Department of Functional Genomics

Scientific research is conducted in the areas:

Search for and study on the genes associated with the development of leucoses of both viral and non-viral origin.

Investigation on alternative splicing of mammalian genes.

Regulation of gene expression in normal and pathological conditions.

Molecular retrovirology.

Recent achievements:

• The interrelation between the gene expression of T-cellular human leucosis virus (HTLV-1), chromosomal surroundings of integrated proviruses and disease manifestation is under investigation. The expression of new chimeric genes, generated as a result of the change in human third chromosome in leucoses, is being studied.
• Identification and comparative characterization of transcriptional isoforms of mammalian gene of intersecting, which encodes a multidomain protein, involved in endocytosis and signal pathways of cell is under way aimed at the determination of their role in modulating these processes.
• We are studying the role of alternative splicing in the regulation of gene intersecting expression in Down's syndrome, related to trisomy of 21st chromosome of human, onto which this gene has been mapped. The peculiarities of expression of genes of alpha globin domain in leucoses of viral nature have also been studied. Based on the analysis of gene expression, the search for clusters of genes, which are potential markers of some malignant and benign tumours in human, has been launched.
• Studies on localization and expression of endogenous retroviruses in a host genome are being conducted with the goal of determination of their role in neoplasm formation. The investigation of the correlation between HIV-1 location in human genome and the peculiarities of disease proceeding in infected patients is in progress.

Selected publications:

1. Tsyba, L.O., Skrypkina, I.Ya., Rynditch, A.V., Nikolaienko, O., Ferenez, G., Fortna, A. and Gardiner K. (2004) Alternative splicing of mammalian Intersectin 1: domain associations and tissue specificities. Genomics, 84, 106-113.
2. Tsyba, L., Rynditch, A., Boeri, E., Jabbari, K. and Bernardi G. (2004) Distribution of HIV-1 in the genomes of AIDS patients. Cell. Mol. Life Sci., 61, 721-726.
3. Razin, S., Rynditch, A., Borunova, V., Ioudinkova, E., Smalko, V. and Scherrer, K. (2004) The about 33 kb-long Full Domain Transcript of the Chicken a -Globin Gene Domain is a Structural Component of the Nuclear Matrix. J. Cell Biochem., 92, 445-457.