This award supports cooperative research in cell biology to be conducted by Manuel Diaz of the University of Chicago and two counterpart scientists in Buenos Aires, Irma Slavutsky and Irene Larripa of the Academy of Medicine. They will carry out collaborative studies on the molecular analysis of mouse and human cell lines that contain deletions of a certain genomic region, including a cluster of genes belonging to the interferon gene family. The main purpose of the study will be to analyze the deletions at the molecular level and to clone and sequence their breakpoint junctions. They will determine the size of the deletions, many of which are submicroscopic and study the mechanism by which these deletions occur. The study will elucidate basic mechanisms of mutagenesis that may be involved in all kinds of genetic processes: somatic or germinal mutations related to the origin of congenital or acquired disease, somatic or germinal spontaneous neutral mutations without pathologic consequences, or normal evolutionary processes. The strength of Drs. Slavutsky and Larripa's group, is the microscopic cytogenetic analysis of chromosome abnormalities in cancer cells and experimental mammalian cytogenetics. They will develop the methods of analysis of DNA rearrangements associated with the chromosome abnormalities detected in their studies. Their interaction with Dr Diaz`s laboratory will help them to develop this capability, and at the same time will allow both groups to coordinate their efforts in the study of the molecular basis of chromosome rearrangements in mammalian cells They have in their laboratory the necessary equipment to perform DNA extraction from mammalian cells and to perform Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA. This is in addition to all the tissue culture, optical and photographic equipment and facilities necessary for cytogenetic analysis. The strength of the University of Chicago laboratory is the analysis of DNA rearrangements generated by such chromosomal abnormalities, the identification and cloning of the DNA sequences located at the translocation breakpoints, and the identification and characterization of genes affected by these rearrangements. Because these two laboratories complement each other so well, the mutual benefits of this collaboration are evident.
