Department of Microbiology,
Institute of Biomedical Sciences,
Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences
Carlos Fred Menck is a full professor at the Instituto of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo. He received his undergraduate degree, major in Biology, and Ph.D. in Biochemistry (1982), from the University of São Paulo, under the supervision of Dr. Rogério Meneghini.
From his initial scientific training, his main interest is in how DNA repair capabilities are involved in cell mutations and cell death, which, in the organisms, are directly involved in processes of carcinogenesis and aging. While in his Ph.D. thesis, he investigated how DNA damage can be replicated; in his three-year postdoc he developed methods to investigate mutagenesis in human cells with shuttle vectors, under Dr. Alain Sarasin, at the Institut de Recherche sur le Cancer, Villejuif, France. In 1988 he moved back to Brazil with a position at the University of São Paulo.
He is investigating how sunlight (ultraviolet) induces DNA damage and the human cells’ responses. Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP, and eventually other human syndromes deficient in DNA repair) cells are at the center of his work as models for studying the consequences of lack of DNA repair. Recently, next-generation sequencing allowed the molecular diagnosis of Brazilian XP patients and studies on mutagenesis induction. His projects also deal with how tumor cells respond to DNA damage after anti-tumor chemotherapy drug treatment, a process involved in tumor recurrence. This knowledge may help in cancer therapy.
He was past president of the Brazilian Society of Genetics and Brazilian Mutagen Society. He is a Senior Investigator of the Brazilian National Research Council, a full member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, and TWAS (The World Academy of Sciences). He was awarded the Commander-Class of the National Order of Scientific Merit by the President of the Republic of Brazil.
His work has been possible due to the contribution of students and postdocs, who are the leading players in developing his scientific projects. He was the supervisor for 13 Masters, 39 Ph.D. Theses and 22 postdoc fellows.
An SOS-regulated operon involved in damage-inducible mutagenesis in Caulobacter crescentus.
Nucleic acids research , 2005 | Pubmed ID: 15886391
Non-gamma-proteobacteria gene islands contribute to the Xanthomonas genome.
Omics : a journal of integrative biology , 2005 | Pubmed ID: 15969648
On the search for skin gene therapy strategies of xeroderma pigmentosum disease.
Current gene therapy Jun, 2007 | Pubmed ID: 17584035
Exploring DNA damage responses in human cells with recombinant adenoviral vectors.
Human & experimental toxicology Nov, 2007 | Pubmed ID: 18042584
Replacement of the arginine biosynthesis operon in Xanthomonadales by lateral gene transfer.
Journal of molecular evolution Mar, 2008 | Pubmed ID: 18305979
Laterally transferred genomic islands in Xanthomonadales related to pathogenicity and primary metabolism.
FEMS microbiology letters Apr, 2008 | Pubmed ID: 18318843
How DNA lesions are turned into powerful killing structures: insights from UV-induced apoptosis.
Mutation research Mar-Jun, 2009 | Pubmed ID: 18845270
NAD biosynthesis evolution in bacteria: lateral gene transfer of kynurenine pathway in Xanthomonadales and Flavobacteriales.
Molecular biology and evolution Feb, 2009 | Pubmed ID: 19005186
p53 mutant human glioma cells are sensitive to UV-C-induced apoptosis due to impaired cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer removal.
Molecular cancer research : MCR Feb, 2009 | Pubmed ID: 19208740
Impact of EMS outreach: successful developments in Latin America.
Environmental and molecular mutagenesis Oct-Dec, 2010 | Pubmed ID: 20213840
Both XPA and DNA polymerase eta are necessary for the repair of doxorubicin-induced DNA lesions.
Cancer letters Jan, 2012 | Pubmed ID: 21999933
Biological sensors for solar ultraviolet radiation.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) , 2011 | Pubmed ID: 22163847
The role of DNA repair in the pluripotency and differentiation of human stem cells.
Mutation research Jan-Mar, 2013 | Pubmed ID: 23010441
Novel XPG (ERCC5) mutations affect DNA repair and cell survival after ultraviolet but not oxidative stress.
Human mutation Mar, 2013 | Pubmed ID: 23255472
Nucleotide excision repair activity on DNA damage induced by photoactivated methylene blue.
Free radical biology & medicine Aug, 2013 | Pubmed ID: 23567189
Gap-filling and bypass at the replication fork are both active mechanisms for tolerance of low-dose ultraviolet-induced DNA damage in the human genome.
DNA repair Feb, 2014 | Pubmed ID: 24380689
Highly sensitive biological assay for determining the photoprotective efficacy of sunscreen.
Environmental science & technology Oct, 2014 | Pubmed ID: 25216262
ATR suppresses apoptosis after UVB irradiation by controlling both translesion synthesis and alternative tolerance pathways.
