7/8/10 Researchers at the Koch Institute, Whitehead Institute, and Children’s Hospital Boston have identified a protein, called Musashi 2 that is predictive of prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients.  High levels of Musashi 2 protein are associated with increased cell proliferation, decreased cell maturation, and multiple cancer-related cellular pathways in human leukemias. The protein and the cellular functions it affects could potentially represent therapeutic targets in certain types of leukemia, according to the researchers’ article in Nature Medicine.  Leukemia, blood cancer characterized by an overgrowth of certain blood cells, is diagnosed in an estimated 48,000 new patients annually. In AML and CML, a cell type in the bone marrow becomes defective, dividing repeatedly and eventually crowding out normal red and white blood cells, leading to anemia and an inability to fight infections.     

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6/28/10  KI announced a major strategic partnership with Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and its affiliates, called "TRANSCEND", whereby the parties will begin to collaborate in multiple areas of oncology research and technology development. The teams will begin the collaboration by working in the areas of cancer diagnostics, cancer biology pre-malignancies, genetic models of disease, and studying profiles of the tumor microenvironment.  A Joint Scientific Steering Committee composed of MIT faculty members and Ortho-McNeil Janssen employees will jointly oversee the program.  MORE  >>

6/10/10 - 6/11/10   The Koch Institute 2010 Symposium, on “Integrative Approaches to Cancer” was convened on Thursday and Friday, June 10 and 11, 2010. Over the two-day program, top cancer researchers from around the world shared insights and updates on their work to a full house of 1,300 attendees in Kresge Auditorium and to audiences watching streaming video-feeds at other locations on campus.  A highpoint of the event was the CCR-KI Alumni dinner, emceed by Luis Parada that celebrated the history of cancer research at MIT and offered a peak into the future with talks given by Nancy Hopkins, Bob Langer, and David Baltimore.

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6/1/10   KI researchers have developed a new technique called PRIME (PRobe Incorporation Mediated by Enzymes) that can track proteins as they move about the cell. It enables the researchers to monitor such processes as cell division and metabolism. Scientists tack the gene for a green fluorescent protein (known as GFP) onto the gene for the protein they want to study. After the engineered gene is introduced into cells, it will produce proteins that glow fluorescent green.  

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6/1/10    KI Faculty Member Richard Hynes discusses his lab's work toward untangling the adhesion factors involved in tumor formation and the migration of cancer cells from the primary tumor to other parts of the body, the process called metastasis.  “Ninety percent of cancer deaths are due to metastasis. And metastasis is clearly a problem with changes in cell adhesion,” he says. 

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