This is the twice-per-month electronic newsletter for basic, preclinical and translational research news related to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Please forward freely. Direct comments or questions to Joanna Downer, PhD, in the Office of Corporate Communications (4-5105, jdowner1@jhmi.edu).
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IN THIS ISSUE:
+ Scaffolding Protein Plays Key Role in Embryo Development
+ Inflammation Marker Predicts Colon Cancer
NEWS BRIEFS:
Agnew Steps Down as Physiology Director
Jabs to Give Dean's Lecture Feb. 23
Diversity Award Nominations Due March 19
Capecchi to Give Fourth Annual Nathans Lecture May 6
AWARDS AND HONORS:
Sidransky Honored by AACR
AACR Recognizes Talalay
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Do you have an interesting research finding about one month from publication or presentation? Send manuscripts to Joanna Downer at jdowner1@jhmi.edu or fax to 410-614-8951. Information about awards and honors received by laboratory personnel and others is welcomed also.
For more info on a story, click the accompanying hyperlink.
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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS:
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1/18/04
Scaffolding Protein Plays Key Role in Embryo Development
GRIP1, a protein first isolated because it interacted with the glutamate receptor in brain cells, plays a key role in stabilizing the extracellular matrix of endothelial cells during embryo development, reports an international team of researchers in the February issue of Nature Genetics.
Surprisingly, mice lacking GRIP1, or glutamate receptor interacting protein 1, displayed physical changes similar to those seen in people with Fraser syndrome, including the absence of kidneys and the development of blisters under embryonic, but not adult, skin.
"A mouse model of Fraser syndrome had recently been generated by knocking out a gene called FRAS1, and we realized our GRIP1 knockout mouse was identical," says Richard Huganir, PhD, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins. "Kogo Takamiya, a research associate in my lab, started looking for functional interactions and discovered that GRIP1 binds to the Fraser gene product and takes it to the cell surface during tissue development. In the GRIP1 knockout, that doesn't happen."
The researchers also examined a spontaneous mouse mutant, called blebbed, that has features similar to the Fraser mouse. It was found to have a GRIP1 mutation, leading the scientific team to speculate that changes in the human version of GRIP1 might account for Fraser syndrome in families for whom a causative mutation hasn't been found.
The Johns Hopkins researchers involved in the study were funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins, and the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke.
Nature Genetics 2004;36(2):172-177.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/ng/journal/v36/n2/abs/ng1292.html
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From the Clinic:
2/3/04
Inflammation Marker Predicts Colon Cancer
C-reactive protein (CRP) -- a marker of inflammation circulating in the blood already associated with increased risk of heart disease -- can also be used to identify a person's risk of developing colon cancer, according to a Johns Hopkins study.
Results of the study, published in the Feb. 4 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that over an 11-year period, people with higher levels of CRP in their blood (a median of 2.44 milligrams per liter) were more likely to develop colorectal cancers than those with low levels of CRP (a median of 1.94 mg/L).
"Higher levels of C-reactive protein are linked to an increased risk of several apparently distinct, chronic diseases: heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and now colon cancer," says Thomas "Tate" Erlinger, MD, MPH, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins.
"However, it's not clear yet how or whether measuring C-reactive protein would fit into current screening and prevention strategies for colorectal cancer. Further studies should help answer these questions and help clarify the mechanism by which inflammation increases the risk of cancer," he adds.
Erlinger and colleagues studied the records of 22,887 adults who participated in the CLUE II study, conducted in Washington County, Md., looking to identify those who developed colon or rectal cancer. Median CRP levels at baseline were higher for the 131 people who subsequently developed colon cancer (2.69 mg/L) than those who remained free of disease (1.97 mg/L). By contrast, CRP concentrations were not significantly different between the 31 cases of rectal cancer (1.79 mg/L) and controls (1.81 mg/L).
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2004/02_10_04.html
JAMA 2004;291:585-590.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/291/5/585
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Agnew Steps Down as Physiology Director -- William Agnew, Ph.D., professor of physiology and neuroscience, has stepped down from his administrative duties as director of the Department of Physiology in order to devote his full time to an innovative program in molecular neurobiology. Physiology professor Peter Maloney, Ph.D., will serve as interim director.
http://www.insidehopkinsmedicine.org/news/leadershipcorner/2004/021904.cfm
Jabs to Give Dean's Lecture Feb. 23 -- Ethylin Wang Jabs, MD, professor of pediatrics, surgery and medicine and member of the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins, will give the second Dean's Lecture, Genetic Basis of Craniofacial Development and Disorders, Feb. 23 at 5 pm in Hurd Hall.
Diversity Award Nominations Due March 19 -- The Johns Hopkins Diversity Leadership Council is seeking nominations for its Diversity Recognition Award. These awards recognize exceptional contributions of faculty, staff and students in advancing and celebrating diversity and inclusiveness at Johns Hopkins. Faculty, staff and students from all divisions of The Johns Hopkins University and from the Johns Hopkins Health System are eligible. However, current members of the Johns Hopkins Diversity Leadership Council are not eligible. Individuals may nominate themselves or be nominated by any Johns Hopkins community member. The awards ceremony will be held May 11.
http://www.insidehopkinsmedicine.org/news/news_detail_page.cfm?id=1726
http://www.jhu.edu/dlc/dlcaward.html
Capecchi to Give Fourth Annual Nathans Lecture May 6 -- Mario Capecchi, PhD, co chairman of human genetics at the University of Utah School of Medicine is scheduled to deliver the Fourth Annual Daniel Nathans, M.D., Lecture in Molecular Genetics on May 6 in the Wood Basic Science Auditorium. His lecture, entitled "Gene Targeting into the 21st Century: Mouse Models of Human Disease from Cancer to Neuropsychiatric Disorders," will follow a tea that begins at 3:30 pm.
Sidransky Honored by AACR -- David Sidransky, MD, will receive the 28th AACR-Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award for his research discoveries that have led the way to developing broad-based non-invasive screening tests that detect genetic biomarkers for cancer in bodily fluids. Sidransky also is being recognized for his role in creating the Early Detection Research Network at the National Cancer Institute, which provides collaborative support to investigators with promising biomarker research. Sidransky is professor of otolaryngology, oncology, pathology, cellular and molecular medicine, and urology and is the Director of Head and Neck Cancer Research at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.
http://www.aacr.org/2004ampress1.asp
AACR Recognizes Talalay -- The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is recognizing Paul Talalay, MD, professor of pharmacology and molecular sciences, for his "seminal and continued contributions to basic and translational aspects of chemoprevention research." Talalay will deliver the 9th AACR-DeWitt S. Goodman Memorial Lecture on March 28 at the organization's 95th annual meeting.
http://www.aacr.org/2004ampress1.asp
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