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Molecular radiation biology: Future aspects

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Summary

Future aspects of molecular radiation biology may be envisaged by looking for unsolved problems and ways to analyse them. Considering the endpoints of cellular radiation effects as cell inactivation, chromosome aberrations, mutation and transformation, the type of DNA damage in the irradiated cell and the mechanisms of DNA repair as excision repair, recombination repair and mutagenic repair are essential topics. At present, great efforts are made to identify, to clone and to sequence genes involved in the control of repair of DNA damage and to study their regulation. There are close relationships between DNA repair genes isolated from various organisms, which promises fast progress for the molecular analysis of repair processes in mammalian cells. More knowledge is necessary regarding the function of the gene products, i.e. enzymes and proteins involved in DNA repair. Effort should be made to analyse the enzymatic reactions, leading to an altered nucleotide sequence, encountered as a point mutation. Mislead mismatch repair and modulation of DNA polymerase might be possible mechanisms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GSF-Institut für Strahlenbiologie, D-8042, Neuherberg, Germany

    U. Hagen

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  1. U. Hagen
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Paper given at the workshop “Molecular Radiation Biology”. German Section of the DNA Repair Network, München-Neuherberg, 21.–23.3.90

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Hagen, U. Molecular radiation biology: Future aspects. Radiat Environ Biophys 29, 315–322 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01210411

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01210411

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