Home » Posts tagged 'AlkC'
Tag Archives: AlkC
New Manuscript Published: Selective base excision repair of DNA damage by the non‐base‐flipping DNA glycosylase AlkC.
New Manuscript Published: Selective base excision repair of DNA damage by the non‐base‐flipping DNA glycosylase AlkC.
The preservation of genomic integrity performed by DNA repair machinery is crucial for living organisms, and malfunctions in DNA repair machinery can have far-reaching and devastating effects on a cell’s ability to attain precise DNA replication, properly regulate cell differentiation and self-renewal, and to regulate cell growth and apoptosis, among other important cellular functions. Mutations of critical residues in DNA repair proteins can drastically reduce DNA repair capability in cells, allowing for a build-up of genomic mutations. Inherited variants in DNA repair proteins such as glycosylase MUTYH have been linked to a predisposition to tumors in patients with disease MUTYH Associated Polyposis (MAP). The David Lab is interested in delineating DNA repair mechanisms to help shed light on the etiology of cancer and other diseases, providing mechanistic and structural information that may be used, for example, to design drug molecules targeting DNA repair proteins.
New work from the David Lab examined the selective base excision repair of DNA damage by the non-base-flipping DNA glycosylase AlkC, which primarily targets alkylated-DNA damage product N3-methyladenine (3mA). This work details how AlkC selects for and excises 3mA with its non-base-flipping mechanism. The authors carried out a comprehensive phylogenetic, biochemical, and structural comparison of AlkC and AlkD proteins for comparison, which shows, notably, characteristics important for substrate specificity and why bulkier substrates are not preferred. Interestingly, AlkC’s excision mechanism involves using HEAT-like repeat domains and in most cases Ig-like domains to introduce a kink in the target DNA, helping to expose the target nucleobase, allowing for subsequent insertion of the enzyme active site to excise its target.
Click here to read more about AlkC’s non-base-flipping mechanism.
Source:
Science Daily News
- Scientists trick the eye into seeing new color 'olo' April 23, 2025Scientists have created a new platform called 'Oz' that uses laser light to control up to 1,000 photoreceptors in the eye at once. Using Oz, the researchers showed people images, videos and a new, ultra-saturated shade of green that they have named 'olo.' The platform could be used to probe the nature of color vision […]
- Engineering a robot that can jump 10 feet high -- without legs April 23, 2025Inspired by the movements of a tiny parasitic worm, engineers have created a 5-inch soft robot that can jump as high as a basketball hoop. Their device, a silicone rod with a carbon-fiber spine, can leap 10 feet high even though it doesn't have legs. The researchers made it after watching high-speed video of nematodes […]
- 'Periodic table of machine learning' could fuel AI discovery April 23, 2025After uncovering a unifying algorithm that links more than 20 common machine-learning approaches, researchers organized them into a 'periodic table of machine learning' that can help scientists combine elements of different methods to improve algorithms or create new ones.
- Newborns living near trees tend to be healthier: New data suggests it's not because healthier people reside near parks April 23, 2025The link between proximity to greenspace -- including trees and parks-- and healthy birth outcomes is well established. Now new data adds to our understanding of these health benefits, accounting for other factors that may influence this link, such as education, income and body mass index, but also taking the body of knowledge a step […]
- Family dynamics shape body image differently across cultures April 23, 2025Body appreciation differs between Middle-Eastern and Western societies, a new international study can reveal, highlighting how cultural and family influences shape body image and eating behaviors in young women. The study surveyed over 850 women aged 18-25 in Australia and Lebanon, examining the roles that mothers and sisters play in shaping body dissatisfaction, body appreciation, […]