A Novel Gene with a Potential Tumor Suppressor Phenotype
Abstract
This grant was aimed at identifying tumor suppressor genes, one of the major goals of contemporary cancer research. A promising new approach in these efforts is to take advantage of the fact that growth regulatory genes can be easily identified in the fruit fly Drosophila and that such genes are highly conserved in evolution. 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 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 have generated mice with constitutive or conditional-loss-of-function mutations in the gene. We demonstrated that the tar gene is essential for normal development. We have also mapped the human tar gene(s) on the genome.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA410852
Entities
People
- Roel Nusse
Organizations
- Stanford University