Stress gene linked to heart attack – Study

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A stress gene has been linked to having a higher risk of dying from a heart attack or heart disease.

Heart patients with the genetic change had a 38 per cent increased risk of heart attack or death, say US researchers.

Personalised medicine may lead to better targeting of psychological or drug treatment to those most at risk, they report in PLOS ONE.

The study adds to evidence stress may directly increase heart disease risk, says the British Heart Foundation.

A team at Duke University School of Medicine studied a single DNA letter change in the human genome, which has been linked to being more vulnerable to the effects of stress.

They found heart patients with the genetic change had a 38 per cent increased risk of heart attack or death from heart disease after seven years of follow up compared with those without, even after taking into account factors like age, obesity and smoking.

This suggests that stress management techniques and drug therapies could reduce deaths and disability from heart attacks, they say.

director of the Behavioural Medicine Research Center at Duke University School of Medicine, Dr Redford Williams, said the work is the first step towards finding genetic variants that identify people at higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

This is one step towards the day when we will be able to identify people on the basis of this genotype who are at higher risk of developing heart disease in the first place, he told BBC News.

Thats a step in the direction of personalised medicine for cardiovascular disease.

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Stress gene linked to heart attack – Study

Common disorders: It’s not the genes themselves, but how they are controlled

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

20-Dec-2013

Contact: Jessica Studeny jessica.studeny@case.edu 216-368-4692 Case Western Reserve University

Many rare disorders are caused by gene mutation, like sickle cell anemia. Yet until now the underlying genetic cause of more common conditions for example, rheumatoid arthritis has evaded scientists for years.

New research from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine to appear in the journal Genome Research finds that six common diseases arise from DNA changes located outside genes. The study from the laboratory of Peter Scacheri, PhD, shows that multiple DNA changes, or variants, work in concert to affect genes, leading to autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus and colitis. Further, for each disease, multiple different genes are manipulated by several small differences in DNA.

"We've known that rare diseases are due to one change within one gene with major effects. The key take away is that common diseases are due to many changes with small effects on a handful of genes," said Scacheri, associate professor of genetics and genome sciences.

The research is in advanced online publication and can be found at http://tinyurl.com/okml3ag.

The human genome includes 3 billion letters of DNA. Only 1 to 2 percent of the letters are used as the blueprint for proteins, the body's building blocks. Scacheri's team is part of group of scientists investigating where and why DNA goes awry in the remaining 98 percent the regions between genes. These regions contain thousands of genetic switches that control the levels of genes. This new finding shows that in common diseases, the fine-tuning of those switches is not quite right, leading to incorrect expression of some key genes previously unidentified.

"This is a paradigm shift for the field with respect to pinpointing the genetic causes of common disease susceptibility," Scacheri said.

"The Scacheri lab's study provides a new model for understanding how genetic variants explain variation in common, complex diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and colitis. That is, the effect of an individual variant may be very small, but when coupled with other nearby variants, the manifestations are much greater, said Anthony Wynshaw-Boris, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals Case Medical Center and the James H. Jewell MD '34 Professor of Genetics at the School of Medicine. "This model may also help to explain why genetic studies of these and other common diseases have so far fallen short of providing a satisfactory explanation of the genetic pathways important for the development of these disorders."

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Common disorders: It's not the genes themselves, but how they are controlled

How cells remodel after exposure to UV radiation

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Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in The Netherlands and United Kingdom, have produced the first map detailing the network of genetic interactions underlying the cellular response to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

The researchers say their study establishes a new method and resource for exploring in greater detail how cells are damaged by UV radiation and how they repair themselves. UV damage is one route to malignancy, especially in skin cancer, and understanding the underlying repair pathways will better help scientists to understand what goes wrong in such cancers.

The findings will be published in the December 26, 2013 issue of Cell Reports.

