Biallelic inactivation of BRCA2 in Fanconi anemia

Niall G. Howlett, Toshiyasu Taniguchi, Susan Olson, Barbara Cox, Quinten Waisfisz, Christine De Die-Smulders, Nicole Persky, Markus Grompe, Hans Joenje, Gerard Pals, Hideyuki Ikeda, Edward A. Fox, Alan D. D'Andrea

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

983 Scopus citations

Abstract

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare autosomal recessive cancer susceptibility disorder characterized by cellular hypersensitivity to mitomycin C (MMC). Six FA genes have been cloned, but the gene or genes corresponding to FA subtypes B and D1 remain unidentified. Here we show that cell lines derived from FA-B and FA-D1 patients have biallelic mutations in BRCA2 and express truncated BRCA2 proteins. Functional complementation of FA-D1 fibroblasts with wild-type BRCA2 complementary DNA restores MMC resistance. Our results link the six cloned FA genes with BRCA1 and BRCA2 in a common pathway. Germ-line mutation of genes in this pathway may result in cancer risks similar to those observed in families with BRCA I or BRCA2 mutations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)606-609
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume297
Issue number5581
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 26 2002
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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