Cancer-Causing Gene Activity is Detailed
Posted on: Wednesday, 19 September 2007, 09:00 CDT
U.S. medical scientists have detailed the activity of gene named JAK that's closely related to a common cancer-causing gene in humans.
University of Rochester Medical Center researchers discovered JAK disrupts the activity of an organism's DNA on a broad scale, thwarting a critical molecular event very early during embryonic development.
By manipulating the DNA of fruit flies and analyzing their body types as they develop as maggots, the team discovered the cancer-promoting effects of a mutation to the DNA sequence of a gene that normally suppresses cancer can be passed from parents to offspring, even if the mutation itself isn't passed to the offspring.
Under some circumstances, having one parent with the mutation is enough to affect the offspring, even when the mutation itself is not passed to the next generation, the researchers said.
The study that included Associate Professor Willis Li, graduate students Yalan Xing and Song Shi; former postdoctoral fellow Dr. Long Le, technician Crystal Lee; and post-doctoral researcher Louise Silver-Morse is reported in the journal PLoS Genetics.
Source: United Press International
Related Articles
- Variation In Prostate Stem Cell Gene Raises Bladder Cancer Risk
- American Journal of Gastroenterology Publishes Study of Advanced Noninvasive DNA Test for Colorectal Cancer
- VGX Pharmaceuticals Receives FDA Approval of IND for Novel DNA Vaccine for Cervical Cancer Therapy
- Mutant Gene Helps Thyroid Cancer Treatment
- HPV DNA Testing for Cervical Cancer
- Talabostat Phase 2 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Trial Featured at the 14th International Conference on Gene Therapy of Cancer
- Gene Fear for Cancer Survivor
- New DNA Test Catches Colon Cancer
- Seoul National University; The additive effects of TRAIL and p53 gene therapy diminish cancer cell growth
- Pulmonary Medicine; The additive effects of TRAIL and p53 gene therapy diminish cancer cell growth
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds