In Bergen, Norway
Not many things annoyed Linda, but she was annoyed by the Norwegian love of trolls.
Here’s something that strikes me as promising. Inevitably, it “needs more work”, especially clinical
trials, but I like it. The authors are
all from U.C., San Diego and are modest scientists – nobody used the word “breakthrough”. But maybe it is.
So, before you read this short blurb (I think it is a press
release), you need a refresher course in human genetics, which I am about to
deliver. If you quit here you are a
fink. Yes, that means you.
You all know that DNA consists of “code” for genes and a lot
more besides. Genes are “transcribed”
into stretches of RNA called messenger RNA, or mRNA. The mRNA often is extensively “processed”,
then transported out of the nucleus to things called ribosomes, where they are “translated”
into proteins. Yeah – you know all
that. This next might be new to some of
you, though:
Genes consist of two kinds of stretches of code: exons, which will be “expressed” as
protein, and introns, which won’t. To process a stretch of mRNA means in part to
cut out the introns, then stitch together the exons. The stitching can be quite variable. For instance, consider a molecular “sentence”
such as the following, where “blah” means a stretch of intron:
GoodblahgirlsblahlikeblahbadblahboysblahonblahTuesdays.
If you cut out all the “blahs” and stich the remainder
together you get “Good girls like bad boys on Tuesdays. If that mRNA is taken to a ribosome it can be
translated into some kind of protein.
However, the stitching mechanism has variability. For instance, it could create an mRNA that
reads “girls like boys”, or Girls like Tuesdays”. Sequence can be altered, so that “Boys like
bad girls on Tuesdays” is possible. Each
of these “isoforms” can lead to a unique protein.
And now that you know what “mRNA isoforms” means, you can
read the article:
What these folks have done is relatively simple – if you
have the hardware. They have compared he
mRNA isoforms of ovarian cancer patients with those of women free from cancer
(they are working with ovarian). Because
mRNA is created in profusion, they can find it relatively easily – apparently they
can use a Pap smear. Presence of
cancerous mRNA is (or can be) a biomarker.
Also, because these cancerous mRNAs are coding for proteins, it seems
likely that these proteins have something to do with the development of the
cancer – hence, provide a clue to various therapies.
Well, if you have read this far – good for you. As stated previously – the rest of you are
finks.
No comments:
Post a Comment