BRCA2

BRCA2 ( ) is a tumor suppressor protein that in humans is encoded by the BRCA2 gene. The official gene symbol and name (originally breast cancer 2; currently BRCA2, DNA repair associated) are maintained by the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee. One alternative symbol, FANCD1, recognizes its association with the FANC protein complex. Orthologs are common in other vertebrate species. BRCA2 is a human tumor suppressor gene (specifically, a caretaker gene), found in all humans; its protein, also called breast cancer type 2 susceptibility protein, is responsible for repairing DNA. BRCA2 and BRCA1 are normally expressed in the cells of breast and other tissue, where they help repair damaged DNA or destroy cells if DNA cannot be repaired. They are involved in the repair of chromosomal damage with an important role in the error-free repair of DNA double strand breaks. If BRCA1 or BRCA2 itself is damaged by a BRCA mutation, damaged DNA is not repaired properly, and this increases the risk for breast cancer. BRCA1 and BRCA2 have been described as "breast cancer susceptibility genes" and "breast cancer susceptibility proteins". The predominant allele has a normal tumor suppressive function whereas high penetrance mutations in these genes cause a loss of tumor suppressive function, which correlates with an increased risk of breast cancer.…

BRCA2 ( ) is a tumor suppressor protein that in humans is encoded by the BRCA2 gene. The official gene symbol and name (originally breast cancer 2; currently BRCA2, DNA repair associated) are maintained by the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee. One alternative symbol, FANCD1, recognizes its association with the FANC protein complex. Orthologs are common in other vertebrate species. BRCA2 is a human tumor suppressor gene (specifically, a caretaker gene), found in all humans; its protein, also called breast cancer type 2 susceptibility protein, is responsible for repairing DNA. BRCA2 and BRCA1 are normally expressed in the cells of breast and other tissue, where they help repair damaged DNA or destroy cells if DNA cannot be repaired. They are involved in the repair of chromosomal damage with an important role in the error-free repair of DNA double strand breaks. If BRCA1 or BRCA2 itself is damaged by a BRCA mutation, damaged DNA is not repaired properly, and this increases the risk for breast cancer. BRCA1 and BRCA2 have been described as "breast cancer susceptibility genes" and "breast cancer susceptibility proteins". The predominant allele has a normal tumor suppressive function whereas high penetrance mutations in these genes cause a loss of tumor suppressive function, which correlates with an increased risk of breast cancer. The BRCA2 gene is located on the long (q) arm of chromosome 13 at position 12.3 (13q12.3). The human reference BRCA2 gene contains 27 exons, and the cDNA has 10,254 base pairs coding for a protein of 3418 amino acids. ==Meiosis== In the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, loss of the BRCA2 homolog AtBRCA2 causes severe defects in both male meiosis and in the development of the female gametocyte. AtBRCA2 protein is required for proper localization of the synaptonemal complex protein AtZYP1 and the recombinases AtRAD51 and AtDMC1. Furthermore, AtBRCA2 is required for proper meiotic synapsis. Thus AtBRCA2 is likely important for meiotic recombination. It appears that AtBRCA2 acts during meiosis to control the single-strand invasion steps mediated by AtRAD51 and AtDMC1 occurring during meiotic homologous recombinational repair of DNA damages. Homologs of BRCA2 are also essential for meiosis in the fungus Ustilago maydis, the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, and the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster. Mice that produce truncated versions of BRCA2 are viable but sterile. BRCA2 mutant rats have a phenotype of growth inhibition and sterility in both sexes. Aspermatogenesis in these mutant rats is due to a failure of homologous chromosome synapsis during meiosis. ===BRC repeat sequences=== DMC1 (DNA meiotic recombinase 1) is a meiosis specific homolog of RAD51 that mediates strand exchange during homologous recombinational repair. DMC1 promotes the formation of DNA strand invasion products (joint molecules) between homologous DNA molecules. Human DMC1 interacts directly with each of a series of repeat sequences in the BRCA2 protein (called BRC repeats) that stimulate joint molecule formation by DMC1. BRC repeats conform to a motif consisting of a sequence of about 35 highly conserved amino acids that are present at least once in all BRCA2-like proteins. The BRCA2 BRC repeats stimulate joint molecule formation by promoting the interaction of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) with DMC1. The ssDNA complexed with DMC1 can pair with homologous ssDNA from another chromosome during the synopsis stage of meiosis to form a joint molecule, a central step in homologous recombination. Thus the BRC repeat sequences of BRCA2 appear to play a key role in recombinational repair of DNA damages during meiotic recombination. Overall, it appears that homologous recombination during meiosis functions to repair DNA damages, and that BRCA2 plays a key role in performing this function. ==Neurogenesis== BRCA2 is required in the mouse