Impact of G-Quadruplexes and Chronic Inflammation on Genome Instability: Additive Effects during Carcinogenesis.

ABSTRACT: Genome instability is an enabling characteristic of cancer, essential for cancer cell evolution. Hotspots of genome instability, from small-scale point mutations to large-scale structural variants, are associated with sequences that potentially form non-B DNA structures. G-quadruplex (G4) forming motifs are enriched at structural variant endpoints in cancer genomes. Chronic inflammation is a physiological state underlying cancer development, and oxidative DNA damage is commonly invoked to explain how inflammation promotes genome instability. We summarize where G4s and oxidative stress overlap, with a focus on DNA replication. Guanine has low ionization potential, making G4s vulnerable to oxidative damage. Impacts to G4 structure are dependent upon lesion type, location, and G4 conformation

SUBMITTER: Stein M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8619830 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature