Inscrutable Genes

" In most cases, the molecular consequences of disease, or trait-associated variants for human physiology, are not understood. " from: Manolio TA, Collins FS, Cox NJ, Goldstein DB, Hindorff LA, Hunter DJ, et al. Finding the missing heritability of complex diseases. Nature 2009;461:747 –53. The 1960s was a wonderful decade for the field of molecular genetics. Hundreds of inherited metabolic diseases were being studied. Most of these diseases could be characterized by a simple inherited mutation in a disease-causing gene. Back then, we thought we understood genetic diseases. Here ’s how it all might have worked, if life were simple: one mutation! one gene ! one protein ! one disease. This lovely genetic parable, from a bygone generation, seldom applies in the era of Precision Medicine. The purpose of this section is to explain some of the complexities of modern genetics an d to lay out the job of the Precision Medicine scientist who must dissect the pathways that lead from gene to disease. InPrecision Medicine and the Reinvention of Human Disease, two of the most confuding aspects of modern disease genetics are discussed: that a single disease may result from one of many distinct molecular defects; and that a single gene may produce many different diseases. These two countervailing phenomena tell us something very important about disease development. The first is that different pathways may converge to the same disease, and that any single gene may perturb a biological syst...
Source: Specified Life - Category: Information Technology Tags: genetic heterogeneity genetics multi-step pathogenesis precision medicine Source Type: blogs