Australia (Commonwealth Union) – Genetic mapping has played a key role in recent years in the identification of specific genes for new therapies. A new map of the gene activity alterations taking place in the diverse cells of the brain during development prior to birth through to adulthood has been created by scientists at The University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research.
The findings shed light into cell function alterations in neurological diseases like brain cancers and debilitating disorders like schizophrenia. The study, which appeared in the journal Cell, was headed by postdoctoral researchers Dr Chuck Herring, Dr Rebecca Simmons, Dr Saskia Freytag and Dr Daniel Poppe, and led by Professor Ryan Lister from the UWA Media School recognized for the first comprehensive maps of the human epigenome on prior occasions.
Dr Chuck said: “This high-resolution map shows how the gene activity of each different type of brain cell in the prefrontal cortex changes as we mature, from mid-gestation through to adulthood in normal individuals, and predicts the cellular factors that control these changes.” He further stated that in the absence of a maps of normal development there is no reference to mark abnormalities and its role in brain disorders.
The map of normal brain cell development, will pave the way for researchers to recognize altered states more precisely in neurological and psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, or aberrant cell states in conditions like brain cancer.
Professor Lister stated that these maps are assisting us to further gain knowledge in brain disorders and produce enhanced models of brain cells for modelling diseases and new drug discovery. Professor Lister produced the world’s first comprehensive map of the human epigenome, and his significant work in plant and animal systems has enhanced our knowledge of genome regulation, stem cell biology, and brain development.
