Epigenetic Synthesis

Epigenetics is the future of science. It has evolved from being a science that very few believed in, to one that will shape medicine as it is known. As the Human Genome Project began, the goal was to determine which genes controlled what phenotypes in a human. After all the genes were identified and mapped, the expression of the genes that the scientists had just discovered was also beginning to be analyzed (EPIGENETICS). Although every gene had been identified and associated with a function, there were genes that if not expressed or not turned on, would create a different scenario. That is, the idea that the genotype of an individual would determine their phenotype was reinforced. Epigenetics however is the study of the switching on or off of the genes responsible for a particular action (Feinberg). For example, all of the organs of a single person have the exact same DNA as the others, yet a lung looks drastically different from a kidney. This is due to the expression of the genes responsible for creating a specific organ. If scientists are able to control the switching on and off of these genes, then many extraordinary possibilities exist.

The most compelling piece of information that I read from the article "Epigenetics: Its What Turns You On...and Off" (Schardt, 2013) is how children born from the same mother, before gastric bypass surgery and after the surgery, had different patterns of epigenetic marks than their siblings. It would not have crossed my mind that being overweight would actually have an affect on your genes, that could be passed down to your offspring. Researchers have also reported that the gene IGF2 was more turned on in those born to obese fathers, which might increase the risk of becoming overweight in adulthood (Schardt, 2013). So they chances that a child becomes overweight is on both parents and not just one.

Thesis: Individuals that have experienced traumatic events or are put into high stress environments are prone to having their epigenetics modified which can be passed down to offspring. The altered genes can induce people to becoming much more vulnerable to depression and anxiety as a result. While there isn't a way to “cure” intergenerational trauma there are ways to cope with it.

Researchers first thought the genes you receive from your parents are set in stone since they are made of a genetic code set in our DNA sequence;however, they are discovering that there is a second layer of structure that combines with DNA to decide whether or not a gene is active or not, called the epigenome. The epigenome consists of the DNA, histones, a protein DNA is wrapped around, and chemical tags. The epigenome alters the genetic code by directing signals. The signals come from the environment, which are reacted upon by epigenetic tags to turn a gene either on or off without affecting the DNA sequence. Certain things from our environment that send signals to epigenetic tags to change our genes in the epigenome includes the following:

Epigenetics can be defined as a way of turning on and off certain genes in your body, which as evidence has shown, we have a lot more control of than we thought. The video on epigenetics was so great, I did not have a clear idea of what epigenetics was. Watching the video really enlightens how far we have come in research of the human body. I find the advancements that have been made using epigenetics with cancer to be one of the best sections of the thirteen minute video. Just knowing the fact that half of the patients that complied with the research whom had cancer to begin with are now in remission is a great accomplishment. I also found the fact that we have more control over our epigenes, we are to modify our own genes by just following

A roadmap to our future is predetermined by our genetical makeup. However, can external influences such as environment and lifestyle unlock who we are? The study to understand heritable changes in genetical expression is called Epigenetics. Héctor González-Pardo and Marino Pérez Álvarez(2013) describes Epigenetics as the examination of the heritable complex genetical alterations that are shaped by environmental factors which don’t cause changes to the DNA Sequence. In other words, different cell/organism must use the same script in different ways. The study of epigenetics explores the idea that DNA is a script and not a manual. Accordingly, we can positively influence our lives as well as the lives of our offspring by leading a healthy lifestyle.

We know from the induced-fit model that the binding of the substrate (DNA) causes a conformational change in the active site of the enzyme. This model refers to a methylation reaction in which the cysteine needs to interact with cytosine of the DNA. Cytosine-5-methyltransferase transfers a methyl group from S-adenosyl-L-methionine to the C5 of cytosine. Cysteine residue attacks the cytosine causing the

As of late there has been more of a focus on the Epigenetics component of mental illness.

