St Jude Links Brca2 Gene to Brain Cancer Prevention
Researchers at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital are starting to understand how certain genes may play an important role in preventing the brain cancer medulloblastoma, a cancer of the cerebellum which accounts for approximately 20 percent of childhood brain tumors.
Their study demonstrated how the Brca2 gene performs critical functions in developing nervous systems by triggering and monitoring the repair of DNA damage that occurs during cell division. The role of Brca2 demonstrated particular significance because the cerebellum produces many new nerve cells before and shortly after birth. When researchers eliminated Brca2 from developing nervous systems in mice, it resulted in widespread “cell suicide” due to cells no longer being able to repair their DNA damage.
Their work, which is reported in the advance online edition of The EMBO Journal, also provided the scientists with new insights on the roles of p53 and ATM genes. According to Pierre-Olivier Frappart, PhD, “Our work is a significant step in understanding the interplay of genes linked to DNA repair and their role in preventing disease.”
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