The Role of Metabolic Flexibility in the Regulation of the DNA Damage Response by Nitric Oxide.
2019Molecular and cellular biology
Oleson BJ, Broniowska KA, Yeo CT, Flancher M, Naatz A +3 more
Plain English
Researchers found that nitric oxide shuts down the DNA damage response in pancreatic insulin-producing cells by blocking their ability to generate energy, and these cells cannot switch to alternative energy sources like normal cells can. When nitric oxide damages the cell's power plants (mitochondria), most cell types adapt by switching to glucose metabolism to keep energy levels up and activate their DNA repair systems—but pancreatic cells lack this flexibility and their energy crashes, leaving DNA damage unrepaired. This discovery explains why nitric oxide protects pancreatic cells from dying when their DNA is damaged: it essentially disables their damage response by starving them of energy.