PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Sonic Hedgehog protein causes DNA damage and the development child brain tumors

Sonic Hedgehog protein causes DNA damage and the development child brain tumors
2014-10-14
(Press-News.org) Scientists at the IRCM and the University of Montreal discovered a mechanism that promotes the progression of medulloblastoma, the most common brain tumour found in children. The team, led by Frédéric Charron, PhD, found that a protein known as Sonic Hedgehog induces DNA damage, which causes the cancer to develop. This important breakthrough will be published in the October 13 issue of the prestigious scientific journal Developmental Cell. The editors also selected the article to be featured on the journal's cover.

Sonic Hedgehog belongs to a family of proteins that gives cells the information needed for the embryo to develop properly. It also plays a significant role in tumorigenesis, the process that transforms normal cells into cancer cells.

"Our team studied a protein called Boc, which is a receptor located on the cell surface that detects Sonic Hedgehog," explains Lukas Tamayo-Orrego, PhD student in Dr. Charron's laboratory and co-first author of the study. "We had previously shown that Boc is important for the development of the cerebellum, the part of the brain where medulloblastoma arises, so we decided to further investigate its role."

"With this study, we found that the presence of Boc is required for Sonic Hedgehog to induce DNA damage," adds Dr. Charron, Director of the Molecular Biology of Neural Development research unit at the IRCM. "In fact, Boc causes DNA mutations in tumour cells, which promotes the progression of precancerous lesions into advanced medulloblastoma."

"Our study shows that when Boc is inactivated, the number of tumours is reduced by 66 per cent," says Frederic Mille, PhD, co-first author of the article and former postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Charron's research unit. "The inactivation of Boc therefore reduces the development of early medulloblastoma into advanced tumours."

Medulloblastoma ranks among the leading causes of cancer-related mortality in children. Current treatments include surgery, as well as radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Although the majority of children survive the treatment, radiation therapy damages normal brain cells in infants and toddlers and causes long-term harm.

"As a result, many children who undergo these treatments suffer serious side effects including cognitive impairment and disorders," states Dr. Charron. "Our results indicate that Boc could potentially be targeted to develop a new therapeutic approach that would stop the growth and progression of medulloblastoma and could reduce the adverse side effects of current treatments."

INFORMATION:

About the Research Project This research project was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Cancer Society and the Cancer Research Society. Other authors from the IRCM include Martin Lévesque (co-first author), Julie Cardin, Nicolas Bouchard, and Luisa Izzi. The project was also conducted in collaboration with the laboratories of Stefan Pfister in Heidelberg, Germany, and Michael Taylor in Toronto. For more information, please refer to the article summary published online by Developmental Cell: http://www.cell.com/developmental-cell/abstract/S1534-5807(14)00520-6.

About Frédéric Charron Frédéric Charron is an Associate IRCM Research Professor and Director of the Molecular Biology of Neural Development research unit. Dr. Charron is Associate Research Professor in the Department of Medicine (accreditation in molecular biology) and Adjunct Member in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Montreal. He is also Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine (Division of Experimental Medicine), the Department of Biology, and the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at McGill University. In addition, he is a member of the McGill Integrated Program in Neuroscience, the Montreal Regional Brain Tumor Research Group at the Montreal Neurological Institute, and the Centre of Excellence in Neurosciences (CENUM) at the Université de Montréal. He obtained his PhD in experimental medicine from McGill University. Dr. Charron is a Senior Research Scholar from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS). For more information, visit http://www.ircm.qc.ca/charronlab.

The University of Montreal is officially known as Université de Montréal.


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Sonic Hedgehog protein causes DNA damage and the development child brain tumors

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Cautious optimism as childhood obesity rates in Ireland plateau

2014-10-14
Childhood overweight and obesity rates have plateaued in primary school aged children in the Republic of Ireland, reveals research published today in the open access journal BMC Public Health. The study found that although obesity rates remain high, there is evidence that they have stabilised and may be beginning to fall. During the last three decades of the 20th century, a two to three fold increase in overweight and obesity prevalence in school age children was reported across regions in North America and Western Europe. It was estimated that by the year 2000, 25-33% ...

