DNA Damage

DNA damage can be categorized into two main classes based on its origin: endogenous and exogenous. The majority of the endogenous DNA damage arises from the chemically active DNA engaging in hydrolytic and oxidative reactions with water and reactive oxygen species (ROS), respectively, that are naturally present within cells. Exogenous DNA damage, on the other hand, occurs when environmental, physical and chemical agents damage the DNA.

Cells respond to DNA damage by instigating robust DNA damage response (DDR) pathways, which allow sufficient time for specified DNA repair pathways to physically remove the damage in a substrate-dependent manner. At least five major DNA repair pathways—base excision repair (BER), nucleotide excision repair (NER), mismatch repair (MMR), homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ)—are active throughout different stages of the cell cycle, allowing the cells to repair the DNA damage.