The heterodimer Ku70/80 (Ku) is a central actor of the c-NHEJ as it rapidly recognizes broken DNA ends in the cell and protects them from nuclease activity. It subsequently recruits many c-NHEJ effectors, including nucleases, polymerases, and the DNA ligase 4 complex.

Eukaryotic Ku is a heterodimer of two polypeptides, Ku70 (XRCC6) and Ku80 (XRCC5), so named because the molecular weight of the human Ku proteins is around 70 kDa and 80 kDa. The two Ku subunits form a basket-shaped structure that threads onto the DNA end. [1]

Ku70 is a heterodimeric protein made up of Ku70 and Ku80, which together form Ku. In humans, is encoded by the XRCC6 gene. [5] [6] Ku70 plays a critical role in the DNA repair, maintenance and many other cellular processes.

Simplified, Ku70/80 complex is a sensor of DSBs that initiates the assembly of C-NHEJ complex to restore the integrity of a DNA molecule. In fact, the role of Ku70/80 proteins is highly complex and integrates different aspects of DNA repair.

Jan 1, 2015 · Ku is a highly abundant protein found in vivo as a stable heterodimer consisting of two subunits, Ku70 and Ku80 (70 and 80 kDa, respectively).

Jan 26, 2024 · Ku70 −/− mice did not survive the 80-day model. Tumors from Ku70 +/− mice were largely localized to the middle and distal colons and were larger in size compared to those of WT mice (Fig. 1, D, E, and G). Ku70 +/− mice also had increased dysplasia and extent of tissue damage than that of WT mice .

In this study, we show that human Ku70/80 interacts with hTR, the RNA template of human telomerase both in vitro and in vivo. Minimally, Ku70/80 can interact with a region of 47 nt in the 3′ end of hTR and the predicted secondary structure of this region appears to be similar to the Ku70/80 binding region of yeast TLC1.

In this study, we have explored the involvement of the Ku70/80 heterodimer in DNA DSB damage signaling. We focused on how the Ku70/80 heterodimer might influence the activities of ATM and ATR kinases.

We here describe an in silico, pocket-based drug discovery methodology utilizing the crystal structure of the Ku70/80 heterodimer. We identified a novel putative small molecule binding pocket and selected several potential inhibitors by computational screening.

Jul 27, 2023 · The Ku70/80 heterodimer is a key player in non-homologous end-joining DNA repair but is involved in other cellular functions like telomere regulation and maintenance, in which Ku’s role is...