title: Structural consequences of a cancer-causing BRCA1-BRCT missense mutation.
abstract: The integrity of the carboxyl-terminal BRCT repeat region is critical for BRCA1 tumor suppressor function; however, the molecular details of how a number of clinically derived BRCT missense mutations affect BRCA1 function remain largely unknown. Here we assess the structural response of the BRCT tandem repeat domain to a well characterized, cancer-associated single amino acid substitution, Met-1775 --> Arg-1775. The structure of BRCT-M1775R reveals that the mutated side chain is extruded from the protein hydrophobic core, thereby altering the protein surface. Charge-charge repulsion, rearrangement of the hydrophobic core, and disruption of the native hydrogen bonding network at the interface between the two BRCT repeats contribute to the conformational instability of BRCT-M1775R. Destabilization and global unfolding of the mutated BRCT domain at physiological temperatures explain the pleiotropic molecular and genetic defects associated with the BRCA1-M1775R protein.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, 437 Medical Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G 2H7, Canada.
authors.forename: R Scott
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: J N Mark
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Glover
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D019313:BRCA1 Protein / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D019398:Genes, BRCA1; D006801:Humans; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020125:Mutation, Missense; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D051381:Rats; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D019313:BRCA1 Protein; D011994:Recombinant Proteins