Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40348775›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

RNA transcripts serve as a template for double-strand break repair in human cells.

Manisha Jalan, Alessandra Brambati, Hina Shah, Niamh McDermott, Juber Patel, Yingjie Zhu, Ahmet Doymaz, Julius Wu, Kyrie S Anderson, Andrea Gazzo and 16 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Mechanisms and disease relevance of DNA break repair pathway choice.Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. De novo rates of aProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

26 authors.

Manisha Jalan *Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4467-4934
Alessandra Brambati *Molecular Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Hina Shah *Molecular Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-7252-657X
Niamh McDermott *Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Juber PatelDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Yingjie ZhuDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1849-6019
Ahmet DoymazMolecular Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Julius WuMolecular Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Kyrie S AndersonDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Andrea GazzoDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Fresia ParejaDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3748-8049
Takafumi N YamaguchiDepartment of Human Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Theodore VougiouklakisDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Sana Ahmed-SeghirDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Philippa SteinbergDepartment of Human Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Anna Neiman-GoldenDepartment of Human Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Benura AzerogluLaboratory of Genome Integrity, National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA.
Joan Gomez-AguilarDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Edaise M da SilvaDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3281-7333
Suleman HussainDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Daniel HigginsonDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6686-7454
Paul C BoutrosDepartment of Human Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0553-7520
Nadeem RiazDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9873-5862
Jorge S Reis-FilhoDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Simon N PowellDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA. powells@mskcc.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8183-4765
Agnel SfeirMolecular Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA. sfeira@mskcc.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1633-8535

Funding

X-RAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHYP30CA008748 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RES · PI SELWYN M VICKERS · 1985 to 2026
$347.4M
Women's CancersP30CA016042 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI Robert Damoiseaux · 1985 to 2026
$134.5M
Targeting Polθ to Overcome PARP Inhibitor Resistance in Homologous Recombination Deficient Breast CancerP50CA247749 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INST CAN RESEARCH · PI Sarat Chandarlapaty, Simon N. Powell · 2020 to 2026
$16.3M
Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan Kettering MST ProgramT32GM152349 · NIGMS · WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV · PI KATHARINE C HSU · 2024 to 2026
$6.6M
The Evolution of Sarcoma Drug Sensitivity through Time and SpaceR01CA244729 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI BOUTROS, PAUL CHRISTOPHER, SORAGNI, ALICE · 2020 to 2024
$3.4M
Virginia-UCLA-Toronto Biomarker Characterization CenterU2CCA271894 · NCI · OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY · PI OLIVER John SEMMES · 2022 to 2026
$3.2M
Define the role of POT1 mutations in genome instability and cancerU01CA231019 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INST CAN RESEARCH · PI SFEIR, AGNEL · 2018 to 2022
$2.1M
Investigating PolQ-mediated alternative NHEJ in breast cancerR01CA229161 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INST CAN RESEARCH · PI SFEIR, AGNEL · 2019 to 2023
$2.1M
Backup DNA repair in homologous recombination deficient cancersR01CA286111 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INST CAN RESEARCH · PI Simon N. Powell · 2025 to 2026
$975k
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA008748NCI NIH HHS P30 CA016042NCI NIH HHS P50 CA247749NCI NIH HHS R01 CA229161NCI NIH HHS R01 CA244729NCI NIH HHS R01 CA286111NCI NIH HHS U01 CA231019NCI NIH HHS U2C CA271894NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM152349U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Cancer Institute (NCI) U01CA231019
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Double-strand breaks (DSBs) are toxic lesions that lead to genome instability. While canonical DSB repair pathways typically operate independently of RNA, growing evidence suggests that RNA:DNA hybrids and nearby transcripts can influence repair outcomes. However, whether transcript RNA can directly serve as a template for DSB repair in human cells remains unclear. In this study, we develop fluorescence and sequencing-based assays to show that RNA-containing oligonucleotides and messenger RNA can serve as templates during DSB repair. We conduct a CRISPR/Cas9-based genetic screen to identify factors that promote RNA-templated DSB repair (RT-DSBR). Of the candidate polymerases, we identify DNA polymerase zeta (Polζ) as a potential reverse transcriptase that facilitates RT-DSBR. Furthermore, analysis of cancer genome sequencing data reveals whole intron deletions - a distinct genomic signature of RT-DSBR that occurs when spliced mRNA guides repair. Altogether, our findings highlight RT-DSBR as an alternative pathway for repairing DSBs in transcribed genes, with potential mutagenic consequences.

Indexed as

DNA Breaks, Double-StrandedDNA RepairRNARNA, MessengerCRISPR-Cas SystemsDNA-Directed DNA PolymeraseGenomic InstabilityHumansTemplates, GeneticDNA-Directed DNA PolymeraseRNARNA, Messenger

Identifiers

PMID40348775
PMCPMC12065846

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.