manipulating gene expression research

[Guest guest]

Gene Volume Control Developed

Technique for manipulating gene expression should aid research into

genetic diseases

By Gabe Romain, Betterhumans Staff

A new technique that gives researchers control over gene output promises

to improve understanding of the relationship between genes and diseases.

The technique, developed by Oliver ies and colleagues from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, makes it possible to study

gene expression without disrupting the regulatory elements essential for

normal gene function.

Knowing the effects of genetic variations that alter gene expression

levels is particularly important for understanding complex diseases, the

researchers say.

Studying how gene expression affects disease development and progression

could reveal new and better targets for drug treatments.

Translating code

Gene expression is the process by which a gene's coded information, or

DNA, is converted into structures such as proteins.

Researchers can study gene expression in the laboratory using DNA

microarrays.

Microarrays report on the activity of particular genes, and researchers

can use them to compare gene expression in healthy and diseased tissues,

providing clues about the genetic aspects of diseases such as cancer.

Gene expression has been difficult to study in the laboratory, however,

because traditional methods for altering levels of gene expression also

disrupt the machinery that genes themselves use to function.

Predictable changes

To overcome such problems, ies and colleagues developed a new

procedure that alters gene expression levels while leaving essential

control elements untouched.

The researchers altered a region of the gene called the 3' ( " three

prime " ) untranslated region.

This region doesn't specifically control gene function but does

influence how much protein product genes produce.

To test their technique, the researchers used a " reporter " gene that

glows green to indicate changes in gene expression.

Using the reporter gene, they determined that modification of the 3' UTR

predictably changes gene expression in mice.

" Thus, modification of the 3' region of a gene is a potent tool for

changing its expression in mice in a predictable fashion while retaining

its chromosomal position, promoters, and introns, " they write.

The technique could be useful for creating animal models that can be

used to better understand complex human genetic diseases.

The research is reported in the journal Developmental Cell (read

abstract).