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Updated: May 20, 2025

Visualizing and Quantifying Endonuclease-Based Site-Specific DNA Damage
Published on: August 21, 2021
Causes and consequences of T cell DNA damage
Costas Koufaris1, Michael Berger2, Rami Aqeilan3
1Cyprus Cancer Research Institute (CCRI), Nicosia, Cyprus.
Abstract:
Although DNA damage is a common cellular event, T cells experience significant genotoxic stresses because of rapid antigen-stimulated expansion and their presence in various nonlymphoid microenvironments. In addition to the well-established link between genomic instability and malignancy, recent genomic studies have uncovered a substantial mutational burden in nonmalignant T cells in both normal aging and disease contexts. Furthermore, genomic damage in T cells is accelerated in autoimmune diseases and in older individuals because of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. This review highlights the different genotoxic stressors affecting T cells and the detrimental effects of persistent DNA damage and identifies the most critical knowledge gaps.
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