Name:

Prof. Sakari Knuutila

Centre:

Haartman Institute, Department of Medical Genetics

POB 21 (Haartmaninkatu 3th, 4th flr)

FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

Tel: +358-9-19126527   Fax: +358-9-19126788

e-mail:Sakari.Knuutila@helsinki.fi

Professor Sakari Knuutila is the originator and head of the CMG Laboratory with thirty years scientific and professional experience in cancer genetics. Active collaboration with domestic and international clinical and basic researchers has resulted in discovery of new clinically and biologically relevant DNA copy number changes in haematological cancers, sarcomas and carcinomas.

The Laboratory of Cytomolecular Genetics (CMG) is one of the leading laboratories in the field of cytogenetic and molecular genetic routine diagnostics, and research of haematological malignancies and sarcomas. State-of-the-art methods and techniques, such as comparative genomic hybridisation and microarrays are well established and used routinely in diagnostic and research work. Being one of the reference laboratories, CMG hosts a continuous influx of domestic and international visitors. In the past few years the CMG laboratory has also arranged well-attended graduate school courses. The resident researchers have set up an online data collection of published DNA copy number changes in human neoplasms (www.helsinki.fi/cmg/cgh_data.html).  The thrust of the CMG laboratory lies in its intense collaboration with units that treat and study cancer patients (Scandinavian Sarcoma Group), and in collaboration with international researchers (e.g., Prof. Nils Mandahl, Dept. of Clinical Genetics, University Hospital, Lund, Sweden and Dr. Piero Picci, Laboratory of Oncologic Research, Istituti Ortopedici Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy).

Personnel involved in studies related to PROTHET's:

Dr. Maija Tarkkanen, M.D., Ph.D. holds a post-doctoral position as adjunct professor and is a specialist in medical oncology and radiotherapy. She has a long experience and exhaustive knowledge of molecular biology and molecular genetics. She collects and analyses clinical data with special interest in clinical correlations. The research group headed by Dr. Tarkkanen studies the most frequent genetic aberrations in ESFT tissue in relation to clinical outcome.

Dr. Tom Böhling, M.D., Ph.D. is the leading expert in the field of musculoskeletal pathology in Finland and is responsible for the diagnostics of all the cases referred to the Helsinki University Central Hospital. The University Hospital in Helsinki is the major centre for the treatment and research on musculoskeletal tumors in Finland. Dr. Böhling is vice chairman and member of the pathology board of the Scandinavian Sarcoma Group.

Kirsi Autio, PhD, Medical geneticist, cytogenetic and FISH analyses.

Marcelo Larramendy, PhD, Professor, molecular genetic analyses.

Sippy Kaur, MSc, Graduate student.

Tiina Wirtanen, Laboratory technician.

Recent Publications relevant to the project:

Armengol G, Tarkkanen M, Virolainen M, Forus A, Valle J, Böhling T, Asko-Seljavaara S, Blomqvist C, Elomaa I, Karaharju E, Kivioja AH, Siimes MA, Tukiainen E, Caballín MR, Myklebost O, Knuutila S: Recurrent gains of 1q, 8 and 12 in the Ewing family of tumours by comparative genomic hybridization. Br J Cancer 75:1403-1409, 1997

Tarkkanen M, Kiuru-Kuhlefelt S, Blomqvist C, Armengol G, Böhling T, Ekfors T, Virolainen M, Lindholm P, Monge O, Picci P, Knuutila S, Elomaa I: Clinical correlations of genetic changes by comparative genomic hybridization in Ewing sarcoma and related tumors. Cancer Genet Cytogenet 114:35-41, 1999

Hattinger CM, Pötschger U, Tarkkanen M, Squire J, Zielenska M, Kiuru-Kuhlefelt S, Kager L, Thorner P, Knuutila S, Niggli FK, Ambros PF, Gadner H, Betts DR: Prognostic impact of chromosomal aberrations in Ewing tumours. Br J Cancer 86:1763-1769, 2002

Cerisano V, Aalto Y, Perdichizzi S, Bernard G, Manara MC, Benini S, Cenacchi G, Preda P, Lattanzi G, Nagy B, Knuutila S, Colombo MP, Bernard A, Picci P, Scotlandi K: Molecular mechanisms of CD99-induced caspase-independent cell death and cell-cell adhesion in Ewing's sarcoma cells: actin and zyxin as key intracellular mediators. Oncogene 23:5664-5674, 2004

Atiye J, Wolf M, Kaur S, Monni O, Böhling T, Kivioja A, Tas É, Serra M, Tarkkanen M, Knuutila S: Gene amplifications in osteosarcoma – CGH microarray analysis. Genes Chromosomes Cancer Genes Chromosomes Cancer 42:158-163, 2005.

Online access to data that the CMG group has collected of published Recurrent DNA Sequence Copy Number Changes in Human Neoplasms www.helsinki.fi/cmg/cgh_data.html.