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Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine other research news

January 22, 1996 8:00 AM UTC

As published in Science, Johns Hopkins researchers have identified the DPC4 gene as a possible tumor suppressor, whose inactivation may play a role in pancreatic and other cancers.

Located on chromosome 18q, DPC4 is similar in sequence to a Drosophila melanogaster gene, Mad, implicated in a transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta)-like signaling pathway. TGF-beta is a potent inhibitor of cellular proliferation for most normal cells. Many cancer cells show diminished responsiveness to TGF-beta-induced growth inhibition. ...