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The Battalion
Page 7A • Thursday, April 3, 2003
Roundworm genes used in disease research
icroscopic worms may help stop epilepsy cancer
By Robert Stackhouse
THE BATTALION
ml
A Texas A&M researcher is conducting a study to expand
[knowledge of how genetics may determine behavior in micro-
Jscopic worms, and how this knowledge might be used to cure dis-
jeases such as epilepsy and even cancer.
Assistant professor of biology Dr. Luis Rene Garcia observes
[roundworms, a microscopic species of worm known as C. ele-
jgans, and watches for abnormal mating behavior caused by
[genetic abnormalities. He records the mutations that caused the
[erroneous behavior and studies them.
Studies involving roundworms have been conducted to locate
[evidence that certain genes result in certain types of behavior.
[Specifically, genetic material that results in seizures or the uncon-
Jtrollable growth of cells has been the main focus of such studies.
JUnderstanding how this process operates will lead to the ability
■to use gene therapy to keep someone from developing cancer or
■from experiencing epileptic attacks.
Garcia said he uses this gene analysis to understand how
■behaviors are genetically specified.
He focuses on mating behavior because it is instinctive behav-
[ior that is automatically transmitted from one generation to the
Inext. Garcia says he studies the roundworm in particular because
[it is a simple creature with simple biological systems.
“I chose to study this organism in particular because its nerv-
[ous system is small. It has less than 400 neurons,” he said of the
[species.
This quality of roundworm physiology makes it easy to link
[certain actions, such as mating behaviors, to specific neural cells.
[A short maturation process makes these tiny creatures ideal spec
imens as well, Garcia said.
“It grows rapidly from egg to adult in three days. I could per
turb an example and get a result in two days,” he said.
Certain mutations in these worms produce certain noticeable
leffects. These effects may include performing a behavior in the
absence of stimuli, such as a mate.
“I mutate the males so that they can’t perform the
mating behavior correctly. Then, I look for males who
display the behavior inappropriately,” Garcia said.
The physical elements that control these behaviors
in worms are similar to genes in higher-order organ
isms, such as humans, fellow researcher Dr. Maureen
Barr said.
“The behaviors that he (Garcia) studies are how
neurons and muscles communicate. The molecules
themselves may be conserved in evolutionary terms,”
she said.
The genes that are observed by noting deficient
behavior caused by mutation have homologs—genes
that are similar to those of another species—in people
in which mutations may have similar effects.
“When you mutate similar genes in higher organ
isms, you see seizures and pathologies,” Garcia said.
Comparing genes from roundworms to homolo
gous human genes is complicated, however, because
human genes are more complicated than their round-
worm counterparts.
“Molecules that regulate behavior in higher organ
isms may regulate more than one behavior,” Garcia
said.
Thus, different mutations of a gene could cause different dis
orders in worms and humans.
A firm understanding of malfunctioning genes in roundworms,
however, could provide insight into understanding human neuro
logical disorders such as epilepsy.
“(Garcia) is trying to build a model for seizures. He’ll use C.
elegans to figure out what types of genes are involved in epilep
tic seizures,” Barr said.
Dr. Paul Sternberg of Cal-Tech’s Biology Division said affect
ed behavior is not the only thing that stands to be learned from
research with C. elegans. Malfunctions with LET-23, a receptor
Alissa Hollimon • THE BATTALION
Dr. Luis Rene Garcia, assistant professor of biology, looks at a sample of C. elegans,
microscopic worms he is using to study how genes are passed from one generation
to another.
homologous with the human receptor for epidermal growth fac
tor, may show us how cancer develops.
“The types of mutations that activate LET-23-mediated signal
ing are analogous to mutations that contribute to human tumors
by activating proto-oncogenes,” Sternberg said. “Thus mutations
that abolish gene function and result in increased LET-23-medi-
ated signaling will define negative regulators and are analogous
to tumor-suppressor genes.”
Three genes that have been discovered using the LET-23-
mediated signaling method have human homologues. Analysis of
those genes will hopefully lead researchers to a tumor suppressor
gene in humans, Sternberg said.
>e Control it
ie Gerberdinf
want to find ft
. Health inve>:
lose who die t
ion, she said.
[/ Wiseman
gned with
Talent Agency, U
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Schrock
TWC# SI9l3y
Flu shots may prevent "
stroke, heart disease
By Stephanie Nano
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Flu shots may do more for
the elderly than fend off the flu
bug — they also protect against
heart disease and stroke, new
research shows.
Results of a large study of
more than 286,000 elderly,
appearing in Thursday’s New
England Journal of Medicine,
show hospital stays for heart dis
ease or stroke dur
ing two flu sea
sons were sub
stantially reduced
among those who
got flu shots.
“Influenza
may be even
worse than we
thought. And flu
shots might be
even better than
we thought,” said
researcher Dr.
Kristin Nichol of
the Minneapolis
Veterans Affairs
Medical Center.
New government figures
show that influenza contributes
to an average 36,000 annual
U.S. deaths.
Flu shots are now recom
mended for all adults 50 and
older. In 2001, about 63 percent
of those over 65 were vaccinated
in the United States.
The flu vaccine reduces
deaths overall and prevents
pneumonia in the elderly, and
some small studies have sug
gested that they help ward off
a
Influenza may be
even worse than we
thought. And flu
shots might be even
better than we
thought.
— Dr. Kristin Nichol
Minneapolis Veterans Affairs
Medical Center
heart disease and strokes.
The researchers checked
medical records for those over
65 enrolled in three managed-
care plans in the Minneapolis,
Portland, Ore., and New York
City areas during two flu seasons
— 1998-1999 and 1999-2000.
Of the 140,055 people studied in
the first flu season, 56 percent
were vaccinated. In the second,
60 percent of the 146,328
enrollees got flu shots.
They compared hospital stays
for those who got
shots and those
who didn’t. Flu
vaccination cut
hospitalizations
for heart disease
by 19 percent both
seasons, the find
ings showed.
Hospital stays for
stroke were
reduced by 16 per
cent the first sea
son and 23 percent
the second.
“There are
very few things
we can do in medicine that pro
vide these kinds of benefits over
a very short period of time. This
is huge,” said Nichol.
Dr. William Schaffner, head
of preventive medicine at
Vanderbilt University School of
Medicine, said the results need
to be investigated further but
reinforce an important message.
“It offers even more reassur
ance and affirmation as to the
importance of getting your flu
shot annually,” said Schaffner.
>9
M0i s< xweJFJeseJuxT i
You may qualify for a clinical research study if you have any of the
following conditions:
o.
NECK OR BACK PAIN
Recent onset of muscle pain in the neck or back with
spasm (involuntary contraction)
Must be 18 to 75 years of age
Up to $200 paid for time and travel.
FACIAL ACNE
Male and Female 12 years of age and older
Have mild to moderate facial acne
Reimbursement for time and travel.
tsco vierySearctt
^ A
'O' ^
<D
O
(979)776-1417 or (888)436-9586
Medical assessments, study-related diagnostic tests, and investigational medication
are provided to qualified participants at no charge.
Let's Co
Out To Eat
Thursdays in The Battalion
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