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June 23, 1992, NIH Record, Vol. XLIV, No. 13

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June 23, 1992, NIH Record, Vol. XLIV, No. 13 June 23, 1992 Vol. XLIV No. 13 "Still U.S. Department of Health The Second and Human Services Best Thing About Payday" National Institutes of Health 'The Year of Women'e Recoti� NewBy Susan CancerJenks and Frances Therapy Taylor Applied To Brain Tumors in Animals By Carla Garnett In a new application of gene therapy, NIH Women in Science Careers Vow to Take Charge, Ride the Tide scientists have borrowed a gene from the her­ Nearly all the scientists, physicians and pesvirus, inserted it directly into brain tumors academicians assembled to speak at the recent forum on women in science careers had some­ in animals and destroyed the tumors with an antiviral drug. Results of the study, conducted thing basic in common with more than by intramural investigators at NCI and 90 percent of their audience-they were NINDS appeared in the June 12 issue of female. Science. By contrast, the discussion focused on an "Essentially, what we've done is change a area that has been primarily dominated by males-upper-echelon positions in biomedfcal tumor genetically, so that it's like a her­ NIH's pesvirus," said Dr. Kenneth Culver, the NCI careers. Sponsored by Office of Research on Women's Health, the 2-day scientist who conceived the new gene therapy Dr. Vivian Pinn, director of NIH's Office of technique. "Potentially, this approach may workshop "Women in Biomedical Careers: Research on Women's Health, greeted participants have wide application to many other types of Dynamics of Change" began to fill in the at the recent workshop, "Women in Biomedical tumors. framework formed at ORWH's March public Careers: Dynamics of Change." "These results show that gene therapy is hearing. Participants knew the task was for­ effective and nontoxic in eliminating brain midable; simple statistics tell the story. vailing sentiment at the meeting was fresh: tumors in rats," said neurosurgeon Dr. According to numbers presented at the 1992 represents a window of opportunity for Edward H. Oldfield. "Our next step is to test hearing by the Washington-based Feminist women in biomedical careers-in all careers, this promising treatment in humans to learn if Majority Foundation, 64 percent of United essentially-and for once the shutters are wide it can help people with incurable brain can­ States medical school students in 1990 were open. cer." Oldfield, chief of the NINOS Surgical male; men made up 79 percent of American "We know the problems," said Dr. Vivian Neurology Branch, and his neurosurgical col­ medical school faculty; 84 percent of the coun­ Pinn, ORWH director, in opening remarks. league Dr. Zvi Ram, were instrumental in try's physicians were men; and there was not "We're not here to dwell on the past, but to developing the application of this idea for the one female dean among all U.S. medical propel (ourselves) into the future." treatment of experimental brain tumors in schools. Latest census figures show that In testament to the scope and importance of animals. 51 percent of the country is female. the problem, nearly every major medical insti­ (See CANCER, Page 2) But that was all old news, really. The pre- (See WOMEN, Page 4) By Gregory Wilson DCRT Collaborates on Software to Make Sense of Sequences ByLight Jo Bagley Therapy Offers Promise For Treatment of Papillomas In the Olympic high jump, when the ath­ Recently, biologists and computer special­ letes clear the bar at one height, the bar is ists at the Division of Computer Research and Revision of an old treatment technique has moved up, and a new goal is set for the entire Technology have been working with colleagues given new hope to those who suffer from the field of competitors. Applying modern com­ around the nation to develop software tools to rare but potentially deadly disease of recurrent puting technology to scientific inquiry is help interpret genetic sequences. Gene laryngeal papilloma (RLP). RLP, a disease that similar; accomplishments beget new goals. sequencing has become an intense area of affects infants and small children as well as When biomedical researchers and computer research worldwide, but after genes are adults, results from the human papillomavirus scientists work together to solve today's prob­ sequenced and the information collected in a (HPV), which causes wart-like tumors to grow lems, they are also looking to define database, interpretation remains a major in the larynx and respiratory tract, the air pas­ tomorrow's challenges: making computa­ problem. sages leading from the nose into the lungs. tionally intensive computer operations run DCRT's participation in the software proj­ Although noncancerous, these tumors can faster, and faster still; or developing better ect is led by Dr. George Michaels, a molecular grow very quickly and become life threatening ways to manipulate data to answer scientific biologist who holds a joint appointment with when they grow large enough to interfere with questions. NICHD. The effort began last year when breathing. Michaels and