Monday, March 21, 2005

378: Type VII Collagen Is Required for Ras-Driven Human Epidermal Tumorigenesis -- Ortiz-Urda et al. 307 (5716): 1773 -- Science

Type VII Collagen Is Required for Ras-Driven Human Epidermal Tumorigenesis -- Ortiz-Urda et al. 307 (5716): 1773 -- Science:

Type VII collagen defects cause recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), a blistering skin disorder often accompanied by epidermal cancers. To study the role of collagen VII in these cancers, we examined Ras-driven tumorigenesis in RDEB keratinocytes. Cells devoid of collagen VII did not form tumors in mice, whereas those retaining a specific collagen VII fragment (the amino-terminal noncollagenous domain NC1) were tumorigenic
Beating cancer thanks to common descent.