Mitochondrial Structure and Function Mitochondria are very complex and highly dynamic organelles. Although responsible for only 10% of the cellular proteome, mitochondria serve not only as powerhouse of the cells but also as critical regulators of essential cellular processes including…
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are characterized by their unique ability to self-renew and give rise to the entirety of the blood and immune system throughout the lifetime of an individual. HSCs are very rare cells, representing approximately one in 100,000…
It is widely recognized that heritable genetic variation (i.e., genotypes or haplotypes) can translate into inherited phenotypes, some of which predispose to or cause diseases and others alter response to treatment. One aim of medical genetics and pharmacogenomics (PGx) is…
Previous chapters outline the central dogma of mlecular biology: the storage of genetic information in DNA and its regulated transcription into messenger RNA and eventual translation into proteins. In this chapter, we briefly outline the chemical structure of proteins and…
Hematopoiesis is a cellular process in which self-renewing stem progenitor cells differentiate into mature blood cells, which carry out specific biologic functions. These functions include oxygen delivery, clot formation, and immune responses, including defense of the host from infection and…
Genome editing is a rapidly developing field in which the genome of cells is modified with single nucleotide precision. This degree of precision is not achievable by other forms of genetic engineering, including contemporary lentiviral vectors, recombinases, or transposases. Not…
Introduction The function of a cell is not only determined by the sum of the specific RNAs and proteins expressed but also by their metabolism, modification, and localization. To understand how a cell behaves, one must understand how the expression…
Introduction The publication of the sequence of the human genome in 2001 heralded a new era in biomedical research and delivered a novel perspective on the biologic basis of the leukemias and lymphomas. A major tenet of these new approaches…
Epigenetics can be defined as inheritance of variation, above and beyond changes in the DNA sequence. In other words, epigenetics comprises the study of how cells sharing the same exhaustive DNA blueprint can appear and function so distinctly as white…
Normal blood cells have limited life spans; they must be replenished in precise numbers by a continuously renewing population of progenitor cells. Homeostasis of the blood requires that proliferation of these cells be efficient yet strictly constrained. Many distinctive types…