"Current pharmacological treatments have limitations – two patients with the same disease could respond very differently to the same medication. Our inability to provide patient-specific cure stems from insufficient knowledge about the molecular abnormalities, their genetic causes and functional consequences on the cellular level. With the Human Genome Project and all the newly acquired knowledge about our genetic makeup, it becomes more feasible to establish the connection between a genetic defect and the clinical picture of a disease (genotype -> phenotype). Patient-specific cure, with a very precise target (gene therapy) seems just a step away. This project will challenge you to explore the gene-disease connection in bioelectricity." -- Dr. Emilia Entcheva
Andersen’s syndrome, also known as Andersen-Tawil syndrome (ATS) is a rare inherited autosomal dominant disorder that affects reportedly 100 people worldwide. ATS is typically characterized by symptoms including irregular heart rhythms, brief episodes of localized muscle weakness or periodic paralysis in limbs, and developmental abnormalities. ATS is categorized into two types: Type I accounts for about 60% of all cases of ATS and is caused by mutations in the KCNJ2 gene, which lead to abnormalities in the ion channels (potassium channels) of the muscle cell membranes. The causes, however, to Type II ATS, which account for the remaining 40% of all cases, have not been discovered yet...
Type I is known to be caused by a mutation in the KCNJ2 gene; so far, there are over twenty known mutations in this gene that cause ATS. The gene KCNJ2 contains the information necessary to produce a protein that forms an ion channel across the cell membrane, more specifically, the potassium ion channel. While some mutations change the shape of the protein, others change the orientation of the protein within the membrane. ... The KCNJ2 gene encodes potassium ion channel component of the inward rectifier IK1 called Kir2.1. During the most terminal phase of repolarization, the inward rectifier IK1 produces a repolarizing current...
Due to the rarity of this disorder and the extremely small number of affected individuals diagnosed with Anderson-Tawil Syndrome (ATS), there are very few treatments today that help patients. The most common treatment for ATS is the oral intake of K+ ions to minimize the effect of low serum potassium concentrations. Since there are constant changes of potassium levels in cardiac and skeletal muscles, it is difficult to monitor the body’s response to drugs and overall refractoriness to anti-arrhythmic agents. Therefore, the treatments toward ATS have to be individualized for the best effect...
To represent the genetically altered function of the ion channel(s) in a cell computer model. To use the modified model to make predictions about pathological changes in the overall bioelectric behavior.
