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Anindya Dutta | |
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Alma mater |
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Awards |
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Scientific career | |
Fields | Biochemistry, cancer biology |
Institutions | Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, University of Virginia School of Medicine, University of Alabama |
Anindya Dutta is an Indian-born American biochemist and cancer researcher, a Chair of the Department of Genetics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine since 2021, who has served as Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 2011–2021. Dutta's research has focused on the mammalian cell cycle with an emphasis on DNA replication and repair and on noncoding RNAs. He is particularly interested in how de-regulation of these processes promote cancer progression. For his accomplishments he has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, [1] received the Ranbaxy Award in Biomedical Sciences, the Outstanding Investigator Award from the American Society for Investigative Pathology, the Distinguished Scientist Award from the University of Virginia and the Mark Brothers Award from the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Dutta was born in Kolkata, India. He attended St. Patrick's Higher Secondary School in Asansol (1966 to 1974) and obtained his MBBS degree from Christian Medical College & Hospital, Vellore, graduating as the Best Outgoing Student in 1982. After a year as a research assistant at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, he enrolled at Rockefeller University in New York City for doctoral studies with Hidesaburo Hanafusa to work on viral oncology. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1989.
He joined the laboratory of Bruce Stillman at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to do postdoctoral research on the cell-cycle regulation of DNA replication. In 1992 he began a residency in Anatomic Pathology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, where he went on to become an assistant and then associate professor of pathology. In 2003, he was appointed the Harry F. Byrd Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Virginia's School of Medicine. In 2021 he became Chair of the Department of Genetics at University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.
Dutta discovered how the cell cycle factor p21 interacts with and inhibits cyclin-dependent kinases and PCNA, identifying the cyclin-binding Cy or RXL motif that are also used by cdk to identify substrates for phosphorylation. [2] [3] [4] He discovered how the interaction of p21, Cdt1, Set8 and other important cell-cycle regulators with PCNA triggers their ubiquitylation by CRL4-Cdt2 and subsequent proteasomal degradation. [5] [6] [7] [8] His laboratory cloned the cDNAs of many human DNA replication initiation factors and their regulators (Orc3, Orc4, Orc5, Orc6, Cdc6, Cdt1, Cdc45, Mcm10, geminin) [9] [10] and identified how the geminin-Cdt1 balance is important for the prevention of over-replication in human cells. [11] [12] [13] [14] These discoveries explained how a new experimental anti-cancer drug MLN4924 (Pevonedistat) caused over-replication of the DNA and DNA damage leading to cancer cell death. The lab discovered the E2 in the Fanconi Anemia pathway, UBE2T, that is now known to cause Fanconi Anemia (FANCT). [15] In an early adoption of genomic technologies as part of the ENCODE pilot project, Dutta's lab molecularly identified domains of human chromosomes that replicated early or late in S phase and showed that they corresponded to chromosomal domains with active or repressive epigenetic marks respectively. [16] He confirmed that most origins of replication in human cells appear to be zones with multiple initiation sites that are each used inefficiently in a given cell in a population of cells. [17] The laboratory discovered tens of thousands of extrachromosomal circles of DNA (microDNA) in normal and cancerous cells and in tissues in humans, mice and chickens and somatically mosaic chromosomal microdeletions in some of the hotspots of microDNA production. [18] The microDNA are released into the circulation and will add to the repertoire of cell-free-circulating DNA that is being used for liquid biopsy in cancers and in prenatal noninvasive genetic diagnoses. [19] Finally, the lab has discovered how deletion of MCM9 and ASF1a genes in certain human cancers make the cancer cells susceptible to DNA damage-inducing therapy [20] and that the USP46 deubiquitinase should be targeted for therapy of cancers caused by human papillomavirus. [21]
