Scientists move in on genes conferring susceptibility, resistance...( ter genes that control the developmen...)

The next step in the research, he says, is to move from the identification of the genetic regions to the genes themselves. From there, researchers could begin working to identify the proteins produced by these genes and the molecular chain of events - whether beneficial or harmful - that these proteins help to instigate. The final step would be developing drugs that either mimic or thwart this molecular outcome.

Significantly, the process of identifying individual genes in the mouse is becoming increasingly efficient, thanks to progress on sequencing the overall mouse genome. Comparing gene regions that confer susceptibility or resistance to cancer with a map that identifies each gene in the mouse genome will allow scientists to move in on the implicated genes more quickly. The sequencing of the mouse genome is expected to be completed within the next year.

Co-authors of the UCSF study are Hiroki Nagase, MD, formerly a visiting researcher in the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Jian-Hua Mao, PhD, an associate specialist in the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The study was funded by the Cancer Research Campaign (UK), Onyx Pharmaceuticals and the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center.

'"/>

Contact: Jennifer O'Brien
jobrien@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-476-2557
University of California - San Francisco
3-Apr-2000