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Ku80
Protein found in humans / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ku80 is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the XRCC5 gene.[5] Together, Ku70 and Ku80 make up the Ku heterodimer, which binds to DNA double-strand break ends and is required for the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway of DNA repair. It is also required for V(D)J recombination, which utilizes the NHEJ pathway to promote antigen diversity in the mammalian immune system.
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In addition to its role in NHEJ, Ku is required for telomere length maintenance and subtelomeric gene silencing.[6]
Ku was originally identified when patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were found to have high levels of autoantibodies to the protein.[7]