Exploring BRCA1 Binding Partners in T Cells and Their Implications in Tumorigenesis
Open Access DepositedBreast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide. Each year, there are more than 2 million women in the world are diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer is more common in women of older ages, with the highest incidence rates in women who are 50 years and older. In 2020, breast cancer accounted for 685,000 deaths globally. Some risk factors are associated with breast cancer, such as being female, older ages, family and personal history of breast cancer, long-term use of hormone therapies, etc. Surgery is the most common method to treat breast cancer. Meanwhile, there are multiple other methods that can be used to combine with surgery, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy.One of the factors contributing to a higher risk of having breast cancer is the mutation of the Breast Cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1). BRCA1 is considered the guardian of the genome as it contributes to the double strand break of the DNA repair pathway. BRCA1 can interact with its partners, such as BARD1, RAD51, etc., to participate in numerous pathways for genomic and cellular stability. Mutation of BRCA1 can lead to the impairment of these pathways, thereby leading to uncontrolled cell growth, which is a hallmark of cancer. T cells are a group of lymphocytes that have an essential function in the adaptive immune system and also in preventing tumorigenesis. Depending on the selection in the thymus, T cells can be divided into either T helper cells (CD4+ T cells) or T cytotoxic cells (CD8+ T cells). T cells can kill tumor cells by binding to the antigens that reside on the surfaces of those abnormal cells. Serval factors such as immune checkpoints can inhibit the function of T cells. Recently, engineered CAR-T cells have been utilized to help treat cancer. Recently, there has been some proposed research stating that mutation of BRCA1, specifically in T cells, can impair the function of T cells. However, the impact of BRCA1 mutation in T cells is still elusive. Therefore, studying the molecular mechanism of the mutation of BRCA1 in T cells holds paramount importance for future breast cancer treatment.
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