DNA repair system studied in the hope of better cancer treatments

For a human cell, which is a disturbing world. Each of the 60 billion cells or the average person is damaged tens of thousands, perhaps a million, once day, say scientists.

The results can be fatal.

Ultraviolet rays, tobacco, chemicals, mold peanuts, diseases, injuries and simple genetic age can lead to mutations, supplements, subtract, swaps and Wertaufholungen confusion, as long strings, the DNA of a cell.

In addition, breathing may not be meaningful. Since the cells of oxygen, the energy of food by-products are dangerous, the damaged DNA.

A cell can run Amok injuries, reproduction and dissemination of wildlife by the body, cancer, blindness, anemia, premature aging, or other misfortunes.

Fortunately, developing a system that detects, biochemical and repair of damaged DNA. If the repair system can not correct the error signals to the cell suicide to celebrate.

"Without an effective DNA repair, life as we know it can not exist", Zvi Livneh, a biochemist at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science, wrote in the February 18th issue of the EMBO Journal , a publication of the European Molecular Biology Organization.

With DNA play an important role in cancer treatment, researchers want to understand how DNA solves this in the hope of improving their capacity for diagnosis and treatment of Dread Disease. In cancer cells, for example, it is best if the DNA repair cycle, so that cells can not replicate.

Dr. Alan D'Andrea, a professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School, founded a company called The Co. DNA repair in Cambridge, Mass., the development of personalized cancer treatments.

Large pharmaceutical companies Sanofi-Aventis spent $ 500 million in April for the acquisition of an enzyme that is in the repair of DNA. The drug may prevent cancer cells from repairing DNA damage when treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Ionizing radiation, such as the Chernobyl accident in 1986, Russia, "backbone of the water from the DNA as simple as we break a hair," says a report by the European Integrated DNA repair of project, a multinational scientific problem of the attack. "A pause is enough to kill a cell." On a week of DNA repair conference last winter in Ventura, California, researchers discussed that Conference guide "a lot of progress (at) the rapidly growing area."

For example, Wei Yang, a molecular biologist at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., presents the latest techniques to detect DNA damage. She compared the task, "Finding needles in a haystack."

Leona Samson, a biological engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, with yeast cells, which suffer from DNA, like all living organisms.

"To our surprise, we have hundreds of responsive genes in the context of DNA repair, Samson reported on their website.

DNS error is a factor of age, and in the treatment of cancer, including the elderly.

"A number of recent advances in research of DNA repair directly to the intersection of cancer and aging," the repair of the project explains the science.

Here's how DNA repair works:

If sharing a cell, through a number of cell cycle. Check-points, there are several places in the cycle to ensure that there is no error in the 3 billion chemical units of DNA. If there is none, it is OK to share the cell.

If something goes wrong with DNA, but the cycle continues until the cell can be resolved or eliminated.

DNA repair game contains a wide variety of tools. Their use depends on the nature of the damage.

If a single unit of DNA, as a "base" has mutated, enzymes - proteins, biochemical reactions - for good.

If a longer binding of DNA is damaged, other enzymes solve eng wound string of DNA - the famous "double helix" - to let the team to repair the access to the corrupt. Enzymes and a clip to fix the problems on site and a new batch of DNA synthesis to replace.

If a group of DNA is faulty, some genes coding for proteins, sewing the ends to break even overall. This is the case of so-called BRCA 1 and BRCA-2, if these genes are damaged, for example, a woman is more for breast cancer.