BRCA2 (Breast Cancer 2 susceptibility protein) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the BRCA2 gene. Inherited mutations in BRCA1 and this gene, BRCA2, confer increased lifetime risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. Both BRCA1 and BRCA2 are involved in maintenance of genome stability, specifically the homologous recombination pathway for double-strand DNA repair. The BRCA2 protein contains several copies of a 70 aa motif called the BRC motif, and these motifs mediate binding to the RAD51 recombinase which functions in DNA repair. BRCA2 is considered a tumor suppressor gene, as tumors with BRCA2 mutations generally exhibit loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of the wild-type allele. [provided by RefSeq]. Publication Note: This RefSeq record includes a subset of the publications that are available for this gene. Please see the Gene record to access additional publications.
Involved in double-strand break repair and/or homologous recombination. Binds RAD51 and potentiates recombinational DNA repair by promoting assembly of RAD51 onto single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). Acts by targeting RAD51 to ssDNA over double-stranded DNA, enabling RAD51 to displace replication protein-A (RPA) from ssDNA and stabilizing RAD51-ssDNA filaments by blocking ATP hydrolysis. May participate in S phase checkpoint activation. Binds selectively to ssDNA, and to ssDNA in tailed duplexes and replication fork structures