Preimplantation Genetic Testing: A Review of Past and Current

The field of medical genetics has seen significant and incredible advances in technology for the past several decades. Genetic technologies, particularly in the reproductive medicine discipline, represent a fresh era in medicine that may develop significantly in the coming years. The purpose of Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) in the situation of assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments with IVF (in vitro fertilization) or ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) is particularly controversial as it is done before implantation [1]. However, despite the successful application of PGT in the field of IVF in overcoming infertility and genetic defects, the techniques pose various limitations, and concerns that need to be addressed to enhance their success rate [2]. This review will introduce PGT and summarize the molecular techniques used in its application as well as highlight the future advances in the field.

Reviewing cancer’s biology: an eclectic approach

Background Cancer refers to a group of some of the worldwide most diagnosed and deadliest pathophysiological conditions that conquered researchers’ attention for decades and yet begs for more questions for a full comprehension of its complex cellular and molecular pathology. Main body The disease conditions are commonly characterized by unrestricted cell proliferation and dysfunctional replicative senescence pathways. In fact, the cell cycle operates under the rigorous control of complex signaling pathways involving cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases assumed to be specific to each phase of the cycle. At each of these checkpoints, the cell is checked essentially for its DNA integrity. Genetic defects observed in these molecules (i.e., cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinases) are common features of cancer cells. Nevertheless, each cancer is different concerning its molecular and cellular etiology. These could range from the genetic defects mechanisms and/or the environmental conditions favoring epigenetically harbored homeostasis driving tumorigenesis alongside with the intratumoral heterogeneity with respect to the model that the tumor follows. Conclusions This review is not meant to be an exhaustive interpretation of carcinogenesis but to summarize some basic features of the molecular etiology of cancer and the intratumoral heterogeneity models that eventually bolster anticancer drug resistance for a more efficient design of drug targeting the pitfalls of the models.

Inherited Leukoencephalopathies

Leukoencephalopathies are disorders that selectively involve the white matter of the brain. Acquired causes of leukoencephalopathy include inflammatory, infectious, vascular, neoplastic, and toxic disorders. Hereditary leukoencephalopathies encompass conditions characterized by progressive destruction or loss of previously acquired central myelin (leukodystrophies) and conditions associated with impaired formation of myelin (dysmyelination or hypomyelination). The study of clinical features, neuroimaging patterns, and biochemical and neuropathologic features of leukoencephalopathies has led to the discovery of the genetic defects responsible for many of these conditions. Variations in phenotype-genotype correlation can make prediction of the underlying condition challenging. Despite recent advances in molecular studies, approximately 50% of patients with hereditary leukoencephalopathies remain without a diagnosis. A systematic approach to guide investigations is important for a diagnosis.

Mutants of the Zebrafish K+ Channel Hcn2b Exhibit Epileptic-like Behaviors

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that affects 50 million people worldwide. The most common form of epilepsy is idiopathic, where most of the genetic defects of this type of epilepsy occur in ion channels. Hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels are activated by membrane hyperpolarization, and are mainly expressed in the heart and central and peripheral nervous systems. In humans, four HCN genes have been described, and emergent clinical data shows that dysfunctional HCN channels are involved in epilepsy. Danio rerio has become a versatile organism to model a wide variety of diseases. In this work, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to generate hcn2b mutants in zebrafish, and characterized them molecularly and behaviorally. We obtained an hcn2b mutant allele with an 89 bp deletion that produced a premature stop codon. The mutant exhibited a high mortality rate in its life span, probably due to its sudden death. We did not detect heart malformations or important heart rate alterations. Absence seizures and moderate seizures were observed in response to light. These seizures rarely caused instant death. The results show that mutations in the Hcn2b channel are involved in epilepsy and provide evidence of the advantages of zebrafish to further our understanding of the pathogenesis of epilepsy.