Molecular switches: Orchestrating gene expression through promoters

Potential use in therapeutic gene treatments

Authors

  • Mariela Montaño-Samaniego Laboratorio de Terapia Génica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CDMX, México. Laboratorio de Técnicas Fototérmicas, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Unidad Politécnica Interdisciplinaria de Biotecnología, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CDMX, México.
  • Cynthia Avendaño-Portugal Laboratorio de Terapia Génica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CDMX, México.
  • Miguel Ibáñez-Hernández Laboratorio de Terapia Génica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CDMX, México.

Keywords:

Gene therapy, specific promoters, targeted treatments

Abstract

Gene expression, essential for cellular function and protein production, is regulated by promoters acting as molecular switches, controlling the transcription of DNA to messenger RNA through transcription factors and RNA polymerase II. These promoters, with specific regulatory elements, ensure precise transcription and are key in gene therapy strategies, allowing for the targeting of therapeutic genes to specific cells or tissues, thus avoiding effects on healthy cells. Tissue-specific and tumor-specific promoters allow establishing strategies for treating genetic diseases and cancer, respectively, through selective activation in target cells, optimizing the safety and efficacy of the treatment.

References

Montaño-Samaniego, M., Bravo-Estupiñan, D.M., Méndez-Guerrero, O., Alarcón- Hernández, E. e Ibáñez-Hernández, M. (2020). Strategies for Targeting Gene Therapy in Cancer Cells With Tumor-Specific Promoters. Front. Oncol., 10, 605380. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2020.605380

Anguela, X. M. y High, K. A. (2019). Entering the Modern Era of Gene Therapy. Annu. Rev. Med., 70, 273-88. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-med-012017-043332

Patil, S., Gao, Y. G., Lin, X., Li, Y., Dang, K., Tian, Y., et al. (2019). The development of functional non-viral vectors for gene delivery. Int J Mol Sci, 20 (21), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20215491

Igarashi, P. (2017). Regulación de la expresión génica. En Boron, W. F. y Boulpaep, E. L. (Eds.) Fisiología médica (3 ed., Vol. 1, pp. 73-101). Elsevier.

Montaño-Samaniego, M.; Sánchez-Cedillo, J.; Lucas-González, A.; Bravo-Estupiñan, D.M.; Alarcón-Hernández, E.; Rivera-Gutiérrez, S.; Balderas-López, J.A.; Ibáñez-Hernández, M. (2023). Targeted Expression to Liver of an antimiR-33 Sponge as a Gene Therapy Strategy against Hypercholesterolemia: In Vitro Study. Curr. Issues Mol. Biol. 45(9), 7043-7057. https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb45090445

Kang, J.H., Toita, R. y Murata, M. (2016). Liver cell‑targeted delivery of therapeutic molecules. Crit Rev Biotechnol. 36(1), 132-43. https://doi.org/10.3109/07388551.2014.930017

Chen, C., Yue, D., Le, L., Wang, H., Liu, J., Zhou, Y., Liu, S., Ding, T., Guo, M., y Xu, L. (2018). Promoter-Operating Targeted Expression of Gene therapy in Cancer: Current stage and prospect. Molecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids, 11, 508-514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omtn.2018.04.003

Mogno, I., Vallania, F., Mitra, R. D., & Cohen, B. A. (2010). TATA is a modular component of synthetic promoters. Genome research, 20(10), 1391–1397. https://doi.org/10.1101/gr.106732.110

Published

2024-05-22

How to Cite

Montaño-Samaniego, M., Avendaño-Portugal, C., & Ibáñez-Hernández, M. (2024). Molecular switches: Orchestrating gene expression through promoters: Potential use in therapeutic gene treatments. Revista De divulgación científica IBIO, 6(2), 181. Retrieved from http://revistaibio.com/ojs33/index.php/main/article/view/181