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Genomic imprinting

(Science: genetics molecular biology) parent specific expression or repression of genes or chromosomes in offspring. There are an increasing number of recognised chromosomal imprinting events in pathological conditions: for example preferential transmission of paternal or maternal predisposition to diabetes or atopy, preferential retention of paternal alleles in rhabdomyosarcoma, osteosarcoma, retinoblastoma and wilms tumour, preferential translocation to the paternal chromosome 9 of a portion of maternal chromosome 22 to form the philadelphia chromosome of chronic myeloid leukaemia.