Bloom’s Syndrome Gene Is Identified by Researchers
<i> From Times staff reports</i>
A team from the New York Blood Center has identified the gene that causes Bloom’s syndrome, a discovery that should provide new insight into the causes of cancer. Only about 200 people worldwide have Bloom’s syndrome, which causes the early onset of a broad spectrum of cancers, so that most victims die in their 20s.
Dr. James L. German and his colleagues report in the journal Cell that Bloom’s is caused by a mutation in a gene called BLM, which uncoils DNA when it is copied, used or repaired by the cell. The mutated form of BLM causes instability of the DNA and allows other genes to mutate as well, leading to cancer.