Stenting safe and effective for long-term stroke prevention

2014-10-14
Using stents to keep neck arteries open is just as effective as invasive neck surgery for long-term prevention of fatal and disabling strokes, reports an international trial led by UCL (University College London) funded by the Medical Research Council and Stroke Association. The research paper, published today in the Lancet, was authored by researchers from UCL, Basel University, Switzerland, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the University Medical Center Utrecht, Netherlands, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Newcastle University. The ...

Oral health problems in elite athletes 'must be addressed'

2014-10-14
Poor oral health affecting athletes' general health and performance shows 'no signs of improvement' and must be remedied, say a group of UCL-led health experts and sporting bodies. In a consensus statement published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the authors call for action to tackle poor oral health among athletes. They say that simple measures such as encouraging better brushing and flossing could provide the same marginal performance gains as expensive physical therapies. The statement came out of the April 2014 Oral Health and Performance in Sport collaboration ...

High carb diet, acidic sports drinks and eating disorders take toll on athletes' teeth

2014-10-14
But diet is not the only culprit, says the Statement. There is little in the way of education or encouragement to help athletes appreciate the importance of good dental health on their training and performance, it says. The Consensus Statement, which draws on a comprehensive review of the published evidence and a recent symposium on the lessons of the London 2012 Olympic Games, is intended as a call to action. The UK and North American authors, all experts in dental health and sport and exercise medicine, point out that dental consultations accounted for almost a third ...

Nearly 1 in 3 UK lung cancer patients dies within 3 months of diagnosis

2014-10-14
The findings suggest that family doctors may not be picking up the signs of lung cancer and investigating them as appropriately as they might, or promptly enough, say the researchers. The UK lags behind other countries in survival rates for lung cancer, a gap that has largely been attributed to late diagnosis of the disease. In a bid to find out more about the factors in primary care associated with these figures, the researchers analysed family doctors' (GPs') investigation of lung cancer between 2000 and 2013. They used data from The Health Improvement Network (THIN), ...

Some sections of the San Andreas Fault system in San Francisco Bay Area are locked, overdue

2014-10-14
SAN FRANCISCO – Four urban sections of the San Andreas Fault system in Northern California have stored enough energy to produce major earthquakes, according to a new study that measures fault creep. Three fault sections – Hayward, Rodgers Creek and Green Valley – are nearing or past their average recurrence interval, according to the study published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA). The earthquake cycle reflects the accumulation of strain on a fault, its release as slip, and its re-accumulation and re-release. Fault creep ...

Tip sheet from Annals of Internal Medicine Oct. 14, 2014

2014-10-14
1. Experts urge cautious use of experimental Ebola drugs While a World Health Organization (WHO) advisory panel says it is ethical to use experimental medications and vaccines on Ebola patients, experts caution that these drugs are not without risks, and physicians must carefully triage patients or risk serious adverse events, according to a commentary being published in Annals of Internal Medicine. The WHO's epidemic-specific conclusion mandates that health care professionals employ particular ethical standards (fairness of dissemination, patient consent, physician nonmaleficence) ...

Study reports on medical resident knowledge of High Value Care via exam vignette

2014-10-14
Philadelphia, October 14, 2014 -- High Value Care sub-scores from the Internal Medicine In-Training Examination (IM-ITE) reflect the importance of training medical residents to understand the benefits, harms, and costs of tests and treatments, according to a study published today in Annals of Internal Medicine. The IM-ITE is a multiple-choice exam developed by the American College of Physicians (ACP) in collaboration with the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) to help residents along with their program directors assess their knowledge of internal medicine ...

Living near major roads may increase risk of sudden cardiac death in women

2014-10-13
Living close to a major road may increase women's risk of dying from sudden cardiac death, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. "It's important for healthcare providers to recognize that environmental exposures may be under-appreciated risk factors for diseases such as sudden cardiac death and fatal coronary heart disease," said Jaime E. Hart, Sc.D., study lead author and an instructor in medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. "On a population level, living near a major roadway ...

Guideline offers direction in genetic testing for certain types of muscular dystrophy

2014-10-13
MINNEAPOLIS – A new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) recommends guidance on how doctors should evaluate the full picture—from symptoms, family history and ethnicity to a physical exam and certain lab test results—in order to determine what genetic tests may best diagnose a person's subtype of limb-girdle or distal muscular dystrophy. The guideline is published in the October 14, 2014, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

[Press-News.org] Sonic Hedgehog protein causes DNA damage and the development child brain tumors