Newly discovered gene may protect against heart disease

Scientists have identified a gene that may play a protective role in preventing heart disease. Their research revealed that the gene, called MeXis, acts within key cells inside clogged arteries to help remove excess cholesterol from blood vessels.Published in the journal  Nature Medicine, the UCLA-led study in mice found that MeXis controls the expression of a protein that pumps cholesterol out of cells in the artery wall.MeXis is an example of a “selfish” gene, one that is presumed to have no function because it does not make a protein product. However, recent studies have suggested that these so-called “unhelpful” genes can actually perform important biological functions without making proteins and instead producing a special class of molecules called long non-coding RNAs, or lncRNAs. “What this study tells us is that lncRNAs are important for the inner workings of cells involved in the development of heart disease,” said Dr. Peter Tontonoz, senior author of the study. He is also the Frances and Albert Piansky Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the David Geffe n School of Medicine at UCLA. “Considering many genes like MeXis have completely unknown functions, our study suggests that further exploring how other long non-coding RNAs act will lead to exciting insights into both normal physiology and disease.”Sallam LabMouse blood vessel with plaque accumulationIn the study, researchers found that mice lacking MeXis had almost twice as many bloc...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news