Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)


Print Feedback Export to File
526046 
Journal Article 
Genomic imprinting and reproduction 
Swales, AKE; Spears, N 
2005 
1 
Reproduction
ISSN: 1470-1626
EISSN: 1741-7899 
130 
4 
389-399 
English 
Genomic imprinting is the parent-of-origin specific gene expression which is a vital mechanism through both development and adult life. One of the key elements of the imprinting mechanism is DNA methylation, controlled by DNA methyltransferase enzymes. Germ cells undergo reprogramming to ensure that sex-specific genomic imprinting is initiated, thus allowing normal embryo development to progress after fertilisation. In some cases, errors in genomic imprinting are embryo lethal while in others they lead to developmental disorders and disease. Recent studies have suggested a link between the use of assisted reproductive techniques and an increase in normally rare imprinting disorders. A greater understanding of the mechanisms of genomic imprinting and the factors that influence them are important in assessing the safety of these techniques. 
beckwith-wiedemann-syndrome; intracytoplasmic sperm injection; dna; methyltransferase expression; paternal methylation imprint; histone; deacetylase complex; in-vitro fertilization; cpg-binding protein-2; germ-cells; transcriptional repression; mammalian development