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Sample records for p-wr allele final

  1. Measurement of WR-2721, WR-1065, and WR-33278 in plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fahey, R.C.; Newton, G.L.

    1985-01-01

    Alkaline phosphatase was used in developing two new assays for WR-2721; one involved simple spectrophotometric titration with Ellman's reagent and the other was based upon HPLC analysis of a monobromobimane derivative. Both methods have acceptable results when applied to whole plasma. Assays for WR-1065 and disulfide forms of the drug were also developed but were found to give unreliable results with whole plasma owing to apparent rapid reaction of these drug forms with plasma constituents. The methods were applied to the analysis of blood samples in rat 0-70 min after i.v. injection of WR-2721

  2. Chemoprevention by WR-2721

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grdina, D.J. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)]|[Chicago Univ., IL (United States). Dept. of Radiation and Cellular Oncology; Carnes, B.A. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)

    1993-05-01

    WR-2721 [S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethylphosphorothioic acid] is an effective chemopreventive agent. C57BL {times} BALB/c F{sub 1} female mice, were exposed to a single whole-body dose of 206 cGy from a {sup 60}Co photon source. Those groups treated with VATR-2721 (400 mg/kg) were administered the agent i.p. 30 min prior to irradiation. Over 90% of deaths were determined to be due to tumor involvement. WR-2721 afforded significant protection against life shortening due to radiation-induced tumors of connective tissue and epithelial tissue origins. Subsequent survival time in WR-2721-treated and irradiated animals as compared to matched irradiated-only controls was extended up to 59 days. A single exposure of animals to VVR-2721 did not affect the cumulative survival curves for unirradiated mice. WR-2721 possesses chemopreventive properties which can be clinically exploited to reduce the risk to therapy-induced secondary cancers in patients who otherwise would have an excellent prognosis for cure and long-term survival.

  3. Chemoprevention by WR-2721

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grdina, D.J. (Argonne National Lab., IL (United States) Chicago Univ., IL (United States). Dept. of Radiation and Cellular Oncology); Carnes, B.A. (Argonne National Lab., IL (United States))

    1993-01-01

    WR-2721 [S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethylphosphorothioic acid] is an effective chemopreventive agent. C57BL [times] BALB/c F[sub 1] female mice, were exposed to a single whole-body dose of 206 cGy from a [sup 60]Co photon source. Those groups treated with VATR-2721 (400 mg/kg) were administered the agent i.p. 30 min prior to irradiation. Over 90% of deaths were determined to be due to tumor involvement. WR-2721 afforded significant protection against life shortening due to radiation-induced tumors of connective tissue and epithelial tissue origins. Subsequent survival time in WR-2721-treated and irradiated animals as compared to matched irradiated-only controls was extended up to 59 days. A single exposure of animals to VVR-2721 did not affect the cumulative survival curves for unirradiated mice. WR-2721 possesses chemopreventive properties which can be clinically exploited to reduce the risk to therapy-induced secondary cancers in patients who otherwise would have an excellent prognosis for cure and long-term survival.

  4. Pharmacokinetics of WR-1065 in mouse tissue following treatment with WR-2721

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Utley, J.F.; Seaver, N.; Newton, G.L.; Fahey, R.C.

    1984-01-01

    Levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and N-(2-mercaptoethyl)-1,3-diaminopropane (WR-1065) were measured in tissues of Balb/c mouse bearing EMT 6 tumors at time intervals ranging from 5 min to 48 hr after i.v. injection of S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethyl phosphorothioate (WR-2721) at 500 mg per kg. In all tissues examined (liver, kidney, lung, heart, muscle, brain, tumor, spleen, and salivary gland), maximal WR-1065 levels occurred 5-15 min after injection, with levels in liver, kidney, lung, and salivary gland exceeding one μmole per gm. The post-maximum decline in WR-1065 varied markedly with tissue, lung exhibiting a 6-fold drop by 30 min and salivary gland falling only 15% after 3 hr. In a mouse treated with carbon-14 labeled WR-2721 it was found after 15 min that WR-1065 accounted for over half of the total drug in all tissues except tumor, where it accounted for a third of the total drug. There was no evidence that GSH levels were substantially altered by WR-2721 treatment. The results provide the first direct evidence supporting the widely held view that WR-2721 treatment results in intracellular WR-1065 and they demonstrate that high levels of WR-1065 occur very soon after i.v. injection

  5. Chemical protection against gastrointestinal radiation injury in mice by WR 2822, WR 2823, or WR 109342 after 4 MeV x ray or fission neutron irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Connor, A.M.; Sigdestad, C.P.

    1982-01-01

    Three compounds were tested for their radioprotective properties against the effects of 4 MeV X rays or fission neutron irradiation. The endpoints tested were lethality, intestinal crypt survival, and DNA synthesizing cellularity. Two of the compounds tested; S-2(4-aminobutylamino) ethylphosphorothioc acid (WR 2822) and the aminopentylamino derivative (WR 109342). All drugs were administered via intraperitoneal injections at their approximately maximum tolerated dose. WR 2822 was shown to have a slight protective effect against X rays and neutrons. The dose modification factor (DMF) for gastrointestinal death (LD/sub 50(6)/) was 1.23 for X rays and 1.51 for neutrons. The assay for intestinal crypt survival produced DMF's of 1.44 (X rays) and 1.4 (neutrons). WR 2823 also showed a protective action in these assays. The DMF for LD/sub 50(6)/ was 1.32 (X rays) and 1.42 (neutrons). WR 109342 was found to be extremely toxic and had no significant protective effects. All three drugs were more toxic and demonstrated less protection in most of these assays than the benchmark radioprotective agent WR 2721, although WR 2822 protected against lethal effects of fission neutrons almost as well as WR 2721. Both WR 2822 and WR 2823 produced greater protection in the crypt survival assays for fission neutron irradiation than WR 2721

  6. DRD2 A1 allele and P300 abnormalities in obesity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blum, K. [Univ. of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX (United States)]|[PATH Foundation, Princeton, NJ (United States); Wood, R.; Sheridan, L.P.J. [Univ. of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX (United States)] [and others

    1994-09-01

    Obesity is a heterogeneous and prevalent disorder having both inheritable and environmental components. The role of the dopamine system in P300 has been implicated. We genotyped 193 neuropsychiatrically ill patients with and without comorbid drug and alcohol/abuse/dependence and obesity for the prevalence of the A1 allele of the DRD2 gene. We found a significant linear trend ({chi}{sup 2} = 40.4, df=1, p<0.00001) where the percent prevalence of the A1 increased with increasing polysubstance abuse. Where the A1 allele was found in 44% of 40 obese subjects, the A1 allele prevalence was found in as much as 91% of 11 obese subjects with comorbid polysubstance abuse. 53 obese subjects having a mean body weight (BMI) of 34.6{+-}8.2 were mapped for brain electrical activity and compared with 15 controls with a BMI of 22.3{+-}3.0 (P<.001). The P3 amplitude was significantly different (two tailed; t=3.24, df=16.2, P = 0.005), whereas P3 latency was not significant. Preliminarily, we found a significant decreased P3 amplitude correlated with parental polysubstance abuse (p=0.4) with prolongation of P3 latency correlated with the three risk factors of parental substance abuse, chemical dependency and carbohydrate bingeing (P<0.02). Finally, in a small sample, the A1 allele was present in 25% of probands having 0 risk compared to 66% in those obese subjects with any risk. This work represents the first electrophysiological data to implicate P3 abnormalities in a subset of obesity and further confirms an association of the DRD2 gene and a electrophysiological marker previously indicated to have predictive value in vulnerability to addictive behaviors.

  7. Comparative study of the radioprotective effects of cysteamine, WR-2721, and WR-1065 in cultured human cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Purdie, J.W.

    1979-01-01

    The compounds, 2-mercaptoethylamine (cysteamine), S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR-2721), and N-(2-mercaptoethyl)-1,3-diaminopropane (WR-1065) were tested for toxicity and radioprotective effect in cultured human cells using viability (reproductive death) as an indicator. WR-2721 and WR-1065 had no harmful effect at concentrations of 4 and 10 mM for periods up to 3 hr whereas cysteamine was toxic if left in contact with the cells for more than 30 min. The response of the cells to radiation was measured after a 30-min treatment with 4 mM of each protective agent. Survival curves were constructed and the following dose reduction factors (DRFs) were calculated: WR-2721, 1.3; cysteamine, 2.3; WR-1065, 2.9. Increasing the concentration of protective agent did not increase the DRF under these conditions except in the case of cysteamine. Extending the period of treatment with drug before irradiation increased the DRF for WR-2721 and WR-1065; values up to 1.8 and 3.4 were obtained with 10 mM WR-2721 and WR-1065, respectively. With these two compounds, the rate of development of protection with time is almost independent of concentration until the maximum is attained; it is probably controlled by the rate of transport across the cell membrane, in the case of WR-1065, and by the rate of hydrolysis of WR-2721

  8. Opposite effects of WR-2721 and WR-1065 on radiation-induced hypothermia: possible correlation with oxygen uptake

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kandasamy, S.B.; Kumar, K.S.; Hunt, W.A.; Weiss, J.F.

    1988-01-01

    Ionizing radiation induces hypothermia in guinea pigs. While systemic injection of the radioprotectant S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR-2721) did not block hyperthermia induced by exposure to 10 Gy of gamma radiation, central administration did attenuate it. The dephosphorylated metabolite of WR-2721, N-(2-mercaptoethyl)-1,3-diaminopropane (WR-1065), accentuated radiation-induced hypothermia by both routes of administration. In brain homogenates, oxygen uptake was inhibited by WR-2721 but elevated by WR-1065. These results suggest that the antagonism of radiation-induced hypothermia found only after central administration of WR-2721 is due to its direct actions and not to its dephosphorylated metabolite and that this effect may be correlated with the inhibition by WR-2721 of oxygen uptake

  9. WR 120bb and WR 120bc: a pair of WN9h stars with possibly interacting circumstellar shells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgemeister, S.; Gvaramadze, V. V.; Stringfellow, G. S.; Kniazev, A. Y.; Todt, H.; Hamann, W.-R.

    2013-03-01

    Two optically obscured Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars have been recently discovered by means of their infrared (IR) circumstellar shells, which show signatures of interaction with each other. Following the systematics of the WR star catalogues, these stars obtain the names WR 120bb and WR 120bc. In this paper, we present and analyse new near-IR, J-, H- and K-band spectra using the Potsdam Wolf-Rayet model atmosphere code. For that purpose, the atomic data base of the code has been extended in order to include all significant lines in the near-IR bands. The spectra of both stars are classified as WN9h. As their spectra are very similar the parameters that we obtained by the spectral analyses hardly differ. Despite their late spectral subtype, we found relatively high stellar temperatures of 63 kK. The wind composition is dominated by helium, while hydrogen is depleted to 25 per cent by mass. Because of their location in the Scutum-Centaurus Arm, WR 120bb and WR 120bc appear highly reddened, A_{K_s} ≈ 2 mag. We adopt a common distance of 5.8 kpc to both stars, which complies with the typical absolute K-band magnitude for the WN9h subtype of -6.5 mag, is consistent with their observed extinction based on comparison with other massive stars in the region, and allows for the possibility that their shells are interacting with each other. This leads to luminosities of log ({textit {L}/L}_{odot }) = 5.66 and 5.54 for WR 120bb and WR 120bc, with large uncertainties due to the adopted distance. The values of the luminosities of WR 120bb and WR 120bc imply that the immediate precursors of both stars were red supergiants (RSG). This implies in turn that the circumstellar shells associated with WR 120bb and WR 120bc were formed by interaction between the WR wind and the dense material shed during the preceding RSG phase.

  10. Adverse effects of the radioprotector WR2721

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cairnie, A.B.

    1983-01-01

    S-2-(3-Aminopropylamino)ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR2721) has radioprotective properties, but it is also toxic - in man it causes nausea and vomiting. Since radiation also causes nausea and vomiting it is important to know whether WR2721 would increase or decrease the likelihood of nausea and vomiting after radiation. This question was investigated in rats using the phenomenon of aversion to the taste of saccharin, which is readily inducible and is understood to be controlled in rats by the same pathways that control nausea and vomiting in man. The taste aversion was induced by giving 0.2 Gy 60 Co γ radiation 30 min after drinking 0.1% saccharin, or WR2721 immediately after the saccharin, or giving both radiation and WR2721. There were appropriate controls. In sham-irradiated rats, WR2721 (40 or 200 mg/kg, but not 8 mg/kg) produced a significant taste aversion. When WR2721 (40 or 200 mg/kg) was given immediately after the saccharin to irradiated rats it increased the taste aversion significantly, but it did not have any effect at 8 mg/kg. It was concluded that at doses which were optimal for radioprotection (approx.200 mg/kg) or lower, WR2721 increased in rats the taste aversion induced by radiation. By inference if conditioned taste aversion is an appropriate paradigm, WR2721 would increase nausea and vomiting in man induced by radiation

  11. Clonal Ordering of 17p and 5q Allelic Losses in Barrett Dysplasia and Adenocarcinoma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blount, Patricia L.; Meltzer, Stephen J.; Yin, Jing; Huang, Ying; Krasna, Mark J.; Reid, Brian J.

    1993-04-01

    Both 17p and 5q allelic losses appear to be involved in the pathogenesis or progression of many human solid tumors. In colon carcinogenesis, there is strong evidence that the targets of the 17p and 5q allelic losses are TP53, the gene encoding p53, and APC, respectively. It is widely accepted that 5q allelic losses precede 17p allelic losses in the progression to colonic carcinoma. The data, however, supporting this proposed order are largely based on the prevalence of 17p and 5q allelic losses in adenomas and unrelated adenocarcinomas from different patients. We investigated the order in which 17p and 5q allelic losses developed during neoplastic progression in Barrett esophagus by evaluating multiple aneuploid cell populations from the same patient. Using DNA content flow cytometric cell sorting and polymerase chain reaction, 38 aneuploid cell populations from 14 patients with Barrett esophagus who had high grade dysplasia, cancer or both were evaluated for 17p and 5q allelic losses. 17p allelic losses preceded 5q allelic losses in 7 patients, both 17p and 5q allelic losses were present in all aneuploid populations of 4 patients, and only 17p (without 5q) allelic losses were present in the aneuploid populations of 3 patients. In no patient did we find that a 5q allelic loss preceded a 17p allelic loss. Our data suggest that 17p allelic losses typically occur before 5q allelic losses during neoplastic progression in Barrett esophagus.

  12. WR 110: A SINGLE WOLF-RAYET STAR WITH COROTATING INTERACTION REGIONS IN ITS WIND?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chene, A.-N.; Moffat, A. F. J.; Fahed, R.; St-louis, N.; Muntean, V.; Chevrotiere, A. De La; Cameron, C.; Matthews, J. M.; Gamen, R. C.; Lefevre, L.; Rowe, J. F.; Guenther, D. B.; Kuschnig, R.; Weiss, W. W.; Rucinski, S. M.; Sasselov, D.

    2011-01-01

    A 30 day contiguous photometric run with the Microvariability and Oscillations of STars (MOST) satellite on the WN5-6b star WR 110 (HD 165688) reveals a fundamental periodicity of P = 4.08 ± 0.55 days along with a number of harmonics at periods P/n, with n ∼ 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and a few other possible stray periodicities and/or stochastic variability on timescales longer than about a day. Spectroscopic radial velocity studies fail to reveal any plausible companion with a period in this range. Therefore, we conjecture that the observed light-curve cusps of amplitude ∼0.01 mag that recur at a 4.08 day timescale may arise in the inner parts, or at the base, of a corotating interaction region (CIR) seen in emission as it rotates around with the star at constant angular velocity. The hard X-ray component seen in WR 110 could then be a result of a high velocity component of the CIR shock interacting with the ambient wind at several stellar radii. Given that most hot, luminous stars showing CIRs have two CIR arms, it is possible that either the fundamental period is 8.2 days or, more likely in the case of WR 110, there is indeed a second weaker CIR arm for P = 4.08 days, that occurs ∼two-thirds of a rotation period after the main CIR. If this interpretation is correct, WR 110 therefore joins the ranks with three other single WR stars, all WN, with confirmed CIR rotation periods (WR 1, WR 6, and WR 134), albeit with WR 110 having by far the lowest amplitude photometric modulation. This illustrates the power of being able to secure intense, continuous high-precision photometry from space-based platforms such as MOST. It also opens the door to revealing low-amplitude photometric variations in other WN stars, where previous attempts have failed. If all WN stars have CIRs at some level, this could be important for revealing sources of magnetism or pulsation in addition to rotation periods.

  13. Aminoquinolone WR6026 as a feasible substitute for gentian violet in Chagas' disease prophylaxis in preserved blood for transfusional purposes

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    Moraes-Souza Helio

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available The search for a colorless, nontoxic and efficient drug to prevent transfusion-associated Chagas' disease (TACD has been underway unsuccessfully since 1953 when gentian violet was preconized and to date is still being used as the only in vitro trypanocidal agent. The recent findings of aminoquinolone "WR6026" as a trypanocidal agent, led the authors to study the metabolism of red cells stored with this compound, the main objective of which was to define its applicability in TACD control. Ten units of human whole blood collected in CPDA-1 were divided into two equal satellite bags. One had "WR6026" (final concentration 62.5µg/mL added and the other was used as a control, both were stored at 4ºC. At baseline, day 7, 14, 21 and 28, samples were taken for the following measurements: adenosine triphosphate (ATP, hemoglobin, electrolytes (sodium and potassium, gases (pO2 and pCO2 and osmotic fragility. The results of tests and control were analyzed through parametric t-student test. The results were similar in both groups throughout the experiment except for the level of ATP on day 14, which presented significantly higher values in the tests when compared with the controls (p = 0.012. It was concluded that WR6026 does not interfere in the preservation and probably the viability of the erythrocytes also until day 28 of storage. Consequently the authors suggest that WR6026 could emerge as a colorless substitute for gentian violet in the control of TACD in endemic areas.

  14. Creating an enabling environment for WR&R implementation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stathatou, P-M; Kampragou, E; Grigoropoulou, H; Assimacopoulos, D; Karavitis, C; Gironás, J

    2017-09-01

    Reclaimed water is receiving growing attention worldwide as an effective solution for alleviating the growing water scarcity in many areas. Despite the various benefits associated with reclaimed water, water recycling and reuse (WR&R) practices are not widely applied around the world. This is mostly due to complex and inadequate local legal and institutional frameworks and socio-economic structures, which pose barriers to wider WR&R implementation. An integrated approach is therefore needed while planning the implementation of WR&R schemes, considering all the potential barriers, and aiming to develop favourable conditions for enhancing reclaimed water use. This paper proposes a comprehensive methodology supporting the development of an enabling environment for WR&R implementation. The political, economic, social, technical, legal and institutional factors that may influence positively (drivers) or negatively (barriers) WR&R implementation in the regional water systems are identified, through the mapping of local stakeholder perceptions. The identified barriers are further analysed, following a Cross-Impact/System analysis, to recognize the most significant barriers inhibiting system transition, and to prioritize the enabling instruments and arrangements that are needed to boost WR&R implementation. The proposed methodology was applied in the Copiapó River Basin in Chile, which faces severe water scarcity. Through the analysis, it was observed that barriers outweigh drivers for the implementation of WR&R schemes in the Copiapó River Basin, while the key barriers which could be useful for policy formulation towards an enabling environment in the area concern the unclear legal framework regarding the ownership of treated wastewater, the lack of environmental policies focusing on pollution control, the limited integration of reclaimed water use in current land use and development policies, the limited public awareness on WR&R, and the limited availability of

  15. Interaction of cultured mammalian cells with WR-2721 and its thiol, WR-1065: implications for mechanisms of radioprotection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Purdie, J.W.; Inhaber, E.R.; Schneider, H.; Labelle, J.L.

    1983-01-01

    An isothermal microcalorimeter was used to measure changes in heat flow when radioprotective drugs were added to cultured mammalian cells. The heat produced when WR-2721 was added continued for at least 90 min. WR-2721 was dephosphorylated by the cells to thiol (WR-1065) which oxidizes to disulphide. In the microcalorimeter, thiols give an immediate burst of heat due to this oxidation. A biological oxygen monitor revealed that WR-1065 and cysteamine rapidly consumed all the oxygen in culture medium. (10mM WR-1065 deoxygenated medium in 2 min.). Rapid consumption of oxygen by radioprotective thiols indicates that they will not co-exist with oxygen for long in cells. This has two important implications with respect to mechanisms of radioprotection: (1) oxygen in tissues will be consumed rapidly and could results in local hypoxia; and, (2) at modest doses of protective agents the thiol will be consumed in oxic cells and hence very little will be available for reactions such as hydrogen donation. The results indicate that anoxia is probably the principle mechanism of protection by aminothiols in mammals and aerated cells. (author)

  16. WR 148: identifying the companion of an extreme runaway massive binary*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munoz, Melissa; Moffat, Anthony F. J.; Hill, Grant M.; Shenar, Tomer; Richardson, Noel D.; Pablo, Herbert; St-Louis, Nicole; Ramiaramanantsoa, Tahina

    2017-05-01

    WR 148 (HD 197406) is an extreme runaway system considered to be a potential candidate for a short-period (4.3173 d) rare WR + compact object binary. Provided with new high-resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra from the Keck observatory, we determine the orbital parameters for both the primary WR and the secondary, yielding respective projected orbital velocity amplitudes of 88.1 ± 3.8 km s-1 and 79.2 ± 3.1 km s-1 and implying a mass ratio of 1.1 ± 0.1. We then apply the shift-and-add technique to disentangle the spectra and obtain spectra compatible with a WN7ha and an O4-6 star. Considering an orbital inclination of ˜67°, derived from previous polarimetry observations, the system's total mass would be a mere 2-3M_{⊙}, an unprecedented result for a putative massive binary system. However, a system comprising a 37 M_{⊙} secondary (typical mass of an O5V star) and a 33 M_{⊙} primary (given the mass ratio) would infer an inclination of ˜18°. We therefore reconsider the previous methods of deriving the orbital inclination based on time-dependent polarimetry and photometry. While the polarimetric results are inconclusive requiring better data, the photometric results favour low inclinations. Finally, we compute WR 148's space velocity and retrace the runaway's trajectory back to the Galactic plane (GP). With an ejection velocity of 198 ± 27 km s-1 and a travel time of 4.7 ± 0.8 Myr to reach its current location, WR 148 was most likely ejected via dynamical interactions in a young cluster.

  17. Pinwheel Nebula around WR 98a.

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    Monnier; Tuthill; Danchi

    1999-11-10

    We present the first near-infrared images of the dusty Wolf-Rayet star WR 98a. Aperture-masking interferometry has been utilized to recover images at the diffraction limit of the Keck I telescope, less, similar50 mas at 2.2 µm. Multiepoch observations spanning about 1 yr have resolved the dust shell into a "pinwheel" nebula, the second example of a new class of dust shell first discovered around WR 104 by Tuthill, Monnier, & Danchi. Interpreting the collimated dust outflow in terms of an interacting winds model, the binary orbital parameters and apparent wind speed are derived: a period of 565+/-50 days, a viewing angle of 35&j0;+/-6 degrees from the pole, and a wind speed of 99+/-23 mas yr-1. This period is consistent with a possible approximately 588 day periodicity in the infrared light curve, linking the photometric variation to the binary orbit. Important implications for binary stellar evolution are discussed by identifying WR 104 and WR 98a as members of a class of massive, short-period binaries whose orbits were circularized during a previous red supergiant phase. The current component separation in each system is similar to the diameter of a red supergiant, which indicates that the supergiant phase was likely terminated by Roche lobe overflow, leading to the present Wolf-Rayet stage.

  18. A dust shell around the early-type Wolf-Ryate star WR 19

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, P.M.; Hucht, K.A. van der; Bouchet, P.

    1990-01-01

    Infrared photometry of the WC4-type Wolf-Rayet star WR 19 (LS 3) in 1988-90 shows evidence for an expanding dust shell in its wind, similar to those observed from late-type WR stars like WR 48a (WC8), WR 140 (WC7+04) and WR 137 (WC7+). This demonstrates that dust formation by Wolf-Rayet stars is not restricted to later WC subtypes and is more common than hitherto supposed. (author)

  19. Inhibition of topoisomerase IIα activity in CHO K1 cells by 2-[(aminopropyl)amino]ethanethiol (WR-1065)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grdina, D.J.

    1993-06-01

    The aminothiol 2-[(aminopropyl)amino]ethanethiol (WR-1065) is the active thiol of the clinically studied radioprotective agent S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR-2721). WR-1065 is an effective radiation protector and antimutagenic agent when it is administered 30 min prior to radiation exposure to Chinese hamster ovary Kl cells at a concentration of 4 mM. Under these exposure conditions, topoisomerase (topo) I and II activities and associated protein contents were measured in the K1 cell line using the DNA relaxation assay, the P4 unknotting assay, and immunoblotting, respectively. WR-1065 was ineffective in modifying topo I activity, but it did reduce topo IIa activity by an average of 50 percent. The magnitude of topo IIa protein content, however, was not affected by these exposure conditions. Cell cycle effects were monitored by the method of flow cytometry. Exposure of cells to 4 mM WR-1065 for a period of up to 6 h resulted in a buildup of cells in the G2 compartment. However, in contrast to topo II inhibitors used in chemotherapy, WR-1065 is an effective radioprotector agent capable of protecting against both radiation-induced cell lethality and mutagenesis. One of several mechanisms of radiation protection attributed to aminothiol compounds such as WR-1065 has been their ability to affect endogenous enzymatic reactions involved in DNA synthesis, repair, and cell cycle progression. These results are consistent with such a proposed mechanism and demonstrate in particular a modifying effect by 2-[(aminopropyl)amino]ethanethiol on type II topoisomerase, which is involved in DNA synthesis

  20. The Analysis of A Frequent TMPRSS3 Allele Containing P.V116M and P.V291L in A Cis Configuration among Deaf Koreans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ah Reum Kim

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available We performed targeted re-sequencing to identify the genetic etiology of early-onset postlingual deafness and encountered a frequent TMPRSS3 allele harboring two variants in a cis configuration. We aimed to evaluate the pathogenicity of the allele. Among 88 cochlear implantees with autosomal recessive non-syndromic hearing loss, subjects with GJB2 and SLC26A4 mutations were excluded. Thirty-one probands manifesting early-onset postlingual deafness were sorted. Through targeted re-sequencing, we detected two families with a TMPRSS3 mutant allele containing p.V116M and p.V291L in a cis configuration, p.[p.V116M; p.V291L]. A minor allele frequency was calculated and proteolytic activity was measured. A p.[p.V116M; p.V291L] allele demonstrated a significantly higher frequency compared to normal controls and merited attention due to its high frequency (4.84%, 3/62. The first family showed a novel deleterious splice site variant—c.783-1G>A—in a trans allele, while the other showed homozygosity. The progression to deafness was noted within the first decade, suggesting DFNB10. The proteolytic activity was significantly reduced, confirming the severe pathogenicity. This frequent mutant allele significantly contributes to early-onset postlingual deafness in Koreans. For clinical implication and proper auditory rehabilitation, it is important to pay attention to this allele with a severe pathogenic potential.

  1. Effect of radioprotectant WR 2721 on cyclic nucleotides, prostaglandins, and lysosomes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trocha, P.J.; Catravas, G.N.

    1983-01-01

    Within 1 hr after ip injection of the radioprotectant WR 2721 into rats, splenic cGMP levels dropped and remained suppressed for 6 hr before returning to normal. However, if rats were exposed to ionizing radiation 30-40 min after WR 2721 treatment, they had higher cGMP levels at 3 hr postirradiation than the nonirradiUted, drug-treated controls, but the cGMP content was still found to be lower than that of the irradiated nondrug-treated controls. Radiation exposure of animals pretreated with WR 2721 also resulted in higher liver and spleen levels of cAMP and additional elevations in spleen prostaglandin content, compared with irradiated controls at 3-6 hr after radiation treatment. The secondary fluctuations of lysosomal enzyme activities, prostaglandin content, and cyclic nucleotide levels were also altered in irradiated rats pretreated with WR 2721 when compared with irradiated controls. Liver and spleen lysosomal β-glucuronidase activities, spleen cAMP and cGMP levels, and spleen prostaglandin concentrations were closer to physiological levels at 3 days postirradiation in rats given WR 2721 before the radiation treatment

  2. WR stars with ring nebulae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tutukov, A.

    1982-01-01

    It is shown that most of usually apparently single nitrogen WR stars with ring emission nebulae around them (WN + Neb) are a probable product of the evolution of a massive close binary with initial masses of components exceeding approximately 20 solar masses. (Auth.)

  3. Prolonged radioprotective activity of WR-2721 linked to dextran

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moenig, H.; Konermann, G.; Oehlert, W.

    1990-01-01

    The radioprotective agent WR-2721 was linked to dextran and poly(glutamic acid) respectively, to obtain a prolonged radioprotective ability. Male mice were administered these water soluble polymer conjugates one to 72 hours prior to a whole body irradiation with X-rays. A prolongation of radioprotective efficiency was achieved with two dextran-(WR-2721)-conjugates. For a period of 24 hours between administration, and irradiation dose reduction factors of 1.14±0.04 and 1.10±0.03 respectively were found. After 72 hours, no protective effect was observed. Histopathological investigations of the liver for formation of tumors 200 to 600 days after irradiation seems to indicate that a protective effect is not produced by the dextran-(WR-2721)-conjugats. (orig.) [de

  4. Inhibition of topoisomerase II{alpha} activity in CHO K1 cells by 2-[(aminopropyl)amino]ethanethiol (WR-1065)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grdina, D.J. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)]|[Chicago Univ., IL (United States). Dept. of Radiation and Cellular Oncology; Constantinou, A. [Illinois Univ., Chicago, IL (United States). Specialized Cancer Center; Shigematsu, N.; Murley, J.S. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)

    1993-06-01

    The aminothiol 2-[(aminopropyl)amino]ethanethiol (WR-1065) is the active thiol of the clinically studied radioprotective agent S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR-2721). WR-1065 is an effective radiation protector and antimutagenic agent when it is administered 30 min prior to radiation exposure to Chinese hamster ovary Kl cells at a concentration of 4 mM. Under these exposure conditions, topoisomerase (topo) I and II activities and associated protein contents were measured in the K1 cell line using the DNA relaxation assay, the P4 unknotting assay, and immunoblotting, respectively. WR-1065 was ineffective in modifying topo I activity, but it did reduce topo IIa activity by an average of 50 percent. The magnitude of topo IIa protein content, however, was not affected by these exposure conditions. Cell cycle effects were monitored by the method of flow cytometry. Exposure of cells to 4 mM WR-1065 for a period of up to 6 h resulted in a buildup of cells in the G2 compartment. However, in contrast to topo II inhibitors used in chemotherapy, WR-1065 is an effective radioprotector agent capable of protecting against both radiation-induced cell lethality and mutagenesis. One of several mechanisms of radiation protection attributed to aminothiol compounds such as WR-1065 has been their ability to affect endogenous enzymatic reactions involved in DNA synthesis, repair, and cell cycle progression. These results are consistent with such a proposed mechanism and demonstrate in particular a modifying effect by 2-[(aminopropyl)amino]ethanethiol on type II topoisomerase, which is involved in DNA synthesis.

  5. Allelic Variation of Cytochrome P450s Drives Resistance to Bednet Insecticides in a Major Malaria Vector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibrahim, Sulaiman S; Riveron, Jacob M; Bibby, Jaclyn; Irving, Helen; Yunta, Cristina; Paine, Mark J I; Wondji, Charles S

    2015-10-01

    Scale up of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLINs) has massively contributed to reduce malaria mortality across Africa. However, resistance to pyrethroid insecticides in malaria vectors threatens its continued effectiveness. Deciphering the detailed molecular basis of such resistance and designing diagnostic tools is critical to implement suitable resistance management strategies. Here, we demonstrated that allelic variation in two cytochrome P450 genes is the most important driver of pyrethroid resistance in the major African malaria vector Anopheles funestus and detected key mutations controlling this resistance. An Africa-wide polymorphism analysis of the duplicated genes CYP6P9a and CYP6P9b revealed that both genes are directionally selected with alleles segregating according to resistance phenotypes. Modelling and docking simulations predicted that resistant alleles were better metabolizers of pyrethroids than susceptible alleles. Metabolism assays performed with recombinant enzymes of various alleles confirmed that alleles from resistant mosquitoes had significantly higher activities toward pyrethroids. Additionally, transgenic expression in Drosophila showed that flies expressing resistant alleles of both genes were significantly more resistant to pyrethroids compared with those expressing the susceptible alleles, indicating that allelic variation is the key resistance mechanism. Furthermore, site-directed mutagenesis and functional analyses demonstrated that three amino acid changes (Val109Ile, Asp335Glu and Asn384Ser) from the resistant allele of CYP6P9b were key pyrethroid resistance mutations inducing high metabolic efficiency. The detection of these first DNA markers of metabolic resistance to pyrethroids allows the design of DNA-based diagnostic tools to detect and track resistance associated with bednets scale up, which will improve the design of evidence-based resistance management strategies.

  6. HPLC assay for 2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethanethiol (WR-1065) in plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McGovern, E.P.; Swynnerton, N.F.; Steele, P.D.; Mangold, D.J.

    1984-01-01

    A high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) plasma assay for WR-1065 is described which is both precise and accurate throughout the concentration range from 1 to 500 μg/mL of plasma. The analyte is separated by HPLC and detected with a thiol specific electrochemical transducer cell. The detector response is linear over the ranges 1 to 10 μg/mL, 10 to 100 μg/mL, and 100 to 500 μg/mL. The absolute retention times for WR-1065 and WT-1729 are 9 and 12 minutes, respectively. The assay uses 100 μL of plasma and requires a total chromatography cycle time of 40 minutes. The method has been found suitable for the determination of WR-1065 in plasma from a beagle dog after i.v. administration of S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethyl phosphorothioate (WR-2721)

  7. Local changes after intramuscular administration of gammaphos (WR-2721) in rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Resl, M.; Kuna, P.

    1985-01-01

    Local changes were investigated after i.m. injection of WR-2721, dissolved in saline or in aqua pro injectionem (ApI), and of ApI or saline alone. First muscle changes were found in the all the experimental groups after 6 h. Their development was most intensive after i.m. injection of ApI alone (granular degeneration up to complete necrosis of muscle fibers). The local changes after i.m. injection of WR-2721 in saline did not reach the intensity of changes of WR-2721 in ApI. The first reparative or regenerative changes were observed 72 hours after application. In the late phase (14th to 21st day) the normal tissue state was reached. The i.m. injection of WR-2721 in saline may be one of the possible routes of administration of this radioprotective substance. (author)

  8. Phase I clinical studies with WR-2721

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kligerman, M.M.; Shaw, M.T.; Slavik, M.; Yuhas, J.M.

    1980-01-01

    Toxicity studies of S-2-(3 aminopropylamino)-ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR-2721) access patients in remission following radiation therapy. The dose has been escalated from 25 to 250 mg/m2 without significant symptoms. Inconsistent variation in the systolic blood pressure in some patients has been observed over an 8-10-point range without producing any symptoms. Combining WR-2721 with conventional radiotherapy is contemplated by intravenous injection the drug 20 to 30 minutes before irradiation. This will start as weekly injections, and the number of weekly injections will be increased progessively. Animal studies suggest that the level already safely reached could give significant protection to the normal tissues without protecting tumor

  9. Interspecies comparison of the tissue distribution of WR-2721, a radioprotective drug

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Washburn, L.C.; Rafter, J.J.; Hayes, R.L.; Yuhas, J.M.

    1975-01-01

    Pre-irradiation intravenous administration of the radioprotective drug S-2-[3-aminopropylamino]ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR-2721) has potential value in radiotherapy because it doubles the radiation resistance of normal mouse tissues while affording only minimal protection to tumors. Deficient deposition of WR- 2721 in tumor tissue has recently been demonstrated and this is thought to be a major reason for the preferential protection of normal tissues by the drug. Data originally obtained in studies using the mouse and rat indicated that the tissue distribution of WR-2721 was possibly more closely related to dose per unit surface area than to dose per unit weight. To test this hypothesis an interspecies comparison of the tissue distribution of 35 S-labeled WR-2721 was carried out in normal mice, rats, rabbits, and dogs at 15 and 30 minutes after intravenous administration. Results suggest that the surface area and body weight exert equal effects on the tissue concentration of WR-2721. The results further suggest that lower absolute doses of WR-2721 in the human, possibly as low as 20 mg/kg, may provide a radioprotective effect equivalent to that produced from 100 mg/kg in the mouse, i.e., a 50 to 80 percent increase in radiation resistance (CH)

  10. Phase-resolved XMM-Newton and swift observations of WR 25

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pandey, J. C.; Pandey, S. B.; Karmakar, Subhajeet, E-mail: jeewan@aries.res.in [Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital 263 002 (India)

    2014-06-10

    We present an analysis of long-term X-ray and optical observations of the Wolf-Rayet binary, WR 25. Using archival data from observations with the XMM-Newton and the Swift observatories, spanning over ∼10 yr, we show that WR 25 is a periodic variable in X-rays with a period of 208 ± 3 days. X-ray light curves in the 0.5-10.0 keV energy band show phase-locked variability, where the flux increased by a factor of ∼2 from minimum to maximum, being maximum near periastron passage. The light curve in the soft energy band (0.5-2.0 keV) shows two minima indicating the presence of two eclipses. However, the light curve in the hard energy band (2.0-10.0 keV) shows only one minimum during the apastron passage. The X-ray spectra of WR 25 were explained by a two-temperature plasma model. Both the cool and the hot plasmas were constant at 0.628 ± 0.008 and 2.75 ± 0.06 keV throughout an orbital cycle, where the cooler plasma could be due to small scale shocks in a radiation-driven outflow and the high temperature plasma could be due to the collision of winds. The column density varied with the orbital phase and was found to be maximum after the periastron passage, when the WN star is in front of the O star. The abundances of WR 25 were found to be non-solar. Optical V-band data of WR 25 also show the phase-locked variability, being at maximum near periastron passage. The results based on the present analysis indicate that WR 25 is a colliding wind binary where the presence of soft X-rays is attributed to individual components; however, hard X-rays are due to the collision of winds.