Principal investigator Trey Ideker, PhD, division chief of genetics in the UC San Diego School of Medicine and a professor in the UC San Diego Departments of Medicine and Bioengineering, and colleagues mapped 89 UV-induced functional interactions among 62 protein complexes. The interactions were culled from a larger measurement of more than 45,000 double mutants, the deletion of two separate genes, before and after different doses of UV radiation.

Specifically, they identified interactive links to the cell's chromatin structure remodeling (RSC) complex, a grouping of protein subunits that remodel chromatin the combination of DNA and proteins that make up a cell's nucleus during cell mitosis or division. "We show that RSC is recruited to places on genes or DNA sequences where UV damage has occurred and that it helps facilitate efficient repair by promoting nucleosome remodeling," said Ideker.

The process of repairing DNA damage caused by UV radiation and other sources, such as chemicals and other mutagens, is both simple and complicated. DNA-distorting lesions are detected by a cellular mechanism called the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway. The lesion is excised; the gap filled with new genetic material copied from an intact DNA strand by special enzymes; and the remaining nick sealed by another specialized enzyme.

However, NER does not work in isolation; rather it coordinates with other biological mechanisms, including RSC.

"DNA isn't free-floating in the cell, but is packaged into a tight structure called chromatin, which is DNA wound around proteins," said Rohith Srivas, PhD, a former research scientist in Ideker's lab and the study's first author. "In order for repair factors to fix DNA damage, they need access to naked DNA. This is where chromatin remodelers come in: In theory, they can be recruited to the DNA, open it up and allow repair factors to do their job."

Rohith said that other scientists have previously identified complexes that perform this role following UV damage. "Our results are novel because they show RSC is connected to both UV damage pathways: transcription coupled repair - which acts on parts of DNA being expressed - and global genome repair, which acts everywhere. All previous remodelers were linked only to global genome repair."

The scientists noted that the degree of genetic rewiring correlates with the dose of UV. Reparative interactions were observed at distinct low or high doses of UV, but not both. While genetic interactions at higher doses is not surprising, the authors said, the findings suggest low-dose UV radiation prompts specific interactions as well.

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How cells remodel after exposure to UV radiation

Stress Gene Linked To Higher Risk Of Heart Attack And Death

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Rebekah Eliason for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

A new study from Duke reveals that the genetic trait responsible for predisposing some people to strong stress reactions may also cause the risk of heart attack or death to rise by 38 percent.

This discovery provides a new biological explanation for why some people are inclined towards cardiovascular disease. Since in these cases the disease is linked to stress, the findings suggest that behavior modification and drug therapies targeting stress reduction may lower heart attack related disability and deaths.

Redford B. Williams Jr., M.D., director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Center at Duke University School of Medicine and senior author of the paper, said, Weve heard a lot about personalized medicine in cancer, but in cardiovascular disease we are not nearly as far along in finding the genetic variants that identify people at higher risk. Here we have a paradigm for the move toward personalized medicine in cardiovascular disease.

Building on previous work at Duke and elsewhere, Williams and his colleagues were able to identify a variation in a DNA sequence known as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). In this sequence variation, one letter from the genetic code is swapped with another causing a change in the genes function. Specifically the team focused on the SNP occurring on the gene responsible for making a serotonin receptor that causes a hyperactive reaction to stress.

Last year, a study was published reporting that men with the genetic variation were found to contain twice as much cortisol in their blood after exposure to stress than men without the variant. Commonly known as the stress hormone, cortisol is designed to support the bodys biological response to stressful situations that cause negative emotions. This vital hormone is produced in the adrenal glands.

Beverly H. Brummett, PhD, associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke and lead author of the paper, said, It is known that cortisol has effects on the bodys metabolism, on inflammation and various other biological functions, that could play a role in increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. It has been shown that high cortisol levels are predictive of increased heart disease risk. So we wanted to examine this more closely.

Several years of data from heart catheterization patients at Duke was formed into a large database used by researchers to run a genetic analysis of over 6,100 white participants. Of those studied, two-thirds were men and one-third was women. Approximately 13 percent of the group was found to possess the genetic variation for the overactive stress response.

