Research Briefs

NICHD: CAREGIVING IMPULSE

Distinct patterns of activity, which may indicate a predisposition to care for infants, appear in the brains of adults who view an image of an infant face, according to a study done by NIH researchers and others. Images of infant faces appeared to activate circuits in the adults’ brains that reflect preparation for movement and speech, and feelings of reward. Seven men and nine women were shown a series of images—puppy and kitten faces, full-grown dogs and cats, human infants, and adults—while their brain activity was recorded with a functional magnetic-resonance-imaging scanner. Infant images evoked more activity than any of the other images. However, additional studies are needed to understand whether what appears to be a parenting instinct in some adults is universal. (NICHD author: M.H. Bornstein; Neuro Image 60:884–893, 2012)

CC, NIBIB: NEW CELL-LABELING METHOD ALLOWS FOR MRI TRACKING

NIH researchers and collaborators have developed a method for labeling transplanted cells so they can be tracked by magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) to measure how many transplanted immune or stem cells reach their target. The researchers combined ferumoxytol, heparin, and protamine to form a complex that labeled nearly 100 percent of transplant cells for MRI in animal models. The technology, pending regulatory agency review, will be tested in humans in an ongoing trial in California. (NIH authors: M.S. Thu, L.H. Bryant, T. Coppola, E.K. Jordan, M.D. Budde, B.K. Lewis, A. Chaudhry, J. Ren, J.A. Frank; Nature Med 18:463–468, 2012)

NIEHS: ARSENIC TURNS STEM CELLS CANCEROUS

Exposure to arsenic can turn normal stem cells into cancer stem cells and spur tumor growth. NIH researchers showed that when cancer cells are placed near—but not in contact with—normal stem cells, the normal stem cells rapidly acquire the characteristics of cancer stem cells. Malignant cells were able to send molecular signals through a semipermeable membrane and turn the normal stem cells into cancer stem cells. Further experiments are planned. [NIH authors: Y. Xu, E.J. Tokar, Y. Sun, M.P. Waalkes; Environ Health Perspect DOI:10.1289/ehp.1204987 (2012)]

NCI: TOBACCO CONTROL POLICIES PREVENT ALMOST 800,000 DEATHS

Twentieth-century tobacco-control programs and policies were responsible for preventing more than 795,000 lung cancer deaths in the United States from 1975 to 2000, according to an analysis done by NIH researchers and others. U.S. tobacco-control efforts have included restrictions on smoking in public places, increases in cigarette excise taxes, limits on underage access to cigarettes, and increasing awareness of the hazards of smoking. (NCI author: E.J. Feuer; J Natl Cancer Inst 104:541–548, 2012)

NIAMS, NCI: ORIGINS OF TUMOR-INDUCING CHROMOSOMAL REARRANGEMENTS

A study by NIH scientists resolved longstanding questions about the origin of recurrent chromosomal rearrangements, or translocations, that drive human lymphomas and leukemias. Using B immune cells, the researchers discovered that the frequency of DNA damage was directly proportional to the frequency of translocations. They also found that an enzyme called activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) damages approximately 150 genes in the B-cell genome, thus making them susceptible to translocations. In AID’s absence, gene proximity or interaction frequency was the driving force behind translocations. The researchers’ results also suggest that inhibiting AID could prevent the development of many human cancers. (NIH authors: O. Hakim, T.C. Voss, G.L. Hager, A. Nussenzweig, W. Resch, A. Yamane, K.-R. Kieffer-Kwon, J. Cobell, H. Nakahashi, C. Ansarah-Sobrinhow, G. Liang, E. Mathe, R. Casellas; Nature 484:69–74, 2012)

NHGRI: GENETIC BASIS OF TROPICAL FOOT AND LEG LYMPHEDEMA

A genetic variation may explain why four million people worldwide develop podoconiosis, a foot disfigurement resulting from barefoot exposure to volcanic soil. NIH researchers and their collaborators conducted a genome-wide association study analyzing DNA from volunteers—194 affected by podoconiosis and 203 unaffected—from the Ethiopian highlands. The researchers found that susceptibility to podoconiosis is increased—two to three times—by inheriting altered DNA in the HLA class II locus. (NIH authors: F.T. Ayele, A. Adeyemo, C.N. Rotimi; N Engl J Med 366:1200–1208, 2012)

NIEHS: GULF OIL SPILL STUDY

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and, over the next 87 days, spilled nearly five billion barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico and contaminated 500 miles of coastline along Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. NIEHS has been involved in this Gulf oil disaster since the very beginning, having offered safety training to more than 150,000 cleanup workers. Now a NIEHS team, led by epidemiology branch chief Dale Sandler, is seeking to determine possible physical or mental-health effects of the oil spill on the people who were involved in cleanup efforts. The Gulf Long-Term Follow-up (GuLF) Study, launched in February 2011, aims to include 55,000 of these workers, will last 10 years, and be the largest health study of its kind. It has acquired more than 10,000 participants so far. The researchers will use the results of a telephone survey and medical information to document potential mental, physical, and emotional health effects caused by exposure to crude oil and dispersants. Findings may help guide policy decisions on health care and services in the Gulf region and also guide responses to future oil spills. For more information, visit the GuLF Study Web site at http://www.niehs.nih.gov/GuLFSTUDY.