Deletion of Gene Enhancer DNA Improves Cancer Resistance in Mice with No Apparent Loss of Normal Tissue Function

The path to effective control of cancer involves finding common mechanisms that target many different types of cancer, departing from the present approach of one costly project for every subtype of cancer. Here, researchers undertake a novel approach to the challenge, finding a sizable region of the genome that can be deleted in mice with no apparent loss of normal function. The deletion improves cancer resistance to a degree that makes suppression of the contents of this region of the genome worth pursuing as the basis for therapies that might control many types of cancer. Our cells each contain close to 20,000 genes, which provide the instructions needed to build our bodies and keep us alive. At any one time in the life of the cell, only some of these genes are active. The activity of each gene is constantly regulated to allow the cell to respond to changes in its environment. Enhancers are sections of DNA, outside of the genes, that act as molecular switches controlling the activity of genes. A gene can have many such enhancers; each enhancer is linked to a particular set of signals and having multiple enhancers allows the same gene to be activated by different signals in different tissues in the body. Changes to enhancers can have serious consequences. By altering the activity of genes, an enhancer can have widespread effects on the health and behavior of a cell, including transforming it from healthy to cancerous. The small differences in enhancers also m...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs