A RESEARCHER team headed by Dr Vivek Rangnekar, professor of radiation medicine at University of Kentucky, created a breed of mice with the more active tumour-suppressor Par-4 gene. Transgenic mice were completely invulnerable to cancer. Not only did they not develop tumours, they lived longer than the control animals, suggesting they have no toxic side effects. More intriguingly, the researchers tested the protein’s effect by adding the Par-4 gene to mouse eggs, then implanting them in surrogate mothers. The cancer-resistant offspring passed resistance to their own progeny. This observation raises the possibility of hereditary cancer resistance in humans. 

The tumour-suppressor Par-4 gene was identified first by Rangnekar’s laboratory in 1993. It helps cells self-destruct when they become cancerous. It was first of all discovered in human prostate tumours and is believed to have a role in ‘programmed cell death’, the body’s own system for uprooting and destroying damaged or faulty cells.

Rangnekar now plans to breed these super mice with other types of animals that are prone to cancers of the lung, breast and colon to see if the pups become resistant to these cancers. Rangnekar said that they are trying to expand on their research and are looking at the possibility of using bone marrow transplants to generate the activity of this killer protein Par-4 in humans without the toxic and damaging side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The gene currently exists in human being but is partially inactivated.  

The former resident of Mumbai studied in Don Bosco School and Indian Education Society School in Dadar. He did his bachelor’s from MV College Andheri and masters from Harkishan Das hospital. He did his PhD from Bombay University.