In the area of noncoding RNAs, Dutta discovered the role of microRNAs like miR-206 and of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) like H19 and MUNC in promoting skeletal muscle differentiation and regeneration after injury. [22] [23] [24] The group has identified the roles of several microRNAs in tumorigenesis [25] and scores of long noncoding RNAs whose expression levels predict the outcome of gliomas (e.g. DRAIC, LINC00152 or APTR) and has suggested that lncRNA expression patterns could be used for prognostic purposes. [26] Dutta has identified a novel family of short RNAs derived from the processing of tRNAs, called tRFs. tRFs are emerging to be versatile regulators of cell function, with some of them regulating cellular gene expression by microRNA-like pathways even though they are not generated by enzymes that normally generate microRNAs [27] [28] [29]
Over 75 trainees (postdoctoral fellows, Ph.D. and M.D. students and undergraduates) have passed through Dutta's laboratory, of whom over 30 currently hold independent positions doing research in academia or industry. As Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, he has hired nine faculty members and developed a research focus area in the department on epigenetics and genomics in cancer. Dutta has served as Editor of the Journal of Biological Chemistry and as Senior Editor of Cancer Research. He has served as a reviewer for the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Armed Forces Cancer Research Program, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome Trust UK, CNRS/INSERM France, Austrian Science Fund, European Union's FP7 program, DBT-Wellcome Trust India Alliance, Institute for Basic Science (Korea) and on the external review committee for Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and for Thomas Jefferson University. Dutta has been elected to organize two Gordon Research Conferences on Cell proliferation and on Genome stability and organized three Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory meetings on Eukaryotic DNA replication and Genome Maintenance. He has served on the Program Committees for annual meetings of the American Society for Investigative Pathology and of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Non-coding DNA (ncDNA) sequences are components of an organism's DNA that do not encode protein sequences. Some non-coding DNA is transcribed into functional non-coding RNA molecules. Other functional regions of the non-coding DNA fraction include regulatory sequences that control gene expression; scaffold attachment regions; origins of DNA replication; centromeres; and telomeres. Some non-coding regions appear to be mostly nonfunctional, such as introns, pseudogenes, intergenic DNA, and fragments of transposons and viruses. Regions that are completely nonfunctional are called junk DNA.
A non-coding RNA (ncRNA) is a functional RNA molecule that is not translated into a protein. The DNA sequence from which a functional non-coding RNA is transcribed is often called an RNA gene. Abundant and functionally important types of non-coding RNAs include transfer RNAs (tRNAs) and ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), as well as small RNAs such as microRNAs, siRNAs, piRNAs, snoRNAs, snRNAs, exRNAs, scaRNAs and the long ncRNAs such as Xist and HOTAIR.
Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is a DNA clamp that acts as a processivity factor for DNA polymerase δ in eukaryotic cells and is essential for replication. PCNA is a homotrimer and achieves its processivity by encircling the DNA, where it acts as a scaffold to recruit proteins involved in DNA replication, DNA repair, chromatin remodeling and epigenetics.
p21Cip1, also known as cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1 or CDK-interacting protein 1, is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CKI) that is capable of inhibiting all cyclin/CDK complexes, though is primarily associated with inhibition of CDK2. p21 represents a major target of p53 activity and thus is associated with linking DNA damage to cell cycle arrest. This protein is encoded by the CDKN1A gene located on chromosome 6 (6p21.2) in humans.
Geminin, DNA replication inhibitor, also known as GMNN, is a protein in humans encoded by the GMNN gene. A nuclear protein present in most eukaryotes and highly conserved across species, numerous functions have been elucidated for geminin including roles in metazoan cell cycle, cellular proliferation, cell lineage commitment, and neural differentiation. One example of its function is the inhibition of Cdt1.
Drosha is a Class 2 ribonuclease III enzyme that in humans is encoded by the DROSHA gene. It is the primary nuclease that executes the initiation step of miRNA processing in the nucleus. It works closely with DGCR8 and in correlation with Dicer. It has been found significant in clinical knowledge for cancer prognosis and HIV-1 replication.
DNA (cytosine-5)-methyltransferase 1(Dnmt1) is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of methyl groups to specific CpG sites in DNA, a process called DNA methylation. In humans, it is encoded by the DNMT1 gene. Dnmt1 forms part of the family of DNA methyltransferase enzymes, which consists primarily of DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B.
