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Molecular and Cellular Pediatrics
Fig. 2 | Molecular and Cellular Pediatrics

Fig. 2

From: Early origins of asthma (and allergy)

Fig. 2

Epigenetic mechanisms in humans. The genome has a three-dimensional structure. The DNA is configured as an alpha helix of nucleotides. (1) The addition of methyl groups to cytosines changes the configuration of the helix and hinders the transcription machinery to attach to DNA. The DNA is further organized in nucleosomes which contain 146 basepairs of DNA and eight histone proteins (4 × 2 histone proteins). (2) Modification of histones by methylation or acetylation changes the accessibility of DNA at the site of these nucleosomes. Once mRNA is produced, (3) interfering mi-RNA can regulate transcription efficiency before translation into protein can occur (adapted from figure 7.6, chapter on genetics by Michael Kabesch in Pädiatrische Pneumologie, Editors Erika von Mutius et al., Springer, ISBN 978-3-642-34827-3)

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