‘Master regulator’ gene — long tied to autism disorders — stimulates other genes in early brain development
Thursday, December 18, 2014 · Posted by New York University, Langone Medical Center
Chemical modifications to DNA’s packaging — known as epigenetic changes — can activate or repress genes involved in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and early brain development, according to a new study to be published in the journal Nature on Dec. 18.
Biochemists from NYU Langone Medical Center found that these epigenetic changes in mice and laboratory experiments remove the blocking mechanism of a protein complex long known for gene suppression, and transitions the complex to a gene activating role instead.