Structural and Functional Interaction between the Human DNA Repair Proteins DNA Ligase IV and XRCC4

Nonhomologous end-joining represents the major pathway used by human cells to repair DNA double-strand breaks. It relies on the XRCC4/DNA ligase IV complex to reseal DNA strands. Here we report the high-resolution crystal structure of human XRCC4 bound to the carboxy-terminal tandem BRCT repeat of DNA ligase IV. The structure differs from the homologous Saccharomyces cerevisiae complex and reveals an extensive DNA ligase IV binding interface …