title: A guide for functional analysis of BRCA1 variants of uncertain significance.
abstract: Germline mutations in the tumor suppressor gene BRCA1 confer an estimated lifetime risk of 56-80% for breast cancer and 15-60% for ovarian cancer. Since the mid 1990s when BRCA1 was identified, genetic testing has revealed over 1,500 unique germline variants. However, for a significant number of these variants, the effect on protein function is unknown making it difficult to infer the consequences on risks of breast and ovarian cancers. Thus, many individuals undergoing genetic testing for BRCA1 mutations receive test results reporting a variant of uncertain clinical significance (VUS), leading to issues in risk assessment, counseling, and preventive care. Here, we describe functional assays for BRCA1 to directly or indirectly assess the impact of a variant on protein conformation or function and how these results can be used to complement genetic data to classify a VUS as to its clinical significance. Importantly, these methods may provide a framework for genome-wide pathogenicity assignment.
authors: Institut Curie, CNRS, UMR 3244 Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France.
authors: Gaël A
authors: GA
authors: Millot
authors: Marcelo A
authors: MA
authors: Carvalho
authors: Sandrine M
authors: SM
authors: Caputo
authors: Maaike P G
authors: MP
authors: Vreeswijk
authors: Melissa A
authors: MA
authors: Brown
authors: Michelle
authors: M
authors: Webb
authors: Etienne
authors: E
authors: Rouleau
authors: Susan L
authors: SL
authors: Neuhausen
authors: Thomas v O
authors: Tv
authors: Hansen
authors: Alvaro
authors: A
authors: Galli
authors: Rita D
authors: RD
authors: Brandão
authors: Marinus J
authors: MJ
authors: Blok
authors: Aneliya
authors: A
authors: Velkova
authors: Fergus J
authors: FJ
authors: Couch
authors: Alvaro N A
authors: AN
authors: Monteiro
mesh_terms: D019313:BRCA1 Protein / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D019398:Genes, BRCA1; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009842:Oligopeptides; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics; D054730:Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs; D011836:Radiation Tolerance / Q000235:genetics; D012307:Risk Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019313:BRCA1 Protein; C492913:BRCA1 protein, human; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C096894:MUT 1 peptide; C101050:ModE protein, bacteria; D009842:Oligopeptides; D014157:Transcription Factors; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases