Dr. Jay Sarthy is a physician and a principal investigator at Seattle Children’s Research Institute whose research focuses on epigenetics of pediatric cancers and identifying less toxic pediatric cancer treatments. Dr. Sarthy and his research team has found that a DNA-binding histone protein that is normally expressed in sperm cells is accidentally turned on in many pediatric and young adult cancers, and in particular lymphomas, and that this protein is very important for cancer cell growth. Proteins that are very important for normal development can be inappropriately hijacked to promote diseases including cancer. They believe that this histone protein changes the way the cell decodes its own DNA, allowing cancer cells to grow and spread more quickly.

Dr. Sarthy is studying how this testis histone exerts its effects and has identified a new treatment that can kill cancer cells expressing this protein more efficiently and safely. Related to this work, mutations in histones have been found in up to 40% of bladder and endometrial carcinomas as well as many other common cancers. They are investigating whether these mutant histones cause cancer in the same manner that the testis histone does, and whether these cancers are also sensitive to drugs that target protein-DNA interactions more efficiently and safely. Abnormal histones are increasingly being recognized as major contributors to a variety of cancers, and their work has the potential to impact the lives of thousands of residents in Washington State each year, and in particular spare children the long-term effects of harsh chemotherapies.