Finding hints at novel target for Ewing sarcoma therapy

Date:
July 16, 2020
Source:
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Summary:
A genetic code-reading machine that is overactive in the pediatric
cancer Ewing sarcoma causes cell structures called nucleoli to break
up, researchers found. A team will study how to take advantage of
this finding therapeutically.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
New insights into Ewing sarcoma, an aggressive childhood cancer, were
published July 15 in the journal Nature. Researchers from the Long
School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at
San Antonio contributed to the study.


========================================================================== Ewing sarcoma is a bone and soft tissue cancer that primarily affects
children and adolescents. The discovery, made by scientists at the
University of Toronto, relates to cell structures called nucleoli and
a physical change they undergo called phase separation.

The Toronto team observed that to form normal nucleoli, a structure must
be made in the DNA. This is accomplished by the delicate balance of two different, but opposing, genetic code-reading machines. If these systems
are not in balance, nucleoli lose their form and break up into smaller entities, the team found.

Study author Alexander Bishop, DPhil, of UT Health San Antonio, with team members at the Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute, previously
showed that one of the genetic code-reading machines is overactive in
Ewing sarcoma.

In the newly published study, they confirmed that, in Ewing sarcoma,
this overactivity causes the nucleoli to break up into smaller entities.

"We are working now to better understand the impacts of this biology
in Ewing sarcoma and how we can take advantage of it therapeutically,"
Dr. Bishop said.

Dr. Bishop joined UT Health San Antonio in 2005. He is an associate
professor in the Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy of the Long
School of Medicine, is a researcher in the university's Greehey Institute,
and is a member of the Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio
MD Anderson.

Funding for the UT Health San Antonio investigators is from the
U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Texas_Health_Science_Center_at_San_Antonio.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Karan J. Abraham, Negin Khosraviani, Janet N. Y. Chan, Aparna
Gorthi,
Anas Samman, Dorothy Y. Zhao, Miling Wang, Michael Bokros, Elva
Vidya, Lauren A. Ostrowski, Roxanne Oshidari, Violena Pietrobon,
Parasvi S.

Patel, Arash Algouneh, Rajat Singhania, Yupeng Liu, V. Talya
Yerlici, Daniel D. De Carvalho, Michael Ohh, Brendan C. Dickson,
Razq Hakem, Jack F. Greenblatt, Stephen Lee, Alexander J. R. Bishop,
Karim Mekhail.

Nucleolar RNA polymerase II drives ribosome biogenesis. Nature,
2020; DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2497-0 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200716122956.htm

--- up 1 day, 1 hour, 55 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1337:3/111)