A Novel Gene With a Potential Tumor Suppressor Phenotype

Abstract

This grant is aimed at identifying tumor suppressor genes, one of the major goals of contemporary cancer research. We have found a novel gene in Drosophila, tartaruga (tar) that is involved in repressing target genes of an important signaling pathway, the Wnt pathway. The tar gene is highly conserved and this grant addresses whether the mammalian homologs of tar are involved in cancer. We have obtained direct evidence that tar can act as a repressor of gene expression. We have characterized a mouse homolog of tar at the molecular level. We also found a second homolog of the gene in mouse and human DNA. We are in the process of generating mice with constitutive or conditional-loss-of function mutations in the gene. Constructs for these gene targeting experiments have been transfected and chimeric mice have been obtained. We have also mapped the human tar gene (s) on the genome.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2001
Accession Number
ADA403462

Entities

People

  • Roel Nusse

Organizations

  • Stanford University Medical Center

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Animals
  • Biomedical Research
  • Cassettes
  • Cells
  • Chimerism
  • Drosophila
  • Gene Expression
  • Genes
  • Genetic Phenomena
  • Genetics
  • Mutations
  • Neoplasms
  • Phenotypes
  • Stem Cells
  • Suppressors
  • Targeting
  • Targets

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Molecular Genetics