FANCB

Gene Summary

Gene:FANCB; FA complementation group B
Aliases: FA2, FAB, FACB, FAAP90, FAAP95
Location:Xp22.2
Summary:This gene encodes a member of the Fanconi anemia complementation group B. This protein is assembled into a nucleoprotein complex that is involved in the repair of DNA lesions. Mutations in this gene can cause chromosome instability and VACTERL syndrome with hydrocephalus. [provided by RefSeq, Apr 2016]
Databases:OMIM, HGNC, Ensembl, GeneCard, Gene
Protein:Fanconi anemia group B protein
Source:NCBIAccessed: 29 August, 2019

Ontology:

What does this gene/protein do?
FANCB is implicated in:
- DNA repair
- Fanconi anaemia nuclear complex
- nucleoplasm
Data from Gene Ontology via CGAP

Cancer Overview

Research Indicators

Publications Per Year (1994-2019)
Graph generated 29 August 2019 using data from PubMed using criteria.

Literature Analysis

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Tag cloud generated 29 August, 2019 using data from PubMed, MeSH and CancerIndex

Specific Cancers (1)

Data table showing topics related to specific cancers and associated disorders. Scope includes mutations and abnormal protein expression.

Note: list is not exhaustive. Number of papers are based on searches of PubMed (click on topic title for arbitrary criteria used).

Fanconi Anemia - Complementation Group B

Latest Publications

Ramanagoudr-Bhojappa R, Carrington B, Ramaswami M, et al.
Multiplexed CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of 19 Fanconi anemia pathway genes in zebrafish revealed their roles in growth, sexual development and fertility.
PLoS Genet. 2018; 14(12):e1007821 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Fanconi Anemia (FA) is a genomic instability syndrome resulting in aplastic anemia, developmental abnormalities, and predisposition to hematological and other solid organ malignancies. Mutations in genes that encode proteins of the FA pathway fail to orchestrate the repair of DNA damage caused by DNA interstrand crosslinks. Zebrafish harbor homologs for nearly all known FA genes. We used multiplexed CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis to generate loss-of-function mutants for 17 FA genes: fanca, fancb, fancc, fancd1/brca2, fancd2, fance, fancf, fancg, fanci, fancj/brip1, fancl, fancm, fancn/palb2, fanco/rad51c, fancp/slx4, fancq/ercc4, fanct/ube2t, and two genes encoding FA-associated proteins: faap100 and faap24. We selected two indel mutations predicted to cause premature truncations for all but two of the genes, and a total of 36 mutant lines were generated for 19 genes. Generating two independent mutant lines for each gene was important to validate their phenotypic consequences. RT-PCR from homozygous mutant fish confirmed the presence of transcripts with indels in all genes. Interestingly, 4 of the indel mutations led to aberrant splicing, which may produce a different protein than predicted from the genomic sequence. Analysis of RNA is thus critical in proper evaluation of the consequences of the mutations introduced in zebrafish genome. We used fluorescent reporter assay, and western blots to confirm loss-of-function for several mutants. Additionally, we developed a DEB treatment assay by evaluating morphological changes in embryos and confirmed that homozygous mutants from all the FA genes that could be tested (11/17), displayed hypersensitivity and thus were indeed null alleles. Our multiplexing strategy helped us to evaluate 11 multiple gene knockout combinations without additional breeding. Homozygous zebrafish for all 19 single and 11 multi-gene knockouts were adult viable, indicating FA genes in zebrafish are generally not essential for early development. None of the mutant fish displayed gross developmental abnormalities except for fancp-/- fish, which were significantly smaller in length than their wildtype clutch mates. Complete female-to-male sex reversal was observed in knockouts for 12/17 FA genes, while partial sex reversal was seen for the other five gene knockouts. All adult females were fertile, and among the adult males, all were fertile except for the fancd1 mutants and one of the fancj mutants. We report here generation and characterization of zebrafish knockout mutants for 17 FA disease-causing genes, providing an integral resource for understanding the pathophysiology associated with the disrupted FA pathway.

Asur RS, Kimble DC, Lach FP, et al.
Somatic mosaicism of an intragenic FANCB duplication in both fibroblast and peripheral blood cells observed in a Fanconi anemia patient leads to milder phenotype.
Mol Genet Genomic Med. 2018; 6(1):77-91 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare disorder characterized by congenital malformations, progressive bone marrow failure, and predisposition to cancer. Patients harboring X-linked FANCB pathogenic variants usually present with severe congenital malformations resembling VACTERL syndrome with hydrocephalus.
METHODS: We employed the diepoxybutane (DEB) test for FA diagnosis, arrayCGH for detection of duplication, targeted capture and next-gen sequencing for defining the duplication breakpoint, PacBio sequencing of full-length FANCB aberrant transcript, FANCD2 ubiquitination and foci formation assays for the evaluation of FANCB protein function by viral transduction of FANCB-null cells with lentiviral FANCB WT and mutant expression constructs, and droplet digital PCR for quantitation of the duplication in the genomic DNA and cDNA.
RESULTS: We describe here an FA-B patient with a mild phenotype. The DEB diagnostic test for FA revealed somatic mosaicism. We identified a 9154 bp intragenic duplication in FANCB, covering the first coding exon 3 and the flanking regions. A four bp homology (GTAG) present at both ends of the breakpoint is consistent with microhomology-mediated duplication mechanism. The duplicated allele gives rise to an aberrant transcript containing exon 3 duplication, predicted to introduce a stop codon in FANCB protein (p.A319*). Duplication levels in the peripheral blood DNA declined from 93% to 7.9% in the span of eleven years. Moreover, the patient fibroblasts have shown 8% of wild-type (WT) allele and his carrier mother showed higher than expected levels of WT allele (79% vs. 50%) in peripheral blood, suggesting that the duplication was highly unstable.
CONCLUSION: Unlike sequence point variants, intragenic duplications are difficult to precisely define, accurately quantify, and may be very unstable, challenging the proper diagnosis. The reversion of genomic duplication to the WT allele results in somatic mosaicism and may explain the relatively milder phenotype displayed by the FA-B patient described here.

van Twest S, Murphy VJ, Hodson C, et al.
Mechanism of Ubiquitination and Deubiquitination in the Fanconi Anemia Pathway.
Mol Cell. 2017; 65(2):247-259 [PubMed] Related Publications
Monoubiquitination and deubiquitination of FANCD2:FANCI heterodimer is central to DNA repair in a pathway that is defective in the cancer predisposition syndrome Fanconi anemia (FA). The "FA core complex" contains the RING-E3 ligase FANCL and seven other essential proteins that are mutated in various FA subtypes. Here, we purified recombinant FA core complex to reveal the function of these other proteins. The complex contains two spatially separate FANCL molecules that are dimerized by FANCB and FAAP100. FANCC and FANCE act as substrate receptors and restrict monoubiquitination to the FANCD2:FANCI heterodimer in only a DNA-bound form. FANCA and FANCG are dispensable for maximal in vitro ubiquitination. Finally, we show that the reversal of this reaction by the USP1:UAF1 deubiquitinase only occurs when DNA is disengaged. Our work reveals the mechanistic basis for temporal and spatial control of FANCD2:FANCI monoubiquitination that is critical for chemotherapy responses and prevention of Fanconi anemia.

