Newly Discovered Fruit Fly Gene Could Provide Clues to New Cancer Drugs

Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researchers are taking advantage of a quirk in the evolution of fruit fly genes to help develop new weapons against cancer. A newly discovered fruit fly gene is a simplified counterpart of two complex human genes that play important roles in the development of cancer and some birth defects. As this fruit fly gene evolved, it split in two. This split has made it easier to study, and the resulting insights could prove useful in developing new cancer drugs. "Evolution has given us a gift," said Andrew K. Dingwall, Ph.D., senior author of a paper that describes how his team identified and analyzed the split gene. Their findings are published in the June 1, 2012 issue of Development. Based on the importance of the findings, the paper was recently selected as an "Editor's Choice" in Science Signaling, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). When normal cells develop, they differentiate into particular types, such as bone cells or muscle cells, and reproduce in an orderly manner. The process is governed by genes and hormones that work in concert. Two of these genes are known as MLL2 and MLL3. Cancer cells, by contrast, undergo uncontrolled division and reproduction. Since 2010, a growing number of cancers have been linked to mutations in the MLL2 and MLL3 genes. These cancers include non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, colorectal cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer and a brain tumor called medulloblastoma. There also is evidence that MLL2 and MLL3 mutations are involved in breast and prostate cancers. The MLL2 and MLL3 genes are similar to one another. Each has more than 15,000 building blocks called base pairs -- more than 10 times the number found in a typical gene. Because these genes are so large and complex, they are difficult to study.