Other highlights in the January 21 issue of JNCI
...sitivity to methotrexate. In mice, tumors with the mutated gene grew faster but were more sensitive to 5FU than tumors with the normal gene. "Our data suggest that the MTHFR C677T polymorphism may be a useful pharmacogenetic determinant for providing rational and effective tailored chemotherapy," the authors...OHSU-led research examines role of copper, iron in diseases
...nsferred from Atox1 to disease proteins, which are mutated forms of ATPases, and determine the specific molecular consequences of the copper transfer. Ninian Blackburn, Ph.D., professor of environmental and biomolecular systems at OHSU's OGI School of Science & Engineering and a metal ion project investig...Ancient DNA mutations permitted humans to adapt to colder climates, UCI researchers find
...nerate oxygen radicals," Wallace said. "Since the mutated DNA of cold-adapted people allocates more calories to heat, there are fewer left over to generate oxygen radicals. Hence these people are less prone to aging and age-related degenerative diseases." (For more details on oxygen radicals, see below.) ...Story tips from the Department of Energys Oak Ridge National Laboratory, January 2004
...explain why. ORNL has decades of experience making mutated mice while Los Alamos researchers have been studyi...t might confer resistance to anthrax and then send mutated and normal cells to Los Alamos, where researchers hope to learn why the mutated cells aren't suscept...Genetic master switch sends bacteria toward 'seafood dinner'
.... The biologists made their discovery by studying mutated versions of Vibrios, the ocean's most common bacteria, which can cause illnesses such as cholera. The scientists separated and tested the mutant strains according to their ability to detect and break down chitin, then they analyzed the bacteria's gen...Other highlights in the December 17 issue of JNCI
...w study has found that the gene BRAF is frequently mutated in melanomas that develop on areas of the skin that are intermittently exposed to the sun. In contrast, BRAF mutations in melanomas on chronically sun-damaged skin and skin unexposed to the sun are rare. The discovery "strongly suggests distinct gene...Brain tumor growth requires abnormal neighbors
... Humans with NF1 are born with one normal and one mutated copy of the Nf1 gene in all cells in their bodies. Gutmann's team therefore hypothesized that genetic abnormalities in brain cells surrounding astrocytes might be essential for tumor formation. To test this theory, the team developed mice with no fu...Scientists identify molecular step that causes intoxication
... effects of alcohol on locomotion. Only those with mutated slo-1 genes were extremely resistant to alcohol. The research showed that the alcohol-resistance trait was due to slo-1 genes in neurons, as opposed to other cells such as muscle. Then, using standard electrophysiological techniques, the scienti...New method of identifying and isolating stem cells developed
...ornea. We may even be able to identify and isolate mutated stem cells that lead to certain kinds of cancer," Fuchs says. The system, which took several years to develop, pairs two kinds of genetically altered mice -- one of which carries a fluorescent protein and the other a gene that activates it -- to cre...Gene mutation leads to super-virulent strain of TB
...bacteria from the organs of mice infected with the mutated tuberculosis (TB) bacteria than for mice infected ...eau about 17 weeks after infection, while the mce1 mutated TB strain didn't stop spreading until it killed its host. The researchers also compared the reac...Hope available for patients with anemia and myelodysplastic syndrome
...cluding Ras. Since Ras is among the most commonly mutated oncogenes associated with cancer, this class of drugs has been evaluated in clinical trials in a diversity of tumors. "We are encouraged by the results of our trial with tipifarnib, and are looking forward to conducting further studies to c...Yeast model yields insights into Parkinson's disease
...her yeast that expresses two mutant forms, using a mutated version of the gene found in patients with PD. One theory for the cause of PD is that an aging brain no longer has the capacity to cope with accumulating or misfolding proteins. A normal healthy brain has the ability to clear out excess or mutant pr......st-known risk factor for melanoma was if you had a mutated copy of the gene CDKN2A. This gene could explain about 25% of the inherited cases of melanoma, which equates to about 1% of the total number of cases. The risk associated with BRAF is much more significant. The researchers write: "We estimate that B......d and neck squamous cancers, as p53 is known to be mutated in over 60 per cent of these tumours. This form of cancer is also particularly common in China. In the largest clinical trial, 120 patients with nasopharyngeal cancer were given either radiotherapy alone, or Gendicine and radiotherapy. The p53-carry...JCI Table of Contents, November 3, 2003
...tence, within the same cell, of both wild-type and mutated mtDNA) to homoplasmy (the presence of completely normal or completely mutant mtDNA) the latter of which has been shown to occur in tumors. TITLE : Mitochondrial DNA mutations in human colonic crypt stem cells AUTHOR CONTACT : Douglass Turnbull U...Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, November 2003
...e, ORNL will now be able to exchange its specially mutated mice with other research institutions and will be eligible for research dollars previously unavailable to ORNL [Contact: Ron Walli, 865-576-0226; wallira@ornl.gov ] TRANSPORTATION -- More practical fuel cell . . . Low-cost corrosion-resistant meta...Researchers grow breast cancer tissue from transplanted mammary stem cells
...hopes to be able to develop drugs that can prevent mutated stem cells from reproducing and forming tumors.According to Borowsky, the new field of cancer stem cell research could transform cancer treatment. "It will be very interesting to learn more about the properties of these cancer stem cells," he said. "...Major new finding on genetics of Parkinson's disease zeroes in on activity of alpha synuclein
...ase. It suggests that in Parkinson's disease both mutated and normal -synuclein behave in a way that is quantitatively different from the way the protein functions in people without Parkinson's disease." The researchers point out that the findings in the Science report are relevant to both familial and s...PTEN and prostate cancer--the devil is in the doses
...it is not just presence or absence of a gene (or a mutated version of the gene) that causes disease, but as P...n prostate cancer. PTEN is among the most commonly mutated tumor suppressor genes in human cancer. And like many other tumor suppressors, PTEN targets proteins...New model of Alzheimer's enzyme may help refine future treatments
...ked form of Alzheimer's disease. They reintroduced mutated presenilin proteins from Alzheimer's disease patie...resent. Kopan's team hypothesized that perhaps the mutated presenilin molecules influence production of ABeta42 by gamma-secretase activity by interacting with...