Share

Penn talks at ASCB touch on cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and MD

WASHINGTON, DC – Among the 72 posters, lectures, and mini-symposia given by University of Pennsylvania researchers at the ASCB annual meeting are talks that present new research findings on the molecular workings of several types of diseases.

The 47th annual meeting of the American Society of Cell Biology takes place on December 1-5, 2007 in Washington, D.C.

Some highlights are:

• Huntington's Disease: A new role has been discovered for huntingtin (Htt), the defective protein in Huntington's Disease. Htt is crucial for the movement of packets inside cells that recycle and transport important molecules. Disruption of this movement by mutant Htt may help explain the nerve degeneration seen in Huntington's disease. These findings are presented by J. P. Caviston and E. L. F. Holzbaur of the Department of Physiology. (#2091, Poster 12/4)

• Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS): Nerve degeneration diseases such as ALS may be caused by disruption of molecular signaling, a normal process that involves transport of critical signal molecules from the nerve synapse into the nerve cell body. The study was conducted by E. Perlson, J. Ross, K. Wallace, R. Dixit, G. Jeong, R. Kalb, and E. L. Holzbaur of the Department of Physiology. (#1659, Poster, 12/4)

• Muscular Dystrophies (MD): Some MDs are caused by the failure of muscle cells to adhere to a structural scaffold so that they can withstand cell-generated tension. Paxillin, a protein that is more abundant in some muscular dystrophies, may cause the dystrophic cells to be overly tense. This study was conducted by M. Tewari, S. Sen, A. Engler, M. Zad, and D. E. Discher of the School of Arts and Sciences, P. Acousta and H. L. Sweeney of the Pennsylvania Muscle Institute and Department of Physiology, and E. Barton of the Dental School. (#1389, Poster, 12/3)

• Cancer: An enzyme required for normal growth and development, called ATE1, may be a tumor suppressor. Cells from mice that had the ATE1 gene knocked out were able to cause tumors when transplanted into normal mice. This finding is presented by R. R. Rai and A. Kashina of the Animal Biology Department. (#1533, Poster, 12/3)

• Cancer: A protein called Rap1 is involved in tumor cell migration. It is located in cell motile “feet,” and is over-expressed in surgical specimens of infiltrating cancers of the breast. This study was conducted by W. S. Y. Lee and N. Kushnir of the Department of Microbiology, D. K. Furstenau and M. J. L. Dela Cruz of the Department of Surgery, and M. A. Guvakova of both departments. (#398, Poster, 12/2)

Editor’s Note: Use presentation number and date listed after each entry to locate the Penn talks for your meeting itinerary.

PENN Medicine is a $3.5 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn's School of Medicine is currently ranked #3 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report's survey of top research-oriented medical schools; and, according to most recent data from the National Institutes of Health, received over $379 million in NIH research funds in the 2006 fiscal year. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System includes three hospitals — its flagship hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, rated one of the nation’s “Honor Roll” hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center — a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home care and hospice.

Share

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.