Grant: Operating Grant

Cells are frequently exposed to chemicals that damage DNA molecules. DNA breaks are an extremely harmful form of DNA damage that needs to be repaired both efficiently and accurately to maintain cell viability and restore the integrity of genetic information. Fortunately, cells contain a number of dedicated DNA repair machineries. Because DNA is tightly packaged into chromosomes, cells first need to modify the proteins that package DNA in order to repair the damage. Our laboratory discovered a natural modification of DNA packaging proteins. We showed that blocking the removal of this modification using vitamin B3 is a novel and potentially effective way to fight human fungal infections. This is important because systemic fungal infections that occur following cancer chemotherapy are associated with high mortality rates. Our strategy is based on killing fungal pathogens by causing massive DNA damage without inflicting damage to human cells.