Checkpoint Responses to DNA Double-Strand Breaks

Cells confront DNA damage in every cell cycle. Among the most deleterious types of DNA damage are DNA double-strand breaks, which can cause cell lethality if unrepaired or cancers if improperly repaired. In response to DNA double-strand breaks, cells activate a complex DNA damage checkpoint (DDC) response that arrests the cell cycle, reprograms gene expression and mobilizes DNA repair factors to prevent the inheritance of unrepaired and broken chromosomes. Here we examine the DDC, induced by DNA double-strand breaks, in the budding yeast model system and in mammals.