Abstract
Folic acid and vitamin B12 play an important role in DNA metabolism (2) (Fig. 1). Folic acid is required for the synthesis of dTMP from dUMP and the maintenance of DNA methylation. Under conditions of folic acid deficiency, dUMP accumulates and, as a result, uracil is incorporated into DNA instead of thymine (3). There is good evidence suggesting that excessive incorporation of uracil in DNA not only leads to point mutation but may also result in the generation of single- and double-stranded DNA breaks, chromosome breakage, and micronucleus formation (4,5). The mutagenic effects of uracil are underscored by the observation that of eight known human glycosylases, four (UNG, TDG, hSMUG1, MBD4) are dedicated to the removal of uracil (6).
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Fenech, M. (2002). Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, and Genomic Stability of Human Cells. In: Massaro, E.J., Rogers, J.M. (eds) Folate and Human Development. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-164-0_4
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