Scouring the genome of adenoid cystic carcinoma
Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a slow-growing and often fatal malignancy that can occur at multiple organ site, but is most frequently found in the salivary glands. The primary treatment is surgical removal; however, the majority of patients develop metastatic disease. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers led by Andrew Futreal at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, MA, performed a type of genetic sequencing known as whole exome sequencing of 24 ACC cases. They identified a genetic translocation that can precipitate disease and determined that a large number of disease-associated mutations occurred in genes that modify DNA. In the accompanying commentary, Henry Frierson, Jr. of the University of Virginia emphasizes that identifying individual mutations will aid the development of personalized therapy.
TITLE: Whole exome sequencing of adenoid cystic carcinoma
AUTHOR CONTACT:
P. Andrew Futreal
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, GBR
Phone: 7137944764; E-mail: AFutreal@mdanderson.org
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/67201?key=d9e8a757b7c521272b6f
ACCOMPANYING COMMENTARY
TITLE: Mutation signature of adenoid cystic carcinoma: evidence for transcriptional and epigenetic reprogramming
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Henry Frierson
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
Phone: (434) 924-9171; E-mail: hff@Virginia.edu
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/69070?key=b1da65c50c2dc7a2e200
Variants in the SIM1 gene are associated with severe obesity
Although body weight is largely determined by lifestyle factors, increasingly research is revealing that genetics also play an important role in determining an individual's susceptibility to obesity. Identifying the mutations that underlie the fraction of obese patients with monogenic obesity can help us to understand complex processes like metabolic rate, eating behavior, growth, and fat storage. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, two groups identified obesity-linked mutations in the gene SIM1. Sadaf Farooqi and colleagues at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, England, identified thirteen SIM1 mutations in obese patients, and found that reduced SIM1 function correlated with increased food intake and altered nervous system dysfunction. In an independent study, Philippe Froguel and colleagues at Imperial College London identified eight SIM1 mutations in morbidly obese adults and in patients with a disorder resembling Prader-Willi syndrome. In the patients studied, loss of SIM1 function was associated with inherited obesity. Taken together, these studies confirm a strong link between SIM1 dysfunction and obesity.
TITLE: Rare variants in single-minded 1 (SIM1) are associated with severe obesity
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Sadaf Farooqi
Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, GBR
Phone: 44-1223-762-634; Fax: 44-1223-762-657; E-mail: isf20@cam.ac.uk
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/68016?key=feaa61c9a393337a621e
ACCOMPANYING ARTICLE
TITLE: Loss-of-function mutations in SIM1 contribute to obesity and Prader-Willi-like features
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Philippe Froguel
Imperial College London, London, GBR
Phone: +44 (0)20 8383 3989; Fax: +33-320.87.7229; E-mail: p.froguel@imperial.ac.uk
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/68035?key=f88789a26f0ff48e9899
Vitamin B3 blocks cyst formation in a mouse model of polycystic kidney disease
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is an inherited systemic disorder caused by mutations in PKD1 or PKD2 that predominately affects the kidneys and is characterized by the formation of cysts in the kidneys and other organs. Xiaogang Li and colleagues at the University of Kansas Medical Centr used a mouse model of ADPKD to explore the role of the protein sirtuin 1 in cyst formation. They found that inhibition of sirtuin 1 activity using vitamin B3 can reduced cyst formation in the kidneys of ADPKD mice. These findings suggest that therapeutics targeting sirtuin 1 could potentially be used to treat ADPKD.
TITLE: Sirtuin 1 inhibition delays cyst formation in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Xiaogang Li
University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA
Phone: 913-588-2731; E-mail: xli3@kumc.edu
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/64401?key=c91bce99794e2ba22c42
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
TITLE: Dependence receptor UNC5D mediates nerve growth factor depletion-induced neuroblastoma regression
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Akira Nakagawara
Chiba Cancer Center Research Institute, Chiba, UNK, JPN
Phone: 81-43-264-5431; Fax: 81-43-263-8175; E-mail: akiranak@chiba-cc.jp
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/65988?key=9274466c15dd91717819
TITLE: Nanoparticle clearance is governed by Th1/Th2 immunity and strain background
AUTHOR CONTACT:
James Bear
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Phone: 919-966-5471; E-mail: jbear@email.unc.edu
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/66895?key=5c1c066faa651b34bfee
TITLE: CD4+ follicular helper T cell infiltration predicts breast cancer survival
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Karen Willard-Gallo
Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels, UNK, BEL
Phone: +32-2-541-3739; Fax: +32-2-541-7325; E-mail: kwillard@ulb.ac.be
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/67428?key=db12ebaa863498f02754
TITLE: iPSC derived beta cells model diabetes due to glucokinase deficiency
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Dieter Egli
The New York Stem Cell Foundation, New York, NY, USA
Phone: 212-851-5422; E-mail: de2220@columbia.edu
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/67638?key=f31a050a36b75d7bf98d
TITLE: Dysregulation of voltage-gated sodium channels by ubiquitin-ligase NEDD4-2 in neuropathic pain
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Hugues Abriel
University of Bern, Bern, CHE
Phone: +41316320998; E-mail: Hugues.Abriel@dkf.unibe.ch
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/68996?key=8b2752687e6629aee2af
TITLE: CpG-depleted adeno-associated virus vectors evade immune detection
AUTHOR CONTACT:
James M. Wilson
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone: 215-898-0226; Fax: 215-494-5444; E-mail: wilsonjm@mail.med.upenn.edu
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/68205?key=b093ba526b8f2c900eb7
Journal
Journal of Clinical Investigation