Chromosome 4 News and Research

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Humans normally have 46 chromosomes in each cell, divided into 23 pairs. Two copies of chromosome 4, one copy inherited from each parent, form one of the pairs. Chromosome 4 spans more than 191 million DNA building blocks (base pairs) and represents more than 6 percent of the total DNA in cells.

Identifying genes on each chromosome is an active area of genetic research. Because researchers use different approaches to predict the number of genes on each chromosome, the estimated number of genes varies. Chromosome 4 likely contains between 1,300 and 1,600 genes.

Genes on chromosome 4 are among the estimated 20,000 to 25,000 total genes in the human genome.

Study shows that rogue proteins may underlie some ALS and frontotemporal dementia cases

ALS -- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- is a neurodegenerative disease that attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, slowly robbing its victims of their ability to walk, talk, breathe and swallow.

20 Aug 2018

Scientists identify pathways that reveal insights into mechanism of lung cancer etiology

Lung cancer is the leading cause of preventable cancer death. A disease of complex origin, lung cancer is usually considered to result from effects of smoking and from multiple genetic variants.

17 Aug 2018

Scientists uncover key control mechanism of DNA replication

Researchers from Osaka University in Japan have uncovered a key control mechanism of DNA replication with potential implications for better understanding how cells maintain genetic information to prevent diseases or cancer.

16 Aug 2018

Brown University researchers reveal key physical properties of 'giant' cancer cells

Polyploidal cancer cells--cells that have more than two copies of each chromosome--are much larger than most other cancer cells, are resistant to chemotherapy and radiation treatments and are associated with disease relapse.

14 Aug 2018

FDA approves first oral medication for treatment of adults with Fabry disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Galafold (migalastat), the first oral medication for the treatment of adults with Fabry disease.

10 Aug 2018

Koala virus could provide clues to accumulated 'junk' DNA in the human genome

A koala virus could help researchers explain millions of years of accumulated ‘junk’ DNA in the human genome.

10 Aug 2018

Study finds false negatives in common tests used to determine ROS1 status in lung cancer

Drugs like crizotinib are used to treat patients with ROS1-positive lung cancer. But which patients are ROS1-positive? A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology shows that common laboratory tests used to determine ROS1 status all have inherent limitations that can lead to false-negative results.

9 Aug 2018

Genetic testing before embryo transfer makes no difference to live birth rates

The genetic screening of fertilized eggs for embryo selection in assisted reproduction makes no difference to live birth rates, according to results from the largest published study of its kind.

6 Aug 2018

CHOP experts identify new autoimmune disorder along with personalized treatment for young patient

Elijah Patino is a happy, healthy seven-year-old now, but it took a while to get there. For much of his life, he had a mysterious disease that made it painful to eat and painful to play.

2 Aug 2018

MGH researchers explore how genetic abnormality in Ewing sarcoma unleashes tumor growth

A Massachusetts General Hospital research team has used epigenome editing tools to investigate how the genetic abnormality that drives Ewing sarcoma - the second most common bone cancer in children and young adults - unleashes tumor growth.

2 Aug 2018

Researchers identify genes linked to childhood nephrotic syndrome

Childhood nephrotic syndrome is the most frequently occurring chronic kidney disease among children. A Japanese research team has identified a group of genes that are strongly related to the development of childhood nephrotic syndrome.

27 Jul 2018

Answer to decades-old mystery may allow some children to avoid bone marrow transplantation

Researchers have helped solve a decades-old mystery about which mutations are responsible for an inherited bone marrow disorder.

27 Jul 2018

New mouse model shows great promise for Rett syndrome research

In an article released today from Jeannie T. Lee, MD PhD of Massachusetts General Hospital, there is hope on the horizon for future research specific to Rett syndrome, a rare childhood neurodevelopmental disorder.

26 Jul 2018

Researchers study whole genome sequences of human induced pluripotent stem cells

The therapeutic potential of human induced pluripotent stem cells, which are capable of becoming almost any type of cell in the human body, is well-recognized and broadly pursued, but their mutational burden has not been fully characterized yet.

25 Jul 2018

Mutated gene linked to 3-year-old girl's severe neurological symptoms

A young girl with severe neurological symptoms finally has a diagnosis, following the discovery by the Translational Genomics Research Institute of a genetic mutation that likely caused the girl to experience a cascade of symptoms.

24 Jul 2018

Researchers uncover cause for progression of prostate cancer to incurable stage

Researchers at the University of Oulu in Finland have discovered novel genes and mechanisms that can explain how a genomic variant in a single nucleotide polymorphism rs11672691 influences prostate cancer aggressiveness.

20 Jul 2018

Researchers raise viability of cloned mice using somatic cell nuclear transfer method

An international group of researchers have raised the viability of mice that were cloned using a method called somatic cell nuclear transfer, by stimulating two epigenetic factors, and by doing this have shown that creating cloned animals more efficiently will require further work in the area of epigenetics.