DNA double-strand breaks pose a serious threat to genome stability. In vertebrates, these breaks are predominantly repaired by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ), which pairs DNA ends in a multiprotein synaptic complex to promote their direct ligation. NHEJ is a highly versatile pathway that uses an array of processing enzymes to modify damaged DNA ends and enable their ligation. The mechanisms of end synapsis and end processing have important implications for genome stability. Rapid and stable synapsis is necessary to limit chromosome translocations that result from the mispairing of DNA ends. Furthermore, end processing must be tightly regulated to minimize mutations at the break site. Here, we review our current mechanistic understanding of vertebrate NHEJ, with a particular focus on end synapsis and processing. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Biochemistry, Volume 90 is June 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

中文翻译：

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通过非同源末端连接途径修复DNA双链断裂。

DNA双链断裂严重威胁基因组稳定性。在脊椎动物中，这些断裂主要由非同源末端连接（NHEJ）修复，该末端将多蛋白质突触复合物中的DNA末端配对以促进其直接连接。NHEJ是一种用途广泛的途径，它使用一系列加工酶来修饰受损的DNA末端并使其连接。末端突触和末端加工的机制对基因组稳定性具有重要意义。快速而稳定的突触对于限制由DNA末端错配引起的染色体易位是必要的。此外，必须严格控制最终加工过程，以最大程度减少断裂位点处的突变。在这里，我们回顾了我们目前对脊椎动物NHEJ的机械理解，尤其着重于末端突触和加工。