Abstract

Purpose

To provide an updated summary of recent advances in our understanding of the non-canonical roles of apoptotic and DNA double-strand break repair factors in various biological processes, especially in the cellular response to radiotherapy.

Conclusion

Apoptotic caspases are usually considered as “executioners'' of unwanted or damaged cells or tissues. However, recent studies indicated they play multiple additional, often counterintuitive roles in many biological processes. Similarly, DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair factors were also found to play unexpected roles beyond repairing damaged DNA. In this review, I will summarize key findings on the non-canonical roles of apoptotic and DSB repair factors in disparate biological and pathological processes such as radiation-induced genetic instability and carcinogenesis, wound healing and tissue regeneration, induced pluripotent stem cell induction, spontaneous and stochastic generation of cancer stem cells, and cancer immunotherapy. I believe these findings will usher in more studies in this exciting and rapidly evolving field.

Biographical Note

Chuan-Yuan Li, Ph.D., is a Professor of Dermatology, Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

中文翻译：

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细胞凋亡和 DNA 双链断裂修复因子在介导细胞对电离辐射反应中的非典型作用

摘要

目的

提供我们对细胞凋亡和 DNA 双链断裂修复因子在各种生物过程中的非典型作用的理解方面的最新进展的最新总结，特别是在细胞对放射治疗的反应中。

结论

凋亡半胱天冬酶通常被认为是不需要的或受损的细胞或组织的“刽子手”。然而，最近的研究表明它们在许多生物过程中发挥着多种额外的、常常违反直觉的作用。同样，DNA 双链断裂 (DSB) 修复因子也被发现除了修复受损 DNA 之外还发挥着意想不到的作用。在这篇综述中，我将总结关于凋亡和 DSB 修复因子在不同的生物和病理过程中的非经典作用的关键发现，例如辐射引起的遗传不稳定性和癌变、伤口愈合和组织再生、诱导多能干细胞诱导、自发性癌症干细胞的随机生成以及癌症免疫治疗。我相信这些发现将为这个令人兴奋且快速发展的领域带来更多研究。

简历

Chuan-Yuan Li 博士，美国北卡罗来纳州达勒姆杜克大学医学中心皮肤病学、药理学和癌症生物学教授