BRCA2: breaks, mistakes and failed separations.
BRCA2 was identified in 1995, one year after BRCA1. In terms of knowledge of the function of its product, BRCA2 has remained the less well-characterised gene. Both BRCA1 and BRCA2 are closely implicated in the repair of double-strand breaks in DNA by homologous recombination, but beyond that a function for BRCA2 has been hard to discern. A recent study has extended the function of BRCA2 to the regulation of cell cleavage and separation. Other groups have also shown how BRCA2, RAD51 and DSS1 co-exist in a ménage à trois and how the disruption of any one of the three cohabitants can have disastrous consequences for the cell.
Rudkin
Teresa M
TM
Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, 2300 Tupper Street, A620, Montreal, H3H 1P3, Canada.
Foulkes
William D
WD
D019313:BRCA1 Protein / Q000235:genetics; D024682:BRCA2 Protein / Q000235:genetics; D048749:Cytokinesis / Q000235:genetics; D024522:Genes, BRCA2; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype
D019313:BRCA1 Protein; D024682:BRCA2 Protein