Beyond repair foci: DNA double-strand break repair in euchromatic and heterochromatic compartments analyzed by transmission electron microscopy.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) generated by ionizing radiation pose a serious threat to the preservation of genetic and epigenetic information. The known importance of local chromatin configuration in DSB repair raises the question of whether breaks in different chromatin environments are recognized and repaired by the same repair machinery and with similar efficiency. An essential step in DSB processing by non-homologous end joining is the high-affinity binding of Ku70-Ku80 and DNA-PKcs to double-stranded DNA ends that holds the ends in physical proximity for subsequent repair.

Methods and materials

Using transmission electron microscopy to localize gold-labeled pKu70 and pDNA-PKcs within nuclear ultrastructure, we monitored the formation and repair of actual DSBs

SUBMITTER: Lorat Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3364237 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature