RESUMO
The mutational landscape of an individual's cancer can inform on its molecular state and be used as prognostic and therapeutic markers. The study by Barbour et al.1 analyzes mutational patterns in bladder cancer samples to uncover new biological insights into the ERCC2 gene function and develop new predictive prognostic tools.
Assuntos
Mutação , Neoplasias da Bexiga Urinária , Humanos , Prognóstico , Neoplasias da Bexiga Urinária/genética , Neoplasias da Bexiga Urinária/terapia , Genômica/métodos , Proteína Grupo D do Xeroderma Pigmentoso/genética , Neoplasias/genética , Neoplasias/terapia , Biomarcadores Tumorais/genéticaRESUMO
Helix-distorting DNA damages block RNA and DNA polymerase, compromising cell function and fate. In human cells, these damages are removed primarily by nucleotide excision repair (NER). Here, we describe damage-sensing PCR (dsPCR), a PCR-based method for the detection of these DNA damages. Exposure to DNA damaging agents results in lower PCR signal in comparison to non-damaged DNA, and repair is measured as the restoration of PCR signal over time. We show that the method successfully detects damages induced by ultraviolet (UV) radiation, by the carcinogenic component of cigarette smoke benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide (BPDE) and by the chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin. Damage removal measured by dsPCR in a heterochromatic region is less efficient than in a transcribed and accessible region. Furthermore, lower repair is measured in repair-deficient knock-out cells. This straight-forward method could be applied by non-DNA repair experts to study the involvement of their gene-of-interest in repair. Furthermore, this method is fully amenable for high-throughput screening of DNA repair activity.