University Daily Kansan / Friday, September 29. 1989
KU researchers design treatment for arthritis
9
Project similar to national work on gene code
By Travia Butler
Kansan staff writer
People who suffer from arthritis soon may be feeling better because of research being done at the University of Kansas.
The research at KU is similar to, though not associated with, the work that will be done by researchers across the country in the Human Genome project.
Human genetic material, stored in a molecular structure known as DNA, is composed of only four basic chemicals, said Dean Stetler, director of the genetics program at the University of Washington, underwriting these elements forms the structure of genes, which determine the physical characteristics of a person.
the human genome, or genetic
code contains about a billion bases,
he said.
Charles Wood, assistant professor of microbiology, said that the Human Genome project would work to decode this entire pattern.
"The ultimate goal is a road map, so researchers can know exactly what is located in the genome, disease genes, and so forth," he said.
Stetler does not work directly with the human genome, but he is using a similar analysis in his rheumatoid arthritis research.
T
The immune system starts producing antibodies against the body's own tissue
Dean Stetler
director of the genetics program
Aureliation arthritis is caused when a person's immune system, the body's defense against invading germs, begins identifying body proteins found in the joints as enemy invaders. Stetler said. The joints stiffen and swell.
"The immune system starts producing antibodies against the body's own tissue," he said.
Stetter's research group has been analyzing these mistakenly identified body proteins, he said. In the future, they may compare them with healthy people to try to determine why the immune system attacks them.
But right now, the group is working on a treatment for the disease, Stetter said.
Their treatment program involves attaching a relatively mild toxin, derived from barley, to copies of the mistakenly targeted body proteins. The immune system cells attack the toxin, they ingest the toxin and die.
Since the toxin is only ingested by
the misbehaving immune system cells, there is little harm to the rest of the body. Stetler said.
Stetler's group is developing a bacteria that will produce this protein-toxin combination, using genetic engineering. They are splicing the gene that creates the protein with the gene that produces the toxin and inserting the pair into a common bacterium that resides in the intestinal tract.
Stetler said that it was possible to make a protein-toxin combination now, using conventional methods, but that this process was not practical for commercial production or even testing on a large scale.
"The problem is in purifying enough of the protein," Stelter said. "Plus, binding the toxin to the target protein is very tedious."
But the genetically-engineered bacteria will produce the protein-toxin more easily and in greater quantities, he said.
John D. Martinez, a physician at Asthma Allergy & Rheumatology Associates, is uncertain about the usefulness of this treatment. If it attacks the immune system too well, it could leave the patient open to infections the immune system would normally prevent, he said.
"It would have to be a very specifically targeted response," he said.
Business school enjoys Fridays off
Kansan staff writer
By Beth Behrens Kansan staff writer
Dale Neighbor, Hutchinson senior,
says he is an exception in the School
of Business because he has class
today.
"I have one class on Friday this semester," Neighbor said. "It's income tax accounting. It's only offered at one time each semester on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and you have to have it."
While most KU students are sitting in classrooms, business students already are starting their weekend plans.
Neighbor has been in the school for two years, he said, and the accounting class is the first business class
scheduled on Fridays that he has taken.
John Garland, associate professor of business, said the main reason for the schedule was to help professors and students stay in touch with the business world.
"We have a field studies program in the school where students interview businesses," he said. "They don't interview for jobs, but they interview to find out methods for strategies, production and marketing.
"It takes a great deal for professors to set these up. Contact with the business community is essential. It helps us keep up to date in our classes."
The tradition of not scheduling classes on Fridays goes back more than nine years.
He said that many professors had contacts for the program in the surrounding area and that having Fridays free gave the faculty an additional day for scheduling meetings they would not have time for otherwise.
"I don't know when it began, but I know it has been going on since 1980," he said. "Many of the major business schools across the country have adapted to this kind of schedule. They all face the same 'kind of pressures and opportunities we do in keeping contact with the outside world."
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Good luck teams!
Do something nice for someone who'll appreciate it. BEST BUDDIES
The KU community possesses a wealth of unselfishness. Satisfy your need to help others. Be a buddy to a mentally-disabled individual. It's a small amount of time that will make a world of difference.
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING TUE., OCT. 3, 7:30 P.M.
ALDERSON AUDITORIUM
A Recital of JAPANESE CLASSICAL MUSIC (Koto, Shamisen and Shakuhachi)
Monday, October 2,1989 at 8:00 p.m. in the Woodruff Auditorium, Kansas Union University of Kansas
presenting such famous pieces as:
KOTO
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Midare (Dispuiet)
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Hiroshi Tomii (Conductor) — Shakuhachi (Flute)
Mamoru Koyama — Shakuhachi
Yayoi Noda — Koto and Shamisen
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Yasuko Hiranuma — Koto (Zither)
Masako Hosoya — Koto
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