Du W, Amarachintha S, Erden O, et al.
Fancb deficiency impairs hematopoietic stem cell function.
Sci Rep. 2015; 5:18127 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Fanconi anemia (FA) is a genetic disorder characterized by bone marrow failure, variable congenital malformations and a predisposition to malignancies. FANCB (also known as FAAP95), is the only X-linked FA gene discovered thus far. In the present study, we investigated hematopoiesis in adult Fancb deficient (Fancb(-/y)) mice and found that Fancb(-/y) mice have decreased hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) quiescence accompanied by reduced progenitor activity in vitro and reduced repopulating capacity in vivo. Like other FA mouse models previously reported, the hematopoietic system of Fancb(-/y) mice is hypersensitive to DNA cross-linking agent mitomycin C (MMC), which induces bone marrow failure in Fancb(-/y) mice. Furthermore, Fancb(-/y) BM exhibits slower recovery kinetics and less tolerance to myelotoxic stress induced by 5-fluorouracil than wild-type littermates. RNA-seq analysis reveals altered expression of genes involved in HSC function and cell cycle regulation in Fancb(-/y) HSC and progenitor cells. Thus, this Fancb(-/y) mouse model provides a novel approach for studying the critical role of the FA pathway not only in germ cell development but also in the maintenance of HSC function.

Flynn EK, Kamat A, Lach FP, et al.
Comprehensive analysis of pathogenic deletion variants in Fanconi anemia genes.
Hum Mutat. 2014; 35(11):1342-53 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare recessive disease resulting from mutations in one of at least 16 different genes. Mutation types and phenotypic manifestations of FA are highly heterogeneous and influence the clinical management of the disease. We analyzed 202 FA families for large deletions, using high-resolution comparative genome hybridization arrays, single-nucleotide polymorphism arrays, and DNA sequencing. We found pathogenic deletions in 88 FANCA, seven FANCC, two FANCD2, and one FANCB families. We find 35% of FA families carry large deletions, accounting for 18% of all FA pathogenic variants. Cloning and sequencing across the deletion breakpoints revealed that 52 FANCA deletion ends, and one FANCC deletion end extended beyond the gene boundaries, potentially affecting neighboring genes with phenotypic consequences. Seventy-five percent of the FANCA deletions are Alu-Alu mediated, predominantly by AluY elements, and appear to be caused by nonallelic homologous recombination. Individual Alu hotspots were identified. Defining the haplotypes of four FANCA deletions shared by multiple families revealed that three share a common ancestry. Knowing the exact molecular changes that lead to the disease may be critical for a better understanding of the FA phenotype, and to gain insight into the mechanisms driving these pathogenic deletion variants.

Rajendra E, Oestergaard VH, Langevin F, et al.
The genetic and biochemical basis of FANCD2 monoubiquitination.
Mol Cell. 2014; 54(5):858-69 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Fanconi anaemia (FA) is a cancer predisposition syndrome characterized by cellular sensitivity to DNA interstrand crosslinkers. The molecular defect in FA is an impaired DNA repair pathway. The critical event in activating this pathway is monoubiquitination of FANCD2. In vivo, a multisubunit FA core complex catalyzes this step, but its mechanism is unclear. Here, we report purification of a native avian FA core complex and biochemical reconstitution of FANCD2 monoubiquitination. This demonstrates that the catalytic FANCL E3 ligase subunit must be embedded within the complex for maximal activity and site specificity. We genetically and biochemically define a minimal subcomplex comprising just three proteins (FANCB, FANCL, and FAAP100) that functions as the monoubiquitination module. Residual FANCD2 monoubiquitination activity is retained in cells defective for other FA core complex subunits. This work describes the in vitro reconstitution and characterization of this multisubunit monoubiquitin E3 ligase, providing key insight into the conserved FA DNA repair pathway.

