Figure 1.

Fate of DNA breaking during transcription in BRCA2^WT- versus BRCA2^T207A-bearing cells. In wild-type cells, RNA binding proteins (RBPs) prevent harmful DNA-RNA hybrid accumulation. In particular, when the DNA is broken, the interaction of the BRCA2 DNA repair associated protein (BRCA2) with the DEAD-box helicase 5 (DDX5) boosts its ability to unwind the occasional formation of DNA-RNA hybrids at the break site thus enabling further repair. In BRCA2^T207A-bearing cells, BRCA2 interaction with DDX5 is impaired. Hence, DNA-RNA hybrids accumulate at the break