non-coding DNA tagged posts

Schematic diagram showing how a subset of immune cells, named DN2a T cells, mature into DN2b T cells. The maturation of this step is among the earliest in immune cell development and is controlled by the forgotten DNA strands that allow the genome to change its architecture to induce the “Big Bang” of T cell development. In the absence of the “forgotten strands” DN2a cells fail to mature and ultimately after accumulating additional mutations become malignant T cells also named leukemias or lymphomas.
Credit: UC San Diego

Ignored pieces of DNA play a critical role in the development of immune cells (T cells). These areas activate a change in the structure of DNA that brings together crucial elements necessary for T cell formation...

Charles Gersbach, the Rooney Family Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. Credit: Duke University

Researchers have developed a method to swiftly the non-coding DNA of the human genome for links to diseases that are driven by changes in gene regulation. The technique could revolutionize modern medicine’s understanding of the genetically inherited risks of developing heart disease, diabetes, cancer, neurological disorders and others, and lead to new treatments.

“Identifying single mutations that cause rare, devastating diseases like muscular dystrophy has become relatively straightforward,” said Charles Gersbach, the Rooney Family Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University...

Ratio of the CTCF and RAD21 ChIP-seq signals occurring within interacting enhancers and non-interacting enhancers, anchored at peaks for CTCF, RAD21, and the transcription factors CUX1 and HCFC1 for the K562 cell line.

Breakthrough technology opens the door to identifying new drug targets that could treat many genetic diseases. Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have invented a new way to read and interpret the human genome. The computational method, TargetFinder, can predict where non-coding DNA-the DNA that does not code for proteins – interacts with genes. This technology helps researchers connect mutations in the so-called genomic “dark matter” with the genes they affect, potentially revealing new therapeutic targets for genetic disorders. Influence of features by region.

Inhibition of transcriptional interference with siRNA. The top panel depicts how GNG12-AS1 modulates the expression of the active DIRAS3 allele through transcriptional interference. GNG12-AS1 may act as a rheostat for DIRAS3 transcription rate. The lower panel depicts how exogenous siRNA molecules in a complex with AGO2 can bind to both the TSS and GNG12-AS1 to inhibit Pol II, and block further transcription initiation and elongation of GNG12-AS1. As a result of transcriptional silencing of GNG12-AS1, transcriptional interference is reduced leading to increased transcription of DIRAS3.

Supposed non-coding DNA, found in between genes, plays a role in suppressing cancer, according to new research by Universities of Bath and Cambridge...