Those found to carry the genetic variation corresponded with patients who had the highest rates of heart attacks and deaths when evaluating the median follow-up time of six years. Even when taking into account age, obesity, smoking history, other illnesses and the severity of their heartdisease, the studied genetic trait was found to be associated with a 38 percent increased risk of heart attack and death.

This finding requires independent replication and evaluation in a more diverse population, said Peter Kaufmann, Ph.D., deputy branch chief of the Clinical Applications and Prevention Branch at the NIHs National, Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). This research may one day help to identify patients who should be candidates for more intensive disease prevention and treatment strategies.

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Genetic engineering – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct manipulation of an organism's genome using biotechnology. New DNA may be inserted in the host genome by first isolating and copying the genetic material of interest using molecular cloning methods to generate a DNA sequence, or by synthesizing the DNA, and then inserting this construct into the host organism. Genes may be removed, or "knocked out", using a nuclease. Gene targeting is a different technique that uses homologous recombination to change an endogenous gene, and can be used to delete a gene, remove exons, add a gene, or introduce point mutations.

An organism that is generated through genetic engineering is considered to be a genetically modified organism (GMO). The first GMOs were bacteria in 1973; GM mice were generated in 1974. Insulin-producing bacteria were commercialized in 1982 and genetically modified food has been sold since 1994. Glofish, the first GMO designed as a pet, was first sold in the United States December in 2003.[1]

Genetic engineering techniques have been applied in numerous fields including research, agriculture, industrial biotechnology, and medicine. Enzymes used in laundry detergent and medicines such as insulin and human growth hormone are now manufactured in GM cells, experimental GM cell lines and GM animals such as mice or zebrafish are being used for research purposes, and genetically modified crops have been commercialized.

IUPAC definition

Process of inserting new genetic information into existing cells in order to modify a specific organism for the purpose of changing its characteristics.

Note: Adapted from ref.[2][3]

Genetic engineering alters the genetic makeup of an organism using techniques that remove heritable material or that introduce DNA prepared outside the organism either directly into the host or into a cell that is then fused or hybridized with the host.[4] This involves using recombinant nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) techniques to form new combinations of heritable genetic material followed by the incorporation of that material either indirectly through a vector system or directly through micro-injection, macro-injection and micro-encapsulation techniques.

Genetic engineering does not normally include traditional animal and plant breeding, in vitro fertilisation, induction of polyploidy, mutagenesis and cell fusion techniques that do not use recombinant nucleic acids or a genetically modified organism in the process.[4] However the European Commission has also defined genetic engineering broadly as including selective breeding and other means of artificial selection.[5]Cloning and stem cell research, although not considered genetic engineering,[6] are closely related and genetic engineering can be used within them.[7]Synthetic biology is an emerging discipline that takes genetic engineering a step further by introducing artificially synthesized genetic material from raw materials into an organism.[8]

If genetic material from another species is added to the host, the resulting organism is called transgenic. If genetic material from the same species or a species that can naturally breed with the host is used the resulting organism is called cisgenic.[9] Genetic engineering can also be used to remove genetic material from the target organism, creating a gene knockout organism.[10] In Europe genetic modification is synonymous with genetic engineering while within the United States of America it can also refer to conventional breeding methods.[11][12] The Canadian regulatory system is based on whether a product has novel features regardless of method of origin. In other words, a product is regulated as genetically modified if it carries some trait not previously found in the species whether it was generated using traditional breeding methods (e.g., selective breeding, cell fusion, mutation breeding) or genetic engineering.[13][14][15] Within the scientific community, the term genetic engineering is not commonly used; more specific terms such as transgenic are preferred.

