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Discovery Of Novel Oncogenes And Tumour Suppressor Genes Via Genetic Interactions With Drosophila Cbl.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$396,760.00
Summary
Cancer is a complex genetic disease resulting from an accumulation of mutations that allow a cell to escape its normal growth controls. The cell can then multiply indefinitely to produce a tumour. We still only know the nature of some of these mutations, and the genes that they affect. Recently the fruitfly, Drosophila, has gained increasing importance in the discovery of new cancer genes and understanding how they function. The long history of genetic studies with this organism, and the recent ....Cancer is a complex genetic disease resulting from an accumulation of mutations that allow a cell to escape its normal growth controls. The cell can then multiply indefinitely to produce a tumour. We still only know the nature of some of these mutations, and the genes that they affect. Recently the fruitfly, Drosophila, has gained increasing importance in the discovery of new cancer genes and understanding how they function. The long history of genetic studies with this organism, and the recent completion of the DNA sequence of the entire genetic code of the fruitfly allows a wealth of experiments to be conducted on how mutations affect growth and development. We have used the fruitfly to investigate how a particular cancer gene, v-cbl, causes cells to lose growth control and are now using this organism in a systematic way to discover new cancer genes. We will then map these genes onto the human genome to determine if these genes are also responsible for human cancers.Read moreRead less
THE ROLE OF A NOVEL NEGATIVE CELL CYCLE REGULATORY PATHWAY DURING ANIMAL DEVELOPMENT
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$406,980.00
Summary
Cancer is a disease that is likely to affect 1-4 people at some point in their lifetime. Therefore, understanding what causes cancer is of major importance to medical science. Cancers arise through the accumulation of mutations that alter normal cell proliferation control, differentiation or apoptosis (programed cell death). Many genes involved in cancer have been identified, however, there are likely to be many more genes, that when disrupted or misexpressed can lead to cancer. We are intereste ....Cancer is a disease that is likely to affect 1-4 people at some point in their lifetime. Therefore, understanding what causes cancer is of major importance to medical science. Cancers arise through the accumulation of mutations that alter normal cell proliferation control, differentiation or apoptosis (programed cell death). Many genes involved in cancer have been identified, however, there are likely to be many more genes, that when disrupted or misexpressed can lead to cancer. We are interested in the regulation of cell proliferation, and have been studying this in the genetically amenable animal model system, Drosophila. Central to the control of cell proliferation in all organisms are the Cyclin dependent protein kinases. Cyclin E-dependent protein kinase is required to drive cells from the G1 (resting state) into S phase (where DNA replication occurs). Correct control of Cyclin E is important in limiting cell proliferation and many cancer causing mutations result in up-regulation of this critical cell cycle regulator and premature entry into the cell cycle. We have used a genetic approach using a weak mutation in Drosophila Cyclin E to isolate mutations in other important regulators of the G1 to S phase transition. This proposal focuses on one of these regulators, Phyl, and the proteins that function with it, Sina and Ebi, which act to target and lead to the degradation of key proteins that negatively regulate differentiation and that promote cell proliferation. In this proposal we seek to understand how the Ebi-Phyl-SIna protein complex functions to control cell proliferation in Drosophila. In addition, we will examine whether the Sina complex also acts to inhibit cell proliferation in the mouse. Due to the remarkable conservation of genes involved in cell proliferation control through evolution, this study is directly relevant to the control of cell proliferation and the development of cancer in humans.Read moreRead less
Role Of Snail Family Proteins In Male Fertility And Testicular Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$586,076.00
Summary
Male fertility requires production of healthy sperm in the testis. This project builds on our discoveries that testicular cells regulate gene activity via the Snail family of proteins during sperm development, and that interruption of their activities reduces fertility in mice and fruitflies. Snail proteins are also active in cancer cells. We propose to study the precise steps in sperm production affected by Snail proteins and how they affect the progression of testicular cancer.
