PML-like subnuclear bodies, containing XRCC1, juxtaposed to DNA replication-based single-strand breaks

What is it about?

Genetic material of human cells is constantly damaged by various chemical and physical agents. It is also constantly repaired by versatile cellular repair mechanisms. Cellular proteins responsible for repair of DNA damage are recruited immediately to DNA lesions and perform a number of meticulously orchestrated tasks required to repair the damage. We investigated one of the repair proteins, called XRCC1, which is a key player in repair of single-strand DNA breaks. Using sophisticated imaging methods, including fluorescence super-resolution microscopy, we demonstrate that XRCC1 and other proteins recruited to single-strand breaks that occur in the regions of DNA replication form large protein clusters that have many features of PML nuclear bodies. Our research suggests that this newly recognized subclass of PML bodies may accrete and locally deliver essential factors for repair of single-strand DNA breaks in replication regions.

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