Tissue specificity of DNA damage response and tumorigenesis

The genome of cells is constantly challenged by DNA damages from endogenous metabolism and environmental agents. Thesedamages could potentially lead to genomic instability and thus to tumorigenesis. To cope with the threats, cells have evolved anintricate network, namely DNA damage response (DDR) system that senses and deals with the lesions of DNA. Although the DDRoperates by relatively uniform principles, different tissues give rise to distinct types of DNA damages combined with high diversityof microenvironments across tissues. In this review, we discuss recent findings on specific DNA damage among different tissues aswell as the main DNA repair way in corresponding microenvironments, highlighting tissue specificity of DDR and tumorigenesis.We hope the current review will provide further insights into molecular process of tumorigenesis and generate new strategies for cancer treatment. Cite this article as: Sun S, Osterman MD, Li M. Tissue specificity of DNAdamage response and tumorigenesis. Cancer Biol Med. 2019; 16: 396-414.doi: 10.20892/j.issn.2095-3941.2019.0097