Two BRCA2-like sequences are present in the Arabidopsis genome. Both genes are expressed in flower buds and encode nearly identical proteins, which contain four BRC motifs. In a yeast two-hybrid assay, the Arabidopsis Brca2 proteins interact with Rad51 and Dmc1. RNAi constructs aimed at silencing the BRCA2 genes at meiosis triggered a reproducible sterility phenotype, which was associated with ...

PALB2 physically and functionally connects the proteins encoded by the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast and ovarian cancer genes into a DNA-damage-response network. However, it remains unclear how these proteins associate with chromatin that contains damaged DNA. We show here that PALB2 binds directly to a conserved chromodomain protein, MRG15, which is a component of histone acetyltransferase-deacetylas...

The breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA2 encodes a protein of 3418 amino acids which does not exhibit substantial sequence similarity to any other protein in the public databases. A dot matrix comparison of BRCA2 with itself revealed an eight times repeated motif in the segment of the protein encoded by exon 11. As a preliminary test of the hypothesis that these motifs are functionally signi...

In somatic cells, BRCA2 is needed for RAD51-mediated homologous recombination. The meiosis-specific DNA strand exchange protein, DMC1, promotes the formation of DNA strand invasion products (joint molecules) between homologous molecules in a fashion similar to RAD51. BRCA2 interacts directly with both human RAD51 and DMC1; in the case of RAD51, this interaction results in stimulation of RAD51-p...

BACKGROUND To date several common mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 associated with breast cancer have been reported in different populations. However, the common BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations among breast cancer patients in Iran have not been described in detail. MATERIALS AND METHODS To comprehensively assess the frequency and distribution of the most common BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in Iranian brea...

Cytokinesis is the critical final step in cell division. BRCA2 disruption during cytokinesis is associated with chromosome instability, but mechanistic information is lacking that could be used to prevent cancer cell division. In this study, we report that BRCA2 phosphorylation by the mitotic polo-like kinase (PLK1) governs the localization of BRCA2 to the Flemming body at the central midbody, ...

Fanconi anemia is an inherited disease characterized by bone marrow failure, congenital malformations, and predisposition to cancer. The breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA2 was recently found to be associated with Fanconi anemia complementation group D1 (FA-D1). We examined four kindreds afflicted with Fanconi anemia for the presence of germline BRCA2 mutations. One kindred, of Ashkenazi Je...

Genetic testing for hereditary breast and/or ovarian cancer mostly relies on laborious molecular tools that use Sanger sequencing to scan for mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. We explored a more efficient genetic screening strategy based on next-generation sequencing of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in 210 hereditary breast and/or ovarian cancer patients. We first validated this approach in a...

Approximately 5% of all breast cancers can be attributed to an inherited mutation in one of two cancer susceptibility genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. We searched for genes that have the potential to distinguish healthy BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers from noncarriers based on differences in expression profiling. Using expression microarrays, we compared gene expression of irradiated lymphocytes from ...

Eighty-six women fulfilling specific selection criteria were studied for germline mutations in two breast cancer susceptibility genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, using the protein truncation test (PTT). Nine germline mutations were identified, six in BRCA1 and three in BRCA2. Of the six BRCA1 mutations, three have previously been described and three are new, and for BRCA2, one is a new mutation and the o...