BRI Briefs
BWH Medical Staff News brings you BRI Briefs to share some of the latest research news coming out of the Biomedical Research Institute (BRI).
Over Stimulation of AMPK Can Lead to Cardiomyopathy
The protein AMPK controls the energy balance of the cells by sensing when a cell has low levels of energy and triggering that cell to generate more. Rong Tian, MD, PhD, and colleagues discuss in the April 12 online issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation the mechanisms by which human mutations of AMPK cause glycogen storage cardiomyopathy using a mouse model.
Tian and colleagues observed that a genetic defect of AMPK caused the protein to over-stimulate heart muscle cells to extract fuel, such as glucose, and store it as glycogen. The researchers note this effect of AMPK on the heart is clinically significant as AMPK is being considered as a potential treatment target for type 2 diabetes; therefore the benefits of stimulating AMPK are organ specific.
Grants from National Heart Lung Blood Institute and the American Heart Association funded this research.
Inaugural Award Honors Collaborative Team Science in Cancer Research
Mark A. Rubin, MD, Charles Lee, PhD, Sven Perner, MD, Francesca Demichelis, PhD, and a team of researchers from the University of Michigan received the inaugural American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Team Science Award in April at the organization's annual meeting in Los Angeles.
The award recognizes an outstanding interdisciplinary research team for its innovative science in advancing cancer research, detection, diagnosis, prevention or treatment. Selected for their landmark prostate cancer discovery, the BWH/University of Michigan research revealed that a majority of prostate cancers harbor recurrent gene fusions of the androgen-regulated gene TMPRSS2, with oncogenic transcription factors of the ETS family. This finding has profound clinical and biological implications for understanding prostate cancer and possibly other common solid tumors.
BRI Musculoskeletal Translational Research Awards Announced
The BRI Musculoskeletal Translational Research Center recently gave several groups of researchers awards to conduct six- to nine-month pilot studies related to the use of musculoskeletal biospecimens in areas ranging from tissue and blood repository to autopsy. The Biospecimens Task Force hopes these studies will improve research by evaluating existing biospecimens programs at the hospital for access to musculoskeletal biospecimens and by identifying needs for new programs or tissue banks.
Congratulations to awardees Peter Nigrovic, MD, Robert Padera, MD, PhD, Brian Liu, PhD, Paul Monach, MD, PhD, Robert J. Caiazzo, Jr., Oliver W. Tassinari, David A. Jones, MD, PhD, Abrar Qureshi, MD, MPH, John A. Abraham, MD, John E. Ready, MD, David M. Lee, MD, PhD, Laurence Higgins, MD, Mitchell B. Harris, MD, Timothy Bhattacharyya, MD, Roy Davidovitch, MD, Julie Glowacki, PhD, Meryl S. LeBoff, MD, Mark Vrahas, MD, and Shuanhu Zhou, PhD.
Gene Implicated in Mental Retardation also Influences Neuronal Gene Expression
Yujiang Shi, PhD, and colleagues report in the April 29 online issue of Nature that a protein previously implicated in mental retardation also influences gene expression by modifying histones. This finding may shed light on a molecular mechanism behind neurological disorders. Specifically, Shi and colleagues found that a protein called SMCX (or JARID1C) acts as a demethylating enzyme that represses transcription of certain neuronal genes. The gene encoding SMCX is frequently mutated in X-linked mental retardation, and mutations in SMCX might contribute to disease by impairing regulation of neuronal genes. The National Institutes of Health, Pew Foundation and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute funded this research.
BRI Briefs also appear on bwhbriresearchintranet.partners.org, the BRI Intranet, and on brighamandwomens.org under Public Affairs. Researchers are encouraged to submit their work for consideration through the BRI Public Affairs Kit available on the BRI Intranet.