PARP-2: Structure-Function Relationship

Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation is an immediate DNA damage-dependent posttranslational modification of histones and other nuclear proteins that contributes to the survival of injured proliferating cells. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) now constitute a large family of 18 proteins, encoded by different genes and displaying a conserved catalytic domain in which PARP-1 (113 kDa), the founding member, and PARP-2 (62 kDa) are so far the sole enzymes whose catalytic activity is immediately stimulated by DNA strand-breaks. This review summarizes our present knowledge of the structure and function of PARP-2, the closest relative to PARP-1.