An unorthodox partnership in DNA repair pathway choice

Complex regulatory circuits determine whether DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are repaired by nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) or homology-directed repair (HDR) pathways, a carefully balanced equilibrium of which is critical for genome stability. In this issue of EMBO Reports, Deng et al [1] report that a novel p53-suppressed long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), PRLH1, interacts with and stabilizes the E3 ubiquitin ligase RNF169 to stimulate HDR-mediated DSB repair and proliferation of p53-deficient cancer cells. These findings suggest a new regulatory principle in modulating DSB repair pathway selection that may contribute to tumorigenesis.