Stochastic mRNA Synthesis in Mammalian Cells

Stochastic mRNA Synthesis in Mammalian Cells

Individual cells in genetically homogeneous populations have been found to express different numbers of molecules of specific proteins. We investigated the origins of these variations in mammalian cells by counting individual molecules of mRNA produced from a reporter gene that was stably integrated into the cell's genome. We found that there are massive variations in the number of mRNA molecul...

Supplementary Information for “ Stochastic mRNA Synthesis in Mammalian Cells ”

Translesion synthesis in mammalian cells.

DNA damage blocks the progression of the replication fork. In order to circumvent the damaged bases, cells employ specialized low stringency DNA polymerases, which are able to carry out translesion synthesis (TLS) past different types of damage. The five polymerases used in TLS in human cells have different substrate specificities, enabling them to deal with many different types of damaged base...

Lipid synthesis in mammalian cells

Cancer cells frequently exhibit specific alterations in their metabolic activity. This metabolic reprogramming supports the increased production of metabolic intermediates for the synthesis of proteins, nucleic acids and lipids, and is a prerequisite for the rapid proliferation of cancer cells. The most prominent metabolic alterations in cancer are an increase in glucose uptake and the use of a...

DNA synthesis in irradiated mammalian cells.

One of the first responses observed in S phase mammalian cells that have suffered DNA damage is the inhibition of initiation of DNA replicons. In cells exposed to ionizing radiation, a single-strand break appears to be the stimulus for this effect, whereby the initiation of many adjacent replicons (a replicon cluster) is blocked by a single-strand break in any one of them. In cells exposed to u...