Functional Analysis of Genes Related to DNA Damage

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 413

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
University of Kansas Medical Center, Department of Cancer Biology, University of Kansas Cancer Center, Kansas City, KS, USA
Interests: oxidative stress; cancer and aging; DNA damage; DNA replication and genome stability

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Nuclear Dynamics and Cancer Program, Cancer Epigenetics Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Interests: DNA damage and repair; tumor suppressors and oncogenes; DNA secondary structures

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the 1970s, it has been understood that unrepaired DNA damage can increase mutagenesis and chromosomal instability. Humans have at least five broad DNA repair pathways, in addition to DNA damage tolerance pathways, and the proteins in these pathways work together on genome maintenance. The importance of these pathways is evident from clinical observation, with their mutation resulting in diseases such as Xeroderma Pigmentosum, Lynch syndrome, Fanconi anemia, etc. Accumulating evidence over the past two decades also shows that these DNA repair proteins are involved in other nuclear transactions including cell cycle control, DNA replication, immune cell diversity, epigenetics, and genome stability.

This Special Issue is a collection of research articles and reviews that highlight recent advances in how the proteins that maintain genome integrity and function are regulated. In addition to their fundamental enzymology, we will also highlight how these factors are manipulated in the context of pathologies such as cancer, premature aging, and neurodegeneration.

Dr. Ryan P. Barnes
Dr. Amy M. Whitaker
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • DNA damage
  • DNA repair
  • genome stability
  • DNA replication stress

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 1878 KB  
Article
Mitochondrial DNA Damage and Histological Features in Liver Tissue of Azoxymethane-Treated Apex1 Haploinsufficient Mice
by Carmen M. Pérez-Pérez, Adlin Rodríguez-Muñoz, Gerardo G. Mackenzie, Karen E. Matsukuma, María R. Castro-Achi, Sylvette Ayala-Peña and Carlos A. Torres-Ramos
Biomolecules 2025, 15(12), 1706; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15121706 - 6 Dec 2025
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Abstract
Mitochondrial dysfunction and loss of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) integrity are increasingly recognized as key contributors to liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the role of mtDNA repair in maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis during liver injury remains poorly understood. Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 [...] Read more.
Mitochondrial dysfunction and loss of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) integrity are increasingly recognized as key contributors to liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the role of mtDNA repair in maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis during liver injury remains poorly understood. Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1), encoded by the Apex1 gene, is the primary endonuclease mediating base excision repair of mtDNA. We hypothesize that APE1 is required to preserve mtDNA integrity in response to genotoxic stress in the liver. To test this, wild-type (WT) and Apex1 haploinsufficient mice (Apex1+/−) were treated with the alkylating agent azoxymethane (AOM), a carcinogen bioactivated in the liver, and tissues were collected 20 weeks after the last exposure. Apex1+/− mice exhibited a 3.2-fold increase in mtDNA lesions and a 55% reduction in mtDNA abundance, changes not observed in WT mice. Bioenergetics profiling revealed a 1.5-fold increase in the ATP5β/GAPDH ratio in WT mice and a 2.5-fold increase in Apex1+/− mice, indicating a more pronounced shift toward oxidative phosphorylation in the absence of full APE1 function. Histological analysis indicated increased nuclear inclusions and ductular proliferation in both strains, whereas fibrosis was attenuated in Apex1+/− mice. Collectively, these findings show that APE1 is essential for preserving mtDNA integrity and regulating bioenergetics and histopathological responses to alkylation-induced liver injury, highlighting its dual role in mitochondrial maintenance and modulating inflammatory outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Analysis of Genes Related to DNA Damage)
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