Plants, animals or micro organisms that have changed through genetic engineering are termed genetically modified organisms or GMOs.[16] Bacteria were the first organisms to be genetically modified. Plasmid DNA containing new genes can be inserted into the bacterial cell and the bacteria will then express those genes. These genes can code for medicines or enzymes that process food and other substrates.[17][18] Plants have been modified for insect protection, herbicide resistance, virus resistance, enhanced nutrition, tolerance to environmental pressures and the production of edible vaccines.[19] Most commercialised GMO's are insect resistant and/or herbicide tolerant crop plants.[20] Genetically modified animals have been used for research, model animals and the production of agricultural or pharmaceutical products. They include animals with genes knocked out, increased susceptibility to disease, hormones for extra growth and the ability to express proteins in their milk.[21]

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Genetic Engineering | Greenpeace International

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While scientific progress on molecular biology has a great potential to increase our understanding of nature and provide new medical tools, it should not be used as justification to turn the environment into a giant genetic experiment by commercial interests. The biodiversity and environmental integrity of the world's food supply is too important to our survival to be put at risk. What's wrong with genetic engineering (GE)?

Genetic engineering enables scientists to create plants, animals and micro-organisms by manipulating genes in a way that does not occur naturally.

These genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can spread through nature and interbreed with natural organisms, thereby contaminating non 'GE' environments and future generations in an unforeseeable and uncontrollable way.

Their release is 'genetic pollution' and is a major threat because GMOs cannot be recalled once released into the environment.

Because of commercial interests, the public is being denied the right to know about GE ingredients in the food chain, and therefore losing the right to avoid them despite the presence of labelling laws in certain countries.

Biological diversity must be protected and respected as the global heritage of humankind, and one of our world's fundamental keys to survival. Governments are attempting to address the threat of GE with international regulations such as the Biosafety Protocol.

April 2010: Farmers, environmentalists and consumers from all over Spain demonstrate in Madrid under the slogan "GMO-free agriculture." They demand the Government to follow the example of countries like France, Germany or Austria, and ban the cultivation of GM maize in Spain.

GMOs should not be released into the environment since there is not an adequate scientific understanding of their impact on the environment and human health.

We advocate immediate interim measures such as labelling of GE ingredients, and the segregation of genetically engineered crops and seeds from conventional ones.

We also oppose all patents on plants, animals and humans, as well as patents on their genes. Life is not an industrial commodity. When we force life forms and our world's food supply to conform to human economic models rather than their natural ones, we do so at our own peril.

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Genetic Engineering in Agriculture | Union of Concerned Scientists

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Few topics in agriculture are more polarizing than genetic engineering (GE), the process of manipulating an organisms genetic materialusually using genes from other speciesin an effort to produce desired traits such as higher yield or drought tolerance.

GE has been hailed by some as an indispensable tool for solving the worlds food problems, and denounced by others as an example of human overreaching fraught with unknown, potentially catastrophic dangers.

UCS experts analyze the applications of genetic engineering in agricultureparticularly in comparison to other optionsand offer practical recommendations based on that analysis.

Supporters of GE in agriculture point to a multitude of potential benefits of engineered crops, including increased yield, tolerance of drought, reduced pesticide use, more efficient use of fertilizers, and ability to produce drugs or other useful chemicals. UCS analysis shows that actual benefits have often fallen far short of expectations.

While the risks of genetic engineering have sometimes been exaggerated or misrepresented, GE crops do have the potential to cause a variety of health problems and environmental impacts. For instance, they may produce new allergens and toxins, spread harmful traits to weeds and non-GE crops, or harm animals that consume them.

At least one major environmental impact of genetic engineering has already reached critical proportions: overuse of herbicide-tolerant GE crops has spurred an increase in herbicide use and an epidemic of herbicide-resistant "superweeds," which will lead to even more herbicide use.

How likely are other harmful GE impacts to occur? This is a difficult question to answer. Each crop-gene combination poses its own set of risks. While risk assessments are conducted as part of GE product approval, the data are generally supplied by the company seeking approval, and GE companies use their patent rights to exercise tight control over research on their products.

In short, there is a lot we don't know about the risks of GEwhich is no reason for panic, but a good reason for caution.

