EMSY: Proteins and Enzymes

EMSY is a novel protein whose sequence is found in a chromosomal region known to be involved in breast and ovarian cancer (1). The N-terminus of EMSY binds BRCA2 (exon 3). EMSY is capable of silencing the exon 3 encoded transcrip-tional activation domain of BRCA2. EMSY, just like BRCA2, is located in the nucleus and functions with DNA repair and transcriptional regulation factors (2). EMSY was found to be overactive in 13% of sporadic cases of breast cancer and 17% of ovarian cancers and it was also linked with poor survival, specifically in node-negative breast cancer, suggesting that it may be of prognostic value (1).