Science / Medicine : Animal Version of Gene Promotes Human Cancer

Scientists have identified and analyzed an animal version of a gene that can promote human cancer, an advance that could define new targets for anti-cancer therapy, researchers say. The work revealed a normal role for the gene in a type of worm that lends itself to powerful research techniques, which may lead to insights into the cellular processes behind several human cancers, scientists said.

The research provides the first chance to use a living animal to determine the details of what a “ras” gene does in a cell and how it is controlled, said Princeton University scientist James Broach, who is familiar with the advances.

Ras genes normally help control cell growth and development, but little is known about how they do that, or how they are regulated. Abnormal ras genes are frequently observed in pancreatic, lung, colon and blood cell cancers.

In last week’s issue of the British journal Nature, H. Robert Horvitz, a biology professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and colleagues describe the ras gene’s role in development of female genitalia in a worm called Caenorhabditis elegans.

The scientists report that the worm gene acts as a switch, controlling the response of certain skin-like cells to signals from other cells. The signals are supposed to tell the cells to form genitalia called the vulva.