BioCentury
ARTICLE | Translation in Brief

Monitoring myelodysplasia

Three studies identify DNA mutations and damage involved in MDS

May 28, 2015 7:00 AM UTC

A cluster of studies by three independent groups has uncovered the mechanisms behind genetic changes that contribute to myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The results shed light on how changes in RNA splicing leads to disease and could provide both targets and animal models for drug development.

The studies focused on three factors - U2 small nuclear RNA auxiliary factor 1 (U2AF1), telomere-induced DNA damage, and splicing factor arginine-serine-rich 2 (SFRS2) - that play roles in the conversion of pre-RNA to mRNA, a process that is defective in about 60% of MDS cases...