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Genetic Engineering in Agriculture | Union of Concerned Scientists

Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology – Organic Consumers …

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Cost of GMO Food Labeling

Big Biotech loves to claim that GMO labels on food would be costly and drive up the price of food for consumers. But Joanna Shepherd-Bailey, PhD, and renowned tenured law professor from Emory, has issued a report that shows that GMO labeling would likely result in no increase in consumer costs at all.

New Report by Earth Open Source

However, a large and growing body of scientific and other authoritative evidence shows that these claims are not true. On the contrary, evidence presented in this report indicates that GM crops:

Based on the evidence presented in this report, there is no need to take risks with GM crops when effective, readily available, and sustainable solutions to the problems that GM technology is claimed to address already exist.

Conventional plant breeding, in some cases helped by safe modern technologies like gene mapping and marker assisted selection, continues to outperform GM in producing high-yield, drought-tolerant, and pest- and disease-resistant crops that can meet our present and future food needs.

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Human genetic engineering – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Human genetic engineering is the alteration of an individual's genotype with the aim of choosing the phenotype of a newborn or changing the existing phenotype of a child or adult.[1]

It holds the promise of curing genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis. Gene therapy has been successfully used to treat multiple diseases, including X-linked SCID,[2]chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL),[3] and Parkinson's disease.[4] In 2012, Glybera became the first gene therapy treatment to be approved for clinical use in either Europe or the United States after its endorsement by the European Commission.[5][6]

It is speculated that genetic engineering could be used to change physical appearance, metabolism, and even improve physical capabilities and mental faculties like memory and intelligence, although for now these uses are limited to science fiction.

Gene therapy trials on humans began in 2004 on patients with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). In 2000, the first gene therapy "success" resulted in SCID patients with a functional immune system. These trials were stopped when it was discovered that two of ten patients in one trial had developed leukemia resulting from the insertion of the gene-carrying retrovirus near an oncogene. In 2007, four of the ten patients had developed leukemia.[7] Work is now focusing on correcting the gene without triggering an oncogene. Since 1999, gene therapy has restored the immune systems of at least 17 children with two forms (ADA-SCID and X-SCID) of the disorder.[citation needed]

Human genetic engineering is already being used on a small scale to allow infertile women with genetic defects in their mitochondria to have children.[8] The technique, known as ooplasmic transfer, is used to inject the mitochondria from the donor's egg cell into the egg of the infertile woman. In vitro fertilization is performed on the egg.[9] Healthy human eggs from a second mother are used. The first mother thus contributes the 23 chromosomes of the nuclear genome, which contain the majority of the child's genetic information, while the second mother contributes the mitochondrial genome, which contains 37 genes. The child produced this way has genetic information from two mothers and one father.[8] The changes made are germline changes and will likely be passed down from generation to generation, and, thus, are a permanent change to the human genome.[8]

Other forms of human genetic engineering are still theoretical. Recombinant DNA research is usually performed to study gene expression and various human diseases. This includes the creation of transgenic animals, such as mice.

Genetic engineering can be broken down into two applications, somatic and germline. Both processes involve changing the genes in a cell through the use of a vector carrying the gene of interest. The new gene may be integrated into the cells genetic material through recombination, or may remain separate from the genome, such as in the form of a plasmid. If integrated into the genome, it may recombine at a random location or at a specific location (site-specific recombination) depending on the technology used.

As the name suggests, somatic cell therapy alters the genome of somatic cells. This process targets specific organs and tissues in a person. The aim of this technique is to correct a mutation or provide a new function in human cells. If successful, somatic cell therapy has the potential to treat genetic disorders with few therapeutic options. This process does not affect the genetics of gametic cells within the same body. Any genetic modifications are restricted to a patient individually and cannot be passed on to their offspring.