for neurogenesis and suppression of medulloblastoma. BRCA2 loss profoundly affects neurogenesis, particularly during embryonic and postnatal neural development. These neurological defects arise from DNA damage. ==Epigenetic control== Epigenetic alterations in expression of BRCA2 (causing over-expression or under-expression) are very frequent in sporadic cancers (see Table below) while mutations in BRCA2 are rarely found. In non-small cell lung cancer, BRCA2 is epigenetically repressed by hypermethylation of the promoter. In this case, promoter hypermethylation is significantly associated with low mRNA expression and low protein expression but not with loss of heterozygosity of the gene. In sporadic ovarian cancer, an opposite effect is found. BRCA2 promoter and 5'-UTR regions have relatively few or no methylated CpG dinucleotides in the tumor DNA compared with that of non-tumor DNA, and a significant correlation is found between hypomethylation and a >3-fold over-expression of BRCA2. This indicates that hypomethylation of the BRCA2 promoter and 5'-UTR regions leads to over-expression of BRCA2 mRNA. One report indicated some epigenetic control of BRCA2 expression by the microRNAs miR-146a and miR-148a. ==BRCA2 expression in cancer== In eukaryotes, BRCA2 protein has an important role in homologous recombinational repair. In mice and humans, BRCA2 primarily mediates orderly assembly of RAD51 on single-stranded (ss) DNA, the form that is active for homologous pairing and strand invasion. BRCA2 also redirects RAD51 from double-stranded DNA and prevents dissociation from ssDNA. In addition, the four paralogs of RAD51, consisting of RAD51B (RAD51L1), RAD51C (RAD51L2), RAD51D (RAD51L3), XRCC2 form a complex called the BCDX2 complex (see Figure: Recombinational repair of DNA). This complex participates in RAD51 recruitment or stabilization at damage sites. The BCDX2 complex appears to act by facilitating the assembly or stability of the RAD51 nucleoprotein filament. RAD51 catalyses strand transfer between a broken sequence and its undamaged homologue to allow re-synthesis of the damaged region (see homologous recombination models). Some studies of cancers report over-expressed BRCA2 whereas other studies report under-expression of BRCA2. At least two reports found over-expression in some sporadic breast tumors and under-expression in other sporadic breast tumors. (see Table). Many cancers have epigenetic deficiencies in various DNA repair genes (see Frequencies of epimutations in DNA repair genes in cancers). These repair deficiencies likely cause increased unrepaired DNA damages. The over-expression of BRCA2 seen in many cancers may reflect compensatory BRCA2 over-expression and increased homologous recombinational repair to at least partially deal with such excess DNA damages. Egawa et al. suggest that increased expression of BRCA2 can be explained by the genomic instability frequently seen in cancers, which induces BRCA2 mRNA expression due to an increased need for BRCA2 for DNA repair. Under-expression of BRCA2 would itself lead to increased unrepaired DNA damages. Replication errors past these damages (see translesion synthesis) would lead to increased mutations and cancer. ==Patents, enforcement, litigation, and controversy== A patent application for the isolated BRCA1 gene and cancer-cancer promoting mutations, as well as methods to diagnose the likelihood of getting breast cancer, was filed by the University of Utah, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and Myriad Genetics in 1994; over the next year, Myriad, in collaboration with other investigators, isolated and sequenced the BRCA2 gene and identified relevant mutations, and the first BRCA2 patent was filed in the U.S. by Myriad and the other institutions in 1995. Myriad is the exclusive licensee of these patents and has enforced them in the US against clinical diagnostic labs. This business model led from Myriad being a startup in 1994 to being a publicly traded company with 1200 employees¹ and about $500M in annual revenue in 2012; it also led to controversy over high prices and the inability to get second opinions from other diagnostic labs, which in turn led to the landmark Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics lawsuit. The patents begin to expire in 2014. Peter Meldrum, CEO of Myriad Genetics, has acknowledged that Myriad has "other competitive advantages that may make such [patent] enforcement unnecessary" in Europe. Legal decisions surrounding the BRCA1 and BRCA2 patents will affect the field of genetic testing in general. In June 2013, in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics (No. 12-398), the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled that, "A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated," invalidating Myriad's patents on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. However, the Court also held that manipulation of a gene to create something not found in nature could still be eligible for patent protection. The Federal Court of Australia came to the opposite conclusion, upholding the validity of an Australian Myriad Genetics patent over the BRCA1 gene in February 2013, but this decision is being appealed and the appeal will include consideration of the US Supreme Court ruling.

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