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DNA damage response in adult stem cells: pathways and consequences

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 12, pages 198–202 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

In contrast to postmitotic or short-lived somatic cells, tissue-specific stem cells must persist and function throughout life to ensure tissue homeostasis and repair. The enormous functional demands and longevity of stem cells raises the possibility that stem cells might be uniquely equipped to maintain genomic integrity in ways different than somatic cells. Indeed, evidence suggests that stem cell compartments possess unique properties that combine to either limit or, in some instances, accelerate DNA damage accrual.

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Figure 1: DSB repair during the cell cycle.
Figure 2: Impact of DNA damage on SCs.

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Acknowledgements

C.B. is a researcher of the Fonds National de la Recherché Scientifique and is supported by grants from the European Research Council, the Wallonia Region, Fondation contre le Cancer and the EMBO Young Investigator Programme.D.J.R. is supported by grants from the US National Institutes of Health and the US National Institutes of Aging (grant no. AG029760-01). The authors thank I. Beerman for critical comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pankaj K. Mandal and Derrick J. Rossi are at the Immune Disease Institute, the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Childrens Hospital Boston, 200 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,

    Pankaj K. Mandal & Derrick J. Rossi

  2. Derrick J. Rossi is also at the Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Department, Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.,

    Derrick J. Rossi

  3. Cédric Blanpain is at the Institut de Recherché Interdisciplinaire en Biologie Humaine et Moléculaire (IRIBHM), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 808 Route de Lennik, B1070 Brussels, Belgium.,

    Cédric Blanpain

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Correspondence to Derrick J. Rossi.

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Mandal, P., Blanpain, C. & Rossi, D. DNA damage response in adult stem cells: pathways and consequences. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12, 198–202 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm3060

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