Imprinting in health and disease

Correct growth of babies in the womb and after birth is of great importance to health and prospects later in life. The particular interactive grouping of investigators on this MRC cooperative, combines basic science (mouse models, cell physiology, molecular genetics) approaches with clinical work (patient cohorts) to work out how a particular class of genes (the imprinted genes) are involved in the control of growth of the baby, the function of and relationship with its placenta, and how mistakes and mutations in these genes can lead to growth and developmental abnormalities and neural disorders. Each of the participating institutes encourages communication of research activities and results to the lay public. This includes proactive and responsive policies for producing press releases and talking to journalists and the media about any research of possible interest to the public. Specific public forums include a Schools Open Science day and participation in National Science Week and talks by scientists about research to school students, adult evening classes and community groups.

Genomic imprinting is a process that causes genes to be expressed according to their parental origin. This Cooperative Grouping was established in 1999 with the aim of fostering interaction between experimental and clinical studies on genomic imprinting. The key objectives of identifying new imprinted genes, establishing detailed analyses of physiological and developmental pathways of their action in fetal growth, and of identifying imprinting gene defects in the human population, were all achieved. This has put the Cooperative in an excellent position to increase the number of PIs in complementary areas evolving from the existing studies and to tackle a new set of objectives. These are:
(1) the application of critical analysis into growth control from mouse knockout models to normal and aberrant human intrauterine growth,
(2) to explore the action of imprinted signalling pathways in adaptations to early postnatal life,
(3) to explore the action of imprinted genes in brain and behaviour and
(4) to investigate epigenetic mechanisms of imprinted gene expression associated with growth, developmental and behavioural phenotypes.

The new name of the Cooperative, ?Imprinting in Health and Disease? reflects its wider remit while it remains committed to a multidisciplinary approach linking experimental with clinical studies.