Why is "Double-strand break repair model" trending?

Wikipedia Overview

A double-strand break repair model refers to the various models of pathways that cells undertake to repair double-strand breaks (DSB). DSB repair is an important cellular process, as the accumulation of unrepaired DSB could lead to chromosomal rearrangements, tumorigenesis or even cell death. In human cells, there are two main DSB repair mechanisms: Homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). HR can be seen as a more accurate site specific form of repair. It requires much more larger and intricate protein complexes. These complexes that involve proteins such as RAD51 and BRCA2 are critical in support of DNA replication and the recovery of stalled or broken replication forks. NHEJ modifies and ligates the damaged ends regardless of homology. In terms of DSB repair pathway choice, most mammalian cells appear to favor NHEJ rather than HR. This is because the employment of HR may lead to gene deletion or amplification in cells which contains repetitive sequences. In terms of repair models in the cell cycle, HR is only possible during the S and G2 phases, while NHEJ can occur throughout whole process. These repair pathways are all regulated by the overarching DNA damage response mechanism. Besides HR and NHEJ, there are also other repair models which exists in cells. Some are categorized under HR, such as synthesis-dependent strand annealing, break-induced replication, and single-strand annealing; while others are an entirely alternate repair model, namely, the pathway microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ).