Genetics of Tuberous sclerosis: Two loci for tuberous sclerosis have been found: TSC1 on chromosome 9, and TSC2 on chromosome 16. It took four years to pin down a specific gene from the TSC1 region of chromosome 9: in 1997, a promising candidate was found. Called hamartin by the discoverers, it is similar to a yeast protein of unknown function, and appears to act as a tumor suppressor: without TSC1, growth of cells proceeds in an unregulated fashion, resulting in tumor formation. TSC2 codes for a protein called tuberin, which, through database searches, was found to have a region of homology to a protein found in pathways that regulate the cell (GAP3, a GTPase-activation protein). (Source: Genes and Disease by the National Center for Biotechnology)
Inheritance of Tuberous sclerosis refers to whether the condition is inherited from your parents or "runs" in families. The level of inheritance of a condition depends on how important genetics are to the disease. Strongly genetic diseases are usually inherited, partially genetic diseases are sometimes inherited, and non-genetic diseases are not inherited. For general information, see Introduction to Genetics.
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