National Human Genome Research Institute NIH launches Genotype-
Tissue Expression project Project to chart influence of DNA
changes on gene function in human tissues and organs Each cell
in the human body contains a complete set of genes, yet not
every gene is turned on, or expressed, in every cell in the
body. To function properly, each type of cell turns different
genes on and off, depending on what the cell does. For example,
some genes that are turned on in a liver cell will be turned off
in a heart cell. In addition, recent genome-wide association
studies have identified several hundred common genetic variants
— inherited changes in the DNA sequence of the human genome —
that play a role in an individual's susceptibility to complex
human illnesses such as heart disease, mental illnesses, cancer
and diabetes. GTEx seeks to combine these two observations to
generate data to study systematically how gene expression is
regulated in different organs in the human body. This would be a
key step to explain the un