Spatial Mapping of the DNA Adducts in Cancer

Authors

Kimiko L Krieger
Elise K Mann
Kevin J Lee
Elyse Bolterstein
Deborah Jebakumar
Michael M Ittmann
Valeria L Dal Zotto
Mohamed Shaban
Arun Sreekumar
Natalie R Gassman

Publication Date

8-1-2023

Journal

DNA Repair

DOI

10.1016/j.dnarep.2023.103529

PMID

37390674

PMCID

PMC10330576

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

8-1-2023

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Author MSS

Published Open-Access

yes

Keywords

Humans, DNA Adducts, DNA Damage, DNA Repair, Mutagenesis, Neoplasms

Abstract

DNA adducts and strand breaks are induced by various exogenous and endogenous agents. Accumulation of DNA damage is implicated in many disease processes, including cancer, aging, and neurodegeneration. The continuous acquisition of DNA damage from exogenous and endogenous stressors coupled with defects in DNA repair pathways contribute to the accumulation of DNA damage within the genome and genomic instability. While mutational burden offers some insight into the level of DNA damage a cell may have experienced and subsequently repaired, it does not quantify DNA adducts and strand breaks. Mutational burden also infers the identity of the DNA damage. With advances in DNA adduct detection and quantification methods, there is an opportunity to identify DNA adducts driving mutagenesis and correlate with a known exposome. However, most DNA adduct detection methods require isolation or separation of the DNA and its adducts from the context of the nuclei. Mass spectrometry, comet assays, and other techniques precisely quantify lesion types but lose the nuclear context and even tissue context of the DNA damage. The growth in spatial analysis technologies offers a novel opportunity to leverage DNA damage detection with nuclear and tissue context. However, we lack a wealth of techniques capable of detecting DNA damage in situ. Here, we review the limited existing in situ DNA damage detection methods and examine their potential to offer spatial analysis of DNA adducts in tumors or other tissues. We also offer a perspective on the need for spatial analysis of DNA damage in situ and highlight Repair Assisted Damage Detection (RADD) as an in situ DNA adduct technique with the potential to integrate with spatial analysis and the challenges to be addressed.