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Deploying a method that removes potentially cancer-causing genes, Whitehead Institute researchers have “reprogrammed” human skin cells from Parkinson’s disease patients into an embryonic-stem-cell-like state. Whitehead scientists then used these so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to create dopamine-producing neurons, the cell type that degenerates in Parkinson’s disease patients.

Whitehead Member Rudolf Jaenisch has been awarded the 2008 Cozzarelli Prize from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is the top place to work for postdoctoral researchers, according to The Scientist’s seventh annual survey of research institutions nationwide, released today.

Researchers have created an algorithm that meshes existing data to produce a clearer step-by-step flow chart of how cells respond to stimuli. Using this new method, Whitehead Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists have analyzed alpha-synuclein toxicity to identify genes and pathways that can affect cell survival. Misfolded copies of the alpha-synuclein protein in brain cells are a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease.

Even the most drug-resistant fungi can be eradicated in multiple in vitro and in vivo models using a lethal combination of an antifungal agent and inhibition of a specific heat shock protein (Hsp90). Such findings could point to a novel approach for the development of future antifungal therapies for patients with compromised immune systems, including HIV, chemotherapy, and organ transfer patients.

Injecting the small protein insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) into the bloodstream reduces Rett syndrome symptoms in mice, including lethargy, breathing and heart rhythm irregularities, reduced brain size, and stalled nerve cell development. Rett syndrome is an inherited neurological disease that affects one out of 10,000 girls born.

Blocking a specific protein complex (mTORC2) prevents prostate tumor formation in mice with a deleted PTEN gene. Inhibition of this complex in normal prostate cells, however, appears to have no effect, suggesting that the protein complex may be a future target for drug development.

Scientists at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have found that a single gene, known as PARK9, protects cells from manganese toxicity and rescues neurons from over-expression of the protein alpha-synuclein. Misfolded alpha-synuclein is the hallmark of Parkinson’s disease.

Whitehead Institute researchers have reliably produced mice and mouse cell lines with identical configurations of the specific factors needed to reprogram adult cells to an embryonic-stem-cell-like state. These cell lines may be used to screen for potential drug substitutions for the virally-inserted reprogramming genes and as a tool to enhance understanding of how reprogramming works.

Jaenisch has been named a recipient of the 2008 Meira and Shaul G. Massry Prize in recognition of his work in creating so-called induced pluripotent stem cells, or IPS cells.