Study Reveals Activity Of NEIL3 DNA Repair Mechanism
Thursday, March 4, 2010 - 20:07
in Biology & Nature
A team of researchers has demonstrated for the first time the specific activity of the protein NEIL3, one of a group responsible for maintaining the integrity of DNA in humans and other mammals. The discovery is detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Since it first was identified about eight years ago, NEIL3 has been believed to be a basic DNA-maintenance enzyme of a type called a glycosylase. These proteins patrol the long, twisted strands of DNA looking for lesions—places where one of the four DNA bases has been damaged by radiation or chemical activity. read more