Swiss
The fundamental features of life are programmed in our DNA. Yet DNA molecules are constantly damaged by processes inherent to maintaining life. Anna Demming speaks to Professor Hanspeter Naegeli about how this damage is repaired and how knowledge of DNA repair mechanisms can be used in clinical applications
One of the defining features of living organisms is their ability to repair and regenerate their component systems. The process ultimately allows the resist of decay so that life can exist. These repair mechanisms also apply to DNA, the molecules that govern the operation of living cells. Professor Hanspeter Naegeli leads a research group at Zürich University focused on explaining the mechanisms behind DNA damage recognition and repair. He describes how his research in the field
was originally driven by simple fascination. “DNA is like our hard drive, which is passed on from generation to generation and duplicated,” he explains. However, DNA is constantly subjected to damage from a range of factors, including UV radiation in sunlight, chemical insults and even normal metabolic processes. “There is no life without DNA damage,” he
adds. “And I was fascinated by the fact that DNA is constantly being damaged but also constantly being repaired.” His research focuses specifically on
damage caused by UV radiation. “It is the most frequent damage that we have to defend ourselves from,” he points out. “We are constantly exposed to it, unless we live in the dark,” he adds with a smile. Fortunately for research there are ready techniques for inducing highly localised damage by UV radiation. The researchers can use special filters with microscale pores that protect the cell from UV damage over all areas except directly under the pore. In this way they can induce damage that is restricted to a very small area in the nucleus, which makes it possible to observe how proteins and enzymes move from undamaged areas to damaged sites (see images below).
Although there are only a handful of
research groups working on the same aspects of DNA damage recogniton as Professor Naegeli, the field in general has attracted interest
from hundreds
of
research groups across the world. One of the driving forces behind this interest is the potential clinical applications, such as in anti-tumour therapies. “If we have knowledge of how cancer cells repair DNA we can try to optimise how we kill them,” says Professor Naegeli. Damage by UV radiation is also
particularly interesting for possible mechanisms of enhancing DNA repair. “If we can stimulate DNA repair, then we will have less trouble with sun burn and prevent skin cancer as well,” he adds. The field also attracts researchers from a
wide range of backgrounds as a result of the overlap with other fields of study. DNA
DNA damage: Mending the building blocks of life
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