Mutagenesis and its biomedical consequences

诱变及其生物医学后果

• 批准号: MC_UU_00035/2
• 负责人: Martin Taylor
• 金额: $ 355.5万
• 依托单位: University of Edinburgh
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Intramural
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MC_UU_00035%2F2
• 关键词: Mutagenesis; its; biomedical; consequences

We are working to understand what causes changes to the DNA sequence in our cells. New DNA changes are called mutations. Some of these mutations drive the development of cancer, some cause inherited disease and they may contribute to the ageing of our bodies. But many, perhaps most, have no effect.Mutations can come about through natural processes in our cells, or they can be caused by exposure to damaging environments such as ultraviolet radiation in sunlight, dangerous chemicals in tobacco smoke, and as a side-effect of some medical treatments. Our work reveals the mechanisms that lead to these mutations.Learning about the causes of mutations tells us a great deal about the processes in our cells that copy and repair DNA. This can suggest new ways to treat cancers. The patterns of mutations we see in a cancer can reveal defects that may be allowing the cancer to grow, but might also be used to target treatments specifically to that cancer.Working out the patterns of new mutations helps us find those rare ones that have an important effect. This can help understand disease or target therapies. We specialise in making the most of data that already exists, which extracts the maximum insight from past investments and minimises the use of animals. Where the data we need doesn’t exist, we work with other groups in the MRC Human Genetics Unit, and international collaborators to efficiently generate it.

我们正在努力了解是什么导致我们细胞中的DNA序列发生变化。新的DNA变化被称为突变。这些突变中的一些会导致癌症的发展，一些会导致遗传性疾病，它们可能会导致我们的身体老化。但许多，也许大多数都没有效果。突变可能是通过我们细胞中的自然过程产生的，也可能是由于暴露在有害环境中引起的，比如阳光中的紫外线辐射，烟草烟雾中的危险化学物质，以及一些药物的副作用。我们的工作揭示了导致这些突变的机制。对突变原因的了解告诉我们许多关于细胞中复制和修复DNA的过程。这可能会为治疗癌症提供新的方法。我们在癌症中看到的突变模式可以揭示可能导致癌症生长的缺陷，但也可能被用于针对这种癌症的针对性治疗。研究新突变的模式有助于我们找到那些具有重要影响的罕见突变。这有助于了解疾病或靶向治疗。我们专注于最大限度地利用现有数据，从过去的投资中提取最大的洞察力，并将动物的使用降至最低。在我们需要的数据不存在的地方，我们与MRC人类遗传学部门的其他小组以及国际合作者合作，高效地生成这些数据。