Navigation Links
Loosen up, DNA: Leukemia gene changes genetic packaging

onizes a tumor suppressor mechanism is pretty powerful," Li said. "Most genes involved in cancer do one or the other, not both."

The work fits in squarely with pharmaceutical research on experimental drugs known as HDAC (histone deacetylase) inhibitors, which affect chromatin structure and play a role in turning on or off whole swaths of DNA. Such drugs are under investigation for leukemia and several other diseases. Based on Li's work, using a drug to target the JAK/STAT pathway may offer a new strategy for altering chromatin structure, much like HDAC inhibitors do.

"We hope that others will take what we have learned from fruit flies and apply the findings to people," said Li. "If this phenomenon occurs in people as well as flies, which is likely, it could form the basis for new treatments for people with leukemia and lymphoma."

The studies conducted in fruit flies by Li, who aims to understand the extraordinarily complex cell signaling that brings about cancer in people, would be impossible to do directly in humans. Turning to fruit flies lets Li and other fruit fly geneticists speed up cancer research by stripping down the complexity of the organism, discovering the major themes, and then using those as a guide when studying people directly.


'"/>

Source:University of Rochester Medical Center


Page: 1 2 3 4

Related biology news :

1. Loosen leash on cancer protein watchdog, researchers say
2. Leukemia Drug Breakthrough Study In New England Journal Of Medicine
3. Protein That Promotes Survival Of Stem Cells Might Be Key To Poor Leukemia Prognosis
4. Genetically Modified Natural Killer Immune Cells Attack, Kill Leukemia Cells
5. Leukemia drug turns mini-molecules up, cancer genes down
6. Researchers trace evolution to relatively simple genetic changes
7. Plants defy Mendels inheritance laws, may prompt textbook changes
8. Scientists find evidence of catastrophic sand avalanches, sea level changes in Gulf of Mexico
9. Customized gene chip provides rapid detection of genetic changes in childrens cancer
10. New amphibian species result from exploration, not from rule changes
11. Embryonic stem cells accrue genetic changes
Post Your Comments: