Building a better mouse map

Philanthropy supports an undergraduate's brain research

In Higgins Hall 510, Xibei Jia '10 works on fairly heady and important research—the prevention of brain cancer. 

Jia, under the guidance of Thomas Seyfried, professor of biology, has developed a protocol to identify whether a mouse is susceptible to brain tumors. The hope is to find a specific defective gene responsible for brain tumors and then determine, by mapping it, whether this gene is inherited as a simple trait.

"If we can find the gene responsible for brain cancers, then we'll be able to screen people for it, and develop preventative therapies," aid Seyfried.

Jia's work this summer is supported by an undergraduate research assistantship provided by gifts to the BC Fund. During the 2008-09 academic year, the Corwin Family Fund for Undergraduate Research, established by Mr. and Mrs. Philip M. Corwin '83, furnished her assistantship.

To locate a potentially defective gene, Jia first subjects mice to low-oxygen environments. In these conditions, mice that are susceptible to brain tumors behave much differently from those that aren't. Normal mice remain conscious about twice as long as susceptible mice, she reports, and those mice that lose consciousness faster have a 274-fold higher incidence of spontaneous brain cancer, an extremely rare occurrence in mice.

Why test in low-oxygen environments? Jia and Seyfried's research methods align with the "Warburg" theory of cancer. Otto Heinrich Warburg, a noted 20th century cell biologist, theorized that tumors initiate from defects in respiration caused by persistent inflammati on. Chronic smoking causes persistent damage to the lungs, for example, leading to cancer; prolonged exposure to the sun irritates the skin, triggering skin tumors and lesions.

While it might seem simple to determine whether an oxygen-deprived mouse is conscious, it isn't so easy, according to Seyfried. Jia has developed a scoring protocol that assigns numerical values (from one, being least active, to five, being most active) to the mouse's actions in these environments. She awards a five to a mouse for jumping, for instance, four for climbing, three for walking, two for no movement, down to a one for complete prostration.

"Xibei has developed a very important scoring protocol that can serve as the basis of similar research projects well beyond the scope of this one," said Seyfried.

Jia, who has worked in Seyfried's laboratories since her freshman year, originally hails from Guangzhou, China, and plans a career in science or medicine after graduation.  

"Working with Dr. Seyfried has been a great learning experience," said Jia. "I feel very fortunate to be able to work on this project."