Protein Mutated In Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome Provides Stability

Main Category: Lymphoma / Leukemia
Also Included In: Genetics
Article Date: 07 Mar 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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Shwachman-Diamond syndrome (SDS) is an inherited disorder, caused by genetic mutations in the SBDS gene and characterized by, among other things, bone marrow failure and an increased risk of acute myeloid leukemia. New insight into the mechanisms underlying these symptoms has now been generated by a team of researchers from Children's Hospital Boston and the University of Washington, Seattle, who analyzed human bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) and skin fibroblasts.

In BMSCs from healthy individuals the SBDS protein was found to be located at the mitotic spindle, a structure that forms when a cell is dividing, where it bound to and stabilized microtubules, protein filaments that function as structural components of a cell. Consistent with a role for SBDS in mitotic spindle stability, BMSCs from individuals with SDS exhibited increased abnormal mitosis. Further studies using drugs that modify microtubule stability supported this idea and led the authors to suggest that microtubule-stabilizing agents might provide a new approach to the treatment of individuals with SDS.

TITLE: Mitotic spindle destabilization and genomic instability in Shwachman-Diamond syndrome

AUTHOR CONTACT:
Akiko Shimamura
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Source: Karen Honey
Journal of Clinical Investigation