Transcription-Coupled Nucleotide Excision Repair: A Faster Solution or the Only Option?

Read our review about the peculiar DNA repair pathway and its significance for protection from dietary mutagens, published in Biomolecules

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Transcription-Coupled Nucleotide Excision Repair: A Faster Solution or the Only Option?

by Andriy Khobta and Leen Sarmini
Genome protection from accumulating mutations demands efficient mechanisms for the removal of damage that inevitably arises in DNA by action of radiation, environmental or dietary mutagens, reactive metabolites, as well as by spontaneous chemical decay of deoxyribonucleotides. Among multiple DNA repair mechanisms, the transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair (TC-NER) pathway, which specifically operates on the template DNA strand of actively transcribed genes, is peculiar. While conventional DNA repair mechanisms rely on specific damage recognition proteins, TC-NER uses RNA polymerase for damage detection. The review summarizes recent progress in the understanding of the multistage damage recognition mechanism and outlines common structural features of TC-NER substrates characterized thus far. Importantly, we define several classes of TC-NER substrates that evade other repair mechanisms – towards understanding which genotoxic insults lead to most persistent DNA damage, with potential implications for disease and aging.

Khobta A, Sarmini L (2025) Transcription-Coupled Nucleotide Excision Repair: A Faster Solution or the Only Option? Biomolecules;15(7):1026. 

open access link: https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15071026Externer Link