In organ transplantation the main target of the immune response is the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) which is expressed on the surface of donor cells. During an allograft transplant, donor MHC antigens are recognized by the graft recipient’s immune system triggering an immune response. Histocompatibility testing of donor and recipient tissues for MHC antigens can … Continue reading
Dr. Malcolm Brenner, founding director of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, and Dr. Cheryl Walker, founding director of the Center for Precision Environmental Health at Baylor, both renowned leaders in their respective fields, were elected to membership in the National Academy … Continue reading
Nearly $28 million has been awarded to Baylor College of Medicine’s Knockout Mouse Project led by Dr. Arthur Beaudet, professor of molecular and human genetics, and Dr. Mary Dickinson, professor of molecular physiology and biophysics. The grant, to be used over 5 years, was awarded by the National Institutes of Health as a renewal of … Continue reading
Research has revealed that a group of rare neurological syndromes for which there was no cause can be the result of variations in the gene ATAD3A. The study, which appears in The American Journal of Human Genetics, shows that certain human variants of ATAD3A are associated with a lower number of mitochondria while the gene equivalents in the fruit … Continue reading
Understanding how the body keeps a healthy weight is like solving a puzzle with pieces still missing. Some of the unknown pieces are genes located in the brain and scientists are interested in unveiling which these genes are and how their functions are affected by their interaction with diet, high-fat diet in particular. The gene … Continue reading
[See video below] A neurodevelopmental disorder for which there was no known cause has been linked to SON, a gene that is involved in essential mechanisms a cell uses to translate DNA into protein, as well as in DNA replication and cell division. “Our interest in SON began when one of our patients, who presented … Continue reading
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate, affects about half the men between 51 and 60 years of age, and nine out of 10 men older than 80. How BPH happens, however, is still open for debate. “Scientists have considered that inflammation can cause BPH. But how inflammation initiates in human prostate … Continue reading
Genetic factors can explain, at last in part, the higher incidence of prostate cancer among African American men compared with men of other ethnic groups. A team of scientists has identified MNX1 as a new oncogene – a gene than can cause cancer – that is more active in African American prostate cancer than in … Continue reading
[See video below] Epilepsy is an extremely common disorder affecting people of all ages, from infants through teenagers to older adults. One of the most mysterious things about this disorder is that about 6 percent of the people with epilepsy have an unusually high incidence of sudden unexpected death. “Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy – … Continue reading
Although rhodopsin — the molecule that allows the eye to detect dim light — has a long and well-recognized history of more than 100 years, there is still controversy about the structure in which the molecule exists in the cells of the eye. A firm step forward toward better understanding rhodopsin structure in living cells … Continue reading
