Researchers of the Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC) participate in a work that deciphers the three-dimensional strucutre of some polymerases (set of proteins) which controle the genetic stability of cells. These are trans-lesions polymerases (TLS), which are involve in cell multiplication, identify lesions and allow duplication to continue even if DNA is damaged.
The research, which appears in Nature Communitacions, is led by Alfredo de Biasio, from the University of Leicester (UK), and from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Saudi Arabia)
As Ramon Crehuet (IQAC-CSIC), one of the authors of the paper, explains, “when a cell reproduces, the DNA duplication machinery has two things to do: firstly, to recognize if the DNA has a lesion; secondly, decide what to do. These decisions are key. Making mistakes and introducing genetic errors can lead to the appearance of diseases such as cancer ”. In fact, mutations in TLS polymerases are known to be involved in some cancers.
Claudia Lancey, Muhammad Tehseen, Souvika Bakshi, Matthew Percival, Masateru Takahashi, Mohamed A. Sobhy, Vlad S. Raducanu, Kerry Blair, Frederick W. Muskett, Timothy J. Ragan, Ramon Crehuet, Samir M. Hamdan & Alfredo De Biasio. Cryo-EM structure of human Pol κ bound to DNA and mono-ubiquitylated PCNA. Nature communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26251-6
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