Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, NIH Biomedical Research Center, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA.
Nat Rev Cancer. 2013 Aug;13(8):542-58. doi: 10.1038/nrc3560. Epub 2013 Jul 11.
Helicases have major roles in genome maintenance by unwinding structured nucleic acids. Their prominence is marked by various cancers and genetic disorders that are linked to helicase defects. Although considerable effort has been made to understand the functions of DNA helicases that are important for genomic stability and cellular homeostasis, the complexity of the DNA damage response leaves us with unanswered questions regarding how helicase-dependent DNA repair pathways are regulated and coordinated with cell cycle checkpoints. Further studies may open the door to targeting helicases in order to improve cancer treatments based on DNA-damaging chemotherapy or radiation.
解旋酶在解开结构核酸方面发挥着重要作用,从而维持基因组的稳定性。许多癌症和遗传疾病都与解旋酶缺陷有关,这凸显了解旋酶的重要性。尽管人们已经做出了巨大的努力来理解对基因组稳定性和细胞内稳态至关重要的 DNA 解旋酶的功能,但 DNA 损伤反应的复杂性使得我们仍然存在一些问题尚未得到解答,例如依赖解旋酶的 DNA 修复途径是如何被调控的,以及它们如何与细胞周期检查点相协调。进一步的研究可能为靶向解旋酶打开大门,以便基于破坏 DNA 的化疗或放疗来改善癌症治疗。