Jayne Kelleher

• MSci Biomedical Sciences
• Exploring the roles of XRCC1 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase in the response to anticancer agents

Anticancer therapy kills tumour cells by damaging DNA. To make therapy more effective, the cancer cells need to be stopped from repairing this damage. Two important components in the cell, XRCC1 and PARP, work together in cells undergoing repair. PARP is thought to attract XRCC1 to DNA breaks.

We want to discover whether PARP has a role that is independent of XRCC1. We will use XRCC1 proficient and deficient cell lines; (both have PARP) to determine whether cell survival following DNA damage is dependent on XRCC1 alone (by using a PARP inhibitor in XRCC1-proficient cells) or by PARP alone (in XRCC1-deficient cells) and whether PARP inhibition in cells without XRCC1 has any additional effect.

Funding source: Newcastle University