ALYREF binds to poly-ADP-ribose at double strand breaks impairing repair in tumoral cells.

ALYREF binds to poly-ADP-ribose at double-strand breaks and delays repair in tumoral cells, with overexpression linked to genome instability.

• Why it matters: Understanding how RNA-binding proteins influence DNA repair is crucial because their dysregulation may contribute to cancer progression and genome instability.
• What they did: The study examined ALYREF and UAP56/DDX39B, finding ALYREF is recruited to DSBs in a PAR-dependent manner and binds PAR in vitro, while UAP56/DDX39B does not.
• The result: Overexpression of ALYREF delays DSB repair by maintaining PAR levels and disrupting early repair factor loading, suggesting its role in promoting genome instability in cancer.