GeneAssess, Inc. — the FRY gene as a cancer biomarker
The FRY gene, and what it does
A tumour suppressor that is lost as breast cancer gets worse
Quantitative trait locus mapping in rats identified Fry as a mammary carcinoma susceptibility gene. In human tissue, falling FRY expression tracks with aggressive histology, lost hormone receptors and higher tumour grade.
Read the scienceFrom a rat cross to a human biomarker
Mcs30 mapped to a 12 Mbp interval on RNO12
A genetic backcross between the resistant Copenhagen and susceptible Fischer 344 strains put the susceptibility locus at a LOD score of about 8.6 — a region syntenic to human chromosome 13q12–13q13.
See the mapping
A platform, not a single assay
Susceptibility, progression and tumour grading
The company’s position was that FRY could underpin cancer gene-based susceptibility tests, tests for disease progression, and tumour grading — and, in time, targeted drugs.
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Conserved from fly to human
FRY is the ortholog of furry
The gene is conserved from Drosophila melanogaster to humans, which is what makes a rat QTL result a plausible human biomarker in the first place.
See the alignment
Technology News
FRY Gene Identification Publication
GeneAssess, Inc. is delighted to announce the publication of the study identifying FRY as a candidate mammary carcinoma susceptibility gene.
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Science Breakthrough
QTL mapping identifies a mammary carcinoma susceptibility locus
Dr. Zarbl’s laboratory used quantitative trait locus mapping in a genetic backcross to identify a rat mammary carcinoma susceptibility locus, and then narrowed it to a single candidate gene.
read more
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read moreThe finding
A tumour suppressor that breast cancer switches off
The laboratory used quantitative trait locus mapping in a genetic backcross to identify a rat mammary carcinoma susceptibility locus, then narrowed the interval to a single candidate gene: Fry, the rat ortholog of the Drosophila furry gene.
In human tissue, falling FRY expression tracks with aggressive tumour histopathology, loss of hormone receptors and higher tumour grade — in breast, and in ovary, prostate and lung.
The programme
From a rat cross to a planned diagnostic
Four steps, each published, each with its own figure. All of them from the company’s own science.
In numbers
The evidence behind the claim
Decreased expression of FRY mRNA and protein — especially nuclear expression — was strongly correlated with aggressive tumour histopathology, loss of hormone receptors and Elston tumour grade.
The company
A joint university and industry partnership
GeneAssess, Inc. was founded in 2012 by Helmut Zarbl, PhD, whose mission for it was to translate research on differential susceptibility to environmental carcinogenesis into new diagnostic and prognostic tests, and therapies.
Its first disclosed financing, $500,000 from Foundation Venture Capital Group, was announced in July 2012.
In the founder’s words, 2012
“Our findings suggest that FRY could potentially be used as a platform to develop cancer gene-based susceptibility tests, for disease progression and for tumor grading. This tumor suppressor gene could be useful for developing new targeted drugs, especially for the treatment of aggressive and/or advanced breast cancer.”
Helmut Zarbl, quoted in Global Corporate Venturing, 4 July 2012.
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