Chemical mutagenesis approaches in zebrafish have created an important resource of mutant fish that have defects in organ development. Yee et al. demonstrate that a line of fish with abnormal pancreatic development carries a mutation in the ion channel receptor Trpm7. This protein is overexpressed in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines, and interfering with its expression inhibits cell growth, so it might be a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target for pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
Written by editorial staff. © 2011. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.
2011
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