The downstream targets of Patched/Hedgehog signalling.

在常见的人类癌症中，包括皮肤基底细胞癌、髓母细胞瘤、横纹肌肉瘤和卵巢纤维瘤，补丁型刺猬基因通路受到干扰。这个应用程序建议观察被补丁基因关闭和打开的基因。通过识别这些基因并检查它们的功能，我们将确定导致大部分常见人类癌症的确切遗传紊乱。一旦我们找到这些基因，就有可能设计出专门阻断基因缺陷作用的药物，从而治疗肿瘤。

The patched-hedgehog gene pathway is disturbed in common human cancer, including basal cell carcinoma of the skin, medulloblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma and ovarian fibroma. This application proposes to look at the genes turned off and on by the patched gene. By identifying these genes and examining their function we will identify the exact genetic disturbance which results in a large proportion of common human cancer. Once we find these genes this opens up the possibilities of designing drugs which specifically block the action of the geneticdefect and thereby treating the tumours.