Journal of cell science Jan, 2015 | Pubmed ID: 25380827
DNA repair and recovery of RNA synthesis following exposure to ultraviolet light are delayed in long genes.
Nucleic acids research Mar, 2015 | Pubmed ID: 25722371
Overexpression of KLC2 due to a homozygous deletion in the non-coding region causes SPOAN syndrome.
Human molecular genetics Dec, 2015 | Pubmed ID: 26385635
Chloroquine-induced glioma cells death is associated with mitochondrial membrane potential loss, but not oxidative stress.
Free radical biology & medicine Jan, 2016 | Pubmed ID: 26577174
Cockayne syndrome-derived neurons display reduced synapse density and altered neural network synchrony.
Human molecular genetics Apr, 2016 | Pubmed ID: 26755826
Evolutionary and Functional Relationships of the dha Regulon by Genomic Context Analysis.
PloS one , 2016 | Pubmed ID: 26938861
Microenvironment and autophagy cross-talk: Implications in cancer therapy.
Pharmacological research 05, 2016 | Pubmed ID: 27037157
Mutation in PNKP presenting initially as axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.
Neurology. Genetics Dec, 2015 | Pubmed ID: 27066567
Translesion synthesis mechanisms depend on the nature of DNA damage in UV-irradiated human cells.
Nucleic acids research 07, 2016 | Pubmed ID: 27095204
Sunlight damage to cellular DNA: Focus on oxidatively generated lesions.
Free radical biology & medicine 06, 2017 | Pubmed ID: 28109890
Predominant role of DNA polymerase eta and p53-dependent translesion synthesis in the survival of ultraviolet-irradiated human cells.
Nucleic acids research 02, 2017 | Pubmed ID: 28180309
Direct participation of DNA in the formation of singlet oxygen and base damage under UVA irradiation.
Free radical biology & medicine 07, 2017 | Pubmed ID: 28323132
Chaperone-mediated autophagy prevents cellular transformation by regulating MYC proteasomal degradation.
Autophagy May, 2017 | Pubmed ID: 28410006
LMNB1 mutation causes cerebellar involvement and a genome instability defect.
Journal of the neurological sciences 08, 2017 | Pubmed ID: 28716252
Autophagy Roles in the Modulation of DNA Repair Pathways.
International journal of molecular sciences Nov, 2017 | Pubmed ID: 29112132
Horizontal Gene Transfer Building Prokaryote Genomes: Genes Related to Exchange Between Cell and Environment are Frequently Transferred.
Journal of molecular evolution 04, 2018 | Pubmed ID: 29556740
Filling gaps in translesion DNA synthesis in human cells.
Mutation research. Genetic toxicology and environmental mutagenesis Dec, 2018 | Pubmed ID: 30442338
The key role of UVA-light induced oxidative stress in human Xeroderma Pigmentosum Variant cells.
Free radical biology & medicine 02, 2019 | Pubmed ID: 30553972
Genetic and behavioral characterization of a Kmt2d mouse mutant, a new model for Kabuki Syndrome.
Genes, brain, and behavior 11, 2019 | Pubmed ID: 30891914
Familial predisposition to TP53/complex karyotype MDS and leukemia in DNA repair-deficient xeroderma pigmentosum.
Blood 06, 2019 | Pubmed ID: 30914417
ATR mediates cisplatin resistance in 3D-cultured breast cancer cells via translesion DNA synthesis modulation.
Cell death & disease 06, 2019 | Pubmed ID: 31189884
XPD/ERCC2 mutations interfere in cellular responses to oxidative stress.
Mutagenesis 12, 2019 | Pubmed ID: 31348825
The balance between NRF2/GSH antioxidant mediated pathway and DNA repair modulates cisplatin resistance in lung cancer cells.
Scientific reports 11, 2019 | Pubmed ID: 31776385
Large deletions in immunoglobulin genes are associated with a sustained absence of DNA Polymerase η.
Scientific reports Jan, 2020 | Pubmed ID: 31992747
The Iberian legacy into a young genetic xeroderma pigmentosum cluster in central Brazil.
Mutation research. Genetic toxicology and environmental mutagenesis Apr, 2020 | Pubmed ID: 32265042
Transcription blockage by DNA damage in nucleotide excision repair-related neurological dysfunctions.
Seminars in cell & developmental biology 06, 2021 | Pubmed ID: 33229217
DNA damage and oxidative stress in human cells infected by Trypanosoma cruzi.
PLoS pathogens 04, 2021 | Pubmed ID: 33826673
Ru(II)/amino acid complexes inhibit the progression of breast cancer cells through multiple mechanism-induced apoptosis.
Journal of inorganic biochemistry 01, 2022 | Pubmed ID: 34655962