Oncogenic TACC-tics

摘要

Human cancers exhibit many types of genomic rearrangements-including some that juxtapose sequences from two unrelated genes-thereby creating fusion proteins with oncogenic activity. Functional analysis of these fusion genes can provide mechanistic insights into tumorigenesis and potentially lead to effective drugs, as famously illustrated by the BCR-ABL gene in chronic myelog-enous leukemia. Singh et al. (p. 1231, published online 26 July) identify and characterize a fusion gene present in 3% of human glioblastomas, a deadly brain cancer.