that could be targeted for cancer therapeutics.
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