G.3.2 is a novel allele of the gene connector enhancer of ksr ( cnk ) in Drosophila melanogaster.

Genetic screens in Drosophila melanogaster have long been used to identify genes found in a variety of developmental, cellular, and behavioral processes. Here we describe the characterization and mapping of a mutation identified in a conditional screen for genetic regulators of cell growth and cell division. Within a Flp/FRT system, mutant G.3.2 results in a reduction of mutant tissue and a rough eye phenotype. We find that G.3.2 maps to the gene cnk , providing further support that cnk is a critical gene in Drosophila eye development. This mutant was characterized, mapped and sequenced by undergraduate students within the Fly-CURE consortium.

USP7 Cooperates with NOTCH1 to Drive the Oncogenic Transcriptional Program in T-Cell Leukemia.

PURPOSE: T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive disease, affecting children and adults. Chemotherapy treatments show high response rates but have debilitating effects and carry risk of relapse. Previous work implicated NOTCH1 and other oncogenes. However, direct inhibition of these pathways affects healthy tissues and cancer alike. Our goal in this work has been to identify enzymes active in T-ALL whose activity could be targeted for therapeutic purposes. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: To identify and characterize new NOTCH1 druggable partners in T-ALL, we coupled studies of the NOTCH1 interactome to expression analysis and a series of functional analyses in cell lines, patient samples, and xenograft models. RESULTS: We demonstrate that ubiquitin-specific protease 7 (USP7) interacts with NOTCH1 and controls leukemia growth by stabilizing the levels of NOTCH1 and JMJD3 histone demethylase. USP7 is highly expressed in T-ALL and is transcriptionally regulated by NOTCH1. In turn, USP7 controls NOTCH1 levels through deubiquitination. USP7 binds oncogenic targets and controls gene expression through stabilization of NOTCH1 and JMJD3 and ultimately H3K27me3 changes. We also show that USP7 and NOTCH1 bind T-ALL superenhancers, and inhibition of USP7 leads to a decrease of the transcriptional levels of NOTCH1 targets and significantly blocks T-ALL cell growth in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide a new model for USP7 deubiquitinase activity through recruitment to oncogenic chromatin loci and regulation of both oncogenic transcription factors and chromatin marks to promote leukemia. Our studies also show that targeting USP7 inhibition could be a therapeutic strategy in aggressive leukemia.