Mechanisms and functions of DNA mismatch repair

• 来源期刊: 细胞研究（英文版）
• 年，卷（期）: 2008,（1）
• 页码范围: 85-98
• 页数: 14页
• 语种: 英文
• DOI: 10.1038/cr.2007.115

摘要

DNA mismatch repair (MMR) is a highly conserved biological pathway that plays a key role in maintaining genomic stability. The specificity of MMR is primarily for base-base mismatches and insertion/deletion mispairs generated dur-ing DNA replication and recombination. MMR also suppresses homeologous recombination and was recently shown to play a role in DNA damage signaling in eukaryotic cells. Escherichia coli MutS and MutL and their eukaryotic homo-logs, MutSα and MutLα, respectively, are key players in MMR-associated genome maintenance. Many other protein components that participate in various DNA metabolic pathways, such as PCNA and RPA, are also essential for MMR. Defects in MMR are associated with genome-wide instability, predisposition to certain types of cancer including he-reditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer, resistance to certain chemotherapeutic agents, and abnormalities in meiosis and sterility in mammalian systems.