Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Spatial and Temporal Control of Murine Melanoma Initiation from Mutant Melanocyte Stem Cells
Published on: June 7, 2019
Hotspot mutation of Brahma in non-melanoma skin cancer
Fergal J Moloney1, J Guy Lyons, Vanessa L Bock
11Discipline of Dermatology, Bosch Institute, Sydney Cancer Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Abstract:
Mammalian SWItch/sucrose non fermentable (SWI/SNF) remodeling of chromatin modulates transcription and DNA repair. The Brahma (BRM) catalytic subunit of the SWI/SNF complex is one of two mutually exclusive subunits that provide energy for remodeling. BRM has been identified as an important cancer susceptibility locus; however, to date no mutations have been identified in the BRM gene. We performed genetic analysis of BRM in human non-melanoma skin cancers, precancerous lesions, and normal skin revealing a common nonsynonymous point mutation present in one of ten squamous cell and two of six basal cell carcinoma of the skin. This hotspot was not present in germ-line DNA from the same patients, nor in epithelial precancerous lesions. The observed G:C to T:A transversion is typical of mutations occurring following oxidative damage, such as that caused by UVA radiation. This previously unreported hotspot mutation occurs in a highly conserved region of the BRM gene.
Related Concept Videos
Skin Cancer
Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC): BCC is the most common type of skin cancer, accounting for about 80% of cases. It typically develops in...
Mismatch Repair
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...
The Ras Gene
Ras is a superfamily...
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell
Mutations
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
![Chemical-Induced Skin Carcinogenesis Model Using Dimethylbenz[a]Anthracene and 12-O-Tetradecanoyl Phorbol-13-Acetate (DMBA-TPA)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcloudfront.jove.com%2FCDNSource%2Fteasers%2F60445.jpg&w=3840&q=50)