Since the laser has been invented it has been highly instrumental in ablating different parts of the cell to test their functionality. Through induction of damage in a defined sub-micron region in the cell nucleus, laser microirradiation technique is now established as a powerful real-time and high-resolution methodology to investigate mechanisms of DNA damage response and repair, the fundamental cellular processes for the maintenance of genomic integrity, in mammalian cells. However, irradiation conditions dictate the amounts, types and complexity of DNA damage, leading to different damage signaling responses. Thus, in order to properly interpret the results, it is important to understand the features of laser-induced DNA damage. In this review, we describe different types of DNA damage induced by the use of different laser systems and parameters, and discuss the mechanisms of DNA damage induction. We further summarize recent advances in the application of laser microirradiation to study spatiotemporal dynamics of cellular responses to DNA damage, including factor recruitment, chromatin modulation at damage sites as well as more global damage signaling. Finally, possible future application of laser microirradiation to gain further understanding of DNA damage response will be discussed.

由于发明了激光，因此在烧蚀电池的不同部分以测试其功能方面发挥了重要作用。通过在细胞核中定义的亚微米区域中诱导损伤，激光微辐照技术现已确立为一种强大的实时和高分辨率方法，用于研究DNA损伤应答和修复的机制，这是维持细胞的基本过程哺乳动物细胞中的基因组完整性 但是，辐照条件决定了DNA损伤的数量，类型和复杂性，从而导致不同的损伤信号响应。因此，为了正确解释结果，了解激光诱导的DNA损伤的特征非常重要。在这篇综述中，我们描述了由于使用不同的激光系统和参数而导致的不同类型的DNA损伤，并探讨了DNA损伤诱导的机理。我们进一步总结了应用激光微辐照技术研究细胞对DNA损伤的时空动态的最新进展，其中包括因子募集，损伤部位的染色质调节以及更多的全局损伤信号。最后，将讨论激光微辐射未来可能的应用，以进一步了解DNA损伤反应。