Multiple involvement of nucleotide excision repair enzymes: clinical manifestations of molecular intricacies.

Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is a process required to remove DNA damage inflicted upon our skin by the short-wave bands of natural sunlight. Defective NER may result in a high risk of UV-induced skin tumors, since it occurs in patients with the inherited disorder xeroderma pigmentosum (XP). However, Cockayne's syndrome (CS) and PIBIDS (a photosensitive form of trichothiodystrophy) are also disorders with defective NER, but show no evidence of an elevated risk of cancer. In addition, many of CS and PIBIDS symptoms are difficult to explain on the basis of an NER defect only. Recent new insights into the molecular mechanisms of NER have shown additional involvements of many NER enzymes in other cellular processes. These multiple functions are likely to be the basis of the complex symptomatology of XP, CS and PIBIDS. Specific gene-targeted mouse models will probably help to solve these intricacies.