Australian scientists uncover potential cancer cause 9 August 2010 Australian scientists have uncovered a mutation in stem cells that may be linked to the development of leukaemia, breast and colon cancer.
The research team, led by Dr Peter Papathanasiou from The Australian National University in Canberra and Associate Professor Andrew Perkins from The University of Queensland, recently completed a three-year screening project which looked for the genes that control the development and turnover of stem cells. These findings have been reported in Blood, the prestigious journal published by the American Society of Hematology. One of the major discoveries of the study was a novel DNA mutation in the c-Myb gene, which has previously been linked to a number of different cancer types. “We've shown that blood stem cells with this genetic mutation behave the same way as those present in human bone marrow diseases, including diseases that can evolve into leukaemia,” said Dr Papathanasiou said. “By understanding more about the genetic blueprint of these kinds of disorders, we can start to develop new ways of targeting diseases,” Dr Perkins added. He said that there is currently no treatment for this group of blood diseases, but the discovery of the mutation provides news avenues for investigation. This project was the first in the world to mutate the mammalian genome in a specific search for novel genetic regulators of stem cells. More information |