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Article: Role of alanine tracts in disease genes explored.
- Article from:
- Genomics & Genetics Weekly
- Article date:
- March 19, 2004
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2004 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists discuss the role of alanine tracts in disease genes in a recent issue of the journal Trends in Genetics.
According to a study from the United States, "Expansions of polyglutamine repeats are known to cause a variety of human neurodegenerative diseases. More recently, expansions of alanine tracts, particularly in transcription factor genes, have been shown to cause at least nine human conditions, including mental retardation and malformations of the brain, digits, and other structures. Present knowledge suggests that alanine tract expansions generally, but not always, arise through unequal recombination as ...