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Homing protein
News & Comment
TRENDS in Biotechnology Vol.19 No.8 August 2001
285
In Brief
Mickey mouse analysis As the mouse and human genome are similar in size, good computational methods are required to analyse results generated from mouse genetic data. Andrew Grupe et al. (Science, 8 June) report on a computational method for predicting chromosomal regions regulating phenotypic traits using a mouse database of single nucleotide polymorphisms. After entry of phenotypic information obtained from inbred mouse strains, the phenotypic and genotypic information is analysed in silico to predict the chromosomal regions regulating the phenotypic trait. DM
with his own cells after these cells were genetically modified to express factor VIII. Four of the six patients had elevated plasma levels of factor VIII activity after receiving the genetically modified cells, and this also coincided with a decrease in bleeding and/or a reduction in the amount of factor VIII needed to treat bleeding. Two of the patients experienced no episodes of spontaneous bleeding during a 10 month period following treatment. DM
Telling which way is up
Homing protein Researchers have identified a protein that allows cells to ‘home’ to the bone marrow. This finding might allow clinicians to improve bone marrow transplantation by injecting only the cells needed to repopulate the bone marrow after chemotherapy. Charles Dimitroff et al. report in The Journal of Cell Biology (11 June) that a sugar-coated variant of a protein called CD44 acts as the homing molecule for human hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs). The HPCs usually reside in bone marrow and serve as the source of all new blood cells but they also circulate in the bloodstream. They find their way back to the bone marrow by attaching to a protein called E-selectin, which is made by cells that line the blood vessels. The same mechanism allows cells in bone marrow transplants to find their way to their correct place in the bone marrow, even after the cells have been injected directly into the bloodstream. DM
Haemophilia treatment The results of the first human investigation of haemophilia A gene therapy (David Roth et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 7 June) has shown the procedure to be safe and well-tolerated and that the treatment, which employs the patients’ own cells, could be effective in reducing the occurrence of spontaneous bleeding – a frequent and potentially lethal symptom of the severe form of the disorder. The study, which used a nonviral gene therapy system, involved six patients with severe haemophilia A. Each patient was treated http://tibtech.trends.com
In case you have never noticed, the leaves on trees have a top and a bottom and both sides have different functions. For example, most photosynthesis takes place in chloroplast-packed cells on the top side of a leaf. Recent work in two papers (Randall Kerstetter, et al. and Jane McConnell et al. Nature, 7 June) has identified some of the first genes known to be invloved in differentiating top from bottom in plant leaves. The first paper describes the function of a gene called KANADI, which is expressed primarily on the underside of leaves; and, in the second paper, a gene called PHABULOSA is described, which is active in cells closer to leaves’ upper surfaces. DM
Fungus found innocent Phytophthora infestans causes late blight of potato, an outbreak of which caused the great Irish potato famine of the 1840s. The famine was a catastrophe, killing more than 1 million people and forcing twice that number to immigrate, thus changing the course of history. The haplotype of P infestans thought to be the culprit is termed 1b. However, a new study (Jean Ristaino et al., Nature, 7 June) reports that
haplotype 1b is not guilty. DNA fingerprinting analysis of 150-year-old leaves preserved from the Irish potato famine, found no trace of haplotype 1b. However, the analysis points to one of three other late blight haplotypes–none of which previously had been considered prime suspects. The specimens were collected in England and Ireland between 1845 and 1847 and stored at the Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew, UK), and other herbariums. DM
Gene chips accurately diagnose four complex childhood cancers Javed Khan et al. report for the first time in Nature Medicine (June issue) the use of gene expression microarrays and an analysis of the data using an artificial neural network (ANN) to differentiate between several closely-related types of childhood cancer. The four types of childhood tumours used in this study have a similar appearance under the microscope, which can lead to misdiagnosis and improper treatment. The study began by simultaneously analysing > 6000 known genes present in all cells. Among those, the researchers identified 41 genes expressed in the tumours that had not been previously associated with these diseases. Some of these gene products might be good targets for new drug treatments. DM
Molecular computers A prototype single molecule computer memory has been reported by researchers at Yale University (New Haven, CT, USA) and Rice University (Houston, TX, USA) (Applied Physics Letters, 4 June). The research teams describe how selfassembled monolayers of rod-like organic molecules, ‘wired’ between gold electrodes, can ‘flip’ between low- and high-conductivity states when a voltage pulse is applied. These two states are equivalent to ‘off’ and ‘on’, represented by 0s and 1s used in a computer’s binary coding. About 1000 molecules are switched simultaneously to transmit one bit of information, although potentially each molecule could be wired and switched separately. MJD
