Oncology & Cancer

Research shows breast cancer gene affects brain development

(Medical Xpress)—The BRCA1 gene, known for its role in suppressing the growth of breast and ovarian tumors, could be necessary for brain development. In a study appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, ...

Medical research

Changes detected in BRCA1 breast cells before they turn cancerous

A new study funded by Cancer Research UK has mapped out some of the earliest changes that occur in seemingly healthy breast tissue long before any tumors appear, which could have significant implications for the early detection ...

Oncology & Cancer

Studying the development of ovarian cancer with organoids

High-grade serous ovarian cancer is the most common type of ovarian cancer, and has the lowest rate of survival. It is often only diagnosed when it has already spread within the pelvis and abdomen, making it harder to treat. ...

Oncology & Cancer

Novel therapy studied for inherited breast cancer

UT Health San Antonio researchers have discovered a novel way to kill cancers that are caused by an inherited mutation in BRCA1, the type of cancer for which actress Angelina Jolie had preventive double mastectomy and reconstructive ...

Medical research

Protein BRCA1 as a stress coach

Anyone who has ever studied the molecular basis of breast cancer will probably have heard of BRCA1, a protein that protects the cells of breast tissue against cancer. Surprisingly, this protein can also have the opposite ...

Oncology & Cancer

New drug targets for BRCA-driven cancer uncovered

BRCA1 and BRCA2 ("BReast CAncer genes") are critical tumor suppressor genes—women carrying a mutation in one of these genes have up to an 80 percent risk of developing breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of developing ovarian ...

Oncology & Cancer

The long and short of CDK12

Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes pose a serious risk for breast and ovarian cancer because they endanger the genomic stability of a cell by interfering with homologous recombination repair (HR), a key mechanism for ...

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BRCA1

BRCA1 ( /ˈbrækə/; breast cancer 1, early onset) is a human caretaker gene that produces a protein called breast cancer type 1 susceptibility protein, responsible for repairing DNA. The first evidence for the existence of the gene was provided by the King laboratory at UC Berkeley in 1990. The gene was later cloned in 1994 by scientists at Myriad Genetics.

BRCA1 is expressed in the cells of breast and other tissue, where it helps repair damaged DNA, or destroy cells if DNA cannot be repaired. If BRCA1 itself is damaged, damaged DNA is not repaired properly and this increases risks for cancers.

The protein encoded by the BRCA1 gene combines with other tumor suppressors, DNA damage sensors, and signal transducers to form a large multi-subunit protein complex known as the BRCA1-associated genome surveillance complex (BASC). The BRCA1 protein associates with RNA polymerase II, and through the C-terminal domain, also interacts with histone deacetylase complexes. Thus, this protein plays a role in transcription, DNA repair of double-stranded breaks ubiquitination, transcriptional regulation as well as other functions.

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