Back to Journals » The Application of Clinical Genetics » Volume 8

Alström syndrome: current perspectives
Authors Álvarez-Satta M, Castro-Sánchez S, Valverde D
Received 23 April 2015
Accepted for publication 22 May 2015
Published 21 July 2015 Volume 2015:8 Pages 171—179
DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/TACG.S56612
Checked for plagiarism Yes
Review by Single anonymous peer review
Peer reviewer comments 3
Editor who approved publication: Prof. Dr. Martin H. Maurer
María Álvarez-Satta, Sheila Castro-Sánchez, Diana Valverde
Departamento de Bioquímica, Genética e Inmunología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Vigo, Vigo, Spain
Abstract: Alström syndrome (ALMS) is a rare genetic disorder that has been included in the ciliopathies group, in the last few years. Ciliopathies are a growing group of diseases associated with defects in ciliary structure and function. The development of more powerful genetic approaches has been replaced the strategies to follow for getting a successful molecular diagnosis for these patients, especially for those without the typical ALMS phenotype. In an effort to deepen the understanding of the pathogenesis of ALMS disease, much work has been done, in order to establish the biological implication of ALMS1 protein, which is still being elucidated. In addition to its role in ciliary function and structure maintenance, this protein has been implicated in intracellular trafficking, regulation of cilia signaling pathways, and cellular differentiation, among others. All these progresses will lead to identifying therapeutic targets, thus opening the way to future personalized therapies for human ciliopathies.
Keywords: Alström syndrome, ciliopathies, ALMS1 gene, ALMS1 protein, molecular diagnosis
This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License.
By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.