Buying Time Through 'Hibernation on Demand'
Apr 26, 2005 - 7:04:00 PM
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Accomplishments of Mark Roth, Ph.D.
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By FHCRC,
[RxPG] Cell biologist Mark Roth, Ph.D., successfully has pursued a variety of research avenues, including studies on gene regulation, chromosome structure and function, autoimmune disease, and most recently, induced metabolic hibernation.
His work has led to major advances in basic biology, some of which have tremendous potential for human health. In particular, his new research on induced metabolic hibernation, in which he has shown that it is possible to reversibly reduce the core temperature of mice to 10 degrees Celsius without loss of life or neurological problems, could lead to major breakthroughs in the treatment of trauma and cancer.
As a postdoctoral student in Dr. Joe Gall's lab at the Carnegie Institution, Roth discovered a group of proteins called SR proteins that are important in RNA splicing a key step in converting our genetic blueprint into functional proteins.
Later, after he joined the faculty of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, he found a link between SR proteins and a genetic defect found in patients with lupus, who make antibodies against these proteins. This discovery led to the development of a new diagnostic test for lupus, which received market clearance from the FDA in 2002. Roth immersed himself in the process of learning the rules for the approval process and became the first academician to receive such clearance for a stand-alone test in nearly three decades. The test is considered a significant diagnostic breakthrough for systemic lupus erythematosus because it improves the ability for physicians to accurately predict which patients might have lupus.
Roth's newest research focus the study of induced metabolic hibernation in mammals already is challenging paradigms and has the potential to make enormous impacts on human health. In 2001, Roth was the first to induce a reversible state of hibernation in a non-hibernating vertebrate organism. After 24 hours of oxygen deprivation resulting in cessation of all observable metabolic activity, including heartbeat he found that zebrafish embryos can be restored to a normal program of development with no deleterious effects on their health or growth. While conducting follow-up experiments during the last three years in fish and nematodes (worms), Roth hypothesized that it would be possible to prevent the use of oxygen to induce metabolic hibernation in order to improve the outcome for people suffering heart attacks, strokes and other traumatic blood-loss events.
Roth's talent for seeing beyond the immediate scope of his research is also evident is his ability to seek out and attract collaborators from a wide range of disciplines. Recognizing that some of his future experiments would require collaborations with experts in materials fabrication, Roth became the driving force behind the recent collaboration between Fred Hutchinson and Intel Corporation's Precision Biology Group. The collaboration has enabled Fred Hutchinson to become the first cancer-research institution with the opportunity to apply Intel's highly sensitive technology to biomedical research.
Publication:
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
On the web:
www.fhcrc.org 
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Additional information about the news article
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Institutions that have funded Roth's work include the National Institutes of Health, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Intel Corporation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Dr. Mark Groudine is deputy director of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, member and former director of the center's Basic Sciences Division and professor of radiation oncology at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
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