title: The multiple nuclear functions of BRCA1: transcription, ubiquitination and DNA repair.
abstract: Interest in BRCA1 stems from its role as a tumour suppressor in breast and ovarian cancer. Intensive research in BRCA1 has revealed little about its specific role in cancer; rather, this protein has been implicated in a multitude of important cellular processes. The diverse biochemical activities of BRCA1 combine to protect the genome from damage. New data reveal that BRCA1 transcriptionally regulates some DNA-repair genes, and, in addition, new roles for BRCA1 have been identified in heterochromatin formation on the X chromosome, double-strand-break repair, and ubiquitination. These diverse activities of BRCA1 may be linked in a single pathway, or BRCA1 might function in multiple nuclear processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Lea M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Starita
authors.forename: Jeffrey D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Parvin
mesh_terms: D019313:BRCA1 Protein / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000502:physiology; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*; D025801:Ubiquitin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019313:BRCA1 Protein; D025801:Ubiquitin