Researchers at Genentech report in a paper published online in advance in Science this week that "loss of the tumor suppressor BAP1 causes myeloid transformation." In mouse, Bap1 gene deletion is lethal, the authors write, but "systemic or hematopoietic-restricted deletion in adults recapitulates features of human myelodysplastic syndrome." Further, the Genentech team presents evidence to suggest that BAP1 loss of function has similar consequences in human.
"Mom was right: A balanced diet is key to reaping healthy biological effects from what’s on your plate," writes Carsten Skarke from the University of Pennsylvania in a Science Translational Medicine commentary. He is referring to a recent Nature paper from Tatsuo Hashimoto at the Austrian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Molecular Biotechnology and colleagues, which using an ACE2 knockout mouse model showed that "a chemical challenge induced a more pronounced inflammatory response in the colon … than in the wild-type controls," Skarke recounts. "This intriguing new work integrates nutrients, antimicrobials, and microbes as key regulators of intestinal inflammation in the context of a low-protein diet," he writes. "As it becomes evident that the microbiota in and on us are in deep symbiosis with us, definition of their functions in mechanisms of health and disease may yield transformative therapeutic approaches."