Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2025

10:59
Visualizing and Quantifying Endonuclease-Based Site-Specific DNA Damage
Published on: August 21, 2021
3.6K
DNA repair deficiency and the immune microenvironment: A pathways perspective
1Department of Radiation Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
DNA Repair
|November 19, 2023
Summary
DNA repair pathway alterations in tumors impact genomic stability and the tumor immune microenvironment. This dysfunction can enhance sensitivity to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in solid tumors.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Cancer Biology
- Immunology
Background:
- Genomic stability relies on timely and accurate DNA damage repair.
- Tumors frequently exhibit altered or lost DNA repair pathways.
- DNA repair deficiency affects tumor cell responses and the tumor immune microenvironment.
Conclusions:
- Dysfunctional DNA repair pathways are critical determinants of tumor response to immunotherapy.
- Understanding these mechanisms can guide the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
- Targeting DNA repair could enhance the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in solid tumors.
Related Concept Videos
Nucleotide Excision Repair
3.5K
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...
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...
3.5K
Overview of DNA Repair
31.1K
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...
Chemically...
31.1K
Mismatch Repair
4.9K
Organisms are capable of detecting and fixing nucleotide mismatches that occur during DNA replication. This sophisticated process requires identifying the new strand and replacing the erroneous bases with correct nucleotides. Mismatch repair is coordinated by many proteins in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...
4.9K
Long-patch Base Excision Repair
7.0K
Since the discovery of the two BER pathways, there has been a debate about how a cell chooses one pathway over the other and the factors determining this selection. Numerous in vitro experiments have pointed out multiple determinants for the sub-pathway selection. These are:
7.0K
Base Excision Repair
3.7K
3.7K
DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle
9.2K
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

