Cyagen Biosciences

Introduction: Alcoholism is a complex disease affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide (1). Despite having devastating consequences on physical and mental health, and indirectly impacting families and society, treatment options are limited and often ineffective (2). Current evidence suggests that environmental and genetic factors both equally influence an individual’s susceptibility to alcoholism (3). Genetics of alcohol metabolism Interestingly, people with certain genotypes are significantly less likely to become alcoholic, likely due to unpleasant, aversive effects they experience when consuming alcohol (4-7). The most well-understood examples are variants of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) genes. These enzymes are sequentially involved in metabolizing ethanol to acetaldehyde and then acetate. Individuals who carry mutations in these ALDH genes can accumulate acetaldehyde in the blood after ethanol consumption producing strong effects, inc...

Around 100 million people worldwide have red hair due to the variants of the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene they carry. In addition to affecting hair color and skin pigmentation, red-hair-color (RHC) MC1R variants also significantly increase sun sensitivity and the risk of skin cancers such as melanoma. Until now we have known almost nothing about how MC1R is modulated by UV radiation, or how certain MC1R alleles increase the risk of skin cancer. But, in a recent paper, researchers seem to have finally found the elusive answer, and potentially also discovered new ways to prevent sun-induced melanoma. Chen et al. found that MC1R undergoes a lipid modification called palmitoylation, and that this modification controls the development of melanoma. They used an impressive combination of mouse models, cell culture, and biochemical methods to elucidate a multistep pathway in which activation of ATR kinase by UV radiation leads to phosphorylation of the protein-acyl transferase ZDHHC13...