Transformational research changes the way that you think. It resets your perspective, reshapes your expectations, and changes your sense of what is possible. It prompts you to revisit previous studies and interpret them through a new lens, often offering explanations for previously unresolved gaps in knowledge.
For example, cancer is typically considered to be a genetic disease, driven in part by the acquisition of mutations in genes that promote tumor initiation or tumor progression (known as oncogenes). We overlay this knowledge with our understanding of Mendelian inheritance, which describes how chromosomes – and the genes they carry – are segregated during cell division, thereby explaining the patterns by which genes are inherited. But what if these mutant genes aren’t located on chromosomes? What happens to the otherwise predictable pattern of inheritance when the mutant genes are free of chromosomes and sorting independently during cell division? Here, researchers from Stanford describe the prevalence and peril of extra-chromosomal oncogene inheritance during tumor progression and the response of the tumor to chemotherapy.
But new knowledge also brings new opportunity for therapeutic innovation. The researchers also report that tumor cells harboring extrachromosomal oncogenes are vulnerable to CHK1 protein inhibitors—offering a potential new avenue for cancer treatment.
