PARP 2

Poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 2 commonly known as PARP2 is a 583 amino acid containing enzyme belonging to the PARP family with a PARP alpha-helical domain and a PARP catalytic domain that catalyzes a poly (ADP-ribosylation) reaction. A component of base excision repair (BER) complex, PARP2, forms homodimer and heterodimer with PARP1. This nuclear protein functions in the base excision repair (BER) pathway, by catalyzing the poly(ADP-ribosylation) of a limited number of acceptor proteins involved in chromatin architecture and in DNA metabolism. This modification follows DNA damages and appears as an obligatory step in detection/signaling pathway thus repairing DNA strand breaks. The basic residues within the N-terminal region of this protein may bear potential DNA-binding properties, and may be involved in the nuclear and/or nucleolar targeting of the protein. It is widely expressed in actively dividing tissues. Two alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms have been found.