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Show Summit Park man makes breakthrough in cystic fibrosis research at U of U by CHRISTOPHER SMART fi r Record staff writer - w4 , A scientific "observation" that last week was touted as a major breakthrough in the search for a cure to the fatal hereditary disease, ' cystic fibrosis, was made by a Summit Sum-mit Park man who is a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Utah. Native Utahn Scott Woodward, 29, scored a major feather in his scien-tific scien-tific cap recently when he discovered a new link to the gene that researchers believe is responsible responsi-ble for causing cystic fibrosis. The findings were - published in the prestigious British scientific research journal Nature Nov. 28. Woodward's post-doctoral fellowship is under Dr. Raymond LT White, professor of human genetics and director of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Research Center at the University of Utah. Oddly, Woodward was working with genetic relationships to cancer at the time of his finding, which he termed an "observation." - Geneticists have known for almost 40 years that cystic fibrosis is a disease children inherit from their parents. But the new discoveries could put scientists very close to treating the disease, which is the most common fatal hereditary disease in the United States, Woodward Wood-ward said. Cystic fibrosis victims suffer from i abnormally thick, sticky ; mucous ; that clogs the lungs and digestive system, interfering with breathing and digestion. About 95 percent of ; cystic fibrosis patients die from respiratory complications resulting from a progressive breakdown of lung tissue. '. Woodward explained that the gene, or reproductive mechanism responsible for the disease, is "recessive." That means both parents must be carriers of the gene before a child can be affected. It is believed by scientists that one , of every 20 people carry a copy of the ; cystic fibrosis gene. Woodward said j that, mathematically speaking, one of every 400 matings, on average, ' will be made by a man and woman who both are cystic fibrosis carriers. That hypothetical couple, he said, will produce offspring with cystic fibrosis one out of four times, on the average. In simple terms, that . means that one child of every 2,000 born will have the disease. The latest discovery, however, has enabled researchers to put a "marker" close to the cystic fibrosis gene. "Using that marker, we can see a particular pattern. And by following that pattern through a family, we can track and predict which children will have cystic, fibrosis," Woodward said. But Woodward cautioned that real therapies for patients and practical prenatal diagnosis will not come un-( til researchers find the specific gene " responsible for the disease. "Right now, we don't have our hands on the CF gene itself." He added that could be as soon as six months to one year. He noted, however, that the latest finding does enable researchers to make prenatal diagnoses in certain cases. Such diagnoses will become matter-of-fact once the cystic fibrosis gene is isolated, he said. Woodward's findings actually were part of a collaborative effort in human gene mapping with Dr. George Vande Woude and his colleagues col-leagues at the Fredrick Cancer Research Facility in Maryland. The Vande Woude laboratory found a marker that was isolated to a specific region of chromosome seven, where the cystic fibrosis gene was believed to be. That marker is known as MET, and Woodward said it behaves much like an oncogene, or one that has been linked to the inheritance in-heritance of cancer. Woodward said he tried the MET marker on a test he was conducting on a family that had a high incidence of colon cancer. The use of the marker seemed to bear no relationship relation-ship to the disease in that family, Woodward noted. "But it just so happened that I had this CF family and ... it worked for us." The research technique used by Woodward under White and one " that has become ' commdiT in" - ' ' molecular research is known as recombinant DNA research or gene splicing. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid is the genetic material that makes up chromosomes. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes containing con-taining the genetic codes that determine deter-mine the physical makeup of offspring. Woodward explained that researchers resear-chers can isolate DNA from parents and children from white blood cells. The DNA is then treated with enzymes en-zymes and further separated by a sophisticated electrical apparatus to find those pieces of DNA resear-. resear-. chers are interested in testing. The marker itself is a radioactive one that is coupled to the DNA in question by a naturally occurring process known as hybridization. Woodward said that hybridization will not take place under conditions that are less than optimum. After the hybridization process is complete, the membrane or filter to which the DNA is attached is exposed expos-ed to X-ray film. The radioactive particles show up on the film in patterns. pat-terns. It is those patterns that researchers study and trace from CFtoA5 C(nnntt1npflD(pql from . . . ' CF from A1 . . . parent to child. While researchers are now close to ;,: finding the cystic fibrosis gene, the . final isolation will signal the beginning beginn-ing of practical measures. " Woodward said that when the cystic fibrosis gene is isolated, technicians will be able to be detect the disease in unborn children and parents can then make a decision on whether to carry the fetus to term, he said. In addition, when the gene is found, cures for the symptoms of the disease can begin to be developed, he said. Until that time, it is impossible impossi-ble to predict what those cures could Woodward graduated from Carbon Car-bon High School in Price, Utah. He attended the College of Eastern Utah in Price for two years before transferring to Utah State University. Universi-ty. Woodward received a B.S. degree in biology there and completed com-pleted a Ph.D. at Utah State in cancer genetics. He came to the University of Utah two years ago and moved to Summit Park last year. Coincide-ntally, local entrepreneurs en-trepreneurs Randy and Debbi Fields have made significant contributions to cystic fibrosis research, Woodward Wood-ward noted. The Fields helped the University of Utah secure a $1.12 million grant recently for the genetic study of |