Function of RecQ helicases in genome stability

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

DNA damage accumulates during life and is thought to contribute to aging and genomic instability. Therefore, defining those proteins and pathways that maintain genomic stability is critical in preventing aging and age-related degeneration. This project aims to understand what roles human RecQ proteins play in DNA repair and genome stability. RecQ proteins play fundamental roles in several DNA metabolic pathways including DNA double-strand break repair (DSBR), including homologous recombination (HR), non-homologous end joining (NHEJ), and replication. Three of the five human RecQ helicases, WRN, BLM, and RECQL4, are associated with monogenic diseases. Understanding the biochemical processes that these protein function in and their shared or unique roles in DNA repair processes continues to be a focus of this research.