Researchers Identify Cell Responsible for Retinoblastoma
A study conducted at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital has identified mature nerve cells which can cause retinoblastoma, a form of eye cancer that normally strikes children under three years of age.
The St Jude research team, led by Michael Dyer, PhD, arrived at their discovery by testing different populations of mice whose retinas lacked one or more of the Rb family of genes. Their microscopic and biochemical studies proved that when a mouse retina had reduced Rb-related function, fully differentiated cells could aggressively multiply, form tumors, and spread.
Until this discovery, scientists generally believed that fully matured nerves known as horizontal interneurons could not multiply like immature, undifferentiated cells.
While this finding is undoubtedly important for retinoblastoma research, it also has important implications for scientists involved in stem cell studies and investigations into neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease. As the report’s senior author explained,
“For the past 100 years, it’s been ingrained among scientists that differentiated mature nerves are so elaborate that they can’t divide, and if they try to divide, they undergo apoptosis. There was no exception to this rule until now. This is the first time that anyone has shown that under certain conditions, a fully mature and differentiated nerve can undergo cell division and multiply.”
Michael A. Dyer, PhD
Department of Developmental Neurobiology
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Results of the research are published in the Oct 19, 2007, edition of the journal Cell.
Related Links: American Cancer Society; National Cancer Institute; People Living With Cancer
Source: St Jude Children’s Research Hospital News
Related Podcast: Rb protein & cell cycle control from Northern Michigan University
Tags: NIH; NARSAD; ALSAC; Pew Scholar; University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis; University of Memphis ; leukocoria; Research to Prevent Blindness; Pearle Vision Foundation; The International Retinal Research Foundation; The Whitehall Foundation
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