Analysis Of The Scrib, Dlg And Lgl Tumour Suppressors In Cell Cycle Regulation Using The Drosophila Animal Model System
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$476,500.00
Summary
Cancer is a disease that is likely to affect 1-3 people at some point in their lifetime. Therefore, understanding what causes cancer is of major importance to medical science. Cancers arise through the accumulation of mutations that alter normal cell proliferation control, differentiation, cell death or cell movement. Many genes involved in cancer have been identified, however, there are likely to be many more genes, that when disrupted or misexpressed can lead to cancer. We are interested in th ....Cancer is a disease that is likely to affect 1-3 people at some point in their lifetime. Therefore, understanding what causes cancer is of major importance to medical science. Cancers arise through the accumulation of mutations that alter normal cell proliferation control, differentiation, cell death or cell movement. Many genes involved in cancer have been identified, however, there are likely to be many more genes, that when disrupted or misexpressed can lead to cancer. We are interested in the regulation of cell proliferation, and have been studying this in the genetically amenable animal model system, the vinegar fly, Drosophila. A key regulator of cell proliferation in all multicellular organisms is Cyclin E, which is required to drive cells from the G1 (resting state) into S phase (where DNA replication occurs). Correct control of Cyclin E is important in limiting cell proliferation and many cancer-causing mutations result in up-regulation of this critical cell cycle regulator. We have used a genetic approach to identify novel negative regulators of Cyclin E. This proposal focuses on a group of these regulators, the Drosophila tumour suppressors, Scrib, Dlg and Lgl, which act in a common genetic pathway to link cell polarity (cell shape) to cell proliferation. In mutants of these genes, cyclin E is up-regulated and inappropriate cell proliferation occurs. The aims of this proposal are to determine the signalling pathway and the transcription factors that act to upregulate cyclin E in scrib-dlg-lgl mutants. We will use the powerful genetics of Drosophila to examine candidate genes and to screen for novel genes involved in the upregulation of cyclin E in scrib-dlg-lgl mutants. The expected outcome of this project is to elucidate how Scrib-Dlg-Lgl act to control cell proliferation. scrib, dlg and lgl are present in mammals, therefore, this study is directly relevant to the control of cell proliferation and the development of cancer in humans.Read moreRead less
The Role Chromatin Remodeling Factors In Epigenetic Regulation Of Cardiac Arrhythmia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$854,135.00
Summary
Cardiovascular diseases kill an Australian every 11 minutes. Arrhythmias are of particular alarm since they can lead to significantly higher risk of serious strokes, heart failure, and overall mortality. We combine fruit fly genetics with next generation human genomics approaches to find and functionally validate new genes and mutations regulating arrhythmia in fruit flies and atrial fibrillation in humans, and this work can rapidly identify new avenues to pursue therapeutic intervention
Discovering Deep Sleep Genes And Determining Their Roles For Preserving Cognitive Functions
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$484,901.00
Summary
Our mental well-being is largely tied to our sleep quality, and most cognitive disorders are also associated with poor sleep processes. Yet, we still do not know how sleep quality safeguards cognitive function. We will uncover genes that play a restorative role during deep sleep, and determine how genetic control of these deep sleep genes modulates selective attention in an animal model. Our results will suggest novel therapies for treating sleep disorders and associated diseases of the brain.
Polo Kinase Function And The Treatment Of Drug Resistant Tumours.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$559,894.00
Summary
Death from cancer often results from tumours becoming resistant to chemotherapy drugs. Some cancers, particularly the common bowel cancers, have high levels of drug resistance that seem to be caused by loss of the controls that act during normal cell division. We will assess whether a recently developed therapeutic approach will kill these drug resistant cancer cells and identify factors that can be targeted to increase the potency and specificity of the therapy.
Identifying Mechanisms That Increase The Pool Of Brain Wiring Proteins
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$445,093.00
Summary
The computational power of the brain is driven by its interconnected nerve cells. Defects in these connections can lead to neurological disease. This proposal seeks to identify new mechanisms for generating specific connections between nerve cells and thus establishing the proper neural circuitry in a healthy brain.
Hormone-dependent Autophagy And Growth Signalling In Developmental Cell Death
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$613,447.00
Summary
Cell death is essential for cell and tissue homeostasis and its dysregulation is associated with many diseases. We discovered a new mode of cell death that involves autophagy. We have now identified that TGF-? signalling pathway, which has roles in numerous human pathologies, is involved in autophagy-dependent cell death. Our proposed studies will further characterise this important signalling axis and study its significance in development, normal physiology and disease.