University of Michigan Medical School other research news

University researchers constructed an adenoviral vector that expresses bcl-xs, a functional inhibitor of the bcl-2 family of apoptosis inhibitors. Many cancers overexpress a member of the bcl-2 family.

The vector specifically and efficiently killed carcinoma cells arising from organs including breast, colon, stomach, and neuroblasts, even in the absence of x-ray irradiation, researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In contrast, normal hematopoietic progenitor cells were refractory to killing by the bcl-xs adenovirus. ...