Use of Dominant Negative Constructs to Modulate Gene Expression
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
1997
Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
This chapter reviews the many different ways to generate dominant negative mutations in a protein, and discusses their mechanisms of action. It also highlights the potential interpretations of the biologic effects observed and the most stringent controls. Molecular techniques have revolutionized the study of developmental problems in the latest years, allowing the dissection of signaling and genetic pathways in several developmental systems. Among these new tools are mutant proteins that inhibit in a dominant fashion the function of their normal counterpart in vivo. Diverse techniques allow modern embryologists to isolate novel genes from a variety of organisms at an amazing pace. With the various genome sequencing projects promising to characterize virtually all the genes of a selected number of organisms, the challenge for the present and future has become the assignment of specific functions to each gene product. The chapter provides specific examples of dominant negative proteins that have been engineered or occur naturally, and refers to them to illustrate specific advantages and caveats of their use.
Chapter of
Cellular and Molecular Procedures in Developmental Biology
Part of
Current Topics in Developmental Biology
Editor
Flora de Pablo
Alberto Ferrús
Claudio D. Stern
Recommended Citation
Use of Dominant Negative Constructs to Modulate Gene Expression. (1997). In Current Topics in Developmental Biology (Vol. 36, pp. 75–98). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0070-2153(08)60496-2
