γ-H2AX serves as a critical marker for the presence of DNA double-strand breaks. It acts as a scaffold for the recruitment of various DNA damage response (DDR) proteins, including MDC1 (mediator of DNA damage checkpoint protein 1), 53BP1 (p53-binding protein 1), and the MRN complex (MRE11-RAD50-NBS1). These proteins are essential for the efficient repair of DSBs through mechanisms such as non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR).
