PURPOSE Treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) continues to pose a significant therapeutic challenge, with most tumors recurring within the previously irradiated tumor bed. To improve outcomes, we must be able to identify and treat resistant cell populations. Rad51, an enzyme involved in homologous recombinational repair, leads to increased resistance of tumor cells to cytotoxic treatments ...

The Rad51 nucleoprotein filament mediates DNA strand exchange, a key step of homologous recombination. This activity is stimulated by replication protein A (RPA), but only when RPA is introduced after Rad51 nucleoprotein filament formation. In contrast, RPA inhibits Rad51 nucleoprotein complex formation by prior binding to single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), but Rad52 protein alleviates this inhibitio...

Rad54 protein is a Snf2-like ATPase with a specialized function in the recombinational repair of DNA damage. Rad54 is thought to stimulate the search of homology via formation of a specific complex with the presynaptic Rad51 filament on single-stranded DNA. Herein, we address the interaction of Rad54 with Rad51 filaments on double-stranded (ds) DNA, an intermediate in DNA strand exchange with u...

RAD51 is one of the pivotal enzymes for DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair by the homologous recombination (HR) pathway, which implies it as a promising and novel target for cancer therapy. Recent findings have indicated RAD51 protein is overexpressed in a variety of tumors. The high-expression of RAD51 is related to poor prognosis. RAD51 is involved in the repair of DNA damage and the genera...

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rad51 protein is the paradigm for eukaryotic ATP-dependent DNA strand exchange proteins. To explain some of the unique characteristics of DNA strand exchange promoted by Rad51 protein, when compared with its prokaryotic homologue the Escherichia coli RecA protein, we analyzed the DNA binding properties of the Rad51 protein. Rad51 protein binds both single-stranded DNA (...

Rad51 is the key enzyme for homologous recombination, an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for the repair of DNA damage and the generation of genetic diversity. Given the observation that many tumors become resistant to radiation therapy and DNA-damaging chemotherapeutics and also that tumor cell populations can acquire a high number of genetic alterations and then expand clonally, dysfunction...

Yeast Rad51 promotes homologous pairing and strand exchange in vitro, but this activity is inefficient in the absence of the accessory proteins, RPA, Rad52, Rad54 and the Rad55-Rad57 heterodimer. A class of rad51 alleles was isolated that suppresses the requirement for RAD55 and RAD57 in DNA repair, but not the other accessory factors. Five of the six mutations isolated map to the region of Rad...

We investigated whether Rad51 overexpression plays a role in soft tissue sarcoma (STS) chemoresistance as well as the regulatory mechanisms underlying its expression. The studies reported here show that Rad51 protein is overexpressed in a large panel of human STS specimens. Human STS cell lines showed increased Rad51 protein expression, as was also observed in nude rat STS xenografts. STS cells...

Germ-line mutations in BRCA2 account for approximately half the cases of autosomal dominant familial breast cancers. BRCA2 has been shown to interact directly with RAD51, an essential component of the cellular machinery for homologous recombination and the maintenance of genome stability. Interactions between BRCA2 and RAD51 take place by means of the conserved BRC repeat regions of BRCA2. Prev...

Rad51 protein (Rad51) is central to recombinational repair of double-strand DNA breaks. It polymerizes onto DNA and promotes strand exchange between homologous chromosomes. We visualized the real-time assembly and disassembly of human Rad51 nucleoprotein filaments on double-stranded DNA by single-molecule fluorescence microscopy. Rad51 assembly extends the DNA by approximately 65%. Nucleoprotei...