Fanconi anaemia, complementation group A, also known as FAA, FACA and FANCA, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the FANCA gene. It belongs to the Fanconi anaemia complementation group (FANC) family of genes of which 12 complementation groups are currently recognized and is hypothesised to operate as a post-replication repair or a cell cycle checkpoint. FANCA proteins are involved in inter-strand DNA cross-link repair and in the maintenance of normal chromosome stability that regulates the differentiation of haematopoietic stem cells into mature blood cells.
Mutations involving the FANCA gene are associated with many somatic and congenital defects, primarily involving phenotypic variations of Fanconi anaemia, aplastic anaemia, and forms of cancer such as squamous cell carcinoma and acute myeloid leukaemia.
Function
The Fanconi anaemia complementation group (FANC) currently includes FANCA, FANCB, FANCC, FANCD1 (also called BRCA2), FANCD2, FANCE, FANCF, FANCG, and FANCL. The previously defined group FANCH is the same as FANCA. The members of the Fanconi anaemia complementation group do not share sequence similarity; they are related by their assembly into a common nuclear protein complex. The FANCA gene encodes the protein for complementation group A. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms.
Gene and protein
In humans, the gene FANCA is 79 kilobases (kb) in length, and is located on chromosome 16 (16q24.3). The FANCA protein is composed of 1455 amino acids. Within cells, the major purpose of FANCA belongs to its putative involvement in a multisubunit FA complex composed of FANCA, FANCB, FANCC, FANCE, FANCF, FANCG, FANCL/PHF9 and FANCM. In complex with FANCF, FANCG and FANCL, FANCA interacts with HES1. This interaction has been proposed as essential for the stability and nuclear localization of FA core complex proteins. The complex with FANCC and FANCG may also include EIF2AK2 and HSP70. In cells, FANCA involvement in this ‘FA core complex’ is required for the activation of the FANCD2 protein to a monoubiquitinated isoform (FANCD2-Ub) in response to DNA damage, catalysing activation of the FA/BRCA DNA damage-response pathway, leading to repair.
FANCA binds to both single-stranded (ssDNA) and double-stranded (dsDNA) DNAs; however, when tested in an electrophoretic mobility shift assay, its affinity for ssDNA is significantly higher than for dsDNA. FANCA also binds to RNA with a higher affinity than its DNA counterpart. FANCA requires a certain number of nucleotides for optimal binding, with the minimum for FANCA recognition being approximately 30 for both DNA and RNA. Yuan et al. (2012) found through affinity testing FANCA with a variety of DNA structures that a 5'-flap or 5'-tail on DNA facilitates its interaction with FANCA, while the complementing C-terminal fragment of Q772X, C772-1455, retains the differentiated nucleic acid-binding activity (i.e. preferencing RNA before ssDNA and dsDNA), indicating that the nucleic acid-binding domain of FANCA is located primarily at the C terminus, a location where many disease-causing mutations are found.
FANCA is ubiquitously expressed at low levels in all cells with subcellular localisation in primarily nucleus but also cytoplasm corresponding with its putative caretaker role in DNA damage-response pathways, and FA complex formation. The distribution of proteins in different tissues is not well understood currently. Immunochemical study of mouse tissue indicates that FANCA is present at a higher level in lymphoid tissues, the testis and the ovary, and though the significance of this is unclear, it suggests that the presence of FA proteins might be related to cellular proliferation. For example, in human immortalized lymphoblasts and leukaemia cells, FA proteins are readily detectable by immunoprecipitation.