DNA Repair

Group Head: Dr Chris Jolly

The DNA Repair Group aims to understand how the many pathways available to cells to carry out DNA repair interact and how they coordinate to deal with different types of gene damage. Additionally, the group hope to identify the steps in antibody hypermutation that are most prone to causing bystander damage of cancer-causing genes.

The group studies molecular pathways that repair damage to DNA and genes. Genes are continuously damaged by irradiation, chemicals and replication errors. Faithful repair of damage is essential to maintain the function of cells and to prevent the accumulation of cancer-causing gene mutations.

Research focus

The DNA Repair Group use the mutation of antibody genes in B cells (white blood cells that secrete antibodies) as a physiologically-relevant model of DNA damage. Antibody gene mutation is a natural process of extremely accelerated gene mutation (i.e. hypermutation) that occurs in lymph nodes during immune responses in order to increase the diversity of antibodies able to neutralise an infectious organism. Antibody hypermutation is essential for effective immune responses, but occasionally the antibody hypermutation machinery targets the wrong genes (referred to as "bystander" genes) and cause cancer. In fact, mutation of bystander genes by the antibody hypermutation machinery is implicated in the majority of adult B cell lymphomas and leukaemias.