Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0039730 (thalassemia)
 10,305 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

X-linked alpha-thalassemia/mental retardation syndrome (ATR-X syndrome, OMIM #301040) is one of the syndromes associated with abnormal epigenetic gene regulation, including ICF(DNMT3B), Rett (MECP2), Rubinstein-Taybi (CBP), Coffin-Lowry (RSK2), and Sotos (NSD1) syndromes. It is a syndromic form of X-linked mental retardation, which affects males and is characterized by profound mental retardation, mild HbH disease (alpha-thalassemia), facial dysmorphism, skeletal abnormalities, and autistic behavior. ATR-X syndrome is caused by a mutation in the ATRX gene on the X chromosome (Xq13), which encodes ATRX protein, belonging to the SNF2 family of chromatin-remodeling proteins. The protein has two functionally important domains: an ADD (ATRX-DNMT3-DNMT3L) domain at the N-terminus, and chromatin-remodeling domain in the C-terminal half, where the ATRX gene mutations of most ATR-X patients reside. Perturbation in DNA methylation in the rDNA genes was repored in ATR-X patients, and ATRX protein is presumed to be involved in the establishment and maintenance of DNA methylation. Based on its various clinical phenotypes, the expressions of many genes, including alpha globin genes, seem to be abnormally regulated in ATR-X patients. However, the precise mechanism involving ATRX protein remains to be elucidated. Epigenetics can link environmental and genetic causes of many pathological conditions. The genes, which are abnormally regulated by a perturbed epigenetic mechanism, are, in themselves, structurally normal, and the elucidation of their mechanism may lead to the development of appropriate therapy.
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PMID:[X-linked alpha-thalassemia/mental retardation syndrome]. 1948 41

In recent decades, epigenetics has emerged as a broad-ranging regulatory layer that modulates the whole genome and transcriptome. It largely determines the firing of transcription start sites, the splicing processes, and the binding of transcription factors, among many other processes. Its wide spectrum of action has provided us with the keys to new doors to investigate many diseases, including intellectual disability syndromes. The involvement of epigenetic factors in Rett syndrome is already well established, and its involvement in alpha-thalassemia/mental retardation-X-linked and Rubinstein-Taybi syndromes is also being elucidated. Down syndrome is not an exception, and the most recent reports suggest that epigenetic factors may play a crucial role in its etiology and also have the potential to provide new panels of biomarkers and tailored treatments.
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PMID:Aberrant epigenetic landscape in intellectual disability. 2254 Dec 88