Interstrand Crosslink Repair: New Horizons of DNA Damage Repair

Abstract

Since the dawn of civilization, living organisms are unceasingly exposed to myriads of DNA damaging agents that can temper the ailments and negatively influence the well-being. DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICLs) are spawned by various endogenous and chemotherapeutic agents, thus posing a somber menace to genome solidity and cell endurance. However, the robust techniques of damage repair including Fanconi anemia pathway, translesion synthesis, nucleotide excision and homologous recombination repair faithfully protect the DNA by removing or tolerating damage to ensure the overall survival. Aberrations in such repair mechanisms adverse the pathophysiological states of several hereditary disorders i.e. Fanconi Anemia, xeroderma pigmentosum, cerebro-oculo-facio-skeletal syndrome and cockayne syndrome etc. Although, the recognition of ICL lesions during interphase have opened the new horizons of research in the field of genetics but still the detailed analysis of conditions in which repair should occur is largely elusive.