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Non-homologous end-joining, a sticky affair

Oncogene volume 26, pages 7731–7740 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Rejoining of broken chromosomes is crucial for cell survival and prevention of malignant transformation. Most mammalian cells rely primarily on the non-homologous end-joining pathway of DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair to accomplish this task. This review focuses both on the core non-homologous end-joining machinery, which consists of DNA-dependent protein kinase and the ligase IV/XRCC4 complex, and on accessory factors that facilitate rejoining of a subset of the DSBs. We discuss how the ATM protein kinase and the Mre11/Rad50/Nbs1 complex might function in DSB repair and what role ionizing radiation-induced foci may play in this process.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Drs PO Mari, SP Perseng and NGJ Jaspers for useful comments. Research in our laboratories is supported by the European Union (Projects ‘RISC-RAD’ and ‘DNA Repair’) and the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (NWO/ZonMw veni grant 916.56.107).

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  1. Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    D C van Gent

  2. Department of Immunology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    M van der Burg

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  1. D C van Gent
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  2. M van der Burg
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Correspondence to D C van Gent.

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van Gent, D., van der Burg, M. Non-homologous end-joining, a sticky affair. Oncogene 26, 7731–7740 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1210871

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