Posted on 01/21/2005 4:30:24 PM PST by Main Street
Edited on 01/21/2005 4:58:27 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
A CLUE CALLED 'POKEMON'
Scientists identify a single 'master' gene that seems to turn on cancer-causing action of other errant genes
FRONT PAGE.
An international team of scientists believes it has found cancer's master switch with the discovery of a gene they dubbed ``Pokemon.''
Like the electronic game figures -- tiny monsters with bad tempers -- the cancer-triggering gene apparently instigates the misbehavior of other cancer-causing genes, leading to tumor formation.
In Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, in collaboration with teams in Japan and Britain, announced that the gene plays a key role in starting a malignancy. As a result, scientists now believe they have stumbled upon an important new target for an anti-cancer drug.
Dr. Carlos Cardon-Cardo, a molecular pathologist at the cancer center and a senior author of the research, defined Pokemon as an oncogene, which means it is capable of causing cancer. Dozens of oncogenes have been discovered over the past 25 years. But unlike the others, Cardon-Cardo said Pokemon has a governing role: It is needed for other genes to function. Eliminate Pokemon, he said, and you stop the activity of other cancer-causing genes.
``This is the master switch that interacts with other genes,'' Cardon-Cardo said. ``It acts differently than other oncogenes. Others regulate cell growth, but Pokemon impacts on critical properties of cancer cells.''
Among those key properties, Pokemon enhances a cancer cell's ability to resist aging and death. This immortalizing factor essentially endows cancer cells with a Peter Pan-like quality that renders them robust indefinitely, the very trait that makes tumors difficult to treat.
Dr. Pier Paolo Pandolfi, the study's lead investigator, said even though Pokemon shares a name with imaginary figures, whimsy was never intended. ``This is very serious and the name was serendipitous, pure serendipity,'' Pandolfi said. Pokemon stands for POK erythroid myeloid ontogenic factor.
Ahhh, yes, Drudge. He's loves bringing attention to himself, I think.
oh, I get what you are saying here now. Good point.
And I got your point, I think it was just the semantics from the Drudge site - I think. Have a good night.
My husband likes his Hemotologist/Oncologist so much that we'll drive the 3 hours from Pennsylvania to New York to continue with him since we moved.
A big plus is that this doctor recently went to work at Sloan-Kettering where this research was done. My husbands willing to be a guinea pig for experimental drugs to treat his Leukemia. This is Great News!
I can see the lawsuits already. ;D
Does anyone have a picture of Master Gene?
Yes, this is a major step forward. Some folks on this thread don't realize that we've only had the human genome for a few years. We're just now figuring out which gene works with which other genes, much less trying to figure out how to turn them on and off once we figure out their interaction. We also don't know all the ramifications of turning them on or off. However, we are getting to the nuts and bolts and with the advances in molecular technology, we are on the verge of very exciting times in science. You will start to see drugs targeted specifically towards switching genes on and off in many situations, not just cancer. Very exciting and rewarding times ahead. It will be slow, but it will mean exciting therapies for your kids and grandkids, and in some cases, for yourself.
Hopeful, indeed. And, if this may turn out to not be the case.....we pray that they make an even more amazing discovery in their research. Who knows, they could be right, or, they may find out that something which attaches itself to this gene is the culprit....the more they can eliminate, the more they can focus in the right direction....it's unbelievable how it's taking so many years to find a cure for cancer....what a devil it is!
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