Deyu Li
University of Rhode Island, RI·Biochemistry
Long-lasting inflammation and chronic infection raise the risk of cancer. One reason may be lipid peroxidation, in which fats in cells break down into reactive chemicals that damage DNA.
- Fields
Biochemistry
Chemistry
Pharmacology
- Topics
DNA repair
DNA damage
etheno adducts
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Feb 2027
What they work on
- Define how the 5′ and 3′ neighboring bases around an etheno lesion affect repair by base excision repair and direct reversal repair enzymes, using unpackaged DNA oligomers (short synthetic DNA strands).
- Characterize how five etheno adducts, including the newly identified ε5mC on methylated cytosine, are repaired when the DNA is wrapped into nucleosome core particles, the basic packaging unit of chromatin.
- Determine whether tailless and variant histone proteins, the spool proteins of chromatin, change repair efficiency, revealing how chromatin can tune DNA repair.
More about the research
Some of this damage takes the form of etheno adducts, small extra rings attached to DNA bases. When cells copy DNA carrying these lesions, mutations can result. Cells rely on DNA repair enzymes to remove such damage, but most of what is known about this repair comes from short pieces of bare DNA. Inside cells, DNA is tightly packaged with proteins.
Why it matters
Etheno DNA lesions form during chronic inflammation and from metabolites of the carcinogen vinyl chloride, and they can cause cancer-driving mutations. Knowing which lesions are repaired poorly, and where in packaged DNA, could help explain mutational hotspots and mutational signatures. It could also inform future therapies that strengthen cellular defenses against genomic instability.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Michael Joseph Buck
University at Buffalo, NY·Genetics
Determine how transcription factors recognize binding sites wrapped on a nucleosome, the DNA spool unit, using the in vitro Pioneer-seq assay to compare sites at every nucleosome position and across sequence variants.
Kyle Miller
Emory University, GA·Biochemistry
Determine how the histone variant macroH2A works with PARP1, a DNA break-sensing enzyme, and KDM5A, a histone-modifying enzyme, to coordinate DNA repair, using biochemical and cell-based systems in human cells.
Ramiro Verdun
University of Miami, FL·Biochemistry
Determine how bypass of transcription-blocking DNA lesions by RNA Polymerase II, the enzyme that copies genes into RNA, disrupts the cellular response to ultraviolet radiation damage and disturbs normal cell function.
The school
University of Rhode Island: 9 labs on PI Pages, $137M a year on research, 93 research doctorates a year.
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