FEN1 Rabbit Polyclonal Antibody

FEN1 is a structure-specific, multifunctional, and highly conserved nuclease that plays an indispensable role in DNA replication and repair. It primarily recognizes and cleaves nucleic acid intermediates with 5′ overhanging single-stranded "flap" structures on DNA duplexes; its unique dual-flap recognition mechanism enables precise excision of these intermediates, thereby providing the key step of RNA primer removal for Okazaki fragment maturation and playing a central role in the long-patch base excision repair pathway. In addition to its endonuclease activity, FEN1 also possesses 5′→3′ exonuclease activity, assisting in the removal of damaged DNA fragments in various DNA damage repair pathways. Furthermore, FEN1 participates in telomere maintenance, ensuring stable replication of telomeric sequences through its structure-specific cleavage. The activity of FEN1 is closely associated with cell proliferation, and its expression levels are significantly upregulated in various cancers to support the efficient proliferation and genomic stability of cancer cells, making it a potential anti-cancer target; however, its dysfunction or mutations lead to genomic instability and accumulation of mutations, which are linked to cancer susceptibility, premature aging, and neurodegenerative diseases.