Scientists Watch Cells Creating Proteins
Posted on: Thursday, 30 November 2006, 12:00 CST
U.S. scientists have visualized in living mice how cells dice and splice genetic material to create unique and varied proteins.
The Duke University researchers say their findings help explain a key process of human biology: how the same genes found in every cell of an individual's body can produce different proteins in different tissues and organs.
The researchers said the findings might also offer insight into several diseases, including cancer, in which the genetic process -- called alternative splicing -- goes awry and produces the wrong proteins.
Until 20 years ago, scientists believed a single gene made a single protein, but the discovery of alternative splicing showed one gene can produce multiple proteins.
We were able to watch alternative splicing as it occurred in different tissues, said senior investigator Dr. Mariano Garcia-Blanco, a professor of molecular genetics and microbiology. It's an excellent example of how experiments in living organisms provide a much more complete picture of how genes and proteins behave than do experiments using cells in culture.
The research appears in the Dec. 1 issue of the journal RNA.
Source: United Press International
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