De Rocco D, Bottega R, Cappelli E, et al.
Molecular analysis of Fanconi anemia: the experience of the Bone Marrow Failure Study Group of the Italian Association of Pediatric Onco-Hematology.
Haematologica. 2014; 99(6):1022-31 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Fanconi anemia is an inherited disease characterized by congenital malformations, pancytopenia, cancer predisposition, and sensitivity to cross-linking agents. The molecular diagnosis of Fanconi anemia is relatively complex for several aspects including genetic heterogeneity with mutations in at least 16 different genes. In this paper, we report the mutations identified in 100 unrelated probands enrolled into the National Network of the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematoly and Oncology. In approximately half of these cases, mutational screening was carried out after retroviral complementation analyses or protein analysis. In the other half, the analysis was performed on the most frequently mutated genes or using a next generation sequencing approach. We identified 108 distinct variants of the FANCA, FANCG, FANCC, FANCD2, and FANCB genes in 85, 9, 3, 2, and 1 families, respectively. Despite the relatively high number of private mutations, 45 of which are novel Fanconi anemia alleles, 26% of the FANCA alleles are due to 5 distinct mutations. Most of the mutations are large genomic deletions and nonsense or frameshift mutations, although we identified a series of missense mutations, whose pathogenetic role was not always certain. The molecular diagnosis of Fanconi anemia is still a tiered procedure that requires identifying candidate genes to avoid useless sequencing. Introduction of next generation sequencing strategies will greatly improve the diagnostic process, allowing a rapid analysis of all the genes.

Chandrasekharappa SC, Lach FP, Kimble DC, et al.
Massively parallel sequencing, aCGH, and RNA-Seq technologies provide a comprehensive molecular diagnosis of Fanconi anemia.
Blood. 2013; 121(22):e138-48 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Current methods for detecting mutations in Fanconi anemia (FA)-suspected patients are inefficient and often miss mutations. We have applied recent advances in DNA sequencing and genomic capture to the diagnosis of FA. Specifically, we used custom molecular inversion probes or TruSeq-enrichment oligos to capture and sequence FA and related genes, including introns, from 27 samples from the International Fanconi Anemia Registry at The Rockefeller University. DNA sequencing was complemented with custom array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis. aCGH identified deletions/duplications in 4 different FA genes. RNA-seq analysis revealed lack of allele specific expression associated with a deletion and splicing defects caused by missense, synonymous, and deep-in-intron variants. The combination of TruSeq-targeted capture, aCGH, and RNA-seq enabled us to identify the complementation group and biallelic germline mutations in all 27 families: FANCA (7), FANCB (3), FANCC (3), FANCD1 (1), FANCD2 (3), FANCF (2), FANCG (2), FANCI (1), FANCJ (2), and FANCL (3). FANCC mutations are often the cause of FA in patients of Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) ancestry, and we identified 2 novel FANCC mutations in 2 patients of AJ ancestry. We describe here a strategy for efficient molecular diagnosis of FA.

Umaña LA, Magoulas P, Bi W, Bacino CA
A male newborn with VACTERL association and Fanconi anemia with a FANCB deletion detected by array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH).
Am J Med Genet A. 2011; 155A(12):3071-4 [PubMed] Related Publications
We report on a male newborn with multiple congenital abnormalities consistent with the diagnosis of VACTERL association (vertebral, anal, cardiac, tracheo-esophageal fistula, renal, and limb anomalies), who had Fanconi anemia (complementation group B) recognized by the detection of a deletion in chromosome Xp22.2 using an oligonucleotide array. The diagnosis of Fanconi anemia was confirmed by increased chromosomal breakage abnormalities observed in cultured cells that were treated with cross-linking agents. This is the first report in the literature of Fanconi anemia complementation group B detected by oligonucleotide array testing postnatally.

