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Accumetrics, Inc. Announces 1000th Patient Enrolled In GRAVITAS Trial
Accumetrics, Inc. announces that it has enrolled its 1,000th patient
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Opinion Pieces Comment On Obama's Notre Dame Speech, Abortion Debate
Several newspapers recently published opinion pieces regarding President Obama"s commencement address at the University of Notre Dame. Summaries appear below.~ Cal Thomas, Washington Times: "Put aside the question of whether" Notre Dame should have invited President Obama to speak at its commencement ceremony on Sunday and "[f]ocus, instead, on [his] remarks and whether he is serious, or can be made so, about actually reducing the number of abortions in America," syndicated columnist Thomas writes in a Washington Times opinion piece. "Don"t put aside, however, the argument that there is only one reason to even want to reduce the number of abortions and that is that what is being killed, terminated, evacuated (choose your term) is, in fact, human life," Thomas adds. "In speaking of "original sin," the president hit upon why abortion has been so easily tolerated for so long," he writes, adding that Obama "spoke of "self-interest" and "crass materialism" but did so in the context of economics, not abortion." Thomas reports that Obama called for making adoption ""more available"" and providing ""care and support for women who do carry their children to term."" Thomas notes that Obama"s speech also included "an appeal for discussion and respect for people with different views," which was "a good beginning, but the ending is what counts, and the initial actions of this president when it comes to abortion and stem cell research have not been pro-life" (Thomas, Washington Times, 5/19).~ Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times: After his commencement address at Notre Dame, "it"s now clear that the president is the rhetorical equivalent of a "money player,"" which is the "kind of competitor who steps up and delivers in the big games," Rutten writes in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece. Notre Dame"s invitation for Obama to speak at commencement and receive an honorary degree "bec[a]me an engine of controversy" because of protests from "reductionists," or conservative Catholics "who insist on bringing the broad sweep of Catholic social morality down to a single issue -- abortion," Rutten writes. However, Obama "negotiated the situation with remarkable ease," Rutten continues, adding that Obama was "speaking … to three audiences far from South Bend on Sunday." The first audience was the "crucial bloc of Catholic voters who seem to be looking for ways to remain in the Democratic Party," he writes. In addition, Obama was speaking to "those Catholic Democrats in public office ... who are under intense pressure from the reductionist bishops in their home dioceses" and to the U.S. Senate, which will likely ask Obama"s Supreme Court nominee about his or her views on abortion during confirmation hearings, Rutten continues. He concludes, "Even in Washington"s charged partisan atmosphere, it will be hard to ignore the president"s call for civility at Notre Dame" (Rutten, Los Angeles Times, 5/20).~ Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune: Obama "appropriately promoted" the "ability of adversaries to work together on mutual interests" in his commencement address, Page writes in a Tribune opinion piece. Page adds that the speech was "classic Obama the pragmatist: Look past ideology, try to ignore disagreements and work together on mutual interests." Obama said that "at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable," Page writes, adding that it is "because Americans hold no values more dear than "life" and "choice."" Page adds that "[i]n the abortion debate, those values clash head-on." However, Obama"s "eloquent come-together oratory enabled him to leave the university like a hero, even though he glossed over the thorny specifics that drive wedges between people of goodwill when words are hammered into law," Page continues. "For now, by focusing on civility, the president apparently hopes to defuse the abortion powder keg long enough to address his higher priorities," Page writes, concluding, "The economy, national security and health care are going to be tough fight
News of the day
Indian Health Service Loses Equipment At Alarming Rate
The Associated Press reports that "the Indian Health Service is continuing to lose equipment at an alarming rate despite efforts to better account for the agency"s property, according to congressional investigators. In a report issued Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office said the government agency lost about 1,400 items worth $3.5 million between October 2007 and January 2009 - including $37,000 in lab equipment at a Navajo health care facility and a $7,300 trailer in Nashville, Tenn. Those losses came after an estimated $15.8 million in equipment was unaccounted for between the 2004 and 2007 budget years. Those losses were reported by the GAO in June 2008, when investigators also charged that the Indian Health Service had falsified documents to cover up some of the missing property."
