2 Genes Have probable Link to Deadly Ovarian Cancer

Scientists say result s may lead to new therapies for ovarian clear cell carcinoma.
Mutations in two genes may be linked with one of the most deadly types of ovarian cancer, U.S. researchers have found.
In the study, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center looked for mutations in 18,000 protein-encoding genes in ovarian clear cell tumors from eight patients. The investigators starts 268 mutations in 253 genes, with an average of 20 mutations per tumor.
Further inquiry revealed that two genes  ARID1A and PPP2R1A were more commonly mutated than other genes. ARID1A mutations were present in 57 percent of tumors while PPP2R1A mutations were present in 7.1 percent of tumors, according to the report available in the Sept. 8 online edition of Science Express.
ARID1A is a gene whose manufactured goods normally suppresses tumors. PPP2R1A is a gene that, when altered, helps turn normal cells into tumor cells. The genes had not previously been linked to ovarian cancer, the researchers explained in a rumor release from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.
The findings "may provide opportunities for developing new biomarkers and therapies that target those genes," Nickolas Papadopoulos, associate professor of oncology and director of Translational Genetics at the Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics & Therapeutics at the cancer center, said in the news release.
Ovarian clear cell carcinoma, which accounts for about 10 percent of cancers that start in cells on the surface of the ovaries, mainly affects women aged 40 to 80 and is opposed to to chemotherapy, according to background information in the news release.

Potential effects of Asthma-Like Symptoms Spotted in Mice

Results may lead to new treatments for people with severe forms of the airway disorder, researchers say, a possible inherited basis for severe asthma has been recognized by researchers, and although the findings are based on a study in mice, the discovery may someday help people.
Asthma rates have been growing in recent years. In inclined people, the illness can be triggered by a number of environmental factors, including cigarette smoke, allergens and air pollution, senior researcher Marsha Wills-Karp, director of the division of immunobiology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, noted in a hospital news release.
In their revise, the researchers found that an inflammation-causing protein called interleukin-17 (IL-17A) is the major cause of severe asthma-like symptoms in pests. The animals used in the study had been bred to have a genetic similarity to humans with severe susceptibility to asthma.
The finding "suggests that at some point it may be possible to treat or prevent strict forms of asthma by inhibiting pathways that drive the production of IL-17A," Wills-Karp said in the news release.
Scientists naturally caution, however, that many discoveries in animal models do not translate into therapies for humans.