Molecular Medicine

The fascinating area of molecular medicine provides a molecular and cellular description of health and disease. Starting with the understanding of gene regulation and epigenetics, i.e., the interplay of transcription factors and chromatin, this book will provide an fundamental basis of nearly all processes in physiology, both in health as well as in most common disorders, such as cancer, diabetes as well as in autoimmune diseases. Most non-communicable human diseases have a genetic (= inherited) as well as an epigenetic component. The later one is based on our lifestyle choices and environmental exposures. Many common diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, can be explained only to some 20% via a genetic predisposition. We cannot change the genes that we are born with but we can take care of the remaining 80% being primarily based on our epigenome. Therefore, there is a high level of individual responsibility for staying healthy. Thus, not only biologists and biochemists should be aware of this topic, but all students of biomedical disciplines will benefit from being introduced into the concepts of molecular medicine. This will provide them with a good basis for their specialized disciplines of modern life science research.
The book is subdivided into 42 chapters that are linked to a series of lecture courses in Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Molecular Immunology, Cancer Biology and Nutrigenomics that is given by one of us (C. Carlberg) in different forms since 2002 at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio. This book represents an updated version and fusion of the books textbooks Mechanisms of Gene Regulation: How Science Works (ISBN 978-3-030-52321-3), Human Epigenetics: How Science Works (ISBN 978-3-030-22907-8). Molecular Immunology: How Science Works (ISBN 978-3-031-04024-5), Cancer Biology: How Science Works (ISBN 978-3-030-75699-4) and Nutrigenomics: How Science Works (ISBN 978-3-030-36948-4). By combining basic understanding of cellular mechanism with clinical examples, the authors hope to make this textbook a personal experience. A glossary in the appendix will explain the major specialist's terms.

Five textbooks in one, written by the same author Linking epigenetics and immunology with cancer and the metabolic syndrome All topics are based on 20 years of extensive teaching experience

Autorentext

Carsten Carlberg graduated 1989 with a PhD in biochemistry at the Free University Berlin (Germany). After positions as postdoc at Roche (Basel, Switzerland), group leader at the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and docent at the University of Düsseldorf (Germany) he is since 2000 full professor of biochemistry at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio (Finland). His work focuses on mechanisms of gene regulation by nuclear hormones, in particular on vitamin D. At present Prof. Carlberg focuses projects on epigenome-wide effects of vitamin D on the human immune system. Ferdinand Molnár received his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Kuopio (Kuopio, Finland) in 2006. He did his postdoctoral training in Structural Biology at the IGBMC (Illkirch, France). In 2008 he joined the School of Pharmacy at the University of Eastern Finland (Kuopio, Finland) studying nuclear receptor-ligand, - protein and -DNA interactions. In 2018 he moved tothe Nazarbayev University (Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan) where he holds an Associate Professor position at the Department of Biology. Prof. Molnár interests are integrative structural biology and bioinformatics, eukaryotic transcriptional regulation in health and disease and recombinant protein production.

Inhalt

1. The human genome and its variations.- 2. Gene expression and chromatin.- 3. The basal transcriptional machinery.- 4. Transcription factors and signal transduction.- 5. A key transcription factor family: Nuclear receptors.- 6. DNA methylation.- 7. Histone modifications.- 8. Chromatin remodeling and organization.- 9. Regulatory impact of non-coding RNA.- 10. Genome-wide principles of gene regulation.- 11. Epigenetics in development.- 12. Epigenetics and aging.- 13. Epigenetics and disease.- 14. Cells and tissues of the immune system.- 15. Innate immunity and inflammation.- 16. Adaptive immunity and antigen receptor diversity.- 17. B cell immunity: BCRs, antibodies and their effector functions.- 18. Antigen-presenting cells and MHCs.- 19. T cell immunity: TCRs and their effector functions.- 20. Immunity to bacterial pathogens and the microbiome.- 21. Immunity to viral pathogens and the virome.- 22. Tolerance and transplantation immunology.- 23. Immunological hypersensitivities: Allergy and autoimmunity.- 24. Introduction to cancer.- 25. Oncogenes, signal transduction and the hallmarks of cancer.- 26 Tumor suppressor genes and cell fate control.- 27. Multistep tumorigenesis and genome instability.- 28. Cancer genomics.- 29. Cancer epigenomics.-30. Aging and cancer.- 31. Tumor microenvironment.- 32 Metastasis and cachexia.- 33. Cancer immunology.- 34 Architecture of cancer therapies.- 35 Nutrition and common diseases.- 36 Interference of the human genome with nutrients.- 37. Nutritional epigenetics, signaling and aging.- 38. Chronic inflammation and metabolic stress.- 39. Obesity.- 40. Insulin resistance and diabetes.- 41. Heart disease and the metabolic syndrome.- 42 Epigenetics, inflammation and disease.