Molecular cardiology and genetics in the 21st century--a primer

The terminology and technology of molecular genetics and recombinant DNA have become an essential part of academic cardiology and will soon be applied at the bedside. The treatise includes a brief summary of the essentials of the DNA molecule, the more common techniques, and their application to genetics and molecular cardiology. It is written to be understood by physicians, scientists, and paramedical personnel who would not necessarily have a background in molecular biology. Inherent in the DNA molecule are three properties fundamental to all of the diagnostic and therapeutic applications, namely, the ability of DNA to separate into single strands, recombine (annealment or hybridization), and the presence of the negative charge enables DNA fragments to be separated easily by electrophoresis. Genetic linkage analysis of a family with an inherited disease enables one to identify the gene without knowing its protein product. Over 50 diseases in cardiology due to single-gene disorders have been identified and multiple mutations have been detected. The new therapeutic frontier will be stem cells and nuclear transfer. Identification of genes responsible for coronary artery disease made possible by genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mapping techniques paves the way for personalized medicine.