DNA Repair and the FANCM Gene
As you are reading these words, your body is busy repairing the DNA in your cells. DNA repair is necessary for reducing the effects of cell death, mutations, replication errors, DNA damage, and genomic instability. Problems with DNA repair can lead to cancer and aging.
A number of different diseases result from defects in DNA repair. One such disease is Fanconi anemia, a rare recessive genetic disorder that affects about 1 in over 300,000 children. Affected children often experience bone marrow failure (aplastic anemia), birth defects (missing or extra thumbs and skeletal abnormalities of the hips, spine, or ribs), acute myeloid leukemia, and/or cancers of the head and neck, gastrointestinal, and other organs. Scientists recently identified the FANCM gene which appears to be involved in DNA repair.
“Some scientists theorize that DNA damage, which gradually accumulates as we age, leads to malfunctioning genes and deteriorating tissues and organs as well as increased risk of cancer. We believe that this new gene, FANCM, may be a potent cog in the DNA repair machinery,” Weidong Wang, Ph.D., a senior investigator in the NIA’s Laboratory of Genetics, said.
“It is possible that we could learn how to promote the function of DNA repair complexes and thereby prevent the age-related accumulation of DNA damage.”
DNA repair is essential for good health. Finding the genes involved will make it possible to develop drug therapies that can enhance the process. Pills for boosting DNA repair leading to the prevention of cancer and other common diseases of aging would be akin to the Fountain of Youth.
EurekAlert, August 21, 2005
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POSTED IN: Genetics of Disease
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