Repair of Double-Strand Breaks by End Joining

  1. Thomas E. Wilson1,3
  1. 1Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
  2. 2Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
  3. 3Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
  1. Correspondence: wilsonte{at}umich.edu
  1. 4 These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

Nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) refers to a set of genome maintenance pathways in which two DNA double-strand break (DSB) ends are (re)joined by apposition, processing, and ligation without the use of extended homology to guide repair. Canonical NHEJ (c-NHEJ) is a well-defined pathway with clear roles in protecting the integrity of chromosomes when DSBs arise. Recent advances have revealed much about the identity, structure, and function of c-NHEJ proteins, but many questions exist regarding their concerted action in the context of chromatin. Alternative NHEJ (alt-NHEJ) refers to more recently described mechanism(s) that repair DSBs in less-efficient backup reactions. There is great interest in defining alt-NHEJ more precisely, including its regulation relative to c-NHEJ, in light of evidence that alt-NHEJ can execute chromosome rearrangements. Progress toward these goals is reviewed.



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