Chromosome 13 - BRCA2 and DNA Damage

EXPLORE THE RI ADVENT CALENDAR: http://rigb.org.uk/advent

Mistakes in the "recipe" of your DNA -- if bits of code go missing, or get swapped or damaged -- could spell the difference between life and death. DNA often gets damaged by everyday processes within our bodies, but also from external factors such as UV radiation or tobacco smoke. Luckily, our bodies are well equipped to fix this damage thanks, in part, to the BRCA2 gene, found on chromosome 13.

BRCA2 encodes for a large protein which carries out repair work on damaged DNA. It's no surprise then that if the BRCA2 is faulty, or missing, our cells can't repair themselves properly. As a result, the damaged DNA builds up and this can lead to cancer.

In turns out, however, that faults on BRCA2 aren't necessarily such an advantage to cancer cells. As their BRCA2 gene is faulty, the only remaining "tool" in a cancer cell's molecular repair kit is another gene known as PARP. Dr Kat Arney from Cancer Research UK explains how by using drugs to block PARP function, scientists are hoping to prevent cancer cells from repairing themselves, causing them to die off. Whilst developing cancer treatments is certainly no piece of cake, drugs with PARP inhibitors are already showing great promise in trials.

You can find out more about research into PARP inhibitors on the Cancer Research UK science blog at the following links:
http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2008/07/10/a-%E2%80%98lethal-weapon%E2%80%99-in-the-search-for-new-cancer-treatments/

http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2011/07/12/widening-the-net-for-parp-inhibitors/

For more information on related cancer research visit: www.cruk.org


With thanks to BBSRC: http://bbsrc.ac.uk/

Don't miss the 2013 CHRISTMAS LECTURES on BBC Four, BBC iPlayer and the Ri Channel: http://rigb.org/christmas-lectures

The Ri is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science
and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution
Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://richannel.org/newsletter