JHM Science e-Newsletter Vol. 4, No. 12, June 28, 2004
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:
+ Super-Effective "Jumping Gene" Created
+ Common Genetic "Signature" Found For Different Cancers
NEWS BRIEFS:
Dietz To Be First McKusick Professor
Roses To Give Third McKusick Lecture July 8
HONORS AND AWARDS:
Patz Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom
Vogelstein Receives Spain's Top Science Award
Drake Receives Runyon Cancer Foundation Grant
Stearns and Matsui Receive ASCO Awards
Civin Honored By National Foundation for Cancer Research
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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.
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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS:
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5/19/04
Super-Effective "Jumping Gene" Created
Johns Hopkins scientists have transformed a common "jumping gene" found in the human genome into one that moves hundreds of times more often than normal in mouse and human cells.
Writing in the May 20 issue of Nature, the scientists say their artificial jumping gene sets the stage for creating mice that lack -- at random -- at least one gene, without having to know in advance which gene is being "knocked-out." Such random knock-outs have been critical in studying the genetics of other critters and will help shed light on jumping genes' effects -- past and present -- in human health and disease, say the researchers.
"Making this synthetic jumping gene was the home-run experiment we never thought was going to work," says Jef Boeke, PhD, professor of molecular biology and genetics and director of the High Throughput Biology Center in Hopkins' Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences.
Jumping genes, aka retrotransposons, are bits of genetic material that copy themselves and move around in creatures' genomes. They have the potential to disrupt the genes they "land" in and are thought to contribute to the gradual --and perhaps the occasional major -- genetic shifts that drive evolution.
In a second paper in the same issue of Nature, MD/PhD candidate Jeffrey Han and Boeke report that the human jumping gene normally is relatively lethargic because its instructions are hard for cells to read. To make the highly active, artificial jumping gene, Han replaced some of the gene's instructions with alternatives that cells prefer.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2004/05_19a_04.html
Nature 20 May 2004;429(6989):314-318 (highly active artificial jumping gene)
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v429/n6989/full/nature02535_fs.html
Nature 20 May 2004;429(6989):268-274 (jumping gene's normal activity, effects)
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v429/n6989/full/nature02536_fs.html
See a News & Views on this topic in the same issue:
Nature 20 May 2004;429(6989):253-255
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v429/n6989/full/429253b_fs.html
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6/8/04
Common Genetic "Signature" Found For Different Cancers
In the last decade or so, focus largely has been on tailoring treatments to specific forms of cancers and even to the precise biology of cancer in a particular person.
Writing in the June 22 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists report making use of a online searchable database they made from 40 published data sets that had collectively analyzed the gene expression "fingerprints" of more than 3,700 cancer tissue samples.
Searching the database for common patterns of altered gene expression, the researchers uncovered a "signature" of 67 abnormally expressed genes common to all cancers and another signature of 69 genes that distinguished some kinds of aggressive tumors from their less aggressive counterparts.
"Perhaps we'd learned so much about the differences among cancers that we stopped looking for the similarities. Not having the right tools to look for similarities on a global level didn't help, either," says Akhilesh Pandey, PhD, assistant professor of biological chemistry in the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins and chief scientific advisor and founder of the Institute of Bioinformatics, a nonprofit institute located in Bangalore, India. "We took 'warehoused' data, analyzed it and connected it to relevant information. Now it's both available and useful."
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2004/06_22_04.html
PNAS 22 June 2004;101(25):9309-9314 (Published online June 8)http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/101/25/9309
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Dietz To Be First McKusick Professor -- In a ceremony starting at 4 pm, June 29, in the Houck Lobby of the Phipps Building, Harry "Hal" Dietz, MD, will be installed as the inaugural Victor A. McKusick Professor of Medicine and Genetics. A reception will follow. McKusick, who has spent his entire career at Johns Hopkins, is widely regarded as the father of genetic medicine and pioneered the study of genetic contributors to disease. Dietz has focused a large portion of his research activities on identifying genes that contribute to Marfan syndrome, aortic aneurysm and other vascular disorders. Both are members of the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins.
Roses To Give Third McKusick Lecture July 8 -- Allen D. Roses, MD, will give the third Victor A. McKusick Lecture, "Genetics and Pharmacogenetics in Discovering and Developing Medicines," beginning at 4 pm, Thursday, July 8, in the auditorium of the Wood Basic Science Building. A reception will follow. Roses, Senior Vice President, Genetics Research at GlaxoSmithKline, was charged with organizing genetic strategies for susceptibility gene discovery, pharmacogenetics strategy and implementation, and integration of genetics into medicine discovery and development. For more information email Donna Sims at simsdo@jhmi.edu.
http://www.insidehopkinsmedicine.org/news/news_detail.cfm?id=2002
HONORS AND AWARDS:
Patz Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom -- Arnall Patz, MD, director emeritus of the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute and winner of a Lasker Award for his discovery of the cause of a disease that once was the most common cause of childhood blindness, was one of 12 recipients given this year's Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush on Wednesday, June 23, during a special ceremony at The White House. Patz was recognized for his lifetime contributions to ophthalmology, which include development of one of the first argon lasers used in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and reducing the leading cause of blindness in premature babies. Patz also received the 2004 Person of Vision Award from the Maryland Society for Sight in a June 19 event.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2004/06_18a_04.html
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2004/06_17_04.html
Vogelstein Receives Spain's Top Science Award -- Bert Vogelstein, MD, Clayton Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, has been chosen as a recipient of the 2004 Prince of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research. Named for Prince Felipe de Borbon, heir to the Spanish throne, the award is recognized as one of the world's most important lifetime achievements in science and was given to Vogelstein and investigators at four other institutions for their contributions to unraveling the mysteries of cancer genetics and pursuing novel therapies for the disease. The honorees are scheduled to receive their awards at a ceremony Oct. 22 in Spain.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2004/06_18_04.html
Drake Receives Runyon Cancer Foundation Grant -- Charles Drake, MD, PhD, assistant professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center is one of only five physicians worldwide to receive a 5-year, $1.2 million grant from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. The Foundation announced its Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator Award on June 4, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in New Orleans. Drake was selected for his translational studies designed to advance immunotherapy for prostate cancer. The award, which provides research funds for Drake and his mentor, Drew Pardoll, MD, PhD, supports young physician-scientists conducting patient-oriented cancer research. Upon successful completion of the program, the Foundation will retire up to $100,000 of his medical school debt.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2004/06_08b_04.html
http://www.cancerresearchfund.org/apClinical.html
Stearns and Matsui Receive ASCO Awards -- The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) awarded grants totaling more than $630,000 to Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center faculty members Vered Stearns, MD, and William Matsui, MD, at the 40th annual ASCO meeting. Stearns, assistant professor of oncology, is the inaugural recipient of ASCO's Advanced Clinical Research Award for her plans to study new chemotherapy agents for early breast cancer. Matsui, assistant professor of oncology, has been awarded a Career Development Award. His recent discovery of the cell likely to be responsible for the development of multiple myeloma may lead to new therapies designed for long-term cure of the disease.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2004/06_08_04.html
Civin Honored By National Foundation for Cancer Research -- The National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) has awarded its highest distinction to Curt Civin, MD, the Herman and Walter Samuelson Professor of Oncology and co-director of immunology and hematopoiesis at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, for his pioneering stem cell research. The $250,000, five-year grant will allow Civin to expand his studies on how stem cells function to help improve bone marrow transplants for cancer patients.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2004/06_08a_04.html
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--JHMI--
