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Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gasotransmitter that exerts numerous physiologic and pathophysiologic effects. Recently, a role for H2S in DNA repair has been identified, where H2S modulates cell cycle checkpoint responses, the DNA damage response (DDR), and mitochondrial and nuclear genomic stability.
The maintenance of genomic stability is essential for life, and cells have evolved complex and intricate molecular machinery to ensure DNA stability and accurate DNA replication [1][2][3][4]. Eukaryotic cells carry two separate genomes with different evolutionary origins [4][5]. The nuclear genome is diploid, linear, and in humans contains roughly 3.3 billion base pairs encoding over 20,000 genes [4][5]. Conversely, the mitochondrial genome is circular, contains 37 genes in 16,569 base pairs, and occurs in multiple copies at 100–1000/cell [4][5]. The two genomes extensively interact, with the nuclear genome encoding roughly 1500 mitochondrial proteins, including those involved in mitochondrial DNA repair, while mitochondrial genomic damage can initiate apoptotic cell death via cytochrome c release and can also activate the innate immune response [4][5][6][7]. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gasotransmitter that, along with nitric oxide and carbon monoxide, functions in a vast number of different physiologic and pathophysiologic processes [8][9]. Specifically, H2S has many physiologic regulatory roles, including in the renal, cardiovascular, central nervous, and digestive systems, and is also dysregulated in many different pathologic processes including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegeneration [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. Recently, H2S has been found to regulate mitochondrial and nuclear DNA stability and repair [11][12][13].