Chromosome Y News and Research

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The Y chromosome is one of the two sex chromosomes in humans (the other is the X chromosome). The sex chromosomes form one of the 23 pairs of human chromosomes in each cell. The Y chromosome spans about 58 million base pairs (the building blocks of DNA) and represents almost 2 percent of the total DNA in cells.

Each person normally has one pair of sex chromosomes in each cell. The Y chromosome is present in males, who have one X and one Y chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes.

Identifying genes on each chromosome is an active area of genetic research. Because researchers use different approaches to predict the number of genes on each chromosome, the estimated number of genes varies. The Y chromosome likely contains between 70 and 200 genes. Because only males have the Y chromosome, the genes on this chromosome tend to be involved in male sex determination and development. Sex is determined by the SRY gene, which is responsible for the development of a fetus into a male. Other genes on the Y chromosome are important for male fertility.

Many genes are unique to the X or Y chromosome, but genes in an area known as the pseudoautosomal region are present on both chromosomes. As a result, men and women each have two functional copies of these genes. Many genes in the pseudoautosomal region are essential for normal development.

Genes on the Y chromosome are among the estimated 20,000 to 25,000 total genes in the human genome.

Researchers discover potential mechanism for tumor growth

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have identified an inherent feature of stem and progenitor cells that may promote initiation and progression of cancerous tumors.

15 Dec 2005

AMN107 drug shows promise in leukemia resistance to Gleevec

The targeted agent AMN107 can produce dramatic benefits in patients with some forms of leukemia that are resistant to Gleevec, the standard therapy for these cancers, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

13 Dec 2005

Securin is not required for chromosomal stability in human cells

A critical aspect of cell division, or mitosis, is that the progeny cells must receive the full complement of chromosomes.

13 Dec 2005

Importance of telomeres in preserving genome integrity and preventing cancer development

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies discovered that cells co-opted the machinery that usually repairs broken strands of DNA to protect the integrity of chromosomes.

7 Dec 2005

Hippocampal myo-inositol and cognitive ability in adults with Down Syndrome

Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London have identified a molecule that could be targeted to treat the cognitive impairment in people with Down syndrome.

7 Dec 2005

Disruption of normal gene interaction linked to schizophrenia

Disruption of the normal interaction between the genes PRODH and COMT contributes directly to major symptoms of schizophrenia by upsetting the balance of the brain chemicals glutamate and dopamine, according to a group of investigators that includes a scientist now at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

2 Dec 2005

Study links low level of response (LR) to alcohol to an area on chromosome 10

How a person "feels" the effects of alcohol is, in part, genetically influenced and relates to their risk for developing alcoholism.

28 Nov 2005

Analysis of Fcg Receptor haplotypes in rheumatoid arthritis

People with a specific combination of variants of two genes, encoding two different receptors for the antibody Fc gamma, are three times more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than individuals with different variant combinations.

28 Nov 2005

Loss of genes on chromosome 1 or 11 raises the risk of death from the children's cancer neuroblastoma

A new study reports that a loss of genes on chromosome 1 or chromosome 11 raises the risk of death from the children's cancer neuroblastoma, even when other indicators seem to point to a lower-risk form of the disease.

28 Nov 2005

Fc gamma receptor gene variants associated with rheumatoid arthritis

10 Nov 2005

Genetic link to dyslexia

About five million Germans have serious learning difficulties when it comes to reading and writing. It is frequently the case that several members of the same family are affected. So hereditary disposition seems to play an important role in the occurrence of dyslexia.

7 Nov 2005

DCDC2 gene linked to dyslexia

Pediatric researchers at Yale School of Medicine have identified a gene on human chromosome 6 called DCDC2, which is linked to dyslexia, a reading disability affecting millions of children and adults.

30 Oct 2005

Mechanisms of evolution may be associated with disease

By comparing the human genome with that of the chimpanzee, man's closest living relative, researchers have discovered that chunks of similar DNA that have been flipped in orientation and reinserted into chromosomes are hundreds of times more common in primates than previously thought.

26 Oct 2005

Lack of gene expression associated with ovarian cancer

The expression of two specific genes is almost completely downregulated in ovarian cancer tumours. An extensive analysis of gene expression in ovarian cancer tumour cells has revealed this important finding, which should be an aid to early diagnosis.

24 Oct 2005

Faulty gene may identify those at risk of schizophrenia

Scientists believe they have discovered a genetic defect which could help explain the biological basis of schizophrenia.

24 Oct 2005

Teens with missing part of a chromosome confirm genetic role in schizophrenia

A study in youth who are missing part of a chromosome is further implicating a suspect gene in schizophrenia.

23 Oct 2005

Dopamine link to psychiatric and neurological disorders

A gene that regulates dopamine levels in the brain is involved in the development of schizophrenia in children at high risk for the disorder, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and the University of Geneva.

23 Oct 2005

Gene found only in men is altered by a chemical process, which is in turn linked to aggressive forms of melanoma

New scientific evidence that may shed light on why men are more likely than women to develop aggressive forms of skin cancer has been published in Carcinogenesis.

23 Oct 2005

Identification of a single chromosome region linked to specific language impairment

Researchers at the University of Toronto (U of T), Capital Health's Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton, Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and their international collaborators have discovered a genetic abnormality that causes a type of language impairment in children

19 Oct 2005

Significant step forward in the genome era

In what promises to be a significant step forward in the genome era, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) today announced plans to devote a portion of its large-scale sequencing capacity to efforts aimed at identifying the genetic roots of specific diseases that have long eluded gene hunters.

17 Oct 2005