IIT-Hyderabad cracks DNA repair

Hyderabad: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H)  have unravelled the working of a protein that repairs damaged DNA ( deoxyribonucleic acid).

“Our laboratory at IIT Hyderabad seeks to understand the workings of the DNA damage repair proteins. Certain types of chemicals produced naturally in the body can cause damage to the DNA and, if not fixed fast, may trigger cell death,” explained Dr Anindya Roy, research team head and associate professor at the department of biotechnology.

A doctoral student in his laboratory, Monisha Mohan. discovered the mechanism by which these DNA repair proteins assemble when the DNA is under threat.

They studied the action of one specific protein called alkB homolog 3, or ALKBH3.  It has been known that ALKBH3 repairs alkylated DNA containing 1-methyladenosine and 3-methylcytosine through oxidative demethylation, but the mechanism has hitherto remained unclear.

“We have found that ALKBH3 has a direct protein-protein interaction with another protein called RAD51C and this interaction stimulates ALKBH3-mediated repair of methyl-adduct located within certain DNA,” said Roy on the technical aspects of their discovery.

The results of the study, conducted in collaboration with Dr Arun Goyal, professor, department of biosciences and bioengineering, IIT Guwahati, has been published recently in the reputed peer-reviewed journal Nucleic Acid Research. The published paper has been co-authored by Dr. Anindya Roy, Dr Arun Goyal and research scholars Monisha Mohan, Deepa Akula and Arun Dhillon.