Meier D, Schindler D
Fanconi anemia core complex gene promoters harbor conserved transcription regulatory elements.
PLoS One. 2011; 6(8):e22911 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
The Fanconi anemia (FA) gene family is a recent addition to the complex network of proteins that respond to and repair certain types of DNA damage in the human genome. Since little is known about the regulation of this novel group of genes at the DNA level, we characterized the promoters of the eight genes (FANCA, B, C, E, F, G, L and M) that compose the FA core complex. The promoters of these genes show the characteristic attributes of housekeeping genes, such as a high GC content and CpG islands, a lack of TATA boxes and a low conservation. The promoters functioned in a monodirectional way and were, in their most active regions, comparable in strength to the SV40 promoter in our reporter plasmids. They were also marked by a distinctive transcriptional start site (TSS). In the 5' region of each promoter, we identified a region that was able to negatively regulate the promoter activity in HeLa and HEK 293 cells in isolation. The central and 3' regions of the promoter sequences harbor binding sites for several common and rare transcription factors, including STAT, SMAD, E2F, AP1 and YY1, which indicates that there may be cross-connections to several established regulatory pathways. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and siRNA experiments confirmed the shared regulatory responses between the prominent members of the TGF-β and JAK/STAT pathways and members of the FA core complex. Although the promoters are not well conserved, they share region and sequence specific regulatory motifs and transcription factor binding sites (TBFs), and we identified a bi-partite nature to these promoters. These results support a hypothesis based on the co-evolution of the FA core complex genes that was expanded to include their promoters.

Smith IM, Mithani SK, Mydlarz WK, et al.
Inactivation of the tumor suppressor genes causing the hereditary syndromes predisposing to head and neck cancer via promoter hypermethylation in sporadic head and neck cancers.
ORL J Otorhinolaryngol Relat Spec. 2010; 72(1):44-50 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Fanconi anemia (FA) and dyskeratosis congenita (DC) are rare inherited syndromes that cause head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC). Prior studies of inherited forms of cancer have been extremely important in elucidating tumor suppressor genes inactivated in sporadic tumors. Here, we studied whether sporadic tumors have epigenetic silencing of the genes causing the inherited forms of HNSCC. Using bisulfite sequencing, we investigated the incidence of promoter hypermethylation of the 17 Fanconi- and DC-associated genes in sporadic HNSCC. Genes that only showed methylation in the tumor patients were chosen for quantitative methylation-specific PCR (qMSP) in a set of 45 tumor and 16 normal patients. Three gene promoters showed differences in methylation: FancB (FAAP95, FA core complex), FancJ (BRIP1, DNA Helicase/ATPase), and DKC1 (dyskeratin). Bisulfite sequencing revealed that only FancB and DKC1 showed no methylation in normal patients, yet the presence of promoter hypermethylation in tumor patients. On qMSP, 1/16 (6.25%) of the normal mucosal samples from non-cancer patients and 14/45 (31.1%) of the tumor patients demonstrated hypermethylation of the FancB locus (p < 0.05). These results suggest that inactivation of FancB may play a role in the pathogenesis of sporadic HNSCC.

Ali AM, Kirby M, Jansen M, et al.
Identification and characterization of mutations in FANCL gene: a second case of Fanconi anemia belonging to FA-L complementation group.
Hum Mutat. 2009; 30(7):E761-70 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare autosomal recessive or X-linked disorder characterized by aplastic anemia, cancer susceptibility and cellular sensitivity to DNA crosslinking agents. Eight FA proteins (FANCA, FANCB, FANCC, FANCE, FANCF, FANCG, FANCL and FANCM) and three non-FA proteins (FAAP100, FAAP24 and HES1) form an FA nuclear core complex, which is required for monoubiquitination of the FANCD2-FANCI dimer upon DNA damage. FANCL possesses a PHD/RING-finger domain and is a putative E3 ubiquitin ligase subunit of the core complex. In this study, we report an FA patient with an unusual presentation belonging to the FA-L complementation group. The patient lacks an obvious FA phenotype except for the presence of a café-au-lait spot, mild hypocellularity and a family history of leukemia. The molecular diagnosis and identification of the FA subgroup was achieved by FA complementation assay. We identified bi-allelic novel mutations in the FANCL gene and functionally characterized them. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second reported case belonging to the FA-L complementation group.

