title: Making choices-how stochastic decisions determine disease progression.
abstract: In this issue of Genes & Development, Ginart and colleagues (pp. 567-578) study a mouse model for Russell-Silver syndrome (RSS) and show that similar cells within one individual can display distinct gene expression patterns because of epigenetic marks that are established stochastically during early development. Their results provide an excellent explanation for phenotypes seen in RSS and other imprinting disorders and especially help us understand how patients with similar or even identical genetic mutations can display distinct disease profiles.
authors.affiliation: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, USA.
authors.forename: Ki-Sun
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, USA.
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pfeifer
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D019175:DNA Methylation; D018450:Disease Progression; D018628:Gene Dosage; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018392:Genomic Imprinting / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D023421:Models, Animal; D009154:Mutation
keywords: gene expression; imprinting; single cell