LIFE SCIENCES

>BY WILLIAM F. LOOMIS
Department of Biology
University of California,
San Diego
La Jolla, Calif.
"

Gene therapy of certain cancers has come a step closer. Neoplasia of retinoblastoma and osteosarcoma cells was suppressed by introducing a functional copy of the RB gene on a retrovirus vector. Unlike the original cell lines, the suppressed cells failed to form tumors when injected into nude mice.

H.-J. Huang, J.-K. Yen, J.-Y. Shew, P.-L. Chen, et al, “Suppression of the neoplastic phenotype by replacement of the RB gene in human cancer cells,” Science, 242 (4884), 1563-66, 16 December 1988.

" cAMP activates some protein kinases by binding to two sites on regulatory subunits such that they dissociate from the catalytic subunits. However, it turns out that an R^I subunit lacking one of the cAMP sites works almost as well as the complete subunit.

L.D. Saraswat, G.E. Ringheim, J. Bubis,...

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