Swiss researchers find the key to new gene diagnoses
Published: Friday, Nov 17th 2023, 16:20
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Using a new approach, Swiss researchers have developed new diagnostic options for Alzheimer's, schizophrenia and a variety of tumors. This was announced by the University of Lucerne on Friday. To this end, they identified the entire part of the human genome whose expression can be visualized.
"The implications of this are extremely large," said Martin Walter, head of the study, when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency. He is a professor at the University of Lucerne and a specialist at the Hirslanden Klinik St. Anna. The approach has great potential for the development of tests for almost every human disease.
The human genome has around 22,000 different genes, but not all of them are "switched on" at the same time. When cells change, for example in the case of cancer, genes that are normally inactive are suddenly "switched on" or vice versa. Experts then speak of a change in gene expression.
There are already methods for visualizing these. One of the most commonly used molecular imaging techniques is positron emission tomography (PET). Patients are administered a radioactive liquid, a so-called radiotracer, which binds to certain molecules associated with specific gene expressions.
"Imageable Genome"
There are thousands of such radiotracers, which make certain gene expressions visible, as Walter explained. However, according to the doctor, less than one percent of all these known radiotracers are actively used in medicine. One reason for this, according to the study, is the lack of knowledge about all the molecules that can be targeted.
The international research team led by the University of Lucerne has now used artificial intelligence to identify every single gene that can be visualized in this way in the entire published scientific literature, which comprises several million publications.
They called this part of the human genome suitable for imaging the "imageable genome". It was published in the journal "Nature Communications". According to the study, it currently comprises 1173 genes, which are visualized by a total of 9285 different radiotracers.
"We see the Imageable Genome as a key with which new findings from genomics can be used for imaging procedures," said Walter.
©Keystone/SDA
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