In Translation

It's in the Blood
(continued)

"If we could find a way to inhibit germinal center kinase, we could stop the development of diseases like chronic myeloid leukemia," says Tuscano.

The discovery could also lead to an assay for germinal cell kinase which would help oncol- ogists determine if their patients had a particularly aggressive form of chronic myeloid leukemia.

Tuscano's research in B cells has led him to an unusual collaboration with Dr. Eric Gershwin, professor and chief of the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center.

Gershwin studies autoimmune disorders such as lupus, a chronic disease that causes inflammation of the connective tissue, and rheumatoid arthritis, in which the body attacks its own cartilage cells, mistaking them for foreign invaders.

"Scientists have always thought that autoimmune disorders were mediated primarily by T-cell lymphocytes, but I looked at the research and thought it was probable that these diseases were caused by B-cell abnormalities," says Tuscano.