BARD1 content correlates with increased DNA fragmentation associated with muscle wasting in tumour-bearing rats.

Apoptotic events have been clearly associated with muscle wasting in different types of experimental cancer cachexia. In these conditions, cell death is triggered by cytokines or tumour-produced factors. BARD1 is a nuclear protein that is also involved in apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. The results presented here demonstrate that BARD1 content in skeletal muscle correlates with increased DNA fragmentation during experimental cancer cachexia. It is suggested that BARD1 acts as a modulator of muscle apoptosis or, alternatively, that BARD1 participates in the protein degradation by functioning as ubiquitin ligase.