  11. Novel deletion alleles carrying CYP21A1P/A2 chimeric genes in Brazilian patients with 21-hydroxylase deficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guerra-Júnior Gil

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency is caused by deletions, large gene conversions or mutations in CYP21A2 gene. The human gene is located at 6p21.3 within a locus containing the genes for putative serine/threonine Kinase RP, complement C4, steroid 21-hydroxylase CYP21 tenascin TNX, normally, in a duplicated cluster known as RCCX module. The CYP21 extra copy is a pseudogene (CYP21A1P. In Brazil, 30-kb deletion forming monomodular alleles that carry chimeric CYP21A1P/A2 genes corresponds to ~9% of disease-causing alleles. Such alleles are considered to result from unequal crossovers within the bimodular C4/CYP21 locus. Depending on the localization of recombination breakpoint, different alleles can be generated conferring the locus high degree of allelic variability. The purpose of the study was to investigate the variability of deleted alleles in patients with 21-hydroxylase deficiency. Methods We used different techniques to investigate the variability of 30-kb deletion alleles in patients with 21-hydroxylase deficiency. Alleles were first selected after Southern blotting. The composition of CYP21A1P/A2 chimeric genes was investigated by ASO-PCR and MLPA analyses followed by sequencing to refine the location of recombination breakpoints. Twenty patients carrying at least one allele with C4/CYP21 30-kb deletion were included in the study. Results An allele carrying a CYP21A1P/A2 chimeric gene was found unusually associated to a C4B/C4A Taq I 6.4-kb fragment, generally associated to C4B and CYP21A1P deletions. A novel haplotype bearing both p.P34L and p.H62L, novel and rare mutations, respectively, was identified in exon 1, however p.P30L, the most frequent pseudogene-derived mutation in this exon, was absent. Four unrelated patients showed this haplotype. Absence of p.P34L in CYP21A1P of normal controls indicated that it is not derived from pseudogene. In addition, the combination of different

  12. Acute cardiovascular and autonomic effects of WR-2721: a radioprotective compound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caldwell, R.W.; Heiffer, M.H.

    1975-01-01

    WR-2721 is a chemical which has shown much promise as a protective agent in animals exposed to ionizing radiation. Our experiments on anesthetized dogs and cats indicate that WR-2721 has little acute cardiovascular action in these animals when given intravenously in doses of 50 to 200 mg/kg. A total cumulative dose of 600 mg/kg within 2 hr was not lethal and, indeed, was well tolerated. Arterial blood pressure was not markedly lowered in dogs and cats given these doses. In dogs, a slight vasodilation was noted in the femoral vascular bed after intra-arterial injection. Mydriasis and watery salivation were observed in all animals. In the dog, WR-2721 (100 mg/kg) was observed to produce blockade of the bilateral carotid artery-occlusion pressor response, the pressor response to the ganglionic stimulant DMPP, and the bradycardia to vagus nerve stimulation. In the cat, WR-2721 (100 mg/kg) also blocked the contraction of the cat nictitating membrane due to stimulation of the preganglionic fibers of the superior cervical ganglion, but not the contraction seen with postganglionic fiber stimulation. Our experiments indicate that WR-2721 is a ganglionic blocking agent. It does not share this property with closely related structural congeners. (U.S.)

  13. Protection against radiation-induced mutations at the hprt locus by spermine and N,N double-prime-(dithiodi-2,1-ethanediyl)bis-1,3-propanediamine (WR-33278). WR-33278 and spermine protect against mutation induction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grdina, D.J.; Shigematsu, N.; Schwartz, J.L.

    1994-01-01

    The polyamine spermine and the disulfide N,N double-prime-(dithiodi-2,1-ethanediyl)bis-1,3-propanediamine (WR-33278) are structurally similar agents capable of binding to DNA. WR-33278 is the disulfide moiety of the clinically studied radioprotective agent S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR-2721). Because of their reported structural and functional similarities, it was of interest to characterize and compare their radioprotective properties using the endpoints of cell survival and mutation induction at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (hprt) locus in Chinese hamster AA8 cells. In order to facilitate both the uptake of WR-33278 into cells and the direct comparison between the protective properties of WR-33278 and spermine, these agents (at concentrations of 0.01 mM and 0.001 mM) were electroporated into cells. The exposure of cells to both electroporation and irradiation gave rise to enhanced cell killing and mutation induction, with the sequence of irradiation followed 3 h later by electroporation being the more toxic protocol. Enhanced cell survival was observed following electroporation of 0.01 mM of spermine and WR-33278 30 min prior to irradiation; protection factors (PF) of 1.3 and 1.8, respectively. Neither agent was protective at a concentration of 0.001 mM. Protection against radiation-induced hprt mutations was observed for both spermine and WR-33278 under all experimental conditions tested. These data suggest that the properties of radioprotection and chemoprevention exhibited by the phosphorothioate (WR-2721) and associated aminothiol (WR-1065) and disulfide (WR-33278) metabolites may be mediated via endogenous spermine-like polyamine processes. Such a mechanism would have important implications with respect to the design and development of new generation drugs for use in radioprotection and chemoprevention

  14. REVEALING THE ASYMMETRY OF THE WIND OF THE VARIABLE WOLF-RAYET STAR WR1 (HD 4004) THROUGH SPECTROPOLARIZATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    St-Louis, N., E-mail: stlouis@astro.umontreal.ca [Département de physique and Centre de Recherche en Astrophysique du Québec (CRAQ), Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre Ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7 (Canada)

    2013-11-01

    In this paper, high quality spectropolarimetric observations of the Wolf-Rayet (WR) star WR1 (HD 4004) obtained with ESPaDOnS at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope are presented. All major emission lines present in the spectrum show depolarization in the relative Stokes parameters Q/I and U/I. From the behavior of the amount of line depolarization as a function of line strength, the intrinsic continuum light polarization of WR1 is estimated to be P/I = 0.443% ± 0.028% with an angle of θ = –26.°2. Although such a level of polarization could in principle be caused by a wind flattened by fast rotation, the scenario in which it is a consequence of the presence of corotating interaction regions (CIRs) in the wind is preferred. This is supported by previous photometric and spectroscopic observations showing periodic variations with a period of 16.9 days. This is now the third WR star thought to exhibit CIRs in its wind that is found to have line depolarization. Previous authors have found a strong correlation between line depolarization and the presence of an ejected nebula, which they interpret as a sign that the star has relatively recently reached the WR phase since the nebula are thought to dissipate very fast. In cases where the presence of CIRs in the wind is favored to explain the depolarization across spectral lines, the above-mentioned correlation may indicate that those massive stars have only very recently transited from the previous evolutionary phase to the WR phase.

  15. WR-1065 and radioprotection of vascular endothelial cells. I. Cell proliferation, DNA synthesis and damage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rubin, D.B.; Drab, E.A.; Kang, H.J.; Baumann, F.E.; Blazek, E.R.

    1996-01-01

    Normal tissue toxicity limits radiation therapy and could depend on the extent of damage to the vascular endothelium. Aminothiols such as WR-1065 [N-(2-mercaptoethyl)-1,3-diaminopropane] provide radioprotection for normal tissues, but little is known about how the aminothiols specifically affect the endothelium. Bovine aortic endothelial cells in culture were exposed to WR-1065 for 2 h before irradiation ( 137 Cs γ rays, 1 Gy/min). Alone, WR-1065 demonstrated an antiproliferative effect that was related to dose (0.5-4 mM) and was evident by lowered counts of adherent cells 48 h after exposure. WR-1065 was clearly radioprotective when assessed by colony formation and incorporation of [ 3 H]thymidine. However, when the number of adherent cells was evaluated, radioprotection appeared to be slight and evident only in logarithmically growing cells. WR-1065 at 2 mM suppressed single-strand DNA breaks after 3 Gy by 22% and double-strand breaks after 9 Gy by 47%. Also in the irradiated cells, WR-1065 more than doubled the rate of progression of cells from G 1 to S phase. WR-1065 pretreatment elevated cellular glutathione (GSH) content more than twofold. Although pretreatment with buthionine sulfoximine inhibited the elevation of GSH, the radioprotective impact of WR-1065 on total DNA strand breaks and colony formation was unaffected. These results suggest that WR-1065 may enable tissue recovery from irradiation by promoting the replication of endothelial cells, possibly by mechanisms independent of GSH. 46 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs

  16. The various scenarios leading to WR stars: Their relative importance and the role of mixing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maeder, A.

    1982-01-01

    Over the last 40 years WR stars have been associated with almost all possible evolutionary stages. The author lists 7 scenarios which may be considered as most relevant in view of recent surface abundance determinations. He then considers the importance of mass loss in WR formation and discusses properties of binary WR which suggest that formation is dependent on metallicity and thus galactic location. The role of internal mixing in WR formation is also considered. Mass loss on the MS is shown only to be able to explain a minute fraction of the observed WR stars, whereas internal mixing by shear instability has, for all stellar masses, a larger effect on MS evolution than mass loss. (Auth./C.F.)

  17. Reduced protection of stem spermatogonia by WR-2721 at low doses of irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meistrich, M.; Finch, M.; Hunter, N.; Milas, L.

    1984-01-01

    The radioprotection of normal cells with WR-2721 at low doses of radiation (about 2 Gy per fraction) was investigated using testicular stem cells. Survival of stem spermatogonia to single doses of irradiation, measured using sperm head counts at 56 days postirradiation, indicated no protection factor (PF = 1.00) at 2 GY by 400 mg/kg WR-2721, but a significant PF = 1.44 at 12 Gy. Stem cell survival was also measured after 5 fractions. When daily fractionation was used with 300 mg/kg WR-2721, given prior to each irradiation, little or no protection was observed at 2 Gy using the sperm head assay (PF = 0.98) or at 2.4 Gy using counts of repopulating tubules at 35 days postirradiation (PF = 1.12). In contrast, there was more significant protection (PF's = 1.22 and 1.27) for these two assays when 300 mg/kg WR-2721 was used with single high doses of radiation. When 4-hour fractionation was used with 300 mg/kg WR-2721, given prior to the first dose and 150 mg/kg prior to subsequent doses, minimal protection was observed at 2 Gy/fraction using the sperm head assay (PF = 0.98) and the repopulating tubule assay (PF = 1.09). Thus, protection of these cells in the clinical dose range is much lower than that observed at doses above 10 Gy. These results may be explained by a decrease in the intrinsic ability of WR-2721 to protect at lower radiation doses plus a cytotoxic effect of WR-2721

  18. Attenuated Expression of DFFB is a Hallmark of Oligodendrogliomas with 1p-Allelic Loss

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fuller Gregory N

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Allelic loss of chromosome 1p is frequently observed in oligodendroglioma. We screened 177 oligodendroglial tumors for 1p deletions and found 6 tumors with localized 1p36 deletions. Several apoptosis regulation genes have been mapped to this region, including Tumor Protein 73 (p73, DNA Fragmentation Factor subunits alpha (DFFA and beta (DFFB, and Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily Members 9 and 25 (TNFRSF9, TNFRSF25. We compared expression levels of these 5 genes in pairs of 1p-loss and 1p-intact tumors using quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR (QRTPCR to test if 1p deletions had an effect on expression. Only the DFFB gene demonstrated decreased expression in all tumor pairs tested. Mutational analysis did not reveal DFFB mutations in 12 tested samples. However, it is possible that DFFB haploinsufficiency from 1p allelic loss is a contributing factor in oligodendroglioma development.

  19. Protection against the clastogenic effect of CIS-PLATINUM by WR-2721, ATP and Vitamin C

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rupova, I.; Yagova, A.

    1993-01-01

    The mutagenic effect of antineoplastic drug Cis-Platinum has been assessed by the frequency of micronuclei in polychromatic erythrocytes (PE) in the mouse bone marrow at time intervals of 24, 48 and 73 h. The maximal clastogenic effect of 2 mg/kg of Cis-Platinum has been found at 24 h interval after treatment (3.6%). The protection against mutagenic activity of Cis-Platinum has been studied by pretreatment of the mice with the thiophosphate compound WR-2721, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and Vitamin C alone or in combinations at the time of maximal response. The radioprotector WR-2721 exerts a high anti-mutagenic activity when applied prior to Cis-Platinum (2.2%; p 0.05). (author)

  20. Neutrino jets from high-mass WR gauge bosons in TeV-scale left-right symmetric models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitra, Manimala; Ruiz, Richard; Scott, Darren J.; Spannowsky, Michael

    2016-11-01

    We reexamine the discovery potential at hadron colliders of high-mass right-handed (RH) gauge bosons WR—an inherent ingredient of left-right symmetric models (LRSM). We focus on the regime where the WR is very heavy compared to the heavy Majorana neutrino N , and we investigate an alternative signature for WR→N decays. The produced neutrinos are highly boosted in this mass regime. Subsequently, their decays via off-shell WR bosons to jets, i.e., N →ℓ±jj, are highly collimated, forming a single neutrino jet (jN). The final-state collider signature is then ℓ±jN, instead of the widely studied ℓ±ℓ±j j . Present search strategies are not sensitive to this hierarchical mass regime due to the breakdown of the collider signature definition. We take into account QCD corrections beyond next-to-leading order (NLO) that are important for high-mass Drell-Yan processes at the 13 TeV Large Hadron Collider (LHC). For the first time, we evaluate WR production at NLO with threshold resummation at next-to-next-to-leading logarithm (NNLL) matched to the threshold-improved parton distributions. With these improvements, we find that a WR of mass MWR=3 (4 )[5 ] TeV and mass ratio of (mN/MWR)discovered with a 5 - 6 σ statistical significance at 13 TeV after 10 (100 )[2000 ] fb-1 of data. Extending the analysis to the hypothetical 100 TeV Very Large Hadron Collider (VLHC), 5 σ can be obtained for WR masses up to MW R=15 (30 ) with approximately 100 fb-1 (10 ab-1 ). Conversely, with 0.9 (10 )[150 ] fb-1 of 13 TeV data, MWR<3 (4 )[5 ] TeV and (mN/MWR)<0.1 can be excluded at 95% C.L.; with 100 fb-1 (2.5 ab-1 ) of 100 TeV data, MW R<22 (33 ) TeV can be excluded.

  1. Self-(in)compatibility of the almonds P. dulcis and P. webbii: detection and cloning of 'wild-type Sf ' and new self-compatibility alleles encoding inactive S-RNases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosković, Radovan I; Tobutt, Kenneth R; Ortega, Encarnación; Sutherland, Bruce G; Godini, Angelo

    2007-12-01

    Prunus dulcis, the almond, is a predominantly self-incompatible (SI) species with a gametophytic self-incompatibility system mediated by S-RNases. The economically important allele Sf, which results in self-compatibility in P. dulcis, is said to have arisen by introgression from Prunus webbii in the Italian region of Apulia. We investigated the range of self-(in)compatibility alleles in Apulian material of the two species. About 23 cultivars of P. dulcis (14 self-compatible (SC) and nine SI) and 33 accessions of P. webbii (16 SC, two SI and 15 initially of unknown status), all from Apulia, were analysed using PCR of genomic DNA to amplify S-RNase alleles and, in most cases, IEF and staining of stylar protein extracts to detect S-RNase activity. Some amplification products were cloned and sequenced. The allele Sf was present in nearly all the SC cultivars of P. dulcis but, surprisingly, was absent from nearly all SC accessions of P. webbii. And of particular interest was the presence in many SI cultivars of P. dulcis of a new active allele, labelled S30, the sequence of which showed it to be the wild-type of Sf so that Sf can be regarded as a stylar part mutant S30 degrees . These findings indicate Sf may have arisen within P. dulcis, by mutation. One SC cultivar of P. dulcis, 'Patalina', had a new self-compatibility allele lacking RNase activity, Sn5, which could be useful in breeding programmes. In the accessions of P. webbii, some of which were known to be SC, three new alleles were found which lacked RNase activity but had normal DNA sequences.

  2. Regiones H II alrededor de estrellas WR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giménez Benitez, S.; Niemela, V.

    En base a observaciones espectroscópicas en el rango óptico, obtenidas en el CASLEO, se estudian las condiciones físicas de tres regiones H II alrededor de estrellas WR: N76 en el entorno de Ab7, en la Nube Menor de Magallanes, N79 alrededor de Br 2, en la Nube Mayor de Magallanes y G2.4+1.4 alrededor de WR 102, en nuestra Galaxia. Estas regiones presentan una alta ionización. Se observa la línea nebular de HeII en 4686 Å . Utilizando líneas nebulares de diagnóstico, se derivan los valores de la densidad y la temperatura electrónica, así como también las abundancias de algunos de los elementos químicos nebulares.

  3. Retention of 241Am and 239Pu in the rat as influenced by Triton WR 1339

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gruner, R.; Siedel, A.

    1976-01-01

    A lysosomotropic agent, the non-ionic detergent Triton WR 1339 (a poly-oxyethylene ether of formaldehyde polymers of octylphenol) is known to be stored in rat liver lysosomes. The results of a study made to determine whether Triton WR 1339 exerts an influence on the metabolic fate of monomeric 239 Pu and 241 Am in the rat as well as on the removal of these nuclides by DTPA, since Triton WR 1339 and transuranic elements share the same deposition site, are reported. The influence of Triton WR 1339 on the 241 Am content (per cent of 241 Am dose) of rat organs (skeleton, liver, kidneys) at different times after Triton WR 1339 injection, the influence of the time of Triton WR 1339 injection on the 241 Am content (per cent of 241 Am dose) of the same rat organs, and the influence of Triton WR 1339 Zn-DTPA and the combination of them on the retention of monomeric 239 Pu in the same rat organs (per cent of 239 Pu dose), are shown in tabular form. The mechanism whereby Triton WR 1339 appears to shorten the biological half-life of 239 Pu and 241 Am in rat liver is discussed. (U.K.)

  4. Allelic imbalance and fine mapping of the 17p13.3 subregion in sporadic breast carcinomas

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hoff, C; Mollenhauer, J; Waldau, B

    2001-01-01

    Chromosome arm 17p is frequently altered in a variety of human cancers, especially in breast cancer, and allelic imbalances (AIs) in the region 17p13.1 do not always coincide with mutations in the TP53 gene. A second interval that frequently shows AIs at 17p is the chromosomal band 17p13.3. This ......Chromosome arm 17p is frequently altered in a variety of human cancers, especially in breast cancer, and allelic imbalances (AIs) in the region 17p13.1 do not always coincide with mutations in the TP53 gene. A second interval that frequently shows AIs at 17p is the chromosomal band 17p13...

  5. Cas9/sgRNA selective targeting of the P23H Rhodopsin mutant allele for treating retinitis pigmentosa by intravitreal AAV9.PHP.B-based delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giannelli, Serena G; Luoni, Mirko; Castoldi, Valerio; Massimino, Luca; Cabassi, Tommaso; Angeloni, Debora; Demontis, Gian Carlo; Leocani, Letizia; Andreazzoli, Massimiliano; Broccoli, Vania

    2018-03-01

    P23H is the most common mutation in the RHODOPSIN (RHO) gene leading to a dominant form of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a rod photoreceptor degeneration that invariably causes vision loss. Specific disruption of the disease P23H RHO mutant while preserving the wild-type (WT) functional allele would be an invaluable therapy for this disease. However, various technologies tested in the past failed to achieve effective changes and consequently therapeutic benefits. We validated a CRISPR/Cas9 strategy to specifically inactivate the P23H RHO mutant, while preserving the WT allele in vitro. We, then, translated this approach in vivo by delivering the CRISPR/Cas9 components in murine Rho+/P23H mutant retinae. Targeted retinae presented a high rate of cleavage in the P23H but not WT Rho allele. This gene manipulation was sufficient to slow photoreceptor degeneration and improve retinal functions. To improve the translational potential of our approach, we tested intravitreal delivery of this system by means of adeno-associated viruses (AAVs). To this purpose, the employment of the AAV9-PHP.B resulted the most effective in disrupting the P23H Rho mutant. Finally, this approach was translated successfully in human cells engineered with the homozygous P23H RHO gene mutation. Overall, this is a significant proof-of-concept that gene allele specific targeting by CRISPR/Cas9 technology is specific and efficient and represents an unprecedented tool for treating RP and more broadly dominant genetic human disorders affecting the eye, as well as other tissues.

  6. Topical or systemic 16,16 dm prostaglandin E2 or WR-2721 (WR-1065) protects mice from alopecia after fractionated irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geng, L.; Malkinson, F.D.; Hanson, W.R.

