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Parkinson's gene linked to lung cancer

Date:
January 29, 2015
Source:
Medical College of Wisconsin
Summary:
A gene that is associated with lung cancer has been identified by researchers. Through whole exome sequencing, they identified a link between a mutation in PARK2, a gene associated with early-onset Parkinson's disease, and familial lung cancer.
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Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), in collaboration with other colleagues of the Genetic Epidemiology of Lung Cancer Consortium (GELCC), have identified a gene that is associated with lung cancer.

The findings are published in American Journal of Human Genetics. Through whole exome sequencing, researchers identified a link between a mutation in PARK2, a gene associated with early-onset Parkinson's disease, and familial lung cancer.

The researchers sequenced the exomes (protein coding region of the genome) of individuals from a family with multiple cases of lung cancer. They then studied the PARK2 gene in additional families affected by lung cancer.

"While this specific mutation is very rare in the general population, there was a significant association between the PARK2 mutation we studied and the families with multiple cases of lung cancer," said Donghai Xiong, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology at MCW and the lead author on the paper.

"These results implicate this specific mutation as a genetic susceptibility factor for lung cancer, and provide an additional rationale for further investigations of this gene and this mutation for evaluation of the possibility of developing targeted therapies against lung cancer in individuals with PARK2 variants," added Ming You, MD, PhD, the Joseph F. Heil Jr. Professor of Oncogenesis at MCW and Director of the MCW Cancer Center.


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Materials provided by Medical College of Wisconsin. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Donghai Xiong, Yian Wang, Elena Kupert, Claire Simpson, Susan M. Pinney, Colette R. Gaba, Diptasri Mandal, Ann G. Schwartz, Ping Yang, Mariza de Andrade, Claudio Pikielny, Jinyoung Byun, Yafang Li, Dwight Stambolian, Margaret R. Spitz, Yanhong Liu, Christopher I. Amos, Joan E. Bailey-Wilson, Marshall Anderson, Ming You. A Recurrent Mutation in PARK2 Is Associated with Familial Lung Cancer. The American Journal of Human Genetics, 2015; DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.12.016

Cite This Page:

Medical College of Wisconsin. "Parkinson's gene linked to lung cancer." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 January 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150129125513.htm>.
Medical College of Wisconsin. (2015, January 29). Parkinson's gene linked to lung cancer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150129125513.htm
Medical College of Wisconsin. "Parkinson's gene linked to lung cancer." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150129125513.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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