Thakur BL, Ray A, Redon CE, Aladjem MI. Preventing excess replication origin activation to ensure genome stability.
Trends Genet 2022;
38:169-181. [PMID:
34625299 PMCID:
PMC8752500 DOI:
10.1016/j.tig.2021.09.008]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Cells activate distinctive regulatory pathways that prevent excessive initiation of DNA replication to achieve timely and accurate genome duplication. Excess DNA synthesis is constrained by protein-DNA interactions that inhibit initiation at dormant origins. In parallel, specific modifications of pre-replication complexes prohibit post-replicative origin relicensing. Replication stress ensues when the controls that prevent excess replication are missing in cancer cells, which often harbor extrachromosomal DNA that can be further amplified by recombination-mediated processes to generate chromosomal translocations. The genomic instability that accompanies excess replication origin activation can provide a promising target for therapeutic intervention. Here we review molecular pathways that modulate replication origin dormancy, prevent excess origin activation, and detect, encapsulate, and eliminate persistent excess DNA.
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