Western University Scientists Uncover Protein with Next-level DNA Damage Repair Potential

Researchers from Western University in Ontario have discovered a protein with the "never-before-seen ability to stop DNA damage in its tracks," per the source. The material holds potential for applications ranging from cancer vaccines, to crops that withstand harsh growing conditions — it may even take skin care to a new level. And considering that the U.S. market for topical skin repair products is estimated to reach $58.6 billion by 2033 (~6.45% CAGR, 2024 to 2033), an innovation like this could differentiate products from the competition.

Superpower to Withstand DNA Damage

The protein, referred to as DNA Damage Repair Protein C (DdrC), is found in the common bacteria Deinococcus radiodurans. According to the university, it has the unusual ability to survive conditions such as radiation doses at 5,000x to 10,000x what would kill a regular human cell.

Robert Szabla, a graduate student in Western University's biochemistry department and lead researcher, explained that D. radiodurans also repairs DNA that has already been damaged. "It’s as if you had a player in the NFL who plays every game without a helmet or pads. ... He’d end up with a concussion and multiple broken bones every single game, but then miraculously make a full recovery overnight in time for practice the next day.”

Szabla added, “With a human cell, if there are any more than two breaks in the entire billion base pair genome, it can’t fix itself and it dies.... But in the case of DdrC, this unique protein helps the cell to repair hundreds of broken DNA fragments into a coherent genome.” The group’s findings were published in Nucleic Acids Research.

Neutralizing Damage, Signaling Repair

According to the scientists, DdrC scans for breaks along the DNA and when it detects one, "it snaps shut – like a mousetrap." This trapping action has two key functions:

• Neutralizing the DNA damage and preventing more, and
• Acting like a little molecular beacon to signal the cell where to make repairs.

Szabla furthers that while proteins form complicated networks to carry out a function, DdrC appears to perform its function alone, without the need for other proteins.

DNA Repair 'Plug-in'

The team also tested whether DdrC could enact other DNA repair systems by adding it to a different bacterium: Escherichia coli. "To our huge surprise, it actually made the bacterium over 40x more resistant to UV radiation damage,” he said. “This seems to be a rare example, where you have one protein and it really is like a stand-alone machine.”

In theory, per Szabla, DdrC could be introduced into any organism (plant, animal or human) to increase the DNA repair efficiency of that organism’s cells. "The ability to rearrange and edit and manipulate DNA in specific ways is the holy grail in biotechnology,” says Szabla. "What if you had a scanning system such as DdrC [that] patrolled your cells and neutralized damage when it happened? This might form the basis of a potential cancer vaccine."

Delving Further into Deinococcus Radiodurans

According to the university, these researchers are just getting started with D. radiodurans. “DdrC is just one out of hundreds of potentially useful proteins in this bacterium," Szabla noted. "The next step is to prod further [and] look at what else this cell uses to fix its own genome – because we’re sure to find many more tools..."

New Mechanism for Natural Damage Protection

Industry expert Mindy Goldstein, Ph.D., a specialist in UV/gamma radiation damage to DNA, and DNA repair, sees  potential for this protein in skin care and sun protection. "This technology has the potential to help prevent DNA damage from sun exposure," she wrote. "Similar technology is already in skin care but this is a new natural source of DNA protection from UV radiation.

"D. radiodurans has been shown to have significant antioxidant potential that protects DNA from UV damage and enhances DNA repair, but this is the first direct proof of a DNA repair enzyme from that organism that works through a unique mechanism."

She also emphasized that applying it in skin care and sun protection will take some crafting. "The delivery of this technology to the skin will be important, and present a hurdle to protect the protein from degradation. But this has been overcome in the past by the use of liposomes as a delivery system."

Indeed, Szabla shared with C&T, "if you can find a way to deliver the protein inside skin cells, then it might be able to protect skin cells from DNA damage caused by UV radiation."