Song L
A possible approach for stem cell gene therapy of Fanconi anemia.
Curr Gene Ther. 2009; 9(1):26-32 [PubMed] Related Publications
Fanconi anemia (FA) is an inherited chromosomal recessive syndrome characterized by cellular hypersensitivity to DNA crosslinking agents and bone marrow failure, which cause aplastic anemia, and an increased incidence of malignancy. 13 complementation groups are currently discovered, and 13 distinct genes have been cloned (FANCA, FANCB, FANCC, FANCD1, FANCD2, FANCE, FANCF, FANCG, FNACI, FANCJ, FANCL, FANCM, FANCN). Stem cells can theoretically divide to other cells without limit as long as a person is still alive. The stem cells that form blood and immune cells are known as hematopoietic stem cells. Hematopoietic stem cells can be acquired from a Fanconi anemia patient, whereas genomic DNA can be obtained easily from blood cells of a normal person. Normal genes also can be synthesised by PCR method. Normal genomic DNA will be delivered into a patient's stem cells via microinjection or transfection after enzyme digestion; the defective genes might be repaired by homologous genetic recombination. The gene-corrected stem cells can be transplanted into the same patient finally. It is possible that human genomic DNA to be considered as materials for homologous genetic recombination to repair defective genes in vivo. This might be an efficient method for gene therapy, which has no or less immunological rejection for Fanconi anemia and some genetic diseases. Several related observations and experiments are discussed to support this possible means of stem cell gene therapy of Fanconi anemia.

Wreesmann VB, Estilo C, Eisele DW, et al.
Downregulation of Fanconi anemia genes in sporadic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
ORL J Otorhinolaryngol Relat Spec. 2007; 69(4):218-25 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Much of our understanding of human cancer has come from studies of the hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes. Fanconi anemia (FA) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by cellular hypersensitivity to DNA crosslinking agents, progressive bone marrow failure, and cancer predisposition to solid malignancies, especially head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Since FA pathway-deficient cells are hypersensitive to DNA crosslinking chemotherapy agents, the presence of somatic FA gene inactivation in sporadic cancers may be of clinical interest. This study sought to determine the frequency of FA gene downregulation in sporadic HNSCC.
METHODS: The expression of the FA genes FANCA, FANCB, FANCC, FANCD2, FANCE, FANCF, FANCG, FANCJ, FANCL and FANCM in 11 HNSCC cell lines and 49 tongue carcinoma samples was studied with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.
RESULTS: Downregulation of at least one FA gene was observed in 3 of 11 HNSCC cell lines and 66% of tongue carcinoma samples. FANCB, FANCF, FANCJ and FANCM were most commonly affected by downregulation, whereas downregulation of FANCA, FANCE and FANCD2 was rare.
CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that downregulation of FA genes is common in sporadic HNSCC. The clinical implications of this finding merit further study. .

Medhurst AL, Laghmani el H, Steltenpool J, et al.
Evidence for subcomplexes in the Fanconi anemia pathway.
Blood. 2006; 108(6):2072-80 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Fanconi anemia (FA) is a genomic instability disorder, clinically characterized by congenital abnormalities, progressive bone marrow failure, and predisposition to malignancy. Cells derived from patients with FA display a marked sensitivity to DNA cross-linking agents, such as mitomycin C (MMC). This observation has led to the hypothesis that the proteins defective in FA are involved in the sensing or repair of interstrand cross-link lesions of the DNA. A nuclear complex consisting of a majority of the FA proteins plays a crucial role in this process and is required for the monoubiquitination of a downstream target, FANCD2. Two new FA genes, FANCB and FANCL, have recently been identified, and their discovery has allowed a more detailed study into the molecular architecture of the FA pathway. We demonstrate a direct interaction between FANCB and FANCL and that a complex of these proteins binds FANCA. The interaction between FANCA and FANCL is dependent on FANCB, FANCG, and FANCM, but independent of FANCC, FANCE, and FANCF. These findings provide a framework for the protein interactions that occur "upstream" in the FA pathway and suggest that besides the FA core complex different subcomplexes exist that may have specific functions other than the monoubiquitination of FANCD2.

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Cite this page: Cotterill SJ. FANCB, Cancer Genetics Web: http://www.cancer-genetics.org/FANCB.htm Accessed:

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