    1992-01-01

    Previous studies in mice demonstrated that systemic or topical 16,16 dm PGE 2 protected against single dose radiation-induced hair loss. The authors have now investigated prostaglandin, or WR-2721, protection against murine alopecia produced by varying doses and schedules of fractionated radiation. In some studies with the radioprotectors given systematically, WR-2721 afforded slightly greater radioprotection than 16,16 dm PGE 2 . The two compounds were essentially equally radioprotective in the topical application studies. Since both systemic and topical applications of the agents tested enhanced hair regrowth following radiation, the authors conclude that clinical use of these compounds may provide some protection of hair follicles, and perhaps other tissues, lying within a radiation therapy field. (author)

  7. Depletion of glutathione by the radioprotective agent S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethyl phosphorothioic acid (WR2721)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schor, N.F.

    1989-01-01

    S-2-(3-Aminopropylamino)ethyl phosphorothioic acid (WR2721) is a free radical scavenger currently in limited clinical use as an adjunct in cancer radio- and chemotherapy. We have previously determined the pharmacokinetics and protein binding characteristics of WR2721 in rabbits and in humans. We have also shown that WR2721 is an effective mucolytic agent in patients with cystic fibrosis. In vivo, WR2721 is converted to its free thiol analogue, N-2-mercaptoethyl-1,3-diaminopropane (MDP), and, as such, reacts with disulfide bonds in the mucin molecule, altering its rheology. In the course of experiments designed to examine the spectrum of its activity as a free radical scavenger, we have observed that WR2721 exacerbates the toxicity of those free radical-generating agents, such as acetaminophen and 6-hydroxydopamine, which depend upon glutathione for their detoxication. For this reason, we examined the glutathione content of the livers of mice treated with WR2721. (author)

  8. Radioprotective action of WR-1065 on radiation-induced DNA strand breaks in cultured Chinese hamster ovary cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murray, D.; VanAnkeren, S.C.; Milas, L.; Meyn, R.E.

    1988-01-01

    We have examined the radioprotective effect of WR-1065 on cultured Chinese hamster ovary cells. The effects of the drug on the induction and rejoining of gamma-ray-induced DNA single-strand breaks (SSBs) and double-strand breaks (DSBs) were measured using alkaline (pH 12.1) and neutral (pH 7.0) elution, respectively. Molecular protection factors (PFs) calculated from these data allowed us to determine whether the degree of modification of strand breakage accurately predicted the PFs measured using the biological end point of cell survival. The drug did protect against the induction of both SSBs and DSBs, although to an extent that did not appear to fully account for the degree of radioprotection in terms of cell killing measured under identical conditions. It is therefore unlikely that radioprotection by WR-1065 occurs simply as a consequence of a general lowering of all types of gamma-ray-induced DNA lesions, and it is possible that the drug could differentially protect against the induction of subsets of these DNA lesions. The rate of SSB rejoining was retarded following preirradiation treatment of cells with WR-1065, but there was no effect on DSB rejoining. Postirradiation treatment with WR-1065 also appeared to retard SSB rejoining but without an accompanying effect on either DSB rejoining or cell survival; however, this effect was largely reversed by the addition of catalase and was, therefore, probably a result of H 2 O 2 generated by autoxidation of the drug. Based on these observations, it would appear that the molecular actions of aminothiol radioprotective compounds that lead to reduced cell killing are much more complex than previously thought

  9. X-ray observations of the colliding wind binary WR 25

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arora, Bharti; Pandey, Jeewan Chandra

    2018-04-01

    Using the archival data obtained from Chandra and Suzaku spanning over '8 years, we present an analysis of a WN6h+O4f Wolf-Rayet binary, WR 25. The X-ray light curves folded over a period of '208 d in the 0.3 - 10.0 keV energy band showed phase-locked variability where the count rates were found to be maximum near the periastron passage. The X-ray spectra of WR 25 were well explained by a two-temperature plasma model with temperatures of 0.64 ± 0.01 and 2.96 ± 0.05 keV and are consistent with previous results. The orbital phase dependent local hydrogen column density was found to be maximum just after the periastron passage, when the WN type star is in front of the O star. The hard (2.0 - 10.0 keV) X-ray luminosity was linearly dependent on the inverse of binary separation which confirms that WR 25 is a colliding wind binary.

  10. A Chandra grating observation of the dusty Wolf-Rayet star WR 48a

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhekov, Svetozar A. [Space Research and Technology Institute, Akad. G. Bonchev Str., bl.1, Sofia 1113 (Bulgaria); Gagné, Marc [Department of Geology and Astronomy, West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383 (United States); Skinner, Stephen L., E-mail: szhekov@space.bas.bg, E-mail: mgagne@wcupa.edu, E-mail: stephen.skinner@colorado.edu [CASA, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States)

    2014-04-10

    We present results of a Chandra High-Energy Transmission Grating (HETG) observation of the carbon-rich Wolf-Rayet (WR) star WR 48a. These are the first high-resolution spectra of this object in X-ray. Blueshifted centroids of the spectral lines of ∼ – 360 km s{sup –1} and line widths of 1000-1500 km s{sup –1} (FWHM) were deduced from the analysis of the line profiles of strong emission lines. The forbidden line of Si XIII is strong and not suppressed, indicating that the rarified 10-30 MK plasma forms far from strong sources of far-ultraviolet emission, most likely in a wind collision zone. Global spectral modeling showed that the X-ray spectrum of WR 48a suffered higher absorption in the 2012 October Chandra observation compared with a previous 2008 January XMM-Newton observation. The emission measure of the hot plasma in WR 48a decreased by a factor ∼3 over the same period of time. The most likely physical picture that emerges from the analysis of the available X-ray data is that of colliding stellar winds in a wide binary system with an elliptical orbit. We propose that the unseen secondary star in the system is another WR star or perhaps a luminous blue variable.

  11. Further studies on selective radioprotection by organic zinc salts and synergism of zinc aspartate with WR 2721

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Floersheim, G.L.; Bieri, A.

    1990-01-01

    Protection of the haematocrit and thrombocytes by small doses of the aminothiol radioprotector WR 2721 was markedly improved by the concomitant administration of small doses of zinc aspartate. Zinc aspartate was the only one of the tested zinc salts not inhibiting the regression induced by radiotherapy of human tumours grown as xenografts in immunosuppressed mice. This also applied to zinc aspartate with WR 2721. A dose of zinc aspartate which afforded synergistic haematological protection did not enhance the toxicity of WR 2721. The synergism of zinc aspartate with WR 2721 and the differential radioprotection of the combined protocol may make it possible in clinical cancer radiotherapy to obtain selective radioprotection at a lower toxicity giving an improved therapeutic ratio compared with WR 2721 alone. (author)

  12. Protein binding of N-2-mercaptoethyl-1,3-diaminopropane via mixed disulfide formation after oral administration of WR 2721

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tabachnik, N.F.; Blackburn, P.; Peterson, C.M.; Cerami, A.

    1982-02-01

    Earlier studies have shown that WR 2721 (H2N-(CH2)3-NH(CH2)2SPO3H2) is converted to its free thiol form, N-2-mercaptoethyl-1,3-diaminopropane (MDP), at the acidic pH of the stomach. MDP is a radioprotective compound and a mucolytic agent capable of decreasing sputum viscosity in the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis. Conversion of WR 2721 and MDP to the corresponding sulfonic acid (MDP-SO3H) permits quantitative determination of these compounds in physiological fluids by use of an automatic amino acid analyzer. After oral administration of WR 2721 to human patients and rabbits it is converted to MDP and the free thiol form of the drug associates with plasma proteins by mixed disulfide linkage. The plasma proteins serve as a depot and reservoir of MDP for potential exchange at the tissues. When incubated with whole sputum or with purified mucin solutions in vitro, MDP decreased the viscosity of these solutions by reduction of the accessible disulfide bonds of the mucin molecule and was subsequently found in mixed disulfide association with the mucin molecule. The association of MDP with proteins via mixed disulfide linkage has important implications for the development of optimal dose regimens for administration of WR 2721 to patients.

  13. Protein binding of N-2-mercaptoethyl-1,3-diaminopropane via mixed disulfide formation after oral administration of WR 2721

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tabachnik, N.F.; Blackburn, P.; Peterson, C.M.; Cerami, A.

    1982-01-01

    Earlier studies have shown that WR 2721 [H2N-(CH2)3-NH(CH2)2SPO3H2] is converted to its free thiol form, N-2-mercaptoethyl-1,3-diaminopropane (MDP), at the acidic pH of the stomach. MDP is a radioprotective compound and a mucolytic agent capable of decreasing sputum viscosity in the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis. Conversion of WR 2721 and MDP to the corresponding sulfonic acid (MDP-SO3H) permits quantitative determination of these compounds in physiological fluids by use of an automatic amino acid analyzer. After oral administration of WR 2721 to human patients and rabbits it is converted to MDP and the free thiol form of the drug associates with plasma proteins by mixed disulfide linkage. The plasma proteins serve as a depot and reservoir of MDP for potential exchange at the tissues. When incubated with whole sputum or with purified mucin solutions in vitro, MDP decreased the viscosity of these solutions by reduction of the accessible disulfide bonds of the mucin molecule and was subsequently found in mixed disulfide association with the mucin molecule. The association of MDP with proteins via mixed disulfide linkage has important implications for the development of optimal dose regimens for administration of WR 2721 to patients

  14. Topical or systemic 16,16 dm prostaglandin E sub 2 or WR-2721 (WR-1065) protects mice from alopecia after fractionated irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geng, L.; Malkinson, F.D. (Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke' s Medical Center, Chicago, IL (United States)); Hanson, W.R. (Hines VA Medical Center, IL (United States))

    1992-04-01

    Previous studies in mice demonstrated that systemic or topical 16,16 dm PGE{sub 2} protected against single dose radiation-induced hair loss. The authors have now investigated prostaglandin, or WR-2721, protection against murine alopecia produced by varying doses and schedules of fractionated radiation. In some studies with the radioprotectors given systematically, WR-2721 afforded slightly greater radioprotection than 16,16 dm PGE{sub 2}. The two compounds were essentially equally radioprotective in the topical application studies. Since both systemic and topical applications of the agents tested enhanced hair regrowth following radiation, the authors conclude that clinical use of these compounds may provide some protection of hair follicles, and perhaps other tissues, lying within a radiation therapy field. (author).

  15. Effects of daily treatment with a radioprotector WR-2721 on Ehrlich's ascites tumors in mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ikebuchi, Makoto; Shinohara, Shigeo; Kimura, Hiroshi; Morimoto, Kunio; Shima, Akihiro

    1981-01-01

    Mice were injected daily with a radioprotector WR-2721 (S-2-[3-aminopropyl-amino]ethylphosphorothioic acid) after inoculation with Ehrlich's ascites tumor cells. Increases in weight of mice, volume of ascitic fluid and number of ascitic cells per mouse were reduced by the daily administration of 5 mg/mouse of the drug, indicating a suppressive effect of WR-2721 on growth of ascitic cells. But daily treatment with 5 mg/mouse of WR-2721 caused earlier death of tumor-bearing mice. (author)

  16. A Numerical Procedure for Analysis of W/R Contact Using Explicit Finite Element Methods

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ma, Y.; Markine, V.L.

    2015-01-01

    Since no effective experimental approaches have been proposed to assess wheel and rail (W/R) contact performance till now, numerical computational analysis is known as an alternative to approximately simulate the W/R interaction. In this paper, one numerical procedure is proposed on the basis of

  17. Chemoprotection against fractionated radiation exposures with WR-2721: skin injury

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Echols, F.S.; Yuhas, J.M.

    1976-01-01

    These studies extend the analysis of the potential application of WR-2721 [S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethylphosphorothioic acid] to radiation therapy by determining the ability of the drug to protect mice against hair loss induced by multiple exposures to radiation. In the two mouse strains tested, RFM and BALB/c, the relatively low drug dose used (200 mg/kg) protected the mice against hair loss from single exposures by factors of 1.67 and 1.73. The dose necessary to produce a given level of hair loss (ED 50 ) increases with increasing number of fractions. The ED 50 increases as N/sup 0.52/ and N/sup 0.59/ in the two strains of mice when they are not drug-treated, but as N/sup 0.39/ and N/sup 0.50/ in mice that are drug-treated. Thus, the protective effectiveness of WR-2721 decreases with increasing numbers of fractions, but the drug is still able to give a dose-modifying factor of about 1.25 when the total exposure is given as a series of 9 or 10 fractions. WR-2721 appears to offer the possibility of improving the efficiency of radiotherapy under clinical conditions

  18. Circumvention of the tumor membrane barrier to WR-2721 absorption by reduction of drug hydrophilicity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuhas, J.M.; Davis, M.E.; Glover, D.; Brown, D.Q.; Ritter, M.

    1982-01-01

    In attempting to account for the ability of most solid tumors to restrict the absorption of WR-2721, aminopropyl-aminoethylphosphorothioate, we examined a number of drug characteristics which might allow for this restriction, and observed that drug hypdrophilicity was a major contributing factor. When the highly hydrophilic WR-2721 was dephosphorylated, the drug became less hydrophilic and could readily cross tumor cell membranes. In addition, conventional radioprotectants, such as cysteine and mercaptoethylamine, were shown to be less hydrophilic than WR-2721 and also to cross tumor membranes readily. Therefore, drug hydrophilicity would appear to be the factor underlying the ability of WR-2721 to selectively protect normal tissues while most other protectors alter the radiation resistance of normal and tumor tissue alike. A red blood cell model for studying this problem in greater detail is described

  19. Mannose-binding lectin variant alleles and HLA-DR4 alleles are associated with giant cell arteritis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Soren; Baslund, Bo; Madsen, Hans O.

    2002-01-01

    /GCA, MBL variant alleles were associated with signs of increased inflammatory activity and clinical signs of arteritic manifestations. This was not found for HLA-DR4 alleles. These findings indicate that HLA-DR4 and MBL are contributing to the pathophysiology of GCA at different levels in the disease...... alleles in controls, patients with PMR only, and patients with GCA was 37, 32, and 53% (p = 0.01), respectively. HLA-DRB1*04 was found in 47% of patients with PMR only and in 54% of patients with GCA, which differed significantly from the 35% found in controls (p = 0.01). HLA-DR4 alleles were...... not associated with any clinical phenotypes of PMR/GCA, whereas MBL variant alleles were associated with cranial arteritis, high erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and low B-hemoglobin. CONCLUSION: We found MBL variant alleles and HLA-DR4 alleles to be weak susceptibility markers for GCA. In patients with PMR...

  20. An Updated Collection of Sequence Barcoded Temperature-Sensitive Alleles of Yeast Essential Genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kofoed, Megan; Milbury, Karissa L; Chiang, Jennifer H; Sinha, Sunita; Ben-Aroya, Shay; Giaever, Guri; Nislow, Corey; Hieter, Philip; Stirling, Peter C

    2015-07-14

    Systematic analyses of essential gene function using mutant collections in Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been conducted using collections of heterozygous diploids, promoter shut-off alleles, through alleles with destabilized mRNA, destabilized protein, or bearing mutations that lead to a temperature-sensitive (ts) phenotype. We previously described a method for construction of barcoded ts alleles in a systematic fashion. Here we report the completion of this collection of alleles covering 600 essential yeast genes. This resource covers a larger gene repertoire than previous collections and provides a complementary set of strains suitable for single gene and genomic analyses. We use deep sequencing to characterize the amino acid changes leading to the ts phenotype in half of the alleles. We also use high-throughput approaches to describe the relative ts behavior of the alleles. Finally, we demonstrate the experimental usefulness of the collection in a high-content, functional genomic screen for ts alleles that increase spontaneous P-body formation. By increasing the number of alleles and improving the annotation, this ts collection will serve as a community resource for probing new aspects of biology for essential yeast genes. Copyright © 2015 Kofoed et al.

  1. Influence of WR-2721 on metastatic tumor spread after irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ullrich, R.L.; Jernigan, M.C.; Yuhas, J.M.

    1975-01-01

    The Line 1 alveolar cell carcinoma is a transplantable murine tumor which, unlike most others, kills the host by means of metastatic spread. Attempts to cure this tumor with localized radiation therapy often fail, in spite of local tumor control, because the metastases evade the treatment. These facts suggest that host-tumor interactions may play a particularly important role in determining the ultimate survival of the tumor bearing animal. In order to initially evaluate the possible importance of normal regional tissues in host-tumor interactions the influence of WR-2721, a radioprotective drug, was examined for local tumor control and subsequent survival of the tumor bearing animal after localized radiation. Results indicated that WR-2721 can decrease metastasis. (U.S.)

  2. Allele Workbench: transcriptome pipeline and interactive graphics for allele-specific expression.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carol A Soderlund

    from https://code.google.com/p/allele-workbench. Additionally, all software is ready for immediate use from an Atmosphere Virtual Machine Image available from the iPlant Collaborative (www.iplantcollaborative.org.

  3. The hypolipidemic activity of Ayurvedic medicine, Arogyavardhini vati in Triton WR-1339-induced hyperlipidemic rats: A comparison with fenofibrate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Gajendra; Srivastava, Amita; Sharma, Surinder Kumar; Gupta, Yogendra Kumar

    2013-07-01

    Hyperlipidemia is a major risk factor of coronary heart disease. Currently available hypolipidemic drugs have been associated with number of side effects. Arogyavardhini vati, an Ayurvedic polyherbal formulation has been used for liver disorders. Therefore, present study was designed to evaluate the effect of Arogyavardhini vati in Triton WR-1339-induced hyperlipidemia in rats. Anti-hyperlipidemic activity evaluation of Arogyavardhini vati against Triton WR-1339-induced hyperlipidemia in rats. Overnight fasted male Wistar rats (150-200 g) were randomly divided into normal control group [4% Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO), i.p.], positive control group (Triton WR-1339 in 4% DMSO, 400 mg/kg, i.p.), standard drug treated (fenofibrate 65 mg/kg, p.o. for 7 days after inducing hyperlipidemia) and Arogyavardhini vati treated (50, 100, 200 mg/kg, p.o. for 7 days after inducing hyperlipidemia). Rat doses were calculated by extrapolating the equivalent human dose (therapeutic dose, sub-maximum, and maximum dose). Serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein HDL, liver malondialdehyde (MDA), and glutathione (GSH) levels were estimated at end of experiments. Arogyavardhini vati significantly decreased serum cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL, and C-reactive protein (CRP) and significantly increased serum HDL in a dose-dependent manner. Decreased MDA and increased GSH levels in liver were observed at all doses of Arogyavardhini vati (50, 100, 200 mg/kg) and fenofibrate-treated groups when compared with Triton-treated group. Atherogenic Index (AI) level was significantly decreased in fenofibrate and Arogyavardhini vati (200 mg/kg) treated rats when compared with normal control. Arogyavardhini vati, a traditionally used Ayurvedic medicine may be a useful therapy for hypercholesterolemia through reducing oxidative stress (decreasing MDA and increasing GSH) and lipid levels.

  4. WR 143: A Wolf-Rayet Binary

    OpenAIRE

    Varricatt, Watson P.; Ashok, Nagarhalli M.

    2005-01-01

    Near infrared spectroscopy and photometry of the Wolf-Rayet Star WR 143 (HD 195177) were obtained in the $JHK$ photometric bands. High resolution spectra observed in the J and H bands exhibit narrow 1.083-micron He I line and the H I Pa Beta and the Brackett series lines in emission superposed on the broad emission line spectrum of the Wolf-Rayet star, giving strong indications of the presence of a companion. From the narrow emission lines observed, the companion is identified to be an early-...

