Breast cancer protection by genomic imprinting in close kin families

BMC Medical Genetics

Review

Srdjan Denic¹  Mukesh M. Agarwal² 

[1] Department of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, PO Box 17666, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE;Department of Pathology, California University of Science and Medicine, 217 E Club Center Drive, 92408, San Bernardino, CA, USA;

关键词: Public health;    Mate selection;    Epigenetics;    Homozygosis;    Heterosis;    Arabs;    Pakistan;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12881-017-0498-0

 received in 2016-08-17, accepted in 2017-11-09,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Human inbreeding generally reduces breast cancer risk (BCR). When the parents are biologically related, their infants have a lower birth weight due to smaller body organs. The undersized breasts, because of fewer mammary stem cells, have a lower likelihood of malignant conversion. Fetal growth is regulated by genomically imprinted genes which are in conflict; they promote growth when derived from the father and suppress growth when derived from the mother. The kinship theory explicates that the intensity of conflict between these genes affects growth and therefore the size of the newborn. In descendants of closely related parents, this gene clash is less resulting in a smaller infant. In this review, we elucidate the different mechanisms by which human inbreeding affects BCR, and why this risk is dissimilar in different inbred populations.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017