Primer on medical genomics. Part VII: The evolving concept of the gene

Integrating Philosophy of Science into Research on Ethical, Legal and Social Issues in the Life Sciences

This paper argues that research on normative issues in the life sciences will benefit from a tighter integration of philosophy of science. We examine research on ethical, legal and social issues in the life sciences (“ELSI”) and discuss three illustrative examples of normative issues that arise in different areas of the life sciences. These examples show that important normative questions are highly dependent on epistemic issues which so far have not been addressed sufficiently in ELSI, RRI and related areas of research. Accordingly, we argue for the integration of research on the epistemic aspects of the relevant areas of science into ELSI research to provide a better basis for addressing normative questions.

Genomics Basics: DNA Structure, Gene Expression, Cloning, Genetic Mapping, and Molecular Tests

Genomics is the study of the structure and function of the human genome including genes and their surrounding DNA sequences. The over 3 billion base pairs of the human genome have now been sequenced and approximately 25 000 genes acknowledged. However, only 1% of the entire genome has been assigned to protein coding and decades more work is anticipated to define the functional relevance of noncoding DNA as well as the basis and consequences of sequence variations among individuals. For medical scientists, the focus remains on discovering both disease-causing and disease-susceptibility genes. For pharmaceutical companies, the opportunity to develop molecularly targeted therapy is not going unnoticed. For the practicing physician, the prospect of genomic medicine that incorporates molecular diagnosis and pathogenesis-targeted therapy requires basic understanding of terminology and concepts in molecular biology and the corresponding laboratory tests.

Structure and promoter characterization of aldo-keto reductase family 1 B10 gene

Aldo-keto reductase family 1 member B10 (AKR1B10) is overexpressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma, lung squamous carcinoma, and lung adenocarcinoma in smokers. Our recent studies have showed that AKR1B10 plays a critical role in the growth and proliferation of cancer cells by detoxifying reactive carbonyls and regulating fatty acid biosynthesis. However, little is known about the regulatory mechanisms of AKR1B10 expression. In this study, we determined the structure of AKR1B10 gene and characterized its promoter. The results demonstrated that AKR1B10 consists of 10 exons and 9 introns, stretching approximately 13.8 kb. A 5'-RACE study determined the transcriptional start site of AKR1B10 at 320 bp upstream of the ATG translational start codon. A TATA-like (TAATAA) and a CAAT box are present from -145 to -140 bp and -193 to -190 bp upstream of the transcriptional start site, respectively. Motif analysis recognized multiple putative oncogenic and tumor suppressor protein binding sites in the AKR1B10 promoter, including c-Ets-1, C/EBP, AP-1, and p53, but osmolytic response elements were not found. A -4091 bp of the 5'-flanking fragment of the AKR1B10 gene was capable of driving GFP and luciferase reporter gene expression in HepG2 cells derived from human hepatocellular carcinoma; progressive 5'-deletions revealed that a -255 bp fragment possesses full promoter activity.