USC researchers identify a key genetic mutation in lymphoma development
The study provides researchers with the clearest insight yet into why these breakages—called chromosomal translocations—occur at a specific points in the chromosome, says principal investigator Michael R. Lieber, M.D., Ph.D., Rita and Edward Polusky Professor in Basic Cancer Research at the Keck School of Medicine.
The study appears as the featured cover article in the June 12 issue of the journal Molecular Cell. The study is the second led by Lieber to appear on the cover of a Cell journal in the past six months.
“The new findings go to the heart of why cancers begin. This is an opportunity to see the very beginning step of human lymphoma,” Lieber says. “With this information, we can now begin to look at ways to interfere with this process in order to stop the lymphoma and to develop more targeted therapies for treatment.”
There are two types of lymphoma: B cell lymphomas and T cell lymphomas. Both B cells and T cells perform vital functions in the immune system by creating antibodies and destroying virus-infected cells. However, the beginning point, or inception, of most human lymphomas occurs when two chromosomes break and the resulting fragments are reassembled in an exchange.
Researchers specifically looked at T cell acute lymphoblastic lymphomas (ALL). ALL accounts for half of all childhood cancers under the age of five, and T cell ALL represents about 10 percent of ALL. The USC scientists identified a specific enzyme known as the RAG complex that occasionally cuts the chromosome at an off-target site, causing lymphocyte (blood) cells to proliferate uncontrollably. They showed that the RAG complex selects the wrong target largely because the proteins in which the wrong chromosome is wrapped (called chromatin) lures the RAG complex to the wrong site.
“The immune system is very good at its job,” Lieber says. “More than ninety-nine percent of the time it gets it right, but it only takes one mistake in one of a hundred million cells to cause a problem. “
The paper follows a similar study, published in the December issue of the journal Cell, in which Lieber and colleagues determined how the most common chromosomal translocation in B cell lymphoma occurs. Researchers at USC have been working for many years to understand the underlying mechanisms that cause blood cancers.
“The goal is to understand translocations in various different forms of lymphoma,” Lieber says. “The two papers cover more than half of all human lymphomas. That represents a major step forward in understanding this disease.”
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
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Los Angeles ran an op-ed by Bill Deverell of the USC College about looking to the past in order to move on to the future. “You can do better, Los Angeles. You’ve heard it before: admonishment from the lecture hall pulpit or the pages of a book or magazine. History matters. You should pay closer attention,” Deverell wrote. “The history of Los Angeles reflects and illuminates American and world history all at once. With a little effort, something powerful happens: historical sensibility provides perspective on the here and now. Who wouldn’t want that?” The column is the first in a series for the magazine’s new CityThink section, L.A. Observed reported.
SoCal Minds featured the USC Good Neighbors Campaign, in which USC faculty and staff donate money for programs benefiting the neighborhoods surrounding the USC campus. The program was launched under the direction of USC President Steven B. Sample in reaction to the Los Angeles riots, the story noted. The campaign raised a record-breaking $1.2 million in donations this past year, despite tough economic times, the article stated. The story reported that several university units had 100 percent participation, including the USC Rossier School, KUSC-FM, the USC Fisher Museum of Art, the Office of the Treasurer, the Office of the Senior Vice President, Administration, the Health Sciences Libraries and USCard Services.
CNN cited research conducted by Adam Rose of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development for USC’s Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events. Rose’s study found that the standard economic costs of the 9/11 attacks, estimated at $25 billion, were exceeded by the costs of behavioral reactions far from the site of the attack (for example, an additional $85 billion due to a decrease in demand for air travel).
Variety reported that the 22nd annual USC Libraries Scripter Award was given to “Up in the Air” novelist Walter Kirn and to USC alumnus Jason Reitman and Shelton Turner, who adapted Kirn’s book for the screen. In his acceptance speech, Reitman noted that his father, Ivan Reitman, used USC’s Doheny Memorial Library as a stand-in for the New York Public Library in “Ghostbusters.” The Wrap noted that Catherine Quinlan, dean of USC Libraries, emceed the ceremony.
National Public Radio’s “13.7” ran a commentary by K.C. Cole of the USC Annenberg School about the role of science in diplomacy. “We all know that the technology produced from scientific research can make international conflicts more deadly than ever. But can science help stop war?” Cole said. She mentioned that she recently took part in a USC Center on Public Diplomacy conference on science diplomacy and the prevention of conflict.
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