g) in Tribolium, or the red flour beetle. In Drosophila, the role of wg in segmentation has been well documented. Wg codes for a signal molecule which is required for the maintenance of expression of another protein, called 'engrailed' (en). Together, wingless and engrailed direct segment polarity--which determines the pattern in both the skin and nervous system of each segment. Patel wanted to test whether the function of wingless was conserved in the flour beetle.
Using the baculovirus system, Patel and colleagues first showed that this system faithfully replicated the genetic data from Drosophila. Then using the virus to express wingless in Tribolium, they showed that in the flour beetle, wingless also regulates the expression of engrailed, as in Drosophila.
Future experiments are planned to compare and contrast limb development in beetles, fruit flies and other animals.
Already clinicians are interested in using the new technique to learn more about human gene function. Patel is currently collaborating with Louis Philipson, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor and acting chief of endocrinology at the University of Chicago Hospitals, who studies the effects of genes that regulate insulin secretion.
"Pancreatic islet cells are a lot like brain cells in that they have interesting electrical properties that are crucial to their proper functioning," says Philipson. "We want to study how certain genes modify insulin secretion. Until now, the methods to do this have been very harsh on the cell membrane, and disrupt electrical impulses. The baculovirus turns out to be the most gentle way to get genetic material into these cells and there is no worry about other effects of the virus on the cells," says Philipson.
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Contact: Sharon Parmet
sparmet@mcis.bsd.uchicago.edu
773-702-6241
University of Chicago Medical Center
17-Nov-1999
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