Several somatic cell gene transfer experiments are currently in clinical trials with varied success. Over 600 clinical trials utilizing somatic cell therapy are underway in the United States. Most of these trials focus on treating severe genetic disorders, including immunodeficiencies, haemophilia, thalassaemia, and cystic fibrosis. These disorders are good candidates for somatic cell therapy because they are caused by single gene defects. While somatic cell therapy is promising for treatment, a complete correction of a genetic disorder or the replacement of multiple genes in somatic cells is not yet possible. Only a few of the many clinical tries are in the advanced stages.[10]

Germline cell therapy alters the genome of germinal cells. Specifically, it targets eggs, sperm, and very early embryos. Genetic changes made to germline cells affect every cell in the resulting individuals body and can also be passed on to their offspring. The practice of germline cell therapy is currently banned in several countries, but has not been banned in the US.

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Human genetic engineering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Integrated approaches to customize fungal cell factories

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

19-Dec-2013

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, December 19, 2013The natural ability of certain fungi to break down complex substances makes them very valuable microorganisms to use as cell factories in industrial processes. Advances in metabolic engineering and systems biology are helping to customize and optimize these fungi to produce specific bioproducts, as described in a Review article in Industrial Biotechnology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Industrial Biotechnology website.

In the Review "Integrated Approaches for Assessment of Cellular Performance in Industrially Relevant Filamentous Fungi," Mhairi Workman, Mikael Anderson, and Jette Thykaer, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, focus on how to apply state-of-the-art analytical tools and technologies to characterize industrially relevant fungi, improve fungal cell factories, and "utilize fungal bioproduct diversity to its full potential."

The Review is part of an IB IN DEPTH special section on Fungal Biology led by Guest Editors Scott Baker, PhD, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA, and Adrian Tsang, PhD, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. Additional Original Research articles include "Kinetic Modeling of -Glucosidases and Cellobiohydrolases Involved in Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cellulose," by Marie Chauve, PhD, et al. from IFP Energies nouvelles (Solaize and Rueil-Malmaison, France), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and Centre de Recherches sur les Macromolecules Vegetales (Grenoble, France); and "Comparative Genomics Analysis of Trichoderma reesei Strains," by Hideaki Koike, PhD, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Japan, and colleagues from the US Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (Walnut Creek, CA), and PNNL.

Also included in the Fungal Biology special section are two IB Interviews: with Randy Berka of Novozymes (Davis, CA); and Igor Grigoriev, PhD, US DOE Joint Genome Institute.

"Once again, one of IB's Editorial Board members has stepped forward to tell a compelling story of industrial biotechnology development," says Co-Editor-in-Chief Larry Walker, PhD, Professor, Biological & Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. "The opportunities to exploit fungal biotechnology for industrial chemicals and energy are unlimited."

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Integrated approaches to customize fungal cell factories

Blue light phototherapy kills antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to new studies

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

16-Dec-2013

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, December16, 2013--Blue light has proven to have powerful bacteria-killing ability in the laboratory. The potent antibacterial effects of irradiation using light in the blue spectra have now also been demonstrated in human and animal tissues. A series of groundbreaking articles that provide compelling evidence of this effect are published in Photomedicine and Laser Surgery, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The articles are available on the Photomedicine and Laser Surgery website.

"Bacterial resistance to drugs poses a major healthcare problem," says Co-Editor-in-Chief Chukuka S. Enwemeka, PhD, Dean, College of Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee, in the accompanying Editorial "Antimicrobial Blue Light: An Emerging Alternative to Antibiotics," citing the growing number of deadly outbreaks worldwide of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The articles in this issue of Photomedicine and Laser Surgery provide evidence that "blue light in the range of 405-470 nm wavelength is bactericidal and has the potential to help stem the ongoing pandemic of MRSA and other bacterial infections."

In the article "Effects of Photodynamic Therapy on Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacterial Biofilms by Bioluminescence Imaging and Scanning Electron Microscopic Analysis," Aguinaldo S. Garcez, PhD and coauthors show that photodynamic therapy and methylene blue delivered directly into the root canal of a human tooth infected with a bacterial biofilm was able to destroy both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, disrupt the biofilms, and reduce the number of bacteria adhering to the tooth.

Raymond J. Lanzafame, MD, MBA, and colleagues demonstrated significantly greater bacterial reduction in the treatment of pressure ulcers in mice using a combination of photoactivated collagen-embedded compounds plus 455 nm diode laser irradiation compared to irradiation alone or no treatment. The antibacterial effect of the combined therapy increased with successive treatments, report the authors in the article "Preliminary Assessment of Photoactivated Antimicrobial Collagen on Bioburden in a Murine Pressure Ulcer Model."

In the article "Wavelength and Bacterial Density Influence the Bactericidal Effect of Blue Light on Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)," Violet Bumah, PhD and coauthors compared the bacteria-killing power of 405 nm versus 470 nm light on colonies of resistant Staph aureus and how the density of the bacterial colonies could limit light penetration and the bactericidal effects of treatment.

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Blue light phototherapy kills antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to new studies

Gene therapy – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Gene therapy is the use of DNA as a pharmaceutical agent to treat disease. It derives its name from the idea that DNA can be used to supplement or alter genes within an individual's cells as a therapy to treat disease. The most common form of gene therapy involves using DNA that encodes a functional, therapeutic gene to replace a mutated gene. Other forms involve directly correcting a mutation, or using DNA that encodes a therapeutic protein drug (rather than a natural human gene) to provide treatment. In gene therapy, DNA that encodes a therapeutic protein is packaged within a "vector", which is used to get the DNA inside cells within the body. Once inside, the DNA becomes expressed by the cell machinery, resulting in the production of therapeutic protein, which in turn treats the patient's disease.

Gene therapy was first conceptualized in 1972, with the authors urging caution before commencing gene therapy studies in humans. The first FDA-approved gene therapy experiment in the United States occurred in 1990, when Ashanti DeSilva was treated for ADA-SCID.[1] Since then, over 1,700 clinical trials have been conducted using a number of techniques for gene therapy.[2]

Although early clinical failures led many to dismiss gene therapy as over-hyped, clinical successes since 2006 have bolstered new optimism in the promise of gene therapy. These include successful treatment of patients with the retinal disease Leber's congenital amaurosis,[3][4][5][6]X-linked SCID,[7] ADA-SCID,[8][9]adrenoleukodystrophy,[10]chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL),[11]acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL),[12]multiple myeloma,[13]haemophilia[9] and Parkinson's disease.[14] These recent clinical successes have led to a renewed interest in gene therapy, with several articles in scientific and popular publications calling for continued investment in the field.[15][16]

In 2012, Glybera became the first gene therapy treatment to be approved for clinical use in either Europe or the United States after its endorsement by the European Commission.[17][18]

Scientists have taken the logical step of trying to introduce genes directly into human cells, focusing on diseases caused by single-gene defects, such as cystic fibrosis, haemophilia, muscular dystrophy, thalassemia, and sickle cell anemia. However, this has proven more difficult than genetically modifying bacteria, primarily because of the problems involved in carrying large sections of DNA and delivering them to the correct site on the gene. Today, most gene therapy studies are aimed at cancer and hereditary diseases linked to a genetic defect. Antisense therapy is not strictly a form of gene therapy, but is a related, genetically mediated therapy.

The most common form of genetic engineering involves the insertion of a functional gene at an unspecified location in the host genome. This is accomplished by isolating and copying the gene of interest, generating a construct containing all the genetic elements for correct expression, and then inserting this construct into a random location in the host organism. Other forms of genetic engineering include gene targeting and knocking out specific genes via engineered nucleases such as zinc finger nucleases, engineered I-CreI homing endonucleases, or nucleases generated from TAL effectors. An example of gene-knockout mediated gene therapy is the knockout of the human CCR5 gene in T-cells to control HIV infection.[19] This approach is currently being used in several human clinical trials.[20]

Gene therapy may be classified into the two following types:

In somatic gene therapy, the therapeutic genes are transferred into the somatic cells (non sex-cells), or body, of a patient. Any modifications and effects will be restricted to the individual patient only, and will not be inherited by the patient's offspring or later generations. Somatic gene therapy represents the mainstream line of current basic and clinical research, where the therapeutic DNA transgene (either integrated in the genome or as an external episome or plasmid) is used to treat a disease in an individual.