MSH6 or mutS homolog 6 is a gene that codes for DNA mismatch repair protein Msh6 in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is the homologue of the human "G/T binding protein," (GTBP) also called p160 or hMSH6. The MSH6 protein is a member of the Mutator S (MutS) family of proteins that are involved in DNA damage repair.
Eukaryotic DNA replication is a conserved mechanism that restricts DNA replication to once per cell cycle. Eukaryotic DNA replication of chromosomal DNA is central for the duplication of a cell and is necessary for the maintenance of the eukaryotic genome.
Y RNAs are small non-coding RNAs. They are components of the Ro60 ribonucleoprotein particle which is a target of autoimmune antibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. They are also reported to be necessary for DNA replication through interactions with chromatin and initiation proteins. However, mouse embryonic stem cells lacking Y RNAs are viable and have normal cell cycles.
Cullin-4A is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CUL4A gene. CUL4A belongs to the cullin family of ubiquitin ligase proteins and is highly homologous to the CUL4B protein. CUL4A regulates numerous key processes such as DNA repair, chromatin remodeling, spermatogenesis, haematopoiesis and the mitotic cell cycle. As a result, CUL4A has been implicated in several cancers and the pathogenesis of certain viruses including HIV. A component of a CUL4A complex, Cereblon, was discovered to be a major target of the teratogenic agent thalidomide.
Flap endonuclease 1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the FEN1 gene.
CDT1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CDT1 gene. It is a licensing factor that functions to limit DNA from replicating more than once per cell cycle.
Cullin-4B is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CUL4B gene which is located on the X chromosome. CUL4B has high sequence similarity with CUL4A, with which it shares certain E3 ubiquitin ligase functions. CUL4B is largely expressed in the nucleus and regulates several key functions including: cell cycle progression, chromatin remodeling and neurological and placental development in mice. In humans, CUL4B has been implicated in X-linked intellectual disability and is frequently mutated in pancreatic adenocarcinomas and a small percentage of various lung cancers. Viruses such as HIV can also co-opt CUL4B-based complexes to promote viral pathogenesis. CUL4B complexes containing Cereblon are also targeted by the teratogenic drug thalidomide.
Denticleless protein homolog is a protein that in humans is encoded by the DTL gene.
Long non-coding RNAs are a type of RNA, generally defined as transcripts more than 200 nucleotides that are not translated into protein. This arbitrary limit distinguishes long ncRNAs from small non-coding RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), and other short RNAs. Given that some lncRNAs have been reported to have the potential to encode small proteins or micro-peptides, the latest definition of lncRNA is a class of RNA molecules of over 200 nucleotides that have no or limited coding capacity. Long intervening/intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) are sequences of lncRNA which do not overlap protein-coding genes.
DNA re-replication is an undesirable and possibly fatal occurrence in eukaryotic cells in which the genome is replicated more than once per cell cycle. Rereplication is believed to lead to genomic instability and has been implicated in the pathologies of a variety of human cancers. To prevent rereplication, eukaryotic cells have evolved multiple, overlapping mechanisms to inhibit chromosomal DNA from being partially or fully rereplicated in a given cell cycle. These control mechanisms rely on cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) activity. DNA replication control mechanisms cooperate to prevent the relicensing of replication origins and to activate cell cycle and DNA damage checkpoints. DNA rereplication must be strictly regulated to ensure that genomic information is faithfully transmitted through successive generations.
Chromatin assembly factor-1 (CAF-1) is a protein complex — including Chaf1a (p150), Chaf1b (p60), and p48 subunits in humans, or Cac1, Cac2, and Cac3, respectively, in yeast— that assembles histone tetramers onto replicating DNA during the S phase of the cell cycle.
Julian Blow is a molecular biologist, Professor of Chromosome Maintenance, and also the Dean of the School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland.
Kevin Struhl is an American molecular biologist and the David Wesley Gaiser Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. Struhl is primarily known for his work on transcriptional regulatory mechanisms in yeast using molecular, genetic, biochemical, and genomic approaches. More recently, he has used related approaches to study transcriptional regulatory circuits involved in cellular transformation and the formation of cancer stem cells.