  5. Haplotype analysis and a novel allele-sharing method refines a chromosome 4p locus linked to bipolar affective disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Hellard, Stephanie; Lee, Andrew J; Underwood, Sarah; Thomson, Pippa A; Morris, Stewart W; Torrance, Helen S; Anderson, Susan M; Adams, Richard R; Navarro, Pau; Christoforou, Andrea; Houlihan, Lorna M; Detera-Wadleigh, Sevilla; Owen, Michael J; Asherson, Philip; Muir, Walter J; Blackwood, Douglas H R; Wray, Naomi R; Porteous, David J; Evans, Kathryn L

    2007-03-15

    Bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) and schizophrenia (SCZ) are common conditions. Their causes are unknown, but they include a substantial genetic component. Previously, we described significant linkage of BPAD to a chromosome 4p locus within a large pedigree (F22). Others subsequently have found evidence for linkage of BPAD and SCZ to this region. We constructed high-resolution haplotypes for four linked families, calculated logarithm of the odds (LOD) scores, and developed a novel method to assess the extent of allele sharing within genes between the families. We describe an increase in the F22 LOD score for this region. Definition and comparison of the linked haplotypes allowed us to prioritize two subregions of 3.8 and 4.4 Mb. Analysis of the extent of allele sharing within these subregions identified 200 kb that shows increased allele sharing between families. Linkage of BPAD to chromosome 4p has been strengthened. Haplotype analysis in the additional linked families refined the 20-Mb linkage region. Development of a novel allele-sharing method allowed us to bridge the gap between conventional linkage and association studies. Description of a 200-kb region of increased allele sharing prioritizes this region, which contains two functional candidate genes for BPAD, SLC2A9, and WDR1, for subsequent studies.

  6. Enhancement of protective action of radioprotector; Mogucnosti potenciranja zastitnog dejstva radioprotektora WR-2721

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dobric, S; Milovanovic, S [Vojnotehnicki Institut, Belgrade (Yugoslavia)

    1996-12-31

    The efficacy of radioprotector WR-2721 (300 mg/kg ip, 20 min before irradiation), alone or in combination with an extract of Ginkgo biloba (Tebonin{sup R}) (17.5 mg/kg ip, 20 min before, and then 1 hr and 24 hr after irradiation), an extract of thymus (Thymolip{sup R}) (10 mg/kg sc, 24 hr before and 15 min after irradiation), herbal mitogen agrostemin (0.1 mg/kg ip. 24 before and immediately after irradiation) and calcium antagonist verapamil (1 mg/kg ip, immediately before irradiation), was studied in adult male Wistar rats irradiated by 9 Gy and 12 Gy of X-rays. It was established that above mentioned compounds, except wr-2721, failed to protect irradiated animals. Given in combination with WR-2721 only agrostemin and verapamil enhanced the efficacy of the protector. The combination with verapamil was more effective providing protection even in supralethal irradiated rats. (author) 7 refs. 2 tabs.

  7. Improved HPLC assay for S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethyl phosphorothioate (WR-2721) in plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swynnerton, N.F.; McGovern, E.P.; Nino, J.A.; Mangold, D.J.

    1984-01-01

    An HPLC assay is presented for the detection and quantitation of the radioprotective drug S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethyl phosphorothioate (WR-2721, ethiofos) present in plasma. Improved selectivity and a 40-fold increase in sensitivity have been demonstrated over the method previously reported by this laboratory. Using precolumn derivatization with fluorescamine and S-3-(4-aminobutylamino)propyl phosphorothioate (WR-80855, a homolog of WR-2721) as the internal standard, drug levels of 0.05 to 1000 μg/mL were determined with excellent precision. Detector response was linear over the entire range. The assay uses 150 μL of plasma and requires a total chromatography time of about 50 minutes. The method was found suitable for pharmacokinetic studies in a preliminary experiment with a beagle dog in which no interferences due to plasma constituents or drug metabolites were observed

  8. Allele coding in genomic evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christensen Ole F

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Genomic data are used in animal breeding to assist genetic evaluation. Several models to estimate genomic breeding values have been studied. In general, two approaches have been used. One approach estimates the marker effects first and then, genomic breeding values are obtained by summing marker effects. In the second approach, genomic breeding values are estimated directly using an equivalent model with a genomic relationship matrix. Allele coding is the method chosen to assign values to the regression coefficients in the statistical model. A common allele coding is zero for the homozygous genotype of the first allele, one for the heterozygote, and two for the homozygous genotype for the other allele. Another common allele coding changes these regression coefficients by subtracting a value from each marker such that the mean of regression coefficients is zero within each marker. We call this centered allele coding. This study considered effects of different allele coding methods on inference. Both marker-based and equivalent models were considered, and restricted maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods were used in inference. Results Theoretical derivations showed that parameter estimates and estimated marker effects in marker-based models are the same irrespective of the allele coding, provided that the model has a fixed general mean. For the equivalent models, the same results hold, even though different allele coding methods lead to different genomic relationship matrices. Calculated genomic breeding values are independent of allele coding when the estimate of the general mean is included into the values. Reliabilities of estimated genomic breeding values calculated using elements of the inverse of the coefficient matrix depend on the allele coding because different allele coding methods imply different models. Finally, allele coding affects the mixing of Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms, with the centered coding being

  9. The WR-1 corrosion test facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murphy, E.V.; Simmons, G.R.

    1978-07-01

    This report describes a new Corrosion Test Facility which has recently been installed in the WR-1 organic-cooled research reactor. The irradiation facility is a single insert, installed in a reactor site, which can deliver a fast neutron flux density of 2.65 x 10 17 neutrons/(m 2 .s) to specimens under irradiation. A self-contained controlled-chemistry cooling water circuit removes the gamma- and neutron-heat generated in the insert and specimens. Specimen temperatures typically vary from 245 deg C to 280 deg C across the insert core region. (author)

  10. Estimated allele substitution effects underlying genomic evaluation models depend on the scaling of allele counts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bouwman, Aniek C.; Hayes, Ben J.; Calus, Mario P.L.

    2017-01-01

    <p>Background: Genomic evaluation is used to predict direct genomic values (DGV) for selection candidates in breeding programs, but also to estimate allele substitution effects (ASE) of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Scaling of allele counts influences the estimated ASE, because scaling of

  11. Cytochrome P450 2D6 variants in a Caucasian population: Allele frequencies and phenotypic consequences

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sachse, C.; Brockmoeller, J.; Bauer, S.; Roots, I. [Humboldt Univ., Berlin (Germany)

    1997-02-01

    Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) metabolizes many important drugs. CYP2D6 activity ranges from complete deficiency to ultrafast metabolism, depending on at least 16 different known alleles. Their frequencies were determined in 589 unrelated German volunteers and correlated with enzyme activity measured by phenotyping with dextromethorphan or debrisoquine. For genotyping, nested PCR-RFLP tests from a PCR amplificate of the entire CYP2D6 gene were developed. The frequency of the CYP2D6*1 allele coding for extensive metabolizer (EM) phenotype was .364. The alleles coding for slightly (CYP2D6*2) or moderately (*9 and *10) reduced activity (intermediate metabolizer phenotype [IM]) showed frequencies of .324, .018, and .015, respectively. By use of novel PCR tests for discrimination, CYP2D6 gene duplication alleles were found with frequencies of.005 (*1 x 2), .013 (* 2 x 2), and .001 (*4 x 2). Frequencies of alleles with complete deficiency (poor metabolizer phenotype [PM]) were .207 (*4), .020 (*3 and *5), .009 (*6), and .001 (*7, *15, and *16). The defective CYP2D6 alleles *8, *11, *12, *13, and *14 were not found. All 41 PMs (7.0%) in this sample were explained by five mutations detected by four PCR-RFLP tests, which may suffice, together with the gene duplication test, for clinical prediction of CYP2D6 capacity. Three novel variants of known CYP2D6 alleles were discovered: *1C (T{sub 1957}C), *2B (additional C{sub 2558}T), and *4E (additional C{sub 2938}T). Analysis of variance showed significant differences in enzymatic activity measured by the dextromethorphan metabolic ratio (MR) between carriers of EN/PM (mean MR = .006) and IM/PM (mean MR = .014) alleles and between carriers of one (mean MR = .009) and two (mean MR = .003) functional alleles. The results of this study provide a solid basis for prediction of CYP2D6 capacity, as required in drug research and routine drug treatment. 35 refs., 4 figs., 5 tabs.

  12. Hypolipidemic action of chrysin on Triton WR-1339-induced hyperlipidemia in female C57BL/6 mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Micheli Stéfani Zarzecki

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Chrysin (5,7-dihydroxyflavone is a flavonoid, natural component of traditional medicinal herbs, present in honey, propolis and many plant extracts. The objective of this study was to investigate the hypolipidemic properties of chrysin on Triton WR-1339-induced hyperlipidemia in female C57BL/6 mice. Triton WR-1339 was administered intraperitoneally (400 mg/kg to overnight-fasted mice to develop acute hyperlipidemia. Chrysin was administered orally (10 mg/kg 30 min before Triton WR-1339. At 24 h after Triton WR-1339 injection, blood samples were collected to measure plasma lipid levels. The hepatic thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS, carbonyl content, non-protein sulfhydryl (NPSH and ascorbic acid (AA levels, as well as catalase (CAT and superoxide dismutase (SOD activity were recorded. Chrysin administration significantly decreased total cholesterol levels. In addition, it partially decreased non-high density lipoprotein-cholesterol and triglycerides levels in plasma of hyperlipidaemic mice. In addition chrysin administration prevented the increase on TBARS levels and prevented the decrease in SOD activity induced by Triton WR-1339. These findings indicated that chrysin was able to decrease plasma lipids concentration and that its antioxidant properties was, at least in part, involved in the hypolipidaemic action of chrysin.

  13. Effect of the radioprotector WR 2721 on the response of metastatic Lewis lung carcinoma colonies to alkylating agents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wist, E.A.

    1985-01-01

    WR 2721 protected ''artificial'' lung metastases of Lewis lung carcinoma against the cytotoxic effects of cyclophosphamide and melphalan. When mice were pretreated with WR 2721 30 min before exposure to the alkylating agents a significant increase in the number of lung metastases could be observed. This protection of micrometastases had a significant impact on survival in the case of cyclophosphamide treatment, but not in the case of melphalan treatment. The degree of protection at a standard dose of WR 2721 was dose dependent. (orig.)

  14. Spectral Identification of New Galactic cLBV and WR Stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stringfellow, G. S.; Gvaramadze, V. V.; Beletsky, Y.; Kniazev, A. Y.

    2012-12-01

    We have undertaken a near-IR spectral survey of stars associated with compact nebulae recently revealed by the Spitzer and WISE imaging surveys. These circumstellar nebulae, produced by massive evolved stars, display a variety of symmetries and shapes and are often only evident at mid-IR wavelengths. Stars associated with ˜50 of these nebulae have been observed. We also obtained recent spectra of previously confirmed (known) luminous blue variables (LBVs) and candidate LBVs (cLBVs). The spectral similarity of the stars observed when compared directly to known LBVs and Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars indicate many are newly identified cLBVs, with a few being newly discovered WR stars, mostly of WN8-9h spectral type. These results suggest that a large population of previously unidentified cLBVs and related transitional stars reside in the Galaxy and confirm that circumstellar nebulae are inherent to most (c)LBVs.

  15. CYP3A4 allelic variants with amino acid substitutions in exons 7 and 12: evidence for an allelic variant with altered catalytic activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sata, F; Sapone, A; Elizondo, G; Stocker, P; Miller, V P; Zheng, W; Raunio, H; Crespi, C L; Gonzalez, F J

    2000-01-01

    To determine the existence of mutant and variant CgammaP3A4 alleles in three racial groups and to assess functions of the variant alleles by complementary deoxyribonucleic acid (cDNA) expression. A bacterial artificial chromosome that contains the complete CgammaP3A4 gene was isolated and the exons and surrounding introns were directly sequenced to develop primers to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplify and sequence the gene from lymphocyte DNA. DNA samples from Chinese, black, and white subjects were screened. Mutating the affected amino acid in the wild-type cDNA and expressing the variant enzyme with use of the baculovirus system was used to functionally evaluate the variant allele having a missense mutation. To investigate the existence of mutant and variant CgammaP3A4 alleles in humans, all 13 exons and the 5'-flanking region of the human CgammaP3A4 gene in three racial groups were sequenced and four alleles were identified. An A-->G point mutation in the 5'-flanking region of the human CgammaP3A4 gene, designated CgammaP3A4*1B, was found in the three different racial groups. The frequency of this allele in a white population was 4.2%, whereas it was 66.7% in black subjects. The CgammaP3A4*1B allele was not found in Chinese subjects. A second variant allele, designated CgammaP3A4*2, having a Ser222Pro change, was found at a frequency of 2.7% in the white population and was absent in the black subjects and Chinese subjects analyzed. Baculovirus-directed cDNA expression revealed that the CYP3A4*2 P450 had a lower intrinsic clearance for the CYP3A4 substrate nifedipine compared with the wild-type enzyme but was not significantly different from the wild-type enzyme for testosterone 6beta-hydroxylation. Another rare allele, designated CgammaP3A4*3, was found in a single Chinese subject who had a Met445Thr change in the conserved heme-binding region of the P450. These are the first examples of potential function polymorphisms resulting from missense mutations in

  16. Protective effect of WR-2823 in irradiated mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milovanovicj, A.; Tanasijevicj, D.; Cvetkovicj, M.; Cjosicj, M.; Chizmicj, Z.

    1987-01-01

    A chemical compound named WR-2823 has been synthetised. The acute toxicity after IP application has been investigated and LD 50 estimated. The protective ability of the radioprotector has been investigated in mice with gamma rays of 60 Co, or at the origin of 252 Cf. High protective potency in mice, treated with lethal doses of gamma rays and neutrons have been estimated. (author) 8 refs.; 1 tab

  17. A NEAR-INFRARED SURVEY OF THE INNER GALACTIC PLANE FOR WOLF-RAYET STARS. I. METHODS AND FIRST RESULTS: 41 NEW WR STARS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shara, Michael M.; Gerke, Jill; Zurek, David; Moffat, Anthony F. J.; Doyon, Rene; Villar-Sbaffi, Alfredo; Stanonik, Kathryn; Artigau, Etienne; Drissen, Laurent

    2009-01-01

    The discovery of new Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in our Galaxy via large-scale narrowband optical surveys has been severely limited by dust extinction. Recent improvements in infrared technology have made narrowband-broadband imaging surveys viable again. We report a new J, K, and narrowband imaging survey of 300 deg 2 of the plane of the Galaxy, spanning 150 degrees in Galactic longitude and reaching 1 degree above and below the Galactic plane. The survey has a useful limiting magnitude of K = 15 over most of the observed Galactic plane, and K = 14 within a few degrees of the Galactic center. Thousands of emission line candidates have been detected. In spectrographic follow-ups of 173 WR star candidates we have discovered 41 new WR stars, 15 of type WN and 26 of type WC. Star subtype assignments have been confirmed with K-band spectra, and distances approximated using the method of spectroscopic parallax. A few of the new WR stars are among the most distant known in our Galaxy. The distribution of these new WR stars is seen to follow that of previously known WR stars along the spiral arms of the Galaxy. Tentative radial velocities were also measured for most of the new WR stars.

  18. Two mutant alleles of the human cytochrome P-450dbl gene (P450C2D1) associated with genetically deficient metabolism of debrisoquine and other drugs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skoda, R.C.; Gonzalez, F.L.; Demierre, A.; Meyer, R.A.

    1988-01-01

    The debrisoquine polymorphism is a clinically important genetic defect of drug metabolism affecting 5-10% of individuals in Caucasian populations. It is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. A full-length cDNA for human cytochrome P-450db1, the deficient enzyme (also designated P450IID1 for P450 family II subfamily D isozyme 1), has recently been cloned. Leukocyte DNA from extensive metabolizers (EMs) or poor metabolizers (PMs) of debrisoquine was examined by Southern analysis. Two polymorphic restriction fragments were associated with the PM phenotype when DNAs from 24 unrelated PM and 29 unrelated EM individuals were probed with P-450db1 cDNA after digestion with Xba I restriction endonuclease and Southern blotting. Seventy-five percent of PMs had either the 44-kb or the 11.5-kb fragment or both. Segregation of these restriction fragment length polymorphisms in the families of six PM probands demonstrated that each of the two fragments is allelic with the 29-kb fragment present in all EM individuals and suggests that they identify two independent mutated alleles of the P-450db1 gene (designated P450C2D1). The Xba I 44-kb fragment and 11.5-kb fragment were in linkage disequilibrium with restriction fragment length polymorphisms generated by four and five additional restriction endonucleases, respectively, which can be used to identify the same mutant alleles for the P-450db1 gene

  19. Allelic imbalance and cytogenetic deletion of 1p in colorectal adenomas: a target region identified between DIS199 and DIS234

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bomme, L; Heim, S; Bardi, G

    1998-01-01

    short-term cultured and karyotyped colorectal adenomas for allelic imbalance at eight microsatellite loci in 1p. Allelic imbalances were detected in seven of the 12 adenomas that had cytogenetically visible abnormalities of chromosome 1, as well as in four adenomas that either had a normal karyotype...... region. This genomic area contains the human homologue of the tumor modifier gene Mom1 (1p35-36.1), which, in mice, modifies the number of intestinal tumors in multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min)-mutated animals. To evaluate whether the imbalances corresponded to interstitial deletions of 1p material, we...

  20. Lost P1 allele in sh2 sweet corn: quantitative effects of p1 and a1 genes on concentrations of maysin, apimaysin, methoxymaysin, and chlorogenic acid in maize silk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, B Z; Zhang, Z J; Butrón, A; Widstrom, N W; Snook, M E; Lynch, R E; Plaisted, D

    2004-12-01

    In the United States, insecticide is used extensively in the production of sweet corn due to consumer demand for zero damage to ears and to a sweet corn genetic base with little or no resistance to ear-feeding insects. Growers in the southern United States depend on scheduled pesticide applications to control ear-feeding insects. In a study of quantitative genetic control over silk maysin, AM-maysin (apimaysin and methoxymaysin), and chlorogenic acid contents in an F2 population derived from GE37 (dent corn, P1A1) and 565 (sh2 sweet corn, p1a1), we demonstrate that the P1 allele from field corn, which was selected against in the development of sweet corn, has a strong epistatic interaction with the a1 allele in sh2 sweet corn. We detected that the p1 gene has significant effects (P silk maysin concentrations but also on AM-maysin, and chlorogenic acid concentrations. The a1 gene also has significant (P silk antibiotic chemicals. Successful selection from the fourth and fifth selfed backcrosses for high-maysin individuals of sweet corn homozygous for the recessive a1 allele (tightly linked to sh2) and the dominant P1 allele has been demonstrated. These selected lines have much higher (2 to 3 times) concentrations of silk maysin and other chemicals (AM-maysin and chlorogenic acid) than the donor parent GE37 and could enhance sweet corn resistance to corn earworm and reduce the number of applications of insecticide required to produce sweet corn.

