UV irradiation alters TFAM binding specificity and compaction of DNA - PubMed
5 hours ago
- #TFAM
- #mtDNA
- #DNA damage
- UV irradiation reduces TFAM's sequence specificity and redistributes its binding across mitochondrial DNA.
- TFAM compacts DNA more strongly in vitro when damage is present, but this does not protect against damage formation.
- In cells, TFAM expression increases after UV exposure, correlating with mtDNA degradation without triggering mitophagy.
- TFAM knockdown affects baseline and UV-induced mtDNA damage levels, suggesting a role in damage sensing or sequestration.
- The study proposes TFAM may act as a damage sensor by compacting damaged genomes to prevent mutagenesis.