Thalidomide blocked gene

SCIENTISTS have finally discovered why thalidomide, a drug that was commonly prescribed as a quick cure for morning sickness, left thousands of babies with major birth defects.

In the 1950s and 1960s, many women lost their pregnancies or gave birth to babies with missing or malformed limbs after taking the drug.

For decades, no one knew why, but Dana Farber Cancer Institute scientists have discovered the drug interferes with transcription proteins that can shut off a gene crucial to limb development.

Thalidomide first appeared in West Germany in 1957 and it took hardly any time at all for its dangers to become clear.

Almost as soon as the drug became widespread in West Germany, between 5 000 and 7 000 babies were born with malformed legs and arms, a condition called phocomelia.

But doctors discovered it had some effectiveness for treating leprosy and in the 1980s it was re-purposed to treat a form of cancer, called multiple myeloma.

This discovery cast thalidomide in a new light, suggesting it could be a powerful tool in the fight against cancer.

A gene called SALL4 is instrumental to the development of limbs during gestation, as well as coding for other traits.

Thalidomide, scientists discovered, tampers with proteins that control the expression of certain genes, including SALL4. – Daily Mail