Ubiquitin and Ubiquitin-relative SUMO in DNA damage response

  • 22k

    Total Downloads

  • 103k

    Total Views and Downloads

Download PDFDownload EPUB

Submit your idea

You will be redirected to our submission process.

Submit your manuscript summarySubmit your manuscript

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

DNA damage response (DDR) is a term that includes a variety of highly sophisticated mechanisms that cells have evolved in safeguarding the genome from the deleterious consequences of DNA damage. It is estimated that every single cell receives tens of thousands of DNA lesions per day. Failure of DDR to properly respond to DNA damage leads to stem cell dysfunction, accelerated ageing, various degenerative diseases or cancer. The sole function of DDR is to recognize diverse DNA lesions, signal their presence, activate cell cycle arrest and finally recruit specific DNA repair proteins to fix the DNA damage and thus prevent genomic instability. DDR is composed of hundreds of spatiotemporally regulated and interconnected proteins, which are able to promptly respond to various DNA lesions. So it is not surprising that mutations in genes encoding various DDR proteins cause embryonic lethality, malignancies, neurodegenerative diseases and premature ageing.

The importance of DDR for cell survival and genome stability is unquestionable, but how the sophisticated network of hundreds of different DDR proteins is spatiotemporally coordinated is far from being understood. In the last ten years ubiquitin (ubiquitination) and the ubiquitin-relative SUMO (sumoylation) have emerged as essential posttranslational modifications that regulate DDR. Beside a plethora of ubiqutin and sumo E1-activating enzymes, E2-conjugating enzymes, E3-ligases and ubiquitin/sumo proteases involved in ubiquitination and sumoylation, the complexity of ubiqutin and sumo systems is additionally increased by the fact that both ubiquitin and sumo can form a variety of different chains on substrates which govern the substrate fate, such as its interaction with other proteins, changing its enzymatic activity or promoting substrate degradation.

The importance of ubiquitin/SUMO systems in the orchestration of DDR is best illustrated in patients with mutations in E3-ubiquitin ligases BRCA1 or RNF168. BRCA1 is essential for proper function of DDR and its mutations lead to triple-negative breast and ovarian cancers. RNF168 is an E3 ubiquitin ligase, which creates the ubiquitin docking platform for recruitment of different DNA damage signalling and repair proteins at sites of DNA lesion, and its mutations cause RIDDLE syndrome characterized by radiosensitivity, immunodeficiency and learning disability. In addition, recently discovered the ubiquitin receptor protein SPRTN is part of the DNA replication machinery and its mutations cause early-onset hepatocellular carcinoma and premature ageing in humans.

Despite more than 700 different enzymes directly involved in ubiquitination and sumoylation processes only few of them are known to play a role in DDR. Therefore, we feel that the role of ubiquitin and the ubiquitin-related SUMO in DDR is far from being understood, and that this is the emerging field that will hugely expand in the next decade due to the rapid development of a new generation of technologies, which will allow us a more robust and precise analyses of human genome, transcriptome and proteome.

In this Research Topic we aim to give a comprehensive overview of our current understanding of ubiquitin and SUMO pathways in all aspects of DDR, from DNA replication to different DNA repair pathways, and demonstrate how alterations in these pathways cause genomic instability that is linked to degenerative diseases, cancer and pathological ageing.

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and they fall under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

      In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Participating Journals

Impact

  • 103kTopic views
  • 74kArticle views
  • 22kArticle downloads
View impact