DCRT's Richard Feldmann Many forms of treatments have been used to organized a workshop that brought together remove these tumors. Treatments used range some of the world's leading experts in logic from surgery to use of chemotherapy, vaccines, programming. The participants decided to uti­ NIH director Dr. Bernadine Healy will host and antibiotics. Surgical removal of the lize the advantages of logic programming in a her third "town meeting" at NIH on Monday, tumors as well as use of carbon dioxide laser Healy To Host Town Meeting collaboration to construct sequence interpreta­ June 29, from 1 to 3 p.m. in Masur surgery, which uses an intense laser light that -efon software-tools that would make analysis Auditorium, Bldg. 10. Titled 'The NIH becomes a cutting laser when the light is of genetic sequences easier for scientists. absorbed by the water found in body tissue, Workplace: Diversity in Harmony," the meet­ Michaels and his collaborators have been are presently the most widely used forms of ing will include two guests-Rep. Connie very busy since then. The genome informatics treatment. The problem is that these tumors Morella of Maryland's 8th district, and Wash­ tools that they have created allow researchers have a tendency to return unpredictably once ington Post columnist Judith Martin, whose to get the answers to high-level research ques­ they are removed. pen name is "Miss Manners." All are invited tions about specific chromosomes simply by to attend. (See LIGHT, Page 14) (See SEQUENCES, Page 12) page 2 The Record June 23, 1992 CANCER will work with Oldfield in the upcoming pro­ AAAS Elects New Fellows (Continued from Page 1) tocol. "Gene therapy appears to have promise for treating these patients, but it must still Several NIH'ers joined the roster of mem­ bers elected as distinguished scientists recently Although NIH's recombinant DNA ad­ prove itself in human trials." NCI scientists are also developing the new by the American Academy of Arts and Sci­ visory committee gave preliminary approval on ences Council. At its annual meeting held in June 1 for investigators to begin human trials, technique for tumors in other parts of the body, according to Culver. Although the brain Chicago, the AAAS council named 271 new the study is not expected to start until late fellows including the following from NIH: summer. The protocol, which will be led by was the "ideal place to begin," he said, rejec­ tion of the foreign mouse cells elsewhere in Dr. Julius Axelrod of NIMH's Laboratory of Oldfield, is awaiting final approval by NIH Cell Biology; Dr. Bruce Baum, chief of director Dr. Bernadine Healy and the Food the body can be controlled through short-term NIDR's Clinical Investigations and Patient and Drug Administration. immunosuppressive therapy. Such an approach Care Branch; Dr. Joseph F. Fraumeni, NCI In the animal study, scientists eliminated has already worked in liver tumors in rats, he associate director for epidemiology and bio­ cancerous brain tumors called gliomas by said. D statistics; Dr. Florence P. Haseltine, director injecting genetically engineered mouse cells of NICHD's Center for Population Research; directly into growing tumors, then treating Dr. Alan S. Rabson, director of NCI's Divi­ the rats with the antiviral drug ganciclovir. sion of Cancer Biology, Diagnosis, and The mouse cells were programmed ro pro­ Centers; Storm Whaley, former NIH associate duce a disabled mouse virus that can carry director for communications; and Dr. Stuart genes into cells. Scientists used a retrovirus­ H. Yuspa of NCI's Division of Cancere which only inserts genes into dividing cells Etiology. such as those found in tumors-to slip a D herpes gene into the brain tumors. They chose a gene known as the herpes simplex thymidine Healthy Females Sought kinase gene, which makes dividing cells sus­ The Uniformed Services University of the ceptible to destruction by ganciclovir. Health Sciences' department of medical psy­ Investigators treated a total of 14 rats with chology seeks healthy, nonsmoking females, 10 injections of ganciclovir over a period of ages 18-45, to participate in a women's health 5 days. In 11 rats, the brain tumors regressed study. Participants will be paid $200 for com­ completely. In the remaining three rats, inves­ pletion of three or four laboratory sessions, tigators found small deposits of residual tumor scheduled from 7 a.m. to noon, during which cells. blood samples will be taken. If interested, call In addition, Dr. Hiroyuki Ishii working in (301)e295-3263. □ the laboratory of Dr. R. Michael Blaese, chief of NCI's cellular immunology section, observed an unexpected "bystander" effect, in Radha Goel, a student working in the Laboratory which ganciclovir treatment not only killed of Tumor Immunology and Biology, NCI, has tumor cells with the inserted kinase gene, but received the Grand Award in the Montgomery The NIH Record also nearby tumor cells not infected with the County Science Fair for her project on "The Sta­ Published biweekly at Bethesda, Md., by the Editorial Operations Branch, Division of Public Information, for the foreign gene.
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