Caffeine potentiates the mutagenic and lethal effects of genotoxic agents. It is thought that this is due, at least in some organisms, to inhibition of DNA repair. However, direct evidence for inhibition of repair enzymes has been lacking. Using purified Escherichia coli DNA photolyase and (A)BC excinuclease, we show that the drug inhibits photoreactivation and nucleotide excision repair by two...

In a molecular epidemiological study of DNA repair, host reactivation assay was used to measure the DNA repair capacity of cryopreserved lymphocytes from 88 primary basal cell carcinoma (BCC) patients and 135 cancer-free controls. In this study population, reduced repair of ultraviolet radiation-induced DNA damage contributed to the risk of sunlight-induced BCC. A family history of BCC is assoc...

There are five well-characterized nuclear DNA polymerases in eukaryotes (DNA polymerases alpha, beta, delta, epsilon and zeta) and this short review summarizes our current knowledge concerning the participation of each in DNA-repair. The three major DNA excision-repair pathways involve a DNA synthesis step that replaces altered bases or nucleotides removed during repair. Base excision-repair re...

DNA repair systems are essential for the maintenance of genome integrity. Consequently, the disregulation of repair genes can be expected to be associated with significant, detrimental health effects, which can include an increased prevalence of birth defects, an enhancement of cancer risk, and an accelerated rate of aging. Although original insights into DNA repair and the genes responsible we...