Scientists make cancer-resistant mouse

[Al-khiyal]

November 28, 2007 -- After being fortified with a tumor-suppressing gene, mice bred by University of Kentucky researchers proved immune to cancer. The mice passed the immunity to their offspring, raising the possibility of hereditary cancer resistance in humans.

The gene at work, known as Par-4, helps cells self-destruct when they become cancerous. It was first identified in human prostate tumors, but operates in other cancers as well. The modified mice - which came from a strain that's normally vulnerable to the disease - resisted researchers' attempts to give them breast, pancreatic, head and neck cancer.

In the short term, bone marrow transplants of Par-4 producing cells could be tested as an alternative to risky chemical and radiation therapies in people. Those approaches destroy both healthy and diseased tissue, while Par-4's protein affects only cancer cells.

Intriguingly, however, the researchers tested the protein's effect by adding the Par-4 gene to mouse eggs, then implanting them in surrogate mothers. The cancer-resistant offspring passed resistance to their own offspring.

Active genetic modification of implanted human eggs - not just picking one with desirable genes, but adding new genes - has long been predicted, and probably won't happen anytime soon. But if and when the technique is refined and commercialized, Par-4 expression might be a great thing to have.

Scientists make cancer-resistant mouse

[Al-khiyal]

Cancer resistance in transgenic mice expressing the SAC module of Par-4

[Al-khiyal]

November 28, 2007 -- Mice carrying a gene which appears to make them invulnerable to cancer may hold the key to safer and more effective treatments for humans.

The new breed, created with a more active "Par-4" gene, did not develop tumours, and even lived longer, said the journal Cancer Research.

University of Kentucky researchers said a human cancer treatment was possible.

Cancer Research UK said that more research would be needed to prove it didn't just work in mice.

Par-4 was originally discovered in the early 1990s working inside human prostate cancers, and is believed to have a role in "programmed cell death", the body's own system for rooting out and destroying damaged or faulty cells.

The Kentucky team used an existing mouse breed known to be more vulnerable to cancers to test whether Par-4 could be used to fight them.

They introduced the gene to mouse eggs, and it was active in both the resulting pups - and their own offspring.

The mice with active Par-4 did not develop cancers, and lived slightly longer than those without the gene.

Dr Vivek Rangnekar, who led the research, said that the gene offered a potential way, unlike most other cancer treatments, of destroying cancer cells without harming normal cells.

"When a cancer patient goes to the clinic, they undergo chemotherapy or radiation and there are potential side effects associated with these treatments.

"We are thinking of this as a holistic approach that not only would get rid of the tumour, but not harm the organism as a whole."

He said that much more research would be needed, however, before a human treatment could be launched.

A spokesman for Cancer Research UK said: "Although at an early stage, research like this allows us to understand more about the faulty genes involved in cancer and throws open new avenues to explore for cancer treatment.

"It's important to remember that this work has only been done using genetically engineered mice, and more research is needed before we'll know if it can be translated to humans."

'Supermouse' bred to beat cancer

[Bent_Bladi]

La ilaha illa Allah!!! !! WOW!!!

Wa akheeran we're getting somewhere . So if the gene causes the cancerous cell to self destruct ya3ni it works on ALL kinds, ma hek? wowowoowowowow!!!

Wouldn't that STINK if the gene only worked for the mice...