Creation of a DNA Substrate for the Investigation of DNA-Protein Crosslinks

Additional contributors: Thuy Nguyen-Tran; Colin R. Campbell (faculty mentor)Bialkylating agents form DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs) as a side reaction. Bialkylating agents belong to a class of drugs used to treat cancer that function by forming DNA-DNA crosslinks and interfering with DNA function. To a lesser extent, they also form DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs). DPCs are know to be harmful to the cell, but they have not been well-studied. The aim of our research was to study these DPCs and better understand their mechanism of action. A better understanding of the function of DPCs could one day contribute to the development of novel and more efficacious drugs used to treat cancer