Molecular Basis of the Response to Radiation

Abstract

This three year IDEA Award with a one year no cost extension has been completed. We have made progress towards all three Technical Objectives. We encountered scientific problems isolating novel cDNAs encoding human homologs of yeast DNA damage response genes RAD9 and DUN1 during year 1 and year 2. In contrast, two hybrid screens resulted in the isolation of human homologs of RAD18 and RAD2l and the focus over years 2, 3 and 4 has been the characterization of the human RAD2l protein in mammalian cells and it's degradation in response to DNA damage. Alterations in expression of human RAD2l mRNA and protein in human breast cancer cell lines were detected. We also demonstrated that RAD2l is cleaved upon induction of the apoptotic pathway (as opposed to DNA damage itself). The cleavage site has been biochemically identified, characteristics of the cleavage enzyme determined and cellular localization of the cleaved proteins performed. The carboxy terminal RAD2l cleavage product has a pro-apoptotic effect on murine mammary cells generating a positive feedback loop in apoptosis. A manuscript describing this regulation of the mammalian RAD2l protein has been submitted and is currently under review.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2002
Accession Number
ADA408686

Entities

People

  • Sharon E. Plon

Organizations

  • Baylor College of Medicine

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Apoptosis
  • Breast Cancer
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Physiological Processes
  • Cells
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Eukaryotes
  • Fungi
  • Genetics
  • Lymphatic Diseases
  • Lymphocytes
  • Medical Personnel
  • Neoplasms
  • Proteins
  • Radiation
  • Tumor Cell Line

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Molecular Genetics
  • Technical Research and Report Writing.