NIH Radio
Cellular damage from normal metabolism potentially causes cancer
Brief Description:
Changes to DNA exceed expectations in NIH study.
Transcript:
Akinso: Individual mutations, or changes to an organism’s DNA, are thought to be rare events that occur randomly. Now, new research has identified DNA regions in yeast and in some cancers that have a disproportionately high number of mutations. Dr. Dmitry Gordenin, a senior associate scientist at NIH, says this discovery came from a study using yeast to observe mutations caused by environmental damage.
Gordenin: We looked at how the universal properties of DNA effect accidental changes in DNA sequence. And scientist call such changes mutations. Mutations can cause disease and they can cause cancer.
Akinso: A high number of mutations is known as a mutation cluster. In the study, mutation clusters were produced by exposure to environmental toxins and through typical biochemical methods that occur in living cells. Dr. Gordenin explains that the findings represent an exception to the traditional view that mutations accumulate over time and may explain one of the ways cancer develops.
Gordenin: We found strong evidence supporting the clustered mutations and their association with single stranded DNA in the large datasets of mutations from three different human cancers. The DNA sequence surrounding clustered mutations in cancers suggested that specific proteins called APOBEC cytosine deaminases somehow damage our DNA. APOBEC enzymes contribute to our natural defenses against viruses, which is called innate immunity. Our work suggests that APOBECs are also mutating human chromosomal DNA. So the damage is coming from our normal physiology.
Akinso: Dr. Gordenin is optimistic that these mutation clusters will contribute to the understanding of genome stability, evolution and genetic disease. For more information this study, visit www.niehs.nih.gov.
About This Audio Report
Date: 7/05/2012
Reporter: Wally Akinso
Sound Bite: Dr. Gordenin
Topic: Cancer, yeast, mutation, clusters, DNA, metabolism, cells, cellular, genes, genome
Institute(s):
NIEHS
Additional Info:
Cellular damage from normal metabolism potentially causes cancer
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