0167-7799/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
TRENDS in Biotechnology Vol.19 No.8 August 2001
285
In Brief
Mickey mouse analysis As the mouse and human genome are similar in size, good computational methods are required to analyse results generated from mouse genetic data. Andrew Grupe et al. (Science, 8 June) report on a computational method for predicting chromosomal regions regulating phenotypic traits using a mouse database of single nucleotide polymorphisms. After entry of phenotypic information obtained from inbred mouse strains, the phenotypic and genotypic information is analysed in silico to predict the chromosomal regions regulating the phenotypic trait. DM
with his own cells after these cells were genetically modified to express factor VIII. Four of the six patients had elevated plasma levels of factor VIII activity after receiving the genetically modified cells, and this also coincided with a decrease in bleeding and/or a reduction in the amount of factor VIII needed to treat bleeding. Two of the patients experienced no episodes of spontaneous bleeding during a 10 month period following treatment. DM
Telling which way is up
Homing protein Researchers have identified a protein that allows cells to ‘home’ to the bone marrow. This finding might allow clinicians to improve bone marrow transplantation by injecting only the cells needed to repopulate the bone marrow after chemotherapy. Charles Dimitroff et al. report in The Journal of Cell Biology (11 June) that a sugar-coated variant of a protein called CD44 acts as the homing molecule for human hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs). The HPCs usually reside in bone marrow and serve as the source of all new blood cells but they also circulate in the bloodstream. They find their way back to the bone marrow by attaching to a protein called E-selectin, which is made by cells that line the blood vessels. The same mechanism allows cells in bone marrow transplants to find their way to their correct place in the bone marrow, even after the cells have been injected directly into the bloodstream. DM
Haemophilia treatment The results of the first human investigation of haemophilia A gene therapy (David Roth et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 7 June) has shown the procedure to be safe and well-tolerated and that the treatment, which employs the patients’ own cells, could be effective in reducing the occurrence of spontaneous bleeding – a frequent and potentially lethal symptom of the severe form of the disorder. The study, which used a nonviral gene therapy system, involved six patients with severe haemophilia A. Each patient was treated http://tibtech.trends.com
In case you have never noticed, the leaves on trees have a top and a bottom and both sides have different functions. For example, most photosynthesis takes place in chloroplast-packed cells on the top side of a leaf. Recent work in two papers (Randall Kerstetter, et al. and Jane McConnell et al. Nature, 7 June) has identified some of the first genes known to be invloved in differentiating top from bottom in plant leaves. The first paper describes the function of a gene called KANADI, which is expressed primarily on the underside of leaves; and, in the second paper, a gene called PHABULOSA is described, which is active in cells closer to leaves’ upper surfaces. DM
Fungus found innocent Phytophthora infestans causes late blight of potato, an outbreak of which caused the great Irish potato famine of the 1840s. The famine was a catastrophe, killing more than 1 million people and forcing twice that number to immigrate, thus changing the course of history. The haplotype of P infestans thought to be the culprit is termed 1b. However, a new study (Jean Ristaino et al., Nature, 7 June) reports that
haplotype 1b is not guilty. DNA fingerprinting analysis of 150-year-old leaves preserved from the Irish potato famine, found no trace of haplotype 1b. However, the analysis points to one of three other late blight haplotypes–none of which previously had been considered prime suspects. The specimens were collected in England and Ireland between 1845 and 1847 and stored at the Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew, UK), and other herbariums. DM
Gene chips accurately diagnose four complex childhood cancers Javed Khan et al. report for the first time in Nature Medicine (June issue) the use of gene expression microarrays and an analysis of the data using an artificial neural network (ANN) to differentiate between several closely-related types of childhood cancer. The four types of childhood tumours used in this study have a similar appearance under the microscope, which can lead to misdiagnosis and improper treatment. The study began by simultaneously analysing > 6000 known genes present in all cells. Among those, the researchers identified 41 genes expressed in the tumours that had not been previously associated with these diseases. Some of these gene products might be good targets for new drug treatments. DM
Molecular computers A prototype single molecule computer memory has been reported by researchers at Yale University (New Haven, CT, USA) and Rice University (Houston, TX, USA) (Applied Physics Letters, 4 June). The research teams describe how selfassembled monolayers of rod-like organic molecules, ‘wired’ between gold electrodes, can ‘flip’ between low- and high-conductivity states when a voltage pulse is applied. These two states are equivalent to ‘off’ and ‘on’, represented by 0s and 1s used in a computer’s binary coding. About 1000 molecules are switched simultaneously to transmit one bit of information, although potentially each molecule could be wired and switched separately. MJD
0167-7799/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.