  1. Reduced Height (Rht Alleles Affect Wheat Grain Quality.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard Casebow

    Full Text Available The effects of dwarfing alleles (reduced height, Rht in near isogenic lines on wheat grain quality are characterised in field experiments and related to effects on crop height, grain yield and GA-sensitivity. Alleles included those that conferred GA-insensitivity (Rht-B1b, Rht-B1c, Rht-D1b, Rht-D1c as well as those that retained GA-sensitivity (rht(tall, Rht8, Rht8 + Ppd-D1a, Rht12. Full characterisation was facilitated by including factors with which the effects of Rht alleles are known to interact for grain yield (i.e. system, [conventional or organic]; tillage intensity [plough-based, minimum or zero]; nitrogen fertilizer level [0-450 kg N/ha]; and genetic backgrounds varying in height [cvs Maris Huntsman, Maris Widgeon, and Mercia]. Allele effects on mean grain weight and grain specific weight were positively associated with final crop height: dwarfing reduced these quality criteria irrespective of crop management or GA-sensitivity. In all but two experiments the effects of dwarfing alleles on grain nitrogen and sulphur concentrations were closely and negatively related to effects on grain yield, e.g. a quadratic relationship between grain yield and crop height manipulated by the GA-insensitive alleles was mirrored by quadratic relationships for nitrogen and sulphur concentrations: the highest yields and most dilute concentrations occurred around 80cm. In one of the two exceptional experiments the GA-insensitive Rht-B1b and Rht-B1c significantly (P<0.05 reduced grain nitrogen concentration in the absence of an effect on yield, and in the remaining experiment the GA-sensitive Rht8 significantly reduced both grain yield and grain nitrogen concentration simultaneously. When Rht alleles diluted grain nitrogen concentration, N:S ratios and SDS-sedimentation volumes were often improved. Hagberg falling number (HFN was negatively related to crop height but benefits from dwarfing were only seen for GA-insensitive alleles. For HFN, therefore, there

  2. Study of Cytochrome P450 2E1 and its allele Variants in Liver Injury of Nondiabetic, Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Obese Women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NELSON M VARELA

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available CYP2E1 enzyme is related to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH due to its ability for reactive oxygen species production, which can be influenced by polymorphisms in the gene. The aim of this study was to investigate hepatic levels, activity, and polymorphisms of the CYP2E1 gene to correlate it with clinical and histological features in 48 female obese NASH patients. Subjects were divided into three groups: (i normal; (ii steatosis; and (iii steatohepatitis. CYP2E1 protein level was assayed in microsomes from liver biopsies, and in vivo chlorzoxazone hydroxylation was determined by HPLC. Genomic DNA was isolated for genotype analysis through PCR. The results showed that liver CYP2E1 content was significantly higher in the steatohepatitis (45%; p=0.024 and steatosis (22%; p=0.032 group compared with normal group. Chlorzoxazone hydroxylase activity showed significant enhancement in the steatohepatitis group (15%, p=0.027 compared with the normal group. c2 rare allele of RsallPstl polymorphisms but no C allele of Dral polymorphism was positively associated with CHZ hydroxylation, which in turn is correlated with liver CYP2E1 content (r=0.59; p=0.026. In conclusion, c2 allele is positively associated with liver injury in NASH. This allele may determine a higher transcriptional activity of the gene, with consequent enhancement in pro-oxidant activity of CYP2E1 thus affording liver toxicity

  3. Effects of area postrema lesions on taste aversions produced by treatment with WR-2721 in the rat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rabin, B.M.; Hunt, W.A.; Lee, J.

    1986-01-01

    The conditioned taste aversion procedure was used to further assess some behavioral effects of treatment with the putative radioprotectant WR-2721 and the role of the area postrema in mediating the behavioral effects of treatment. Treatment with 40, 150 or 300 mg/kg WR-2721 produced dose-dependent changes in sucrose intake in both control rats and rats with area postrema lesions. The effectiveness of the lesion in disrupting the acquisition of an aversion varied as a function of the dose administered, with the lesions producing the greatest disruption of aversion learning at the lowest dose and little disruption at the highest dose tested. At all dose levels, sucrose intake was greater for the rats with area postrema lesions than for the sham-operated control rats. Treatment with WR-2721 also produced significant decreases in total fluid intake, particularly at the higher dose levels. The results are discussed as indicating that treatment with WR-2721 produces highly toxic effects on behavior and that the use of the compound as a radioprotectant for radiotherapy requires additional assessment of its effects on brain function and behavior

  4. Protective effect of S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR-2721) on irradiation-induced inhibition of intestinal transport function

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, T.S.; Ando, M.

    1983-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effect of S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR-2721) on whole-body irradiation-induced inhibition of intestinal transport function. The jejunal transport of fluid and sugars was studied in male Swiss-Webster mice before and 3 days after whole-body irradiation (1000 rads). The rates of glucose and water transport were decreased by 86 and 70%, respectively, in irradiated animals. However, the rate of transport of 3-O-methyl-D-glucose (3MG) was not affected. In mice receiving WR-2721 (500 mg/kg, ip) 15 to 30 min prior to whole-body irradiation, net water flux was unaffected and the rate of D-glucose transport was decreased only 8%. WR-2721 administered alone (500 mg/kg, ip) had no effect on either D-glucose transport or net water flux across the jejunal mucosa. The results suggest that WR-2721 protects against irradiation-induced inhibition of some intestinal transport functions

  5. Cisplatin neuropathy. Risk factors, prognosis, and protection by WR-2721

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mollman, J.E.; Glover, D.J.; Hogan, W.M.; Furman, R.E.

    1988-01-01

    A prospective study of patients receiving cis-diaminedichloroplatin II (DDP) was carried out to determine if risk factors could be identified related to the patient's living habits or past medical history that would predict in which patients DDP neuropathy might develop. Sixty-nine patients receiving six different combinations of chemotherapeutic agents, including DDP were examined. Twenty-eight of these patients received DDP in combination with the radioprotective agent S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)-ethylphosporothioic acid (WR 2721). No risk factors were identified relating to personal habits or past medical history of the patients. However, patients receiving DDP (40 mg/m2) on 5 consecutive days had a significantly higher incidence of neuropathy. Patients receiving DDP in combination with WR 2721 had a significantly lower incidence of neuropathy, and the mean dose at onset was significantly higher than the mean dose at onset of neuropathy for all other groups. In addition, five of six patients who were available for long-term follow-up demonstrated nearly complete reversal of the signs and symptoms of neuropathy

  6. Effects of WR1065 on 6-hydroxydopamine-induced motor imbalance: Possible involvement of oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kheradmand, Afshin; Nayebi, Alireza M; Jorjani, Masoumeh; Khalifeh, Solmaz; Haddadi, Rasool

    2016-08-03

    Over production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is postulated to be the main contributor in degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. In this study we investigated the effects of WR1065, a free radical scavenger, on motor imbalance, oxidative stress parameters and inflammatory cytokines in CSF and brain of hemi-parkinsonian rats. Lesion of dopaminergic neurons was done by unilateral infusion of 6-hydroxydopamine into the central region of the substentia nigra pars compacta (SNc) to induce hemi-parkinsonism and motor imbalance in rats. WR1065 (20, 40 and 80μg/2μl/rat) was administered three days before 6-OHDA administration. After three weeks behavioral study was performed and then brain and CSF samples were collected to assess tumor necrosis factor (TNFα), interlukin (IL-1β), reduced glutathione (GSH), and malondialdehyde (MDA). WR1065 pre-treatment in rats before receiving 6-OHDA, improved significantly motor impairment and caused reduction of MDA and inflammatory cytokines TNFα and IL-1β levels, while GSH level significantly increased when compared with lesioned rats. Our study indicated that WR1065 could improve 6-OHDA-induced motor imbalance. Furthermore, it decreased lipid peroxidation and inflammatory cytokines and restored the level of GSH up to normal range. We suggest that WR1065 can be proposed as a potential neuroprotective agent in motor impairments of PD. However to prove this hypothesis more clinical trial studies should be done. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. A NEAR-INFRARED SURVEY OF THE INNER GALACTIC PLANE FOR WOLF-RAYET STARS. II. GOING FAINTER: 71 MORE NEW W-R STARS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shara, Michael M.; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Zurek, David [American Museum of Natural History, 79th Street and Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5192 (United States); Moffat, Anthony F. J.; Doyon, Rene [Departement de Physique, Universite de Montreal, CP 6128, Succ. C-V, Montreal, QC, H3C 3J7 (Canada); Gerke, Jill [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210-1173 (United States); Artigau, Etienne; Drissen, Laurent, E-mail: mshara@amnh.org, E-mail: jfaherty@amnh.org, E-mail: dzurek@amnh.org, E-mail: moffat@astro.umontreal.ca, E-mail: doyon@astro.umontreal.ca, E-mail: gerke@astronomy.ohio-state.edu, E-mail: artigau@astro.umontreal.ca, E-mail: ldrissen@phy.ulaval.ca [Departement de Physique, Universite Laval, Pavillon Vachon, Quebec City, QC, G1K 7P4 (Canada)

    2012-06-15

    We are continuing a J, K and narrowband imaging survey of 300 deg{sup 2} of the plane of the Galaxy, searching for new Wolf-Rayet (W-R) stars. Our survey spans 150 Degree-Sign in Galactic longitude and reaches 1 Degree-Sign above and below the Galactic plane. The survey has a useful limiting magnitude of K = 15 over most of the observed Galactic plane, and K = 14 (due to severe crowding) within a few degrees of the Galactic center. Thousands of emission-line candidates have been detected. In spectrographic follow-ups of 146 relatively bright W-R star candidates, we have re-examined 11 previously known WC and WN stars and discovered 71 new W-R stars, 17 of type WN and 54 of type WC. Our latest image analysis pipeline now picks out W-R stars with a 57% success rate. Star subtype assignments have been confirmed with the K-band spectra and distances approximated using the method of spectroscopic parallax. Some of the new W-R stars are among the most distant known in our Galaxy. The distribution of these new W-R stars is beginning to trace the locations of massive stars along the distant spiral arms of the Milky Way.

  8. A NEAR-INFRARED SURVEY OF THE INNER GALACTIC PLANE FOR WOLF-RAYET STARS. II. GOING FAINTER: 71 MORE NEW W-R STARS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shara, Michael M.; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Zurek, David; Moffat, Anthony F. J.; Doyon, René; Gerke, Jill; Artigau, Etienne; Drissen, Laurent

    2012-01-01

    We are continuing a J, K and narrowband imaging survey of 300 deg 2 of the plane of the Galaxy, searching for new Wolf-Rayet (W-R) stars. Our survey spans 150° in Galactic longitude and reaches 1° above and below the Galactic plane. The survey has a useful limiting magnitude of K = 15 over most of the observed Galactic plane, and K = 14 (due to severe crowding) within a few degrees of the Galactic center. Thousands of emission-line candidates have been detected. In spectrographic follow-ups of 146 relatively bright W-R star candidates, we have re-examined 11 previously known WC and WN stars and discovered 71 new W-R stars, 17 of type WN and 54 of type WC. Our latest image analysis pipeline now picks out W-R stars with a 57% success rate. Star subtype assignments have been confirmed with the K-band spectra and distances approximated using the method of spectroscopic parallax. Some of the new W-R stars are among the most distant known in our Galaxy. The distribution of these new W-R stars is beginning to trace the locations of massive stars along the distant spiral arms of the Milky Way.

  9. Radioprotection of mouse skin by WR-2721: the critical influence of oxygen tension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denekamp, J.; Michael, B.D.; Rojas, A.; Stewart, F.A.

    1982-01-01

    The epidermal clone assay has been used to study the radioprotective effect of WR-2721 on mouse skin under different conditions of oxygenation and under anoxia. The skin has shown a progressive decrease in sensitivity as the inspired gas has changed from 100% oxygen towards 0% oxygen. Compared with mice breathning 100% oxygen, those breathing air are partially protected. The inspired oxygen concentration to give half the full oxygen effect is 10-12%. The radioprotecton observed with 400 mg/kg WR-2721 is markedly dependent on the ambient oxygen concentration. The protection factor is 1.1 or less in mice breathing 5%, 1% or 0% oxygen. Protection is maximal (1.95) in air and in 50% oxygen and diminishes to 1.6 at higher oxygen tensions

  10. PROBING WOLF–RAYET WINDS: CHANDRA/HETG X-RAY SPECTRA OF WR 6

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huenemoerder, David P.; Schulz, N. S. [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, 70 Vassar St., Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Gayley, K. G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242 (United States); Hamann, W.-R.; Oskinova, L.; Shenar, T. [Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24/25, D-14476 Potsdam (Germany); Ignace, R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614 (United States); Nichols, J. S. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., MS 34, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Pollock, A. M. T., E-mail: dph@space.mit.edu, E-mail: ken.gayley@gmail.com, E-mail: wrh@astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de, E-mail: lida@astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de, E-mail: shtomer@astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de, E-mail: ignace@mail.etsu.edu, E-mail: jnichols@cfa.harvard.edu [European Space Agency, ESAC, Apartado 78, E-28691 Villanueva de la Cañada (Spain)

    2015-12-10

    With a deep Chandra/HETGS exposure of WR 6, we have resolved emission lines whose profiles show that the X-rays originate from a uniformly expanding spherical wind of high X-ray-continuum optical depth. The presence of strong helium-like forbidden lines places the source of X-ray emission at tens to hundreds of stellar radii from the photosphere. Variability was present in X-rays and simultaneous optical photometry, but neither were correlated with the known period of the system or with each other. An enhanced abundance of sodium revealed nuclear-processed material, a quantity related to the evolutionary state of the star. The characterization of the extent and nature of the hot plasma in WR 6 will help to pave the way to a more fundamental theoretical understanding of the winds and evolution of massive stars.

  11. LM1-64: a Newly Reported Lmc-Pn with WR Nucleus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pena, M.; Olguin, L.; Ruiz, M. T.; Torres-Peimbert, S.

    1993-05-01

    The object LM1-64 was reported by Lindsay & Mullan (1963, Irish Astron. J., 5, 51) as a probable PN in the LMC. Optical and UV spectra taken by us confirm that suggestion. LM1-64 is a high excitation planetary nebulae which shows evidence of having a WC central star. Broad stellar emission at lambda 4650 is detected in the optical spectrum obtained with the CTIO 4m telescope, in 1989. A UV spectrum in the range from 1200 Angstroms to 2000 Angstroms was obtained with IUE in 1990. We have measured all the emission line fluxes available and determined values for the physical conditions and chemical abundances of the nebular ionized gas. The derived values are T(OIII) = 14000K, log He/H = 11.05, log C/H = 9.48, log O/H = 8.55 and log Ne/H = 7.94. LM1-64 shows a large C enhancement in the envelope as result of the central star activity, while He, O and Ne are comparable to the average values reported for the LMC-PNe (Monk, Barlow & Clegg, 1988, MNRAS, 234, 583). We have estimated the He II Zanstra temperature of the central star to be ~ 80,000 K. This temperature is much higher than the values reported for the known LMC-PNe with WR nucleus that Monk et al. have classified as W4 to W8. The only other high temperature WR nucleus in a LMC-PN is N66 which recently showed evidence of undergoing a WR episode (Torres-Peimbert, Ruiz, Peimbert & Pe\\ na, 1993, IAU Symp. 155, eds. A. Acker & R. Weinberger, in press).

  12. Common breast cancer risk alleles and risk assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Näslund-Koch, C; Nordestgaard, B G; Bojesen, S E

    2017-01-01

    general population were followed in Danish health registries for up to 21 years after blood sampling. After genotyping 72 breast cancer risk loci, each with 0-2 alleles, the sum for each individual was calculated. We used the simple allele sum instead of the conventional polygenic risk score......, as it is likely more sensitive in detecting associations with risks of other endpoints than breast cancer. RESULTS: Breast cancer incidence in the 19,010 women was increased across allele sum quintiles (log-rank trend test; p=1*10(-12)), but not incidence of other cancers (p=0.41). Age- and study-adjusted hazard...... ratio for the 5(th) vs. 1(st) allele sum quintile was 1.82(95% confidence interval;1.53-2.18). Corresponding hazard ratios per allele were 1.04(1.03-1.05) and 1.05(1.02-1.08) for breast cancer incidence and mortality, similar across risk factors. In 50-year old women, the starting age for screening...

  13. [Sensitivity of BALB/c and WR strain mice to the immunodepressive action of cyclophosphamide and thiophosphamide].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ir, K N; Telegin, L Iu; Pevnitskiĭ, L A; Malashenko, A M

    1984-05-01

    Experiments were made on BALB/cJ YSto and WR/Y mice to study the immunosuppressant action of cyclophosphamide (CP) and thiophosphamide (thiotepa) in vivo. WR mice were found to be significantly more sensitive to the immunosuppressant action of thiotepa than BALB/c mice and to have similar sensitivity to the action of CP. BALB/c mice appeared highly resistant to the action of both the drugs. Based on the data obtained and those reported in the literature a possible parallelism is suggested between the mutagenic and immunosuppressant action of CP and thiotepa.

  14. Dose and time relationships of the radioprotector WR-2721 on locomotor activity in mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Landauer, M.R.; Davis, H.D.; Dominitz, J.A.; Weiss, J.F.

    1987-01-01

    The effects of the radioprotector S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR-2721) on locomotor activity were evaluated in CD2F1 male mice. Separate groups of animals (N = 10/group) received an IP injection of vehicle, 25, 50, 100, 200, or 400 mg/kg of WR-2721 immediately before testing. Horizontal and vertical activity were measured using a Digiscan automated animal activity monitor. The latency to onset and duration of action of each dose of the radioprotector were recorded. For both behavioral measures, a significant reduction was observed in activity at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg. A dose of 200 mg/kg had a 12- to 14-min latency to onset and significantly reduced behavioral activity for 3 hr. Mice injected with 400 mg/kg exhibited locomotor deficits within 8-10 min and were affected for up to 9 hr. The ED50 for horizontal and vertical activities at 1 hr postinjection were determined to be 271 and 105 mg/kg, respectively. The results demonstrate that significant reductions in locomotor activity are exhibited at doses of 200 mg/kg or more and that vertical activity was more sensitive to the disruptive effects of WR-2721 than was horizontal activity

  15. Detached dust shell around Wolf-Rayet star WR60-6 in the young stellar cluster VVV CL036

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borissova, J.; Amigo, P.; Kurtev, R. [Departamento de Física y Astronomía, Universidad de Valparaíso, Av. Gran Bretaña 1111, Playa Ancha, Casilla 5030 (Chile); Kumar, M. S. N. [Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto (Portugal); Chené, A.-N. [Gemini Observatory, Northern Operations Center, 670 North A' ohoku Place Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Minniti, D., E-mail: jura.borissova@uv.cl [Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Facultad de Física, Departamento de Astronomía y Astrofísica, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, 782-0436 Macul, Santiago (Chile)

    2014-01-01

    The discovery of a detached dust shell around the Wolf-Rayet (WR) star WR60-6 in the young stellar cluster VVV CL036 is reported. This shell is uncovered through the Spitzer-MIPS 24 μm image, where it appears brightest, and it is invisible at shorter wavelengths. Using new APEX observations and other data available from the literature, we have estimated some of the shell parameters: the inner and outer radii of 0.15 and 0.90 pc, respectively; the overall systemic velocity of the molecular {sup 12}CO(3 → 2) emission of –45.7 ± 2.3 km s{sup –1}; an expansion velocity of the gas of 16.3 ± 1 km s{sup –1}; the dust temperature and opacity of 122 ± 12 K and 1.04, respectively; and an age of 2.8 × 10{sup 4} yr. The WR star displays some cyclic variability. The mass computed for the WR60-6 nebula indicates that the material was probably ejected during its previous stages of evolution. In addition, we have identified a bright spot very close to the shell, which can be associated with the Midcourse Space Experiment source G312.13+00.20.

  16. [Clinical case of the month. Mild hemolytic disease of the newborn due to an anti-Wr(a) antibody].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keutgens, A; Monfort, M; Wagemans, D; Van Cauwenberge, J-R; Gérard, C

    2012-01-01

    A Caucasian woman, with a A+ CCD.ee K neg erythrocyte phenotype and no history of blood transfusion, delivered a first child who developed mild anemia. The direct antiglobulin test performed on the newborn red blood cells belonging to the A+ CCD.ee K neg group, was strongly positive for IgG. During the pregnancy and after the delivery, the woman had a negative irregular antibody screening test, using standard red blood cells. However, at birth, using a collection of thawed red blood cells with rare phenotypes (private antigens), the lab showed an antibody anti-Wr(a) in the maternal serum. The activity of the maternal antibody, with a titer of 16, was completely inhibited by dithiothreitol, indicating the nature IgM of the circulating antibody. The presence of the antigen Wr(a) on the surface of the newborn and its biological father red blood cells was confirmed. The concentration of IgG anti-Wr(a) on baby erythrocytes was demonstrated by the presence of the antibody anti-Wr(a) in the eluate. This case illustrates the difficulties to detect antibodies against private antigens on baby erythrocytes, responsible of hemolytic diseases of newborn. Indeed, standard red blood cell panels used for irregular antibodies screening test do not express generally those private antigens.

