It is becoming increasingly clear that the nuclear protein, poly-ADP-ribose polymerase 1 (PARP1), plays essential roles in the cell, including DNA repair, translation, transcription, telomere maintenance, and chromatin remodeling. Despite the exciting progress made in understanding the ubiquitous role of poly-ADP-ribose metabolism, a basic mechanism of PARP's activity regulating multiple nuclear processes is yet to be outlined. This review offers a holistic perspective on activity of PARP1, based on empirically observable phenomena. Primary attention is given to mechanisms by which PARP1 regulates a broad range of essential nuclear events, including two complementary processes (1) regulation of protein-nucleic acid interactions by means of protein shuttling and (2) utilizing poly-ADP-ribose as an anionic matrix for trapping, recruiting, and scaffolding proteins.
Keywords: Chromatin; Histones; Nucleosome; PARP1; Parg; Poly(ADP-ribose).
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