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Medicon Valley_dec-jan
13 / 16
annual review 13-14 / december-january / p13 scientists show how
cells
protect their
dna
from catastrophic damage by luis toledo lazaro researchers at the university of copenhagen have unveiled a profound biological process that explains how
dna
can be damaged during genome
replication
. in addition, the scientists developed a new analytical tool to measure the cell’s response to chemo- therapy, which could have an important impact on future cancer therapy. the results are now published in the scientifi c journal cell an international team of researchers led by professor jiri lukas from the novo nordisk foundation center for protein research, university of copenhagen have unveiled a process that explains how
dna
can be damaged during genome
replication
, due to the lack of a critical protein.
cells
need to keep their genomic
dna
unharmed to stay healthy and the scientists were able to visualize the process of
dna
replication
and damage directly in
cells
with an unprecedented detail. they discovered a fundamental mechanism of how proteins protect chromosomes while
dna
is being copied (a process called
dna
replication
), which relies on a protein called rpa.
cells
have a limited amount of this protein, which they use as band aids to protect the
dna
temporarily during
replication
. if they use up the rpa reservoir, their
dna
breaks severely and
cells
are no longer able to divide. - we now understand that many drugs used in chemotherapy are toxic against tumours because they make
dna
replication
diffi cult and force cancer
cells
to consume their rpa pool much faster than normal
cells
usually do. as a result, cancer
cells
are constantly at the verge of falling into a
replication
catastrophe, a condition from which they cannot recover, and which can be used as a powerful means to selectively eliminate cancer
cells
, says luis ignacio toledo, the fi rst author of this study. future impact on cancer diagnosis and treatment in addition to helping other scientists to comprehend some of the most fundamental processes in cell physiology, the fi ndings could have important implications for cancer diagnosis and treatment by helping under- stand, at the molecular level, what makes cancer
cells
different from normal
cells
. - the relevance of our discovery is that it provides an explanation for a broad spectrum of previous scientifi c observations, which on the fi rst glance seemed unrelated, but which we now show can be unifi ed into a simple comprehensive model to understand how proteins protect
dna
from catastrophic damage, concludes luis ignacio toledo. read the full report in the scientifi c journal cell at: www.cell.com/abstract/s0092- 8674%2813%2901361-5 a-consult group, denmark & france , www.a-consult.com, tel: +45 3833 0080 a-consult group is a european consultancy organisation founded in 1983, with a team of highly educated and experienced employees in denmark and france. a-consult group has serviced more than 200 companies and han- dled regulatory tasks in more than 80 countries. a-consult is offering professional regulatory affairs service to com- panies working with pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, foods, food supplements, medical devices and cosmetics. l e t u s b r i n g y o u t o a s a f e l a n d i n g for 30 years our priority has been to bring our customers to safe landings within q regulatory affairs q product safety q quality affairs we will continue to do so. does your business also deserve a safe landing? 19 19 19 9 9 9 9 9 9 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 1 1 1 9 1 83 83 83 83 83 83 83 83 83 83 83 83 83 83 83 83 83 3 – – – – – – – – 2 013 a a a a a a a a a a a a a n n n n n nn nn nn nn nn nn nn nn nn nn i i i i i i i i i ve ve ve e e e e e e ve ve ve v v v v v v v v v r r r rs rs r r r r r r ary the scientists were able to visualize the process of
dna
replication
and damage directly in
cells
with an unprecedented detail
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