Abnormal Base Excision Repair at Trinucleotide Repeats Associated with Diseases: A Tissue-Selective Mechanism

More than fifteen genetic diseases, including Huntington’s disease, myotonic dystrophy 1, fragile X syndrome and Friedreich ataxia, are caused by the aberrant expansion of a trinucleotide repeat. The mutation is unstable and further expands in specific cells or tissues with time, which can accelerat...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Agathi-Vasiliki Goula, Karine Merienne
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2013-07-01
Series:Genes
Subjects:
BER
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/4/3/375
Description
Summary:More than fifteen genetic diseases, including Huntington’s disease, myotonic dystrophy 1, fragile X syndrome and Friedreich ataxia, are caused by the aberrant expansion of a trinucleotide repeat. The mutation is unstable and further expands in specific cells or tissues with time, which can accelerate disease progression. DNA damage and base excision repair (BER) are involved in repeat instability and might contribute to the tissue selectivity of the process. In this review, we will discuss the mechanisms of trinucleotide repeat instability, focusing more specifically on the role of BER.
ISSN:2073-4425