FOCAL POINT Elisabeth Coene (left), David Vaux (right), and colleagues (not shown) reveal that the tumor suppressor and E3 ubiquitin ligase BRCA1 is targeted to the cell periphery by ezrin, radixin, and moesin proteins, where it regulates cell adhesion and migration. Compared with control cells (top), cells expressing a dominant-negative version of BRCA1 (bottom) migrate faster but close wounds in a more disorganized fashion, as individual cells lose contact with their neighbors. The findings suggest that BRCA1 ubiquitinates proteins involved in cell–cell and cell–matrix adhesion and that the tumor suppressor may also limit the ability of cancer cells to metastasize. / PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHRISTINA COENE (LEFT) AND RICHARD BERWICK (RIGHT)

FOCAL POINT Elisabeth Coene (left), David Vaux (right), and colleagues (not shown) reveal that the tumor suppressor and E3 ubiquitin ligase BRCA1 is targeted to the cell periphery by ezrin, radixin, and moesin proteins, where it regulates cell adhesion and migration. Compared with control cells (top), cells expressing a dominant-negative version of BRCA1 (bottom) migrate faster but close wounds in a more disorganized fashion, as individual cells lose contact with their neighbors. The findings suggest that BRCA1 ubiquitinates proteins involved in cell–cell and cell–matrix adhesion and that the tumor suppressor may also limit the ability of cancer cells to metastasize.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHRISTINA COENE (LEFT) AND RICHARD BERWICK (RIGHT)

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