FACT SHEET-CDC GENE/ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION

[Guest guest]

KEY WORDS: " modifiable environmental factors " .......

MY NOTE: GENETIC DEPLETERS AND MUTATORS

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THIS IS A PDF FILE FOUND AT

http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/info/files/text/GeneEnviro.pdf

ALL IS COPIED BELOW..........

Virtually all-human diseases result from the interaction of genetic

susceptibility

factors and modifiable environmental factors, broadly defined to

include infectious, chemical, physical, nutritional, and behavioral factors.

August 2000 Gene-Environment Interaction Fact Sheet

The Office of Environment Interaction and Disease Prevention

ENVIRONMENT GENES

Information from the Human Genome Project has caused scientists to re-examine

the role of genetics and other risk factors involved in the development of

disease. Understanding this complex interplay of genes and environment will

lead us to new methods of disease detection and prevention.

This is perhaps the most important fact in understanding the role of genetics

and environment in the development of disease. Many people tend to classify

the cause of disease as either genetic or environmental. Indeed, some rare

diseases, such as Huntington or Tay Sachs disease, may be the result of a

deficiency of a single gene product, but these diseases represent a very small

proportion of all human disease. Common diseases, such as diabetes or cancer,

are a result of the complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors.

Variations in genetic makeup are associated with almost all disease.

Even so-called single-gene disorders actually develop from the interaction of

both genetic and environmental factors. For example, phenylketonuria (PKU)

results from a genetic variant that leads to deficient metabolism of the amino

acid phenylalanine; in the presence of normal protein intake, phenylalanine

accumulates and is neurotoxic. PKU occurs only when both the genetic variant

(phenylalanine hydoxylase deficiency) and the environmental exposure (dietary

phenylalanine) are present.

Genetic variations do not cause disease but rather influence a person’s

susceptibility to environmental factors.

MY NOT: DISAGREE.......THEN WHY DO CHEMICALS MUTATE GENES..CAUSE GENE LOSS...

We do not inherit a disease state per se. Instead, we inherit a set of a

susceptibility

factors to certain effects of environmental factors and therefore inherit a

higher risk for certain diseases. This concept also explains why individuals

are

differently affected by the same environmental factors. For example, some

health conscious individuals with “acceptable†cholesterol levels suffer

myocar-dial

infarction at age 40. Others individuals seem immune to heart disease in

spite of smoking, poor diet, and obesity. Genetic variations account, at

least in

part, for this difference in response to the same environmental factors.

August 2000 Gene Environment Interaction Fact Sheet (Continued)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Office of Genetics and Disease Prevention

1600 Clifton Road Mail Stop # K-28

Atlanta, Georgia 30333

770-488-3235

770 488-3236

http://www.cdc.gov/genetics/

Contact

Genetic information can be used to target interventions.

We all carry genetic variants that increase our susceptibility to some

diseases.

By identifying and characterizing gene-environment interactions, we have

more opportunities to effectively target intervention strategies. Many of the

genetic risk factors for diseases have not been identified, and the complex

interaction of genes with other genes and genes with environmental factors is

not yet understood. Clinical and epidemiological studies are necessary to

further describe these factors and their interactions. However, as our

under-standing

of genetic variations increases, so should our knowledge of

environmental factors, so that ultimately, genetic information can be used to

plan appropriate intervention strategies for high-risk individuals.