The PBS video called “Epigenetics” brought to light some very interesting views. Through rats scientist have been able to see the works of epigenetics and believe that the finding have led to the idea that the change in genetics has the same effect on humans. The most interesting part of the video was that younger pairs of twins have very similar genes, but the older pairs of twin have more epigenetic difference in their genes. This validates the idea that the epigenetic difference in old twins is caused by environmental factors such as lifestyle choices. The idea also alludes to the idea that our parents and grandparents healthy and epigenetics may affect my heath and my children’s health. This leads to the inclination that my child’s health

I took a semester off in the Spring of 2012 and 2013. In 2012, I helped care for my grandfather, who suffered from lung cancer and passed away that April. During my time off, I volunteered in the pediatric department of the hospital where he was staying. The inoperable nature of his cancer spurred me to shadow Dr Cheng, a radiation oncologist. In 2013, my mother was told that she might have breast cancer. With my father working in China, I took time off to be with her. I decided to transfer schools because Columbia dramatically decreased my financial aid for the upcoming year, while Brandeis offered me a full scholarship. With my mother’s health issues, I did not want to further burden her financially. I shadowed Dr Anderson, a pediatric geneticist at UT Genetic Center and validated a plasma cell enrichment procedure for the diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma.

MTHFR gene is situated toward the end of the short arm of chromosome 1. The protein assumes a focal part in folate digestion by irreversibly changing over 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate (5, 10-MTHF) to 5-MTHF, the prevalent coursing type of folate. 5-MTHF assumes a critical part in one-carbon digestion and DNA methylation. It gives a methyl gathering to homocysteine in the era of S-adenosylmethionine, a noteworthy wellspring of methyl gatherings in the brain. Also, homocysteine and its metabolites may have a direct excitotoxic impact on the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors in the mind and may repress methylation forms in the nervous system; thusly, its change is

For years, scientists believed DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, was the end-all-be-all: a mould for our cells to be created from. Which does not sound far-fetched since DNA contains all of the information needed for replication, differentiation, growth, and development, in addition to the countless cellular fates, as described in Waddington’s landscape. Instead, DNA is a guide for our cells, and Epigenetics is the tool that coerces them into their final cellular form. The Epigenetics Revolution: How Modern Biology Is Rewriting Our Understanding of Genetics, Disease, and Inheritance written by Nessa Carey, outlines the process of DNA versus Epigenetics, and the developments they have had within the scientific field. This paper will examine the fundamental distinction constructed by Nessa Carey between DNA as a script versus a template. This analogy of DNA as a script.

It has been suggested that abnormalities in the activity or expression of HDACs can lead to an imbalance of HDAC relative to histone acetyltransferase activity resulting in diminished expression of regulatory genes, which control the cell cycle and apoptosis developing tumorigenesis (Licciardi, Ververis, Hiong & Karagiannis, 2013). In some cases, HDAC enzymes are abnormally recruited to gene promoters, which constitutively repress gene expression causing cancer. In addition, HDACs alter gene expression due to the posttranslational deacetylation modification of various nonhistone protein substrates, such as DNA-binding proteins, DNA-repair proteins, transcription factors, signal-transduction molecules, and chaperone proteins(Licciardi, Ververis, Hiong & Karagiannis,

It is converted by dihydrofolate reductase to tetrahydrofolic acid and methyltetrahydrofolate. These folic acid congeners are transported by receptor-mediated endocytosis across cells where they are needed to maintain normal red blood cells production (erythropoiesis). They also interconvert amino acids, methylate tRNA, generate and use formate, synthesize purine and thymidylate nucleic acids (Mahmood, 2014). Folic acid can normalize high homocysteine levels by remethylation of homocysteine to methionine via methionine synthetase in healthy subjects (De Meer et al., 2005).

Epigenetic changes can be defined as functional, heritable changes in DNA, that do not involve a change in the nucleotide sequence[1]. Transcriptional regulation can be controlled through epigenetic modification and thereby can affect gene expression (44). Epigenetic modifications are important regulators of numerous biological processes like spermatogenesis. Nowadays there is a lot of attention to epigenetic changes as a role in identifying genetic causes of male infertility. In fact epigenetic regulations play an important role in proper spermatogenesis and fertility preservation (45).