Braf

Speaking of BRAF, my mother gave me a magazine from MSK which covers some of the things going on there. One article was pretty interesting (at least for me; maybe old news for others). It was specifically about BRAF mutations and the effect that location on the body can have on its development … or not. I don’t have the article here, but I think they were working with some type of small fish (tiger? zebra?) that has some similarities to humans (and is probably easy to manipulate in the lab). They took cells in which they had introduced the BRAF mutation and inserted them into the back and fins (which correspond to the hands on humans). Melanoma developed in the back, but never in the fins. So it’s not just the mutation you have, but where you have the mutation, which determines (at least in part) if it becomes melanoma. I thought it was interesting at any rate. I think it appeared in Nature, so I guess a lot of people found it interesting. Always good to hear that they’re learning more about the enemy.