  17. Investigating the relationship between FMR1 allele length and cognitive ability in children: a subtle effect of the normal allele range on the normal ability range?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loat, C S; Craig, G; Plomin, R; Craig, I W

    2006-09-01

    The FMR1 gene contains a trinucleotide repeat tract which can expand from a normal size of around 30 repeats to over 200 repeats, causing mental retardation (Fragile X Syndrome). Evidence suggests that premutation males (55-200 repeats) are susceptible to a late-onset tremor/ataxia syndrome and females to premature ovarian failure, and that intermediate alleles ( approximately 41-55 repeats) and premutations may be in excess in samples with special educational needs. We explored the relationship between FMR1 allele length and cognitive ability in 621 low ability and control children assessed at 4 and 7 years, as well as 122 students with high IQ. The low and high ability and control samples showed no between-group differences in incidence of longer alleles. In males there was a significant negative correlation between allele length and non-verbal ability at 4 years (p = 0.048), academic achievement in maths (p = 0.003) and English (p = 0.011) at 7 years, and IQ in the high ability group (p = 0.018). There was a significant negative correlation between allele length and a standardised score for IQ and general cognitive ability at age 7 in the entire male sample (p = 0.002). This suggests that, within the normal spectrum of allele length, increased repeat numbers may have a limiting influence on cognitive performance.

  18. Survival of bone marrow-engrafted mice subsequent to protection from lethal radiation by WR 2721

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kinnamon, K.E.; Ketterling, L.L.; Ledney, G.D.; Lorenz, G.B.; Mioduszewski, R.J.; Stampfli, H.F.

    1980-01-01

    For the first time data are presented for animals treated with bone marrow cells after lethal radiation exposure while protected with WR 2721 (the single radioprotective chemical compound with the highest known dose reduction factor). The LD 50 30 (lethal dose to 50% in 30 days) for mice exposed to whole-body 60 Co radiation was elevated from 824 +- 8 rad in unprotected and untreated mice to (a) 1181 +- 33 rad in animals which received syngeneic bone marrow cells after exposure; (b) 1342 +- 27 rad in animals which received WR 2721 before radiation exposure; and (c) 1608 +- 33 rad in animals receiving both the radioprotective agent before exposure and bone marrow engraftment after exposure

  19. Worldwide Distribution of Cytochrome P450 Alleles: A Meta-analysis of Population-scale Sequencing Projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Y; Ingelman-Sundberg, M; Lauschke, V M

    2017-10-01

    Genetic polymorphisms in cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes can result in altered metabolic activity toward a plethora of clinically important medications. Thus, single nucleotide variants and copy number variations in CYP genes are major determinants of drug pharmacokinetics and toxicity and constitute pharmacogenetic biomarkers for drug dosing, efficacy, and safety. Strikingly, the distribution of CYP alleles differs considerably between populations with important implications for personalized drug therapy and healthcare programs. To provide a global distribution map of CYP alleles with clinical importance, we integrated whole-genome and exome sequencing data from 56,945 unrelated individuals of five major human populations. By combining this dataset with population-specific linkage information, we derive the frequencies of 176 CYP haplotypes, providing an extensive resource for major genetic determinants of drug metabolism. Furthermore, we aggregated this dataset into spectra of predicted functional variability in the respective populations and discuss the implications for population-adjusted pharmacological treatment strategies. © 2017 The Authors Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

  20. Inhibition of topoisomerase II activity in repair-proficient CHO K1 cells by 2-[(aminopropyl)amino]ethanethiol (WR-1065)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grdina, D.J.; Constantinou, A.; Shigematsu, N.

    1992-09-01

    The aminothiol 2-[(aminopropyl)amino]ethanethiol (WR-1065) is the active thiol of the clinically studied radioprotective agent S-2-(3-aminopropylamino) ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR-2721). WR-1065 is an effective radiation protector under in vitro conditions when it is administered 30 min prior to radiation exposure at a concentration of 4 mM to repair-proficient Chinese hamster ovary Kl cells (i.e., a dose modification factor of 1.4). In contrast, the DNA double-strand break, repair-deficient Chinese hamster ovary xrs-5 cell line is not protected under these conditions (i.e., a dose modification factor of 1.0). Topoisomerase (topo) I and II activities and protein contents were measured in both Kl and xrs-5 cell lines and were found to be similar in magnitude. Neither exposure to radiation, to WR-1065, or to both affected these variables in xrs-5 cells. WR 1065 was effective, however, in reducing topo 11 activity by a factor of 2 in the repair-proficient Kl cell line. Topo II protein content, however, was not affected by these exposure conditions. One of several mechanisms of radiation protection attributed to aminothiol compounds has been their ability to affect enzymatic reactions involved in DNA synthesis, repair, and cell cycle progression. These results demonstrate a modifying effect by 2-[(aminopropyl)amino]ethanethiol on a specific nuclear enzyme (i.e., type H topoisomerase), which is involved in DNA synthesis. These results also suggest that differences do exist between the topo 11 enzymes isolated from the parent repair-proficient Kl and the DNA double-strand break, repair-deficient xrs-5 mutant cell lines

  1. Inhibition of topoisomerase II activity in repair-proficient CHO K1 cells by 2-[(aminopropyl)amino]ethanethiol (WR-1065)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grdina, D.J.; Constantinou, A.; Shigematsu, N.

    1992-09-01

    The aminothiol 2-[(aminopropyl)amino]ethanethiol (WR-1065) is the active thiol of the clinically studied radioprotective agent S-2-(3-aminopropylamino) ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR-2721). WR-1065 is an effective radiation protector under in vitro conditions when it is administered 30 min prior to radiation exposure at a concentration of 4 mM to repair-proficient Chinese hamster ovary Kl cells (i.e., a dose modification factor of 1.4). In contrast, the DNA double-strand break, repair-deficient Chinese hamster ovary xrs-5 cell line is not protected under these conditions (i.e., a dose modification factor of 1.0). Topoisomerase (topo) I and II activities and protein contents were measured in both Kl and xrs-5 cell lines and were found to be similar in magnitude. Neither exposure to radiation, to WR-1065, or to both affected these variables in xrs-5 cells. WR 1065 was effective, however, in reducing topo 11 activity by a factor of 2 in the repair-proficient Kl cell line. Topo II protein content, however, was not affected by these exposure conditions. One of several mechanisms of radiation protection attributed to aminothiol compounds has been their ability to affect enzymatic reactions involved in DNA synthesis, repair, and cell cycle progression. These results demonstrate a modifying effect by 2-[(aminopropyl)amino]ethanethiol on a specific nuclear enzyme (i.e., type H topoisomerase), which is involved in DNA synthesis. These results also suggest that differences do exist between the topo 11 enzymes isolated from the parent repair-proficient Kl and the DNA double-strand break, repair-deficient xrs-5 mutant cell lines.

  2. 76 FR 10899 - Decision To Evaluate a Petition To Designate a Class of Employees From the W.R. Grace and Company...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-28

    ... Employees From the W.R. Grace and Company in Curtis, MD, To Be Included in the Special Exposure Cohort... evaluate a petition to designate a class of employees from the W.R. Grace and Company in Curtis, Maryland... Compensation Program Act of 2000. The initial proposed definition for the class being evaluated, subject to...

  3. 2-[(aminopropyl)amino]ethanethiol (WR1065) is anti-neoplastic and anti-mutagenic when given during 60Coγ-ray irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hill, C.K.; Nagy, B.; Peraino, C.; Grdina, D.

    1986-01-01

    The effect of 2[(aminopropyl)amino]ethanethiol (WR1065) has been studied on the induction of neoplastic transformation using 10T1/2 cells and on mutation of the hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HGPRT) locus using Chinese hamster V79 cells. The first observations that treatment of 10T1/2 cells with 1 mM WR1065 for a total of 35 min during irradiation with 60 C γ-rays significantly reduces the incidence of neoplastic transformation while having no effect on cell viability are reported. In a similar experiment with V79 cells in which 4mM WR1065 was used, a significant reduction in mutation frequency at the HGPRT locus and significant protection against cell killing was found. These results suggest that WR1965 acts to modulate both acute damage and sub-lethal processes that lead to mutation and neoplastic transformation. Beyond the purely mechanistic approach of these studies, the potential application of these agents to minimizing the long-term neoplastic effects of radiation or chemotherapeutic agents currently in use for treating potentially curable cancer patients should be further investigated. (author)

  4. Protection against radiation-induced mutations at the hprt locus by spermine and N,N double-prime-(dithiodi-2,1-ethanediyl)bis-1,3-propanediamine (WR-33278)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grdina, D.J.; Schwartz, J.L.; Shigematsu, N.

    1993-06-01

    The polyamine spermine and the disulfide NN double-prime-(dithiodi-2,1-ethanediyl)bis-1,3-propanediamine (WR-33278) are structurally similar agents capable of binding to DNA. WR-33278 is the disulfide moiety of the clinically studied radioprotective agent (WR-2721). Because of their structural similarities, it was of interest to characterize and compare their radioprotective properties using the endpoints of cell survival and mutation induction at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (hprt) locus in Chinese hamster AA8 cells. In order to facilitate both the uptake of VM-33278 into cells and the direct comparison between the protective properties of WR-33278 and spermine, these agents were electroporated into cells. Electroporation alone reduced cell survival to 75% but had no effect on hprt mutation frequency. The electroporation of either spermine or WR-33278 at concentrations greater than 0.01 mM was extremely toxic. The exposure of cells to both electroporation and irradiation gave rise to enhanced cell killing and mutation induction. Cell survival values at a radiation dose of 750 cGy were enhanced by factors of 1.3 and 1.8 following electroporation of 0.01 mM of spermine and WR-33278, respectively, 30 min prior to irradiation. Neither agent was protective at a concentration of 0.001 mM. Protection against radiation-induced hprt mutations was observed for both spermine and WR-33278 under all experimental conditions tested

  5. Hypolipidemic activity of Phellinus rimosus against triton WR-1339 and high cholesterol diet induced hyperlipidemic rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rony, K A; Ajith, T A; Nima, N; Janardhanan, K K

    2014-03-01

    Patients with the risk for atherosclerotic disease will be targeted to reduce the existing hyperlipidemia. The hypolipidemic activity of Phellinus rimosus was studied using triton WR-1339 and high cholesterol diet (HCD) induced models. The triton induced elevated lipid profile was attenuated by P. rimosus or standard drug atorvastatin. Similarly, administration of P. rimosus along with HCD significantly decline serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, with elevating the high-density lipoprotein. Thiobarbituric acid reacting substances in heart and liver significantly decreased; where as activity of enzymatic antioxidants and level of reduced glutathione were significantly increased. In both models, P. rimosus extract showed a significant ameliorative effect on the elevated atherogenic index as well as LDL/HDL-C ratio. The hypolipidemic activity of P. rimosus can be ascribed to its inhibitory effect on the liver HMG CoA reductase activity. The results suggest the possible therapeutic potential of this fungus as hypolipidemic agent. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Effect of an aminothiol (WR-1065) on radiation-induced mutagenesis and cytotoxicity in two repair-deficient mammalian cell lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grdina, D.J.; Nagy, B.; Meechan, P.J.

    1991-01-01

    WR-2721 and its free thiol WR-1065 have been found to effectively protect against radiation- and/or chemotherapy-induced mutagenesis, transformation and carcinogenesis. With respect to the antimutagenic effect, WR-1065 significantly reduced the frequency of HGPRT mutants even when it was administered up to three hours following exposure of cells to radiation. The mechanisms of action most often attributed to these agents include their ability to scavenge free radicals, enter into chemical repair processes through the donation of hydrogen atoms, and induce intracellular hypoxia by means of auto-oxidative processes. Although evidence exists for each of these processes, none is sufficiently satisfactory to account for the post-irradiation protection of WR-1065 against mutation induction in mammalian cells. The most elegant work describing the role of aminothiols on cellular enzymatic repair processes has focused on well-characterized repair-proficient and -deficient bacterial and yeast cell systems. Protection against radiation-induced cytotoxicity by the aminothiol cysteamine was absent in E. coli cell lines that were characterized as having genetically defective repair systems. Until recently, such studies could not be effectively performed with mammalian cells. However, with the isolation and characterization of rodent cell lines deficient in their ability to repair DNA damage, it is now possible to investigate the role of cell-mediated repair systems on aminothiol radioprotection. Specifically, the authors have investigated the effects of WR-1065 on radiation-induced mutagenesis and cytotoxicity in cell lines EM9 and xrs-5, which are defective in DNA single-strand break (SSB) and double-strand break (DSB) rejoining, respectively. Corresponding parental repair-proficient cell lines, AA8 and K1, were also studied for comparative purposes. 26 refs., 5 figs., 2 tabs

  7. LEW.1WR1 RATS DEVELOP AUTOIMMUNE DIABETES SPONTANEOUSLY AND IN RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL PERTURBATION

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mordes, John P.; Leif, Jean H.; Woda, Bruce A.; Flanagan, Joan F.; Greiner, Dale L.; Kislauskis, Edward H.; Tirabassi, Rebecca S.

    2005-01-01

    We describe a new rat model of autoimmune diabetes that arose in a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) congenic LEW rat. Spontaneous diabetes in LEW.1WR1 rats (RT1u/u/a) occurs with a cumulative frequency of ∼2% at a median age of 59 days. The disease is characterized by hyperglycemia, glycosuria, ketonuria and polyuria. Both sexes are affected, and islets of acutely diabetic rats are devoid of beta cells whereas alpha and delta cell populations are spared. The peripheral lymphoid phenotype is normal, including the fraction of ART2+ regulatory T cells (Tregs). We tested the hypothesis that the expression of diabetes would be increased by immunological perturbation of innate or adaptive immunity. Treatment of young rats with depleting anti-ART2.1 mAb increased the frequency of diabetes to 50%. Treatment with the toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) ligand polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid increased the frequency of diabetes to 100%. All diabetic rats exhibited end-stage islets. The LEW.1WR1 rat is also susceptible to collagen-induced arthritis but is free of spontaneous thyroiditis. The LEW.1WR1 rat provides a new model for studying autoimmune diabetes and arthritis in an animal with a genetic predisposition to both disorders that can be amplified by environmental perturbation. PMID:16123363

  8. Draft genome sequence of the intestinal parasite Blastocystis subtype 4-isolate WR1

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wawrzyniak, Ivan; Courtine, Damien; Osman, Marwan; Hubans-Pierlot, Christine; Cian, Amandine; Nourrisson, Céline; Chabe, Magali; Poirier, Philippe; Bart, Aldert; Polonais, Valérie; Delgado-Viscogliosi, Pilar; El Alaoui, Hicham; Belkorchia, Abdel; van Gool, Tom; Tan, Kevin S. W.; Ferreira, Stéphanie; Viscogliosi, Eric; Delbac, Frédéric

    2015-01-01

    (ST1-ST17) described to date. Only the whole genome of a human ST7 isolate was previously sequenced. Here we report the draft genome sequence of Blastocystis ST4-WR1 isolated from a laboratory rodent at Singapore. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc

  9. Self-incompatibility of Prunus tenella and evidence that reproductively isolated species of Prunus have different SFB alleles coupled with an identical S-RNase allele.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Surbanovski, Nada; Tobutt, Kenneth R; Konstantinović, Miroslav; Maksimović, Vesna; Sargent, Daniel J; Stevanović, Vladimir; Bosković, Radovan I

    2007-05-01

    Many species of Prunus display an S-RNase-based gametophytic self-incompatibility (SI), controlled by a single highly polymorphic multigene complex termed the S-locus. This comprises tightly linked stylar- and pollen-expressed genes that determine the specificity of the SI response. We investigated SI of Prunus tenella, a wild species found in small, isolated populations on the Balkan peninsula, initially by pollination experiments and identifying stylar-expressed RNase alleles. Nine P. tenella S-RNase alleles (S(1)-S(9)) were cloned; their sequence analysis showed a very high ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous nucleotide substitutions (K(a)/K(s)) and revealed that S-RNase alleles of P. tenella, unlike those of Prunus dulcis, show positive selection in all regions except the conserved regions and that between C2 and RHV. Remarkably, S(8)-RNase, was found to be identical to S(1)-RNase from Prunus avium, a species that does not interbreed with P. tenella and, except for just one amino acid, to S(11) of P. dulcis. However, the corresponding introns and S-RNase-SFB intergenic regions showed considerable differences. Moreover, protein sequences of the pollen-expressed SFB alleles were not identical, harbouring 12 amino-acid replacements between those of P. tenella SFB(8) and P. avium SFB(1). Implications of this finding for hypotheses about the evolution of new S-specificities are discussed.

  10. Efficient generation of long-distance conditional alleles using recombineering and a dual selection strategy in replicate plates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liang Hong-Erh

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Conditional knockout mice are a useful tool to study the function of gene products in a tissue-specific or inducible manner. Classical approaches to generate targeting vectors for conditional alleles are often limited by the availability of suitable restriction sites. Furthermore, plasmid-based targeting vectors can only cover a few kB of DNA which precludes the generation of targeting vectors where the two loxP sites are placed far apart. These limitations have been overcome in the recent past by using homologous recombination of bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs in Escherichia coli to produce large targeting vector containing two different loxP-flanked selection cassettes so that a single targeting event is sufficient to introduce loxP-sites a great distances into the mouse genome. However, the final targeted allele should be free of selection cassettes and screening for correct removal of selection cassettes can be a laborious task. Therefore, we developed a new strategy to rapidly identify ES cells containing the desired allele. Results Using BAC recombineering we generated a single targeting vector which contained two different selection cassettes that were flanked by loxP-loxP sites or by FRT-FRT/loxP sites so that they could be deleted sequentially by Cre- and FLPe-recombinases, respectively. Transfected ES cells were first selected in the presence of both antibiotics in vitro before correctly targeted clones were identified by Southern blot. After transfection of a Cre recombinase expression plasmid ES cell clones were selected on replicate plates to identify those clones which maintained the FRT-FRT/loxP flanked cassette and lost the loxP-loxP flanked cassette. Using this strategy facilitated the identification of ES cell clones containing the desired allele before blastocyst injection. Conclusion The strategy of ES cell cultures in replicate plates proved to be very efficient in identifying ES cells that had

  11. Sensory Gating and Alpha-7 Nicotinic Receptor Gene Allelic Variants in Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Type

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Laura F.; Leonard, Sherry; Hall, Mei-Hua; Tregellas, Jason R.; Freedman, Robert; Olincy, Ann

    2011-01-01

    Objectives Single nucleotide allelic variants in the promoter region of the chromosome 15 alpha-7 acetylcholine nicotinic receptor gene (CHRNA7) are associated with both schizophrenia and the P50 auditory evoked potential sensory gating deficit. The purpose of this study was to determine if CHRNA7 promoter allelic variants are also associated with abnormal P50 ratios in persons with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. Methods P50 auditory evoked potentials were recorded in a paired stimulus paradigm in 17 subjects with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. The P50 test to conditioning ratio was used as the measure of sensory gating. Mutation screening of the CHRNA7 promoter region was performed on the subjects’ DNA samples. Comparisons to previously obtained data from persons with schizophrenia and controls were made. Results Subjects with schizophrenia, regardless of allele status, had an abnormal mean P50 ratio. Subjects with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type and a variant allele had an abnormal mean P50 ratio, whereas those schizoaffective subjects with the common alleles had a normal mean P50 ratio. Normal control subjects had a normal mean ratio, but controls with variant alleles had higher P50 ratios. Conclusions In persons with bipolar type schizoaffective disorder, CHRNA7 promoter region allelic variants are linked to the capacity to inhibit the P50 auditory evoked potential and thus are associated with a type of illness genetically and biologically more similar to schizophrenia. PMID:17192894

  12. THE XMM-NEWTON/EPIC X-RAY LIGHT CURVE ANALYSIS OF WR 6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ignace, R.; Gayley, K. G.; Hamann, W.-R.; Oskinova, L. M.; Huenemoerder, D. P.; Pollock, A. M. T.; McFall, M.

