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THE IMPACT OF YOUR SUPPORT
Hutch Holiday Gala
Basic Sciences
Endowment
At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, our
compassion drives us to seek a better future for
those with cancer, HIV/AIDS and related diseases. At the
heart of our research are the dedicated scientists of the
Basic Sciences Division, who are continually pushing the
boundaries to gain a fundamental understanding of how
biology works. This exploration of life’s basic mechanisms is
leading to remarkable discoveries and potentially lifesaving
advances.
Private support is crucial to the scientific foundations upon
which new strategies to fight cancer and other diseases
are built. At the 2011 Hutch Holiday Gala, attendees
demonstrated their commitment to the Hutchinson Center’s
mission and researchers once again, this time raising more
than $6.2 million for a Basic Sciences Endowment, and
bringing the lifetime Gala total to more than $81.4 million in
the 36-year history of the event.
In this report, we highlight two projects being led by Basic
Sciences Division researchers that would not be possible
without generous partners like you:
• A breakthrough in understanding the evolutionary
conflict between HIV-related viruses and their hosts’
defense systems
RESEARCH UPDATE | AUGUST 2012
FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER
DRS. MICHAEL EMERMAN AND HARMIT MALIK
• A discovery into protein structure that is paving the way
for corrective gene therapy that could cure multiple
diseases
Thank you for helping to fund projects such as these and
joining the Hutchinson Center in its goal to improve the lives
of those who battle cancer and related diseases.
Evolutionary genetic arms race
Hutchinson Center scientist Dr. Harmit Malik and his
colleagues study the genetic tugs-of-war between viruses
and their hosts, epic battles in which each side rapidly
evolves to gain the upper hand over its opponent. A
world leader in his field, Dr. Malik explores the history of
these conflicts in order to improve our future chances of
successfully treating deadly infections such as HIV.

THE IMPACT OF YOUR SUPPORT
Recently, Dr. Malik and an interdisciplinary team of
Hutchinson Center investigators traced, for the first time
ever, the origin of one such evolutionary struggle. It pits two
proteins against each other: a host protein that helps cells
resist infection by HIV-related viruses and a protein made
by some members of the HIV family that can degrade that
defensive host protein. By piecing together a family tree of
sorts for the viral protein, the researchers found that the
most common form of the human virus, known as HIV-1, is
part of a branch that never acquired the ability to counteract
this host defense mechanism.
If HIV-1 can’t break down the protective protein, then why,
you may ask, is it so successful at infecting human cells?
One possibility is that this supposed weakness in the virus
has actually made it stronger, driving it to compensate by
developing even more effective countermeasures. More
research will need to be done before we know for sure, but
already discoveries like Dr. Malik’s are giving scientists
the answers they will need to design better vaccines and
therapies to prevent and treat HIV infection.
Paving the way for corrective therapy
Dr. Barry Stoddard and colleagues have solved the threedimensional
structure of a recently discovered type of
gene-targeting protein called a TAL effector. These proteins
have the potential to be extremely powerful tools for gene
therapy and gene correction, offering the possibility of better
treatments, and even cures, for disease.
TAL effectors occur naturally in a type of bacteria that can
infect certain plants, but, as Dr. Stoddard explains, “In
biotechnology and medicine, TAL effectors can be used
by scientists to seek out and bind to DNA targets in any
organism of choice, including genes in humans that contain
disease-causing mutations that we might want to correct.”
Using sophisticated computational analyses and X-ray
technology to study the arrangement of the protein’s
Kristin Nash, Manager, Hutch Holiday Gala
Tel. 206.667.6252 knash@fhcrc.org
Mail Stop J5-200, PO Box 19024, Seattle, WA 98109
DR. BARRY STODDARD
individual atoms, the group determined that TAL effectors
have a modular, LEGO-like architecture that allows them to
be easily reshuffled and engineered for DNA targeting.
Solving the structure of the TAL effector protein allows
scientists to see exactly how the protein binds to its DNA
target. With the form finally unveiled, scientists can now
engineer the proteins to work more effectively in a variety of
medical applications.
Thank you
The Hutchinson Center thanks you again for your support.
Your generous contributions help to sustain our scientists in
their unwavering commitment to improve the lives of those
with cancer and related diseases.
» Save the date
37 th Annual Hutch Holiday Gala
Saturday, December 1, 2012
www.fhcrc.org/gala