In germ line gene therapy, germ cells (sperm or eggs) are modified by the introduction of functional genes, which are integrated into their genomes. Germ cells will combine to form a zygote which will divide to produce all the other cells in an organism and therefore if a germ cell is genetically modified then all the cells in the organism will contain the modified gene. This would allow the therapy to be heritable and passed on to later generations. Although this should, in theory, be highly effective in counteracting genetic disorders and hereditary diseases, some jurisdictions, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Switzerland, and the Netherlands[21] prohibit this for application in human beings, at least for the present, for technical and ethical reasons, including insufficient knowledge about possible risks to future generations[21] and higher risk than somatic gene therapy (e.g. using non-integrative vectors).[22] The USA has no federal legislation specifically addressing human germ-line or somatic genetic modification (beyond the usual FDA testing regulations for therapies in general).[21]

Gene therapy utilizes the delivery of DNA into cells, which can be accomplished by a number of methods. The two major classes of methods are those that use recombinant viruses (sometimes called biological nanoparticles or viral vectors) and those that use naked DNA or DNA complexes (non-viral methods).

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What is gene therapy? – Genetics Home Reference

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Gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent disease. In the future, this technique may allow doctors to treat a disorder by inserting a gene into a patients cells instead of using drugs or surgery. Researchers are testing several approaches to gene therapy, including:

Replacing a mutated gene that causes disease with a healthy copy of the gene.

Inactivating, or knocking out, a mutated gene that is functioning improperly.

Introducing a new gene into the body to help fight a disease.

Although gene therapy is a promising treatment option for a number of diseases (including inherited disorders, some types of cancer, and certain viral infections), the technique remains risky and is still under study to make sure that it will be safe and effective. Gene therapy is currently only being tested for the treatment of diseases that have no other cures.

MedlinePlus from the National Library of Medicine offers a list of links to information about genes and gene therapy.

Educational resources related to gene therapy are available from GeneEd.

The Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah provides an interactive introduction to gene therapy.

The Centre for Genetics Education provides an introduction to gene therapy, including a discussion of ethical and safety considerations.

Additional information about gene therapy is available from the National Genetics and Genomics Education Centre of the National Health Service (UK)

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Gene Therapy – Nature

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At the forefront of medicine, Gene Therapy brings you the latest research into genetic and cell-based technologies to treat disease. It also publishes Progress & Prospects reviews and News and Commentary articles, which highlight the cutting edge of the field.

Volume 20, No 12 December 2013 ISSN: 0969-7128 EISSN: 1476-5462

2012 Impact Factor 4.321* 70/290 Biochemistry & Molecular Biology 22/159 Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology 33/161 Genetics & Heredity 25/121 Medicine, Research & Experimental

Editors: J Glorioso, USA N Lemoine, UK

*2012 Journal Citation Reports Science Edition (Thomson Reuters, 2013)

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Gene Therapy - Nature

ACGT® – Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy – National Grants …

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Better Quality of Life

In His Own Words: Another Patient Lives Because of Gene Therapy

Watch an Amazing Short Film of a Young Girl's Recovery

Our donors have allowed top scientific minds to explore this new and promising avenue of cancer treatment, and their philanthropy is directly linked to the lives saved so far, Barbara Netter, ACGT president, said. Theres a lot more hope than there ever was. Its a very exciting time the beginning of the Golden Age, Netter described real progress being made through the results of research that have patients who faced dire diagnoses instead being in complete remissionnot short-term but for years and counting.

Read the full article at Connecticut Magazine

ACGT Scientific Advisory Council Chair Dr. Savio Woo introduced each of three ACGT Research Fellows who described how they are Achieving Cancer Remission with Cell and Gene Therapies. Dr. Carl June, University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Laurence Cooper, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Dr. Michel Sadelain of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center thanked ACGT for providing the initial funding that has enabled them to bring new therapies to patients. Read more...

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ACGT® - Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy - National Grants ...