Their paper, which will be released online ahead of print in Genes & Development, establishes that, like the other p53 family members p63 and p73, p53 exists in human cells in at least six different isoforms. Dr. Lane and colleagues identified a heretofore unrecognized internal promoter and alternative splice exons in p53 mRNA.

While further research is needed to delineate how the various p53 isoforms affect p53 tumor suppressor activity, the scientists did establish that some p53 isoforms can modulate p53 transcriptional activity and p53-induced cell death. Interestingly, Prof. Lane and colleagues observed that p53 isoforms are abnormally expressed in breast tumors presenting no mutation of the p53 gene. David Lane and Jean-Christophe Bourdon, group leader in David Lane's laboratory, consider the discovery of p53 isoforms to be "a major breakthrough in the understanding of cancer formation.

The determination of p53 isoforms expression in human cancers will help to identify patients at risk of developing aggressive cancer and to define their drug sensitivity in order to treat the patient with the most efficient drug."

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"The possibility that insulin may participate in its own regulation is intriguing, and adds to the growing evidence relating G-quartet formation and diabetes," she says. She plans to apply her technique to G-quartet-forming sequences that occur in other regions of human chromosomes and have been implicated in cancer, aging, and genetic diseases. Her goal is to increase understanding of the role of G-quartets in health and disease, leading to the identification of new biomarkers and medical therapies.

McGown is one of 18 Rensselaer researchers presenting at the ACS meeting in Washington, along with Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson, who will be speaking at a special event celebrating the 10th anniversary of the ACS Scholars Program. Her talk will focus on the urgent need to build the next generation of scientists, which she asserts requires fostering a national plan and a national will to succeed.

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