| map04120 |
Ubiquitin mediated proteolysis |
Protein ubiquitination plays an important role in eukaryotic cellular processes. It mainly functions as a signal for 26S proteasome dependent protein degradation. The addition of ubiquitin to proteins being degraded is performed by a reaction cascade consisting of three enzymes, named E1 (ubiquitin activating enzyme), E2 (ubiquitin conjugating enzyme), and E3 (ubiquitin ligase). Each E3 has specificity to its substrate, or proteins to be targeted by ubiquitination. Many E3s are discovered in eukaryotes and they are classified into four types: HECT type, U-box type, single RING-finger type, and multi-subunit RING-finger type. Multi-subunit RING-finger E3s are exemplified by cullin-Rbx E3s and APC/C. They consist of a RING-finger-containing subunit (RBX1 or RBX2) that functions to bind E2s, a scaffold-like cullin molecule, adaptor proteins, and a target recognizing subunit that binds substrates. |
| map03440 |
Homologous recombination |
Homologous recombination (HR) is essential for the accurate repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), potentially lethal lesions. HR takes place in the late S-G2 phase of the cell cycle and involves the generation of a single-stranded region of DNA, followed by strand invasion, formation of a Holliday junction, DNA synthesis using the intact strand as a template, branch migration and resolution. It is investigated that RecA/Rad51 family proteins play a central role. The breast cancer susceptibility protein Brca2 and the RecQ helicase BLM (Bloom syndrome mutated) are tumor suppressors that maintain genome integrity, at least in part, through HR. |
| map03430 |
Mismatch repair |
DNA mismatch repair (MMR) is a highly conserved biological pathway that plays a key role in maintaining genomic stability. MMR corrects DNA mismatches generated during DNA replication, thereby preventing mutations from becoming permanent in dividing cells. MMR also suppresses homologous recombination and was recently shown to play a role in DNA damage signaling. Defects in MMR are associated with genome-wide instability, predisposition to certain types of cancer including HNPCC, resistance to certain chemotherapeutic agents, and abnormalities in meiosis and sterility in mammalian systems. |
| map03420 |
Nucleotide excision repair |
Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is a mechanism to recognize and repair bulky DNA damage caused by compounds, environmental carcinogens, and exposure to UV-light. In humans hereditary defects in the NER pathway are linked to at least three diseases: xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), Cockayne syndrome (CS), and trichothiodystrophy (TTD). The repair of damaged DNA involves at least 30 polypeptides within two different sub-pathways of NER known as transcription-coupled repair (TCR-NER) and global genome repair (GGR-NER). TCR refers to the expedited repair of lesions located in the actively transcribed strand of genes by RNA polymerase II (RNAP II). In GGR-NER the first step of damage recognition involves XPC-hHR23B complex together with XPE complex (in prokaryotes, uvrAB complex). The following steps of GGR-NER and TCR-NER are similar. |
| map03410 |
Base excision repair |
Base excision repair (BER) is the predominant DNA damage repair pathway for the processing of small base lesions, derived from oxidation and alkylation damages. BER is normally defined as DNA repair initiated by lesion-specific DNA glycosylases and completed by either of the two sub-pathways: short-patch BER where only one nucleotide is replaced and long-patch BER where 2-13 nucleotides are replaced. Each sub-pathway of BER relies on the formation of protein complexes that assemble at the site of the DNA lesion and facilitate repair in a coordinated fashion. This process of complex formation appears to provide an increase in specificity and efficiency to the BER pathway, thereby facilitating the maintenance of genome integrity by preventing the accumulation of highly toxic repair intermediates. |
| map03030 |
DNA replication |
A complex network of interacting proteins and enzymes is required for DNA replication. Generally, DNA replication follows a multistep enzymatic pathway. At the DNA replication fork, a DNA helicase (DnaB or MCM complex) precedes the DNA synthetic machinery and unwinds the duplex parental DNA in cooperation with the SSB or RPA. On the leading strand, replication occurs continuously in a 5 to 3 direction, whereas on the lagging strand, DNA replication occurs discontinuously by synthesis and joining of short Okazaki fragments. In prokaryotes, the leading strand replication apparatus consists of a DNA polymerase (pol III core), a sliding clamp (beta), and a clamp loader (gamma delta complex). The DNA primase (DnaG) is needed to form RNA primers. Normally, during replication of the lagging-strand DNA template, an RNA primer is removed either by an RNase H or by the 5 to 3 exonuclease activity of DNA pol I, and the DNA ligase joins the Okazaki fragments. In eukaryotes, three DNA polymerases (alpha, delta, and epsilon) have been identified. DNA primase forms a permanent complex with DNA polymerase alpha. PCNA and RFC function as a clamp and a clamp loader. FEN 1 and RNase H1 remove the RNA from the Okazaki fragments and DNA ligase I joins the DNA. |
