Undergrad's gene research may help prevent skin cancer

Arizona Daily Wildcat Paul Gause

That research, and much more, will be presented tomorrow during the eighth annual conference of the Undergraduate Biology Research Program.

Paul Gause, molecular and cellular biology senior, discovered in a Scottish university laboratory last summer that the same p-16 gene that prevents humans' healthy cells from dividing in melanoma is also present in a ras-transgenic mouse whose genetic mak eup is altered to make it comparable to a human body.

"The mouse has a transgene inserted into its DNA that causes the cancer to be expressed only in skin cells or pigment producing cells," Gause said.

Marianne Broome Powell, associate research scientist for the Arizona Research Center, said tumors that developed in the ras-transgenic mice matched those found in humans.

Gause said his research, funded in part by UBRP, could possibly help develop treatments and measures of prevention for melanoma, one of the "deadliest forms of skin cancer."

By using a mouse, thought to be a good model for cancer in humans, scientists will be able to test the effects of suntan lotions and natural chemicals on cancer prevention, Gause said.

Gause is part of UBRP, a program started by Michael Wells in 1988. Wells, now a professor in biochemistry, began the program with only 19 students.

"He wanted to teach students science by involving them in research," said Carol Bender, program director for molecular and cellular biology.

Gause also presented his research last December at "The Experimental Skin Carcinogenesis Conference" near Austin, Texas. UBRP paid for his trip.

The program also funded part of his research in Glasgow, Scotland last summer. Gause said he worked in a private research laboratory through Beatson Laboratories and the University of Glasgow's Department of Medical Oncology.

In preparation for this weekend's conference, Gause had to create an abstract as part of a poster session. The abstract sums up background information, all the research Gause has done and how he's done it.

Each of the presenters will participate in the poster session, which acts as a forum for researchers to share their works-in-progress.

The poster session will present the techniques Gause used in his research. FISH, an acronym for fluorescence in-situ hybridization, is the technique he used to identify the chromosome carrying the p-16 gene.

Gause said he used a fluorescent microscope to examine where the probe was. Once he found an alteration one of the mouse' chromosomes, he further examined the genes for that chromosome.

His result, which will be presented in his poster session tomorrow, was the gene labelled p-16. Gause said that same gene is found in humans. He said that in a healthy cell, the gene keeps the cell from dividing, and thus, multiplying.

Gause pointed out that in cancerous cells, this gene is either mutated or not present.

Gause said he hopes to learn what the other researchers are working on this weekend.

"It's always good to tell people what you're doing, what discoveries you're making," he said.

"You can only learn so much."

Bender said Gause is interested in continuing his education in medical school. He is currently an undergraduate researcher.

"I'd like my doctor to be research literate," Bender said. She said she hopes this weekend will bring more interest to undergraduate research.

Bender added that the deadline for this summer's undergraduate biology research projects is Feb. 3.

The conference runs from 8:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. tomorrow at the Life Sciences South Building.