Abstract

GUTIERREZ GOMEZ, María Lucía et al. Filling the Gap: Beyond Molecules… What Clinicians Ignore. Univ. Med. [online]. 2019, vol.60, n.2, pp.26-50. ISSN 0041-9095.  https://doi.org/10.11144/javeriana.umed60-2.mole.

To narrow the gap between the bench and the clinic, healthcare personnel should have a basic understanding of molecular mechanisms ruling cell identity, since it establishes the key differences between health and disease states. Differential gene expression allows for protein synthesis required for the cell’s biological function. In this process genes are selected from the entire genome to meet the cell’s biological functioning and respond to internal and external stimuli. To this end, first the chromatin must be remodeled for the transcriptional machinery to gain access to DNA sequences coding for particular genes. DNA can then be transcribed into mRNA, followed by different processes leading to mature mRNA leaving the nucleus for protein synthesis in the cytoplasm. Any dysregulation in these processes results in disease. In the beginning of this millennium the human genome project sequenced the whole genome. Surprisingly, one of the main findings was only 2% of the genome represented protein coding sequences, which raised the question about the remainder of the genome and cell identity. Based on principles derived from the human genome project many investigations have shed light on mechanisms associated with disease. Thanks to advancements in differential gene expression, researchers are seeking for a better understanding in pathological processes associated with disease and the development of diagnostic tools.

Keywords : differential gene expression; epigenetic modifications; methylation; acetylation; transcription.

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