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Researchers Identify A Novel Mechanism That Could Be Targeted To Prevent Cancer Spread

Researchers have discovered a key to the function of a specific protein that helps control the levels of other critical proteins within cells, including a protein that suppresses the spread of cancer. The new information about the mechanism of action of the protein, called gp78, may enable researchers to explore new types of therapies to prevent the spread of cancer. The study, by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, was published in the June 26, 2009, issue of Molecular Cell. In all human cells, damaged or unnecessary proteins are destroyed through a complex process that involves their being tagged with chains of a small protein called ubiquitin. The ubiquitin-tagged proteins are then directed to a sophisticated cellular structure known as the proteasome, which degrades the proteins. The addition of ubiquitin to targeted proteins, a process called ubiquitylation, takes place in a multistep process in which several types of proteins, or enzymes, function in a sequential, bucket brigade-like manner. First, ubiquitin is activated by an enzyme known as E1. The activated ubiquitin is then transferred to E2, another enzyme. The E2 binds in turn to another protein known as E3, or ubiquitin protein ligase, which is critical for the transfer of ubiquitin to the targeted protein. This process occurs in a highly regulated manner that allows the recognition and targeting of specific proteins. To achieve the necessary specificity, human cells have about 40 different types of E2 enzymes and more than 500 E3 proteins. A majority of E3s have an internal structural component, or domain, known as a RING finger, which binds weakly to E2s and allows ubiquitylation to proceed. An earlier study by one of the lead authors of the current report, Allan M. Weissman, M.D., of NCI"s Center for Cancer Research (CCR), discovered that a RING finger E3, known as gp78, has a unique region called G2BR that strongly binds to its E2. Weissman and other NCI scientists previously showed that higher levels of gp78 promote the spread of cancer by tagging a protein for degradation that suppresses metastasis and that the ubiquitin ligase activity of gp78 was required for this degradation. Other targets of gp78 include proteins that are involved in cystic fibrosis and in the regulation of lipid metabolism. In this new work, a team of CCR researchers, led by R. Andrew Byrd, Ph.D., Xinhua Ji, Ph.D., and Weissman, used advanced structural techniques to study the structure of gp78 and its associated E2 enzyme to gain insight into how the complex functions in cells. The researchers determined the structural basis for the interaction between gp78 and its E2 and uncovered a previously unknown mechanism by which ubiquitylation can be regulated. They found that the gp78 G2BR binds its E2 in an area that is distinct from the sites where the gp78 RING finger domain binds to the E2. This binding causes subtle changes in the shape of the E2 that allow the gp78 RING finger domain and the E2 to join together 50 times more tightly than they otherwise would. Further research showed that this increased binding strength enhances ubiquitylation of target proteins by gp78. This discovery may allow researchers to consider possible approaches to blocking the function of gp78 in cancer cells, leading to new types of treatment for cancer and other diseases. "Our study provides a previously unappreciated mechanism by which ubiquitylation can be regulated," said Weissman. "It is likely that other pairs of E2s and E3s interact through domains, which have yet to be characterized, that are similar to the gp78 G2BR and its corresponding binding site on its E2. This introduces the possibility of entirely new therapeutic avenues in cancer and other diseases." This team is currently working to further define the interactions of E2s and RING finger domains. They also are collaborating with other NCI scientists to design and construct potential inhibitors of gp78, based on their discovery, for testing in animal models. NCI leads the National Cancer Program and the NIH effort to dramatically reduce the burden of cancer and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families, through research into prevention and cancer biology, the development of new interventions, and the training and mentoring of new researchers. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI Web site at http://www.cancer.gov or call NCI"s Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- The Nation"s Medical Research Agency -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov. Reference: Das R, Mariano J, Tsai YC, et al. Allosteric activation of E2-RING finger mediated ubiquitylation by a structurally-defined specific E2 binding region of gp78. Molecular Cell. Vol. 34, No. 6. June 26, 2009. The National Institutes of Health


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