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Mumbaikar develops anti-cancer gene in US
29 Nov 2007, 0001 hrs IST,Kounteya Sinha,TNN
SMS NEWS to 58888 for latest updates
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Dr Rangnekar, has spent over 25 years of his life in Matunga (TOI Photo)
NEW DELHI: Vivek Rangnekar, one of Mumbais own who is now settled in the US, has created the worlds first breed of super mice that are resistant to cancer, even the highly aggressive forms.
Dr Rangnekar, professor of radiation medicine at the University of Kentucky, who spent over 25 years of his life in Matunga, a central Mumbai suburb, created the breed with a more active tumour-suppressor Par-4 gene.
Carrying this gene made them completely invulnerable to cancer. Not only did they not develop tumours, they even lived longer than the control animals, indicating that they had no toxic side-effects.
Reporting this breakthrough in the journal Cancer Research, Dr Rangnekar, who studied at Don Bosco School and the Indian Education Society School in Dadar, said the gene offered the potential, unlike most other cancer treatments, of destroying cancer cells without harming normal cells.
Rangnekar told TOI , "We found that these mice with the super protein killed the cancer cells which were produced inside their body, both artificially and spontaneously. Whats most exciting is that through our cell culture studies, we know that this killer gene only destroys cancer cells. It does not harm normal cells at all and there are very few such molecules in both animals and humans."
Rangnekar, who completed his bachelors from M V College in Andheri, his masters from Harkisondas Hospital and PhD from Bombay University before completing his post-doctoral studies from the University of Chicago, now plans to breed these super mice with other types of animals that are prone to cancers of the lung, breast and colon to see if the pups become resistant to these cancers.
29 Nov 2007, 0001 hrs IST,Kounteya Sinha,TNN
SMS NEWS to 58888 for latest updates
/photo.cms?msid=2579612
Dr Rangnekar, has spent over 25 years of his life in Matunga (TOI Photo)
NEW DELHI: Vivek Rangnekar, one of Mumbais own who is now settled in the US, has created the worlds first breed of super mice that are resistant to cancer, even the highly aggressive forms.
Dr Rangnekar, professor of radiation medicine at the University of Kentucky, who spent over 25 years of his life in Matunga, a central Mumbai suburb, created the breed with a more active tumour-suppressor Par-4 gene.
Carrying this gene made them completely invulnerable to cancer. Not only did they not develop tumours, they even lived longer than the control animals, indicating that they had no toxic side-effects.
Reporting this breakthrough in the journal Cancer Research, Dr Rangnekar, who studied at Don Bosco School and the Indian Education Society School in Dadar, said the gene offered the potential, unlike most other cancer treatments, of destroying cancer cells without harming normal cells.
Rangnekar told TOI , "We found that these mice with the super protein killed the cancer cells which were produced inside their body, both artificially and spontaneously. Whats most exciting is that through our cell culture studies, we know that this killer gene only destroys cancer cells. It does not harm normal cells at all and there are very few such molecules in both animals and humans."
Rangnekar, who completed his bachelors from M V College in Andheri, his masters from Harkisondas Hospital and PhD from Bombay University before completing his post-doctoral studies from the University of Chicago, now plans to breed these super mice with other types of animals that are prone to cancers of the lung, breast and colon to see if the pups become resistant to these cancers.