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Illegitimate transcription: Its use in the study of inherited disease
Author(s) -
Kaplan JeanClaude,
Kahn Axel,
Chelly Jamel
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
human mutation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.981
H-Index - 162
eISSN - 1098-1004
pISSN - 1059-7794
DOI - 10.1002/humu.1380010502
Subject(s) - biology , genetics , computational biology , disease , transcription (linguistics) , evolutionary biology , medicine , philosophy , linguistics
In 1988, by using the powerful and accurate cDNA/PCR technique, it was demonstrated that there are very low levels of dystrophin mRNA in a variety of non‐muscle tissues, including cultured fibroblasts and lymphoblastoid cell lines. The phenomenon was also shown for a number of other tissue‐specific genes, including β‐globin, factors VIIIc and IX, anti‐Müllerian hormone, L‐pyruvate kinase, retinal blue pigment, phenylalanine hydroxylase. The level of transcript in inappropriate cells is exceedingly low, perhaps one mRNA per 100–1000 cells. This low‐level ubiquitous transcription of tissue‐specific genes was called “illegitimate” or “ectopic” transcription, and has been proven to occur for 17 gene transcripts to date. The mechanism and biological significance of illegitimate transcription are still obscure, but, since illegitimate transcripts exhibit the same pathology as legitimate transcripts, they have been useful tool in the study of already 9 inherited diseases. This strategy will be applied widely for diseases where samples from the appropriate tissue for study is difficult to obtain, or where an mRNA is easier or more informative to study than a genomic DNA (as for large genes, or where alternative splicing is involved). © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.