Previously Funded Research

Alison Taylor, PhD

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Research Project:

Genome engineering to generate models of chromosome arm-level aneuploidies in lung cancer

Summary:

Most healthy cells have 46 chromosomes, which carry DNA within the cell. However, almost 90% of tumors have cells with an incorrect number of chromosomes, termed “aneuploid” cells. Some whole chromosomes or large chromosome fragments may be duplicated or lost. It has been shown that aneuploidy is a contributing factor in the formation of cancers. Interestingly, different chromosomes are often affected in distinct tumor types. For example, one half of chromosome number 3 is lost in some types of lung cancer, but this is not a common feature of breast cancer. Using a new laboratory technology that cuts chromosomes at specific locations, a large piece of chromosome 3 can be deleted in lung cells. Cells with and without this deletion can then be tested for differences in cell growth and other characteristics. Information from patient lung tumor samples can also be analyzed to identify distinct features correlating with specific chromosome changes. These studies will better define the effects of chromosome alterations and uncover new ways that cells can become cancerous. A better understanding of additional paths to disease formation will be critical for designing new cancer treatments.