Gene sequencing program gives researchers new leads to improve cancer treatment Newswise ANN ARBOR, Mich. It started with a 44-year-old woman with solitary fibrous tumor, a rare cancer seen in only a few hundred people each year. By looking at the entire DNA from this one patients tumor, researchers have found a genetic anomaly that provides an important clue to improving how this cancer is diagnosed and treated. Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center sequenced the tumors genome through a new program called MI-ONCOSEQ, which is designed to identify genetic mutations in tumors that might be targeted with new therapies being tested in clinical trials. The sequencing also allows researchers to find new mutations. In this case, an unusual occurrence of two genes NAB2 and STAT6 fusing together. This is the first time this gene fusion has been identified. In most cases, mutations are identified because we see them happening again and again. Here, we had only one case of this. We knew NAB2-STAT6 was important because integrated sequencing ruled out all the known cancer genes. That allowed us to focus on what had been changed, says lead study author Dan R. Robinson, research fellow with the … Continue reading →

Jan. 15, 2013 Western researchers have identified a new genetic mutation for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), opening the door to future targeted therapies. Dr. Michael Strong, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry dean, and colleagues discovered mutations within the ARHGEF28 gene are present in ALS. When they looked across both familial and sporadic forms of the disease, they found virtually all cases of ALS demonstrated abnormal inclusions of the protein that arises from this gene. Strong is a scientist with Western's Robarts Research Institute and Distinguished University Professor in Clinical Neurological Sciences at Schulich. The study is published online in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration, the official journal of The World Federation of Neurology Research Group on Motor Neuron Diseases. ALS, sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive disease that affects the motor neurons connecting the brain to muscles throughout the body. It is a devastating disease with 90 per cent of patients dying within five years of diagnosis. As many as 2,000 Canadians and 30,000 Americans are living with ALS. Strong's team is convinced ALS is a disorder of RNA metabolism. RNA is the intermediary or messenger between genes and the protein being made. This new protein … Continue reading →

Investigators probe mechanisms of RNA synthesis Newswise NEWARK, N.J. One of the most extraordinary properties of living cells is their ability to precisely reproduce themselves through processes that transfer genetic information from one cell to the next. However, there are times when one of the steps of information transfer, transcription, goes awry at the cellular level, potentially producing diseases such as cancer and other health disorders. Unraveling how those processes work and how substandard transcription can be prevented is a major goal of biomedical science. Progress in this area may also lead the way toward development of drugs that target the genetic transcription process in disease-causing microbes. A research team led by Arkady Mustaev, PhD, of the Public Health Research Institute (PHRI) at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School, has published a study posted online by the Journal of Biological Chemistry, that describes an effort by the investigators to understand the underlying mechanisms of high precision (fidelity) of RNA synthesis by RNA polymerase, the major enzyme that promotes the transcription process. They attempted to influence the role of active center tuning (ACT) -- a mechanism they first identified -- in the process of transcription … Continue reading →

The desire to seek thrills on the ski slope may be in your genes, according to new research. The study, which involved about 500 skiers and snowboarders of intermediate to expert skill level, found that people who had a particular genetic marker were more likely to say they tried daredevil moves on the slopes than those without the marker. For instance, people with the marker more often agreed with statements such as "I like to ski/ride fast" and "I like to go down runs that I have never been down before." The findings held even after the researchers took into account factors that could affect thrill-seeking behavior, such as gender and skill level. The marker is found within a gene involved in the creation of a brain receptor that binds to dopamine a chemical thought to play a role in reward-seeking behaviors. The marker may affect the number of dopamine receptors in the brain. It's not clear how the marker could affect a person's behavior, said study researcher Cynthia Thomson, a Ph.D. student at the University of British Columbia's School of Kinesiology. But one possible explanation is that people with fewer dopamine receptors need a greater amount of stimulation (in … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE MKT:NBS), an emerging leader in the fast growing cell therapy market, announced today that Dr. Aaron Havens of the University of Michigan has won the Milo Hellman Research Award from the American Association of Orthodontists ("AAO") for his research in collaboration with NeoStem. The research, published in Stem Cells and Development in an article titled "Human Very Small Embryonic-Like Cells Generate Skeletal Structures, In Vivo," demonstrated bone regeneration capabilities of human VSELs(TM) stem cells in a mouse model, further expanding the therapeutic potential of NeoStem's proprietary regenerative cell therapy product. Dr. Havens, a third-year resident of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry's graduate orthodontics program, will receive the award during the AAO's annual session in May in Philadelphia. Dr. Havens works under the mentorship of Dr. Russell Taichman, Major Ash Collegiate Professor and Co-Director of the Scholars Program in Dental Leadership Department of Periodontics & Oral Medicine, University of Michigan. This published controlled study, funded by National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases under SBIR grant number RAR056893Z, "Repair of boney defects by human stem cells," and led by Drs. Taichman and Havens, involved isolating G-CSF … Continue reading →