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How does toxicants alter gene expression by affecting mRNAs? 


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Toxicants can alter gene expression by affecting mRNAs through various mechanisms. Transcriptomics studies have shown that toxicants like organophosphorus pesticides, thyroid peroxidase inhibitors, and hepatic enzyme inducers can induce characteristic gene expression changes in response to exposure. Gene expression profiles in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) have been used as surrogates for toxicant target organs, enabling the monitoring of gene expression alterations due to toxicant exposure. Additionally, environmental stressors like arsenic and cadmium have been found to impact gene expression responses and network coordination in organisms like killifish and water fleas. Furthermore, toxic metals can influence gene expression through epigenetic mechanisms, altering DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNA expression. These findings highlight the diverse ways in which toxicants can modulate gene expression at the mRNA level.

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Toxicants alter gene expression by influencing epigenetic features like DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNA expression, rather than directly affecting mRNAs.
Toxicants like arsenic reduce gene expression responses and coordination during osmotic shock, while cadmium increases responses and network coordination, impacting mRNA expression patterns in response to environmental stress.
Toxicants like thyroid peroxidase inhibitors alter gene expression by affecting mRNAs involved in the thyroid hormone synthesis pathway, providing insights into thyroid toxicity modes of action.
Toxicants like organophosphate pesticides can moderate gene expression by downregulating signaling pathways and transcription factors that control detoxifying enzymes, esterases, polyamine metabolism, and regulatory pathways in Rhinella arenarum larvae.
Toxicants alter gene expression by affecting mRNA levels in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL), serving as surrogates for target organ toxicity, enabling monitoring and characterization of toxicant exposure effects.

Related Questions

Can the environment change gene expression?5 answersYes, the environment can indeed change gene expression. Studies on various organisms like house mice, Arabidopsis lyrata plants, human endothelial cells, and wild birds have shown that environmental factors play a significant role in altering gene expression. These changes can be attributed to both genetic and non-genetic mechanisms, with genetic effects often being stable across different environments, while non-genetic effects, such as epigenetic modifications, can influence gene expression in response to environmental cues. The plasticity in gene expression allows organisms to adapt to new environments, with some genes showing reversible changes and others being reinforced through selection-driven adaptive modifications. Overall, the interplay between genetic and environmental factors shapes gene expression patterns, highlighting the intricate relationship between an organism's genetic makeup and its surrounding environment.
Can the enivronment change gene expression?5 answersYes, the environment can change gene expression. Various environmental factors such as nutrition, lifestyle, exercise, toxins, and other contributing factors can remodel the genome and modify gene expression without changing the DNA sequence. Changes in gene expression can alter the effects of mutations and how they interact, especially when the relationship between expression and a phenotype is nonlinear. Additionally, conceptual difficulties experienced by introductory biology students studying gene expression suggest that gene expression is a complex biological system at the molecular and genetic level. Furthermore, in a study on wild birds, it was found that gene expression plasticity can be reversed or reinforced through selection-driven adaptive modification in response to changes in the environment.
How dose metabolism affect gene expression?3 answersMetabolism affects gene expression by modifying the epigenome, which can regulate stem cell pluripotency, differentiation, and somatic cell reprogramming. Metabolic pathways provide the precursor molecules necessary for gene expression and ATP, the primary fuel driving gene expression. Changes in substrate availability can alter metabolic gene expression to modify the utilization of nutrients appropriately. Enzymes involved in adding and removing histone tail modifications, which regulate gene expression, require cofactors that are products of intermediary metabolism pathways. Under- and over-nutrition can induce epigenetic changes that influence chromatin structure and define a metabolic program. Metabolic gene expression can be dysregulated in disease states, such as diabetes, due to persistent changes in chromatin structure. Overall, metabolism plays a crucial role in regulating gene expression through its influence on the epigenome and the availability of metabolic products as cofactors for enzymes involved in modifying chromatin structure.
How does the transcription factor titration effect dictate the level of gene expression?1 answersThe level of gene expression is influenced by the transcription factor titration effect, which refers to the competition between multiple genes or binding sites for a limited pool of transcription factors. This competition can lead to increased gene expression noise and variance in mRNA distribution across a population of cells. When multiple gene copies share transcription factors with competitor sites, the mRNA variance remains unaltered, resulting in a collapse of variance as a function of mean expression onto a single master curve. However, the presence of multiple copies of the same gene can alter this relationship, leading to distinct signatures at the level of variance. Understanding the interplay between transcription factor copy number, binding sites, and gene expression is crucial for predicting and controlling transcription and gene circuit design.
What does changes in gene expression mean?9 answers
What is the chemical that helps control gene expression?10 answers

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