Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 3, 2025

Visualizing and Quantifying Endonuclease-Based Site-Specific DNA Damage
10:59

Visualizing and Quantifying Endonuclease-Based Site-Specific DNA Damage

Published on: August 21, 2021

3.7K

The Cellular Response to DNA Damage: From DNA Repair to Polyploidy and Beyond

Razmik Mirzayans1

  • 1Department of Oncology, Cross Cancer Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1Z2, Canada.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences
|April 13, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Intratumor heterogeneity in solid tumors presents a major treatment challenge, as diverse cancer cell populations develop resistance via distinct biological mechanisms, complicating therapeutic strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Biology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) is a significant obstacle in solid tumor treatment.
  • Distinct cancer cell subpopulations within a tumor exhibit varied resistance mechanisms.

Discussion:

  • Understanding the diverse biological processes driving therapy resistance in ITH is crucial.
  • Therapeutic strategies must address multiple resistance pathways simultaneously.

Key Insights:

  • ITH contributes to differential drug responses and treatment failure.
  • Identifying specific resistance mechanisms in subpopulations is key to effective treatment.

Outlook:

  • Future research should focus on developing combination therapies targeting ITH.
  • Personalized treatment approaches tailored to tumor heterogeneity show promise.

More Related Videos

Characterizing DNA Repair Processes at Transient and Long-lasting Double-strand DNA Breaks by Immunofluorescence Microscopy08:31

Characterizing DNA Repair Processes at Transient and Long-lasting Double-strand DNA Breaks by Immunofluorescence Microscopy

Published on: June 8, 2018

9.2K
Visualization of DNA Repair Proteins Interaction by Immunofluorescence07:55

Visualization of DNA Repair Proteins Interaction by Immunofluorescence

Published on: June 26, 2020

10.3K

Related Concept Videos

DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle02:37

DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle

In response to DNA damage, cells can pause the cell cycle to assess and repair the breaks. However, the cell must check the DNA at certain critical stages during the cell cycle. If the cell cycle pauses before DNA replication, the cells will contain twice the amount of DNA. On the other hand, if cells arrest after DNA replication but before mitosis, they will contain four times the normal amount of DNA. With a host of specialized proteins at their disposal,cells must use the right protein at...
9.2K
Overview of DNA Repair02:25

Overview of DNA Repair

In order to be passed through generations, genomic DNA must be undamaged and error-free. However, every day, DNA in a cell undergoes several thousand to a million damaging events by natural causes and external factors. Ionizing radiation such as UV rays, free radicals produced during cellular respiration, and hydrolytic damage from metabolic reactions can alter the structure of DNA. Damages caused include single-base alteration, base dimerization, chain breaks, and cross-linkage.
Chemically...
31.2K
DNA Damage Can Stall the Cell Cycle02:37

DNA Damage Can Stall the Cell Cycle

2.6K
Nucleotide Excision Repair01:38

Nucleotide Excision Repair

DNA Distortion and Damage
Cells are regularly exposed to mutagens—factors in the environment that can damage DNA and generate mutations. UV radiation is one of the most common mutagens and is estimated to introduce a significant number of changes in DNA. These include bends or kinks in the structure, which can block DNA replication or transcription. If these errors are not fixed, the damage can cause mutations, which in turn can result in cancer or disease depending on which sequences are...
3.6K
Fixing Double-strand Breaks02:04

Fixing Double-strand Breaks

The double-stranded structure of DNA has two major advantages. First, it serves as a safe repository of genetic information where one strand serves as the back-up in case the other strand is damaged. Second, the double-helical structure can be wrapped around proteins called histones to form nucleosomes, which can then be tightly wound to form chromosomes. This way, DNA chains up to 2 inches long can be contained within microscopic structures in a cell. A double-stranded break not only damages...
12.7K
Homologous Recombination02:31

Homologous Recombination

The basic reaction of homologous recombination (HR) involves two chromatids that contain DNA sequences sharing a significant stretch of identity. One of these sequences uses a strand from another as a template to synthesize DNA in an enzyme-catalyzed reaction. The final product is a novel amalgamation of the two substrates. To ensure an accurate recombination of sequences, HR is restricted to the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle. At these stages, the DNA has been replicated already and the...
50.8K