DNA First-Aid Kit Helps Prevent Breast Cancer:
Science 9/13/02. Researchers have demonstrated how one of the much-discussed breast cancer genes - known scientifically as BRCA2 - helps suppress tumor growth by repairing damaged DNA. Haijuan Yang and colleagues present the crystal structure of the tail-end of the BRCA2 protein and provide a structural and biochemical basis for understanding how mutations of the gene lead to uncontrolled cell growth. According to the team, BRCA2 is a key part of the "first-aid kit" that provides error-free repairs of DNA breaks by using the normal member of a chromosome pair as a template to correct its damaged partner. When BRCA2 mutations interrupt this process less accurate repair systems take over, and the still-damaged DNA can lead to uncontrolled growth of cells in the breast, ovaries, prostate, and pancreas. In the accompanying Perspective, John Wilson and Stephen Elledge describe the findings as "watershed discoveries," noting that they are "a paean to the power of structural analyses to illuminate function." 

"BRCA2 Function in DNA-Binding and Recombination from a BRCA2-DSS1-ssDNA Structure," by H. Yang and Y. Sun at Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell U. in New York, NY; P. D. Jeffery, J. Miller, E. Kinnucan, N. H. Thomä, N. Zheng and N. P. Pavletich at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY; J. Miller, N. Zheng and N. P. Pavletich are also at Howard Hughes Medical Institute in New York, NY; P.-L. Chen and W.-H. Lee at U. of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, TX. 

CONTACT: Nikola Pavletich at 212-639-8544(phone), 212-717-3135 (fax), or nikola@xray2.mskcc.org  (email)

"BRCA2 Enters the Fray," by J. H. Wilson and S. J. Elledge at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX; S. J. Elledge is also at Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Houston, TX. 

CONTACT: Stephen J. Elledge at 713-798-5040 (phone), 713-798-8717 (fax), or selledge@bcm.tmc.edu  (email)

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