The human dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene contains a variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) in its 3′-untranslated region (UTR). The linkage and association between the VNTR polymorphism of DAT1 and various neuropsychiatric disorders have already been reported. In the paper by Fuke et al (pages 152–156), the authors have determined the genomic structure of DAT1 genes containing 7-, 9-, 10- and 11-repeat alleles and examined the effect of VNTR polymorphism in the 3′-UTR region of DAT1 on gene expression using the luciferase reporter system in COS-7 cells. Their research suggests that the VNTR polymorphism affects the expression of DAT1.
Estrogen receptor plays a critical role in the pathogenesis and clinical behaviour of breast cancer. To better understand the molecular basis of estrogen-dependent forms of this disease Dressman et al (pages 135–141) studied gene expression profiles from 53 primary breast cancer biopsies. Gene expression data for more than 7000 genes were generated from each tumor sample, which resulted in 18 genes being identified that co-clustered with estrogen receptor alpha. Eleven of these genes had previously been associated with estrogen regulation or breast tumorigenesis and additional study of these 18 genes may further delineate the role of estrogen receptor in breast cancer, generate new predictive biomarkers for response to endocrine therapies and identify novel therapeutic targets.
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