Fig. 1.
Multiple mechanisms of DNA repair in mammalian cells.
Removal of primary adducts is performed by several repair pathways, each depending on a couple of distinct proteins. These repair proteins eliminate specific DNA adducts either directly (eg, MGMT at the O6-position of guanine) or, after damage recognition, initiate a cascade of steps leading to excision reactions, resynthesis, and subsequently, religation of the repaired patches.
