Genes Contributing to Cell Growth Identified

Scientists have mapped hundreds of fruit fly genes contributing to cell growth and division, many of which might be related to cancer.

The group of scientists, led by Professor Jussi Taipale, are from the Molecular and Cancer Biology Research Program of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Finland (Helsinki, Finland; www.ltdk.helsinki.fi/cancerbio) and the National Public Health Institute of Finland (also in Helsinki). The researchers identified genes that contribute to cell division and cell growth by systematic silencing of the genes of the fruit fly Drosophila melangaster. The study was published in the February 2006 issue of Nature.

The process of cell division and growth is very similar in all multicellular organisms, from insects to humans. Drosophila cells are a suitable model system for understanding regulation of growth in human cells. Because regulation of cell growth is important for embryonic systems and for cancer it is important to understand the mechanisms involved.

This study belongs to the emerging field of systems biology, which aims to understand cellular mechanisms by carrying out large-scale experiments and combining data using bioinformatics. Genome-sequencing projects have revealed a large number of genes with unknown functions. Professor Taipale and colleagues identified a number of such genes, in addition to identifying the majority of known growth regulators. This will enable future studies on interactions of genes involved in cell growth.




Related Links:
Faculty of Medicine of the University of Finland
National Public Health Institute, Finland