    2013-01-01

    We obtained four pointings of over 100 ks each of the well-studied Wolf-Rayet star WR 6 with the XMM-Newton satellite. With a first paper emphasizing the results of spectral analysis, this follow-up highlights the X-ray variability clearly detected in all four pointings. However, phased light curves fail to confirm obvious cyclic behavior on the well-established 3.766 day period widely found at longer wavelengths. The data are of such quality that we were able to conduct a search for event clustering in the arrival times of X-ray photons. However, we fail to detect any such clustering. One possibility is that X-rays are generated in a stationary shock structure. In this context we favor a corotating interaction region (CIR) and present a phenomenological model for X-rays from a CIR structure. We show that a CIR has the potential to account simultaneously for the X-ray variability and constraints provided by the spectral analysis. Ultimately, the viability of the CIR model will require both intermittent long-term X-ray monitoring of WR 6 and better physical models of CIR X-ray production at large radii in stellar winds

  13. THE XMM-NEWTON/EPIC X-RAY LIGHT CURVE ANALYSIS OF WR 6

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ignace, R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37663 (United States); Gayley, K. G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52245 (United States); Hamann, W.-R.; Oskinova, L. M. [Institute for Physics and Astronomy, University Potsdam, D-14476 Potsdam (Germany); Huenemoerder, D. P. [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, 70 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Pollock, A. M. T. [European Space Agency XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre, European Space Astronomy Centre, Apartado 78, Villanueva de la Cañada, E-28691 Madrid (Spain); McFall, M., E-mail: ignace@etsu.edu [Department of Physics, 191 W. Woodruff Avenue, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States)

    2013-09-20

    We obtained four pointings of over 100 ks each of the well-studied Wolf-Rayet star WR 6 with the XMM-Newton satellite. With a first paper emphasizing the results of spectral analysis, this follow-up highlights the X-ray variability clearly detected in all four pointings. However, phased light curves fail to confirm obvious cyclic behavior on the well-established 3.766 day period widely found at longer wavelengths. The data are of such quality that we were able to conduct a search for event clustering in the arrival times of X-ray photons. However, we fail to detect any such clustering. One possibility is that X-rays are generated in a stationary shock structure. In this context we favor a corotating interaction region (CIR) and present a phenomenological model for X-rays from a CIR structure. We show that a CIR has the potential to account simultaneously for the X-ray variability and constraints provided by the spectral analysis. Ultimately, the viability of the CIR model will require both intermittent long-term X-ray monitoring of WR 6 and better physical models of CIR X-ray production at large radii in stellar winds.

  14. Genotype-phenotype correlation and functional studies in patients with cystic fibrosis bearing CFTR complex alleles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terlizzi, Vito; Castaldo, Giuseppe; Salvatore, Donatello; Lucarelli, Marco; Raia, Valeria; Angioni, Adriano; Carnovale, Vincenzo; Cirilli, Natalia; Casciaro, Rosaria; Colombo, Carla; Di Lullo, Antonella Miriam; Elce, Ausilia; Iacotucci, Paola; Comegna, Marika; Scorza, Manuela; Lucidi, Vincenzina; Perfetti, Anna; Cimino, Roberta; Quattrucci, Serena; Seia, Manuela; Sofia, Valentina Maria; Zarrilli, Federica; Amato, Felice

    2017-04-01

    The effect of complex alleles in cystic fibrosis (CF) is poorly defined for the lack of functional studies. To describe the genotype-phenotype correlation and the results of either in vitro and ex vivo studies performed on nasal epithelial cells (NEC) in a cohort of patients with CF carrying cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator ( CFTR ) complex alleles. We studied 70 homozygous, compound heterozygous or heterozygous for CFTR mutations: p.[Arg74Trp;Val201Met;Asp1270Asn], n=8; p.[Ile148Thr;Ile1023_Val1024del], n=5; p.[Arg117Leu;Leu997Phe], n=6; c.[1210-34TG[12];1210-12T[5];2930C>T], n=3; p.[Arg74Trp;Asp1270Asn], n=4; p.Asp1270Asn, n=2; p.Ile148Thr, n=6; p.Leu997Phe, n=36. In 39 patients, we analysed the CFTR gating activity on NEC in comparison with patients with CF (n=8) and carriers (n=4). Finally, we analysed in vitro the p.[Arg74Trp;Val201Met;Asp1270Asn] complex allele. The p.[Ile148Thr;Ile1023_Val1024del] caused severe CF in five compound heterozygous with a class I-II mutation. Their CFTR activity on NEC was comparable with patients with two class I-II mutations (mean 7.3% vs 6.9%). The p.[Arg74Trp;Asp1270Asn] and the p.Asp1270Asn have scarce functional effects, while p.[Arg74Trp;Val201Met;Asp1270Asn] caused mild CF in four of five subjects carrying a class I-II mutation in trans , or CFTR-related disorders (CFTR-RD) in three having in trans a class IV-V mutation. The p.[Arg74Trp;Val201Met;Asp1270Asn] causes significantly (pT] and a class I-II mutation had mild CF or CFTR-RD (gating activity: 18.5-19.0%). The effect of complex alleles partially depends on the mutation in trans . Although larger studies are necessary, the CFTR activity on NEC is a rapid contributory tool to classify patients with CFTR dysfunction. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  15. Analysis of S-35 labeled WR-2721 and its metabolites in biological fluids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, K.W.; Krohn, K.A.; Grunbaum, Z.; Phillips, R.B.; Mahler, P.A.; Menard, T.W.; Spence, A.M.; Rasey, J.S.

    1984-01-01

    Studies with WR-2721 and related compounds have been hindered by the lack of a suitable assay for the drug and its major metabolites. A chromatographic method which requires no derivation for the separation and detection of WR-2721, the free thiol, its symmetrical disulfide and other mixed disulfides has been developed. The procedure involves ion-pairing for separation of ionizable compounds by causing polar molecules to become more lipophilic and hence separable using reverse phase HPLC. Detection is based upon liquid scintillation counting of S-35 incorporated during the synthesis of the parent compound. This method requires no pre-column preparation of samples and, by detecting the S-35 label, eliminates the chance that a coeluting species could interfere with detection, as might occur with post-column derivatization. This analytical technique employing radiotracers can be used to study radioprotective mechanisms by time dependent measurements of the tissue distribution and chemical form of labeled drug. Such chemical information can then be correlated with biological measures of radiation protection

  16. Delimiting Allelic Imbalance of TYMS by Allele-Specific Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balboa-Beltrán, Emilia; Cruz, Raquel; Carracedo, Angel; Barros, Francisco

    2015-07-01

    Allelic imbalance of thymidylate synthase (TYMS) is attributed to polymorphisms in the 5'- and 3'-untranslated region (UTR). These polymorphisms have been related to the risk of suffering different cancers, for example leukemia, breast or gastric cancer, and response to different drugs, among which are methotrexate glutamates, stavudine, and specifically 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), as TYMS is its direct target. A vast literature has been published in relation to 5-FU, even suggesting the sole use of these polymorphisms to effectively manage 5-FU dosage. Estimates of the extent to which these polymorphisms influence in TYMS expression have in the past been based on functional analysis by luciferase assays and quantification of TYMS mRNA, but both these studies, as the association studies with cancer risk or with toxicity or response to 5-FU, are very contradictory. Regarding functional assays, the artificial genetic environment created in luciferase assay and the problems derived from quantitative polymerase chain reactions (qPCRs), for example the use of a reference gene, may have distorted the results. To avoid these sources of interference, we have analyzed the allelic imbalance of TYMS by allelic-specific analysis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients.Allelic imbalance in PBMCs, taken from 40 patients with suspected myeloproliferative haematological diseases, was determined by fluorescent fragment analysis (for the 3'-UTR polymorphism), Sanger sequencing and allelic-specific qPCR in multiplex (for the 5'-UTR polymorphisms).For neither the 3'- nor the 5'-UTR polymorphisms did the observed allelic imbalance exceed 1.5 fold. None of the TYMS polymorphisms is statistically associated with allelic imbalance.The results acquired allow us to deny the previously established assertion of an influence of 2 to 4 fold of the rs45445694 and rs2853542 polymorphisms in the expression of TYMS and narrow its allelic imbalance to 1.5 fold, in our population

  17. Draft genome sequence of the intestinal parasite Blastocystis subtype 4-isolate WR1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Wawrzyniak

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The intestinal protistan parasite Blastocystis is characterized by an extensive genetic variability with 17 subtypes (ST1–ST17 described to date. Only the whole genome of a human ST7 isolate was previously sequenced. Here we report the draft genome sequence of Blastocystis ST4-WR1 isolated from a laboratory rodent at Singapore.

  18. Reduced Height (Rht) Alleles Affect Wheat Grain Quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casebow, Richard; Hadley, Caroline; Uppal, Rajneet; Addisu, Molla; Loddo, Stefano; Kowalski, Ania; Griffiths, Simon; Gooding, Mike

    2016-01-01

    The effects of dwarfing alleles (reduced height, Rht) in near isogenic lines on wheat grain quality are characterised in field experiments and related to effects on crop height, grain yield and GA-sensitivity. Alleles included those that conferred GA-insensitivity (Rht-B1b, Rht-B1c, Rht-D1b, Rht-D1c) as well as those that retained GA-sensitivity (rht(tall), Rht8, Rht8 + Ppd-D1a, Rht12). Full characterisation was facilitated by including factors with which the effects of Rht alleles are known to interact for grain yield (i.e. system, [conventional or organic]; tillage intensity [plough-based, minimum or zero]; nitrogen fertilizer level [0-450 kg N/ha]; and genetic backgrounds varying in height [cvs Maris Huntsman, Maris Widgeon, and Mercia]. Allele effects on mean grain weight and grain specific weight were positively associated with final crop height: dwarfing reduced these quality criteria irrespective of crop management or GA-sensitivity. In all but two experiments the effects of dwarfing alleles on grain nitrogen and sulphur concentrations were closely and negatively related to effects on grain yield, e.g. a quadratic relationship between grain yield and crop height manipulated by the GA-insensitive alleles was mirrored by quadratic relationships for nitrogen and sulphur concentrations: the highest yields and most dilute concentrations occurred around 80cm. In one of the two exceptional experiments the GA-insensitive Rht-B1b and Rht-B1c significantly (Pgrain nitrogen concentration in the absence of an effect on yield, and in the remaining experiment the GA-sensitive Rht8 significantly reduced both grain yield and grain nitrogen concentration simultaneously. When Rht alleles diluted grain nitrogen concentration, N:S ratios and SDS-sedimentation volumes were often improved. Hagberg falling number (HFN) was negatively related to crop height but benefits from dwarfing were only seen for GA-insensitive alleles. For HFN, therefore, there was the strongest evidence for

  19. Clinical experiences with a chemical radioprotector in tumor radiotherapy: WR-2721

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, Y.

    1984-01-01

    Since cysteine was found to protect lethally irradiated rats, sulfhydryl compounds that provide protection of laboratory animals against lethal doses of ionizing radiations have also been given much attention. The SH compounds have been the most extensively investigated, and β-aminoethylisothiouronium (AET) and cysteamine have been selected as being representative of those drugs that are highly protective. However, clinical application is limited, as the toxicity of these compounds is high. In a series of experiments to reevaluate radioprotective agents with low toxicity, the authors found that 2-mercaptopropionylglycine (MPG) and adrenochrome monoguangylhydrazone methanesulfonate (AMM) have a potent radioprotector effect in a dose far below their toxic doses in both mice and humans. Recently, the development of effective thiophosphate derivatives of cysteamine, namely WR-2721 [S-2-(3-amino-propylaminoethyl)phosphorothioate] by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Commands, led to a reevaluation of these compounds and their potential in radiotherapy. Initial investigations indicated that WR-2721 provided a considerable degree of radioprotection to normal tissues. This compound provided excellent protection for normal tissues (DMF = 2-2.5) but little protection for the transplanted tumor. Thus this drug may have a differential protection in vivo and may be useful for improving the therapeutic ratio in cancer radiotherapy. The results of animal and chemical experiments in Japan are summarized herein

  20. The effect of 2-[(aminopropyl)amino] ethanethiol (WR 1065) on radiation-induced DNA damage and repair and cell progression in V79 cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grdina, D.J.; Nagy, B.

    1986-01-01

    The radioprotector 2-[(aminopropyl)amino] ethanethiol (WR 1065) was investigated with respect to its ability to affect radiation-induced DNA damage and repair in V79 cells. At a concentration of 4mM, WR 1065 protected against the formation of single strand breaks (SSB), when present during irradiation. The protector appeared, however, to inhibit the subsequent postirradiation repair or rejoining of SSB. While repair was complete within 24h, the protector reduced the rate of repair by a factor of 3. This inhibitory effect on the rate of repair did not correlate with either measured differences in cell survival or mutagenesis. WR 1065 present in the growth medium inhibited the progression of cells through S-phase, and cell-doubling time following a 3h exposure to the protector was increased from 11 to 18h. These data are consistent with the property of thiols to inhibit DNA polymerase activity. It was concluded that, while the presence of WR 1065 during irradiation reduced SSB-DNA damage, its effect on the subsequent rejoining of these breaks could not be correlated with its observed effect on protecting against radiation-induced mutagenesis. (author)

  1. Toxicity studies on the radioprotective agent WR-2721 in CDF1 mice and beagle dogs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palmer, T.E.; Glaza, S.M.; Dickie, B.C.; Weltman, R.H.; Greenspun, K.S.

    1985-01-01

    WR-2721, S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethylphosphorothioic acid, is used extensively to protect normal cells during the irradiation of neoplastic cells. Dose levels for human radiotherapy are based on results obtained from laboratory animal lethality and toxicity studies. WR-2721 was administered intravenously to CDF1 mice and beagle dogs. Single dose lethality studies in mice showed the average 1/10 of the lethal dose, the median lethal dose and 9/10 the lethal dose to be 508 (1523 mg/m2), 589 (1766 mg/m2), and 682 mg/kg (2047 mg/m2), respectively. The lethal dose for female mice was lower than that for males. The 1/10 lethal dose in mice was slightly toxic to dogs; 1/10 of that dose was nontoxic. The lethal dose for dogs (6000 mg/m2) was higher than that for mice (2000 mg/m2). Clinical signs of toxicosis in the single-dose mouse toxicity study were evident in the 1st week following treatment and declined during the recovery period; signs of toxicosis were transient in dogs. Acute drug-induced pathologic changes included elevated BUN and SGOT levels, lymphoid necrosis, and renal tubular degeneration in mice. These changes were evident in the 1st week following treatment, but had dissipated by study termination. Generalized vascular changes (congestion, hemorrhage, and edema) and renal tubular degeneration occurred in treated dogs that had died or were killed moribund 7 days postinjection. These findings indicate sex-dependent and interspecies variation in the toxicity of WR-2721 with acute, but reversible, pathologic changes

  2. Assessment of the myostatin Q204X allele using an allelic discrimination assay

    OpenAIRE

    Sifuentes-Rincón,Ana M.; Puentes-Montiel,Herlinda E.; Moreno-Medina,Víctor R.; Rosa-Reyna,Xóchitl F. de la

    2006-01-01

    An allelic discrimination assay was designed and used to determine the genotypic and allelic frequencies of the myostatin (MSTN) gene Q204X allele from two Mexican Full-French herds. The assay is a simple high throughput genotyping method that could be applied to investigate the effect of the Q204X allele on the Charolais breed.

  3. Low frequency of the scrapile resistance-associated allele and presence of lysine-171 allele of the prion protein gene in Italian Biellese ovine breed

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Acutis, P.L.; Sbaiz, L.; Verburg, F.J.; Riina, M.V.; Ru, G.; Moda, G.; Caramelli, M.; Bossers, A.

    2004-01-01

    Frequencies of polymorphisms at codons 136, 154 and 171 of the prion protein (PrP) gene were studied in 1207 pure-bred and cross-bred Italian Biellese rams, a small ovine breed of about 65 000 head in Italy. Aside from the five most common alleles (VRQ, ARQ, ARR, AHQ and ARH), the rare ARK allele

  4. D1S80 (pMCT118) allele frequencies in a Malay population sample from Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koh, C L; Lim, M E; Ng, H S; Sam, C K

    1997-01-01

    The D1S80 allele frequencies in 124 unrelated Malays from the Malaysian population were determined and 51 genotypes and 19 alleles were encountered. The D1S80 frequency distribution met Hardy-Weinberg expectations. The observed heterozygosity was 0.80 and the power of discrimination was 0.96.

  5. Validation of KENO V.a for criticality safety calculations involving WR-1 fast-neutron fuel arrangements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gauld, I. C.

    1991-07-15

    The KENO V.a criticality safety code, used with the SCALE 27-energy-group ENDF/B-IV-based cross-section library, has been validated for low-enriched uranium carbide (UC) WR-1 fast-neutron (FN) fuel arrangements. Because of a lack of relevant experimental data for UC fuel in the published literature, the validation is based primarily on calculational comparisons with critical experiments for fuel types with a range of enrichments and densities that cover those of the FN UC fuel. The ability of KENO V.a to handle the unique annular pin arrangement of the WR-1 FN fuel bundle was established using a comparison with the MCNP3B code used with a continuous-energy ENDF/B-V-based cross-section library. This report is part of the AECL--10146 report series documenting the validation of the KENO V.a criticality safety code.

  6. Ploidy mosaicism and allele-specific gene expression differences in the allopolyploid Squalius alburnoides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matos Isa

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Squalius alburnoides is an Iberian cyprinid fish resulting from an interspecific hybridisation between Squalius pyrenaicus females (P genome and males of an unknown Anaecypris hispanica-like species (A genome. S. alburnoides is an allopolyploid hybridogenetic complex, which makes it a likely candidate for ploidy mosaicism occurrence, and is also an interesting model to address questions about gene expression regulation and genomic interactions. Indeed, it was previously suggested that in S. alburnoides triploids (PAA composition silencing of one of the three alleles (mainly of the P allele occurs. However, not a whole haplome is inactivated but a more or less random inactivation of alleles varying between individuals and even between organs of the same fish was seen. In this work we intended to correlate expression differences between individuals and/or between organs to the occurrence of mosaicism, evaluating if mosaics could explain previous observations and its impact on the assessment of gene expression patterns. Results To achieve our goal, we developed flow cytometry and cell sorting protocols for this system generating more homogenous cellular and transcriptional samples. With this set-up we detected 10% ploidy mosaicism within the S. alburnoides complex, and determined the allelic expression profiles of ubiquitously expressed genes (rpl8; gapdh and β-actin in cells from liver and kidney of mosaic and non-mosaic individuals coming from different rivers over a wide geographic range. Conclusions Ploidy mosaicism occurs sporadically within the S. alburnoides complex, but in a frequency significantly higher than reported for other organisms. Moreover, we could exclude the influence of this phenomenon on the detection of variable allelic expression profiles of ubiquitously expressed genes (rpl8; gapdh and β-actin in cells from liver and kidney of triploid individuals. Finally, we determined that the expression patterns

  7. HLA Dr beta 1 alleles in Pakistani patients with rheumatoid arthritis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naqi, N.; Ahmed, T.A.; Bashir, M.M.

    2011-01-01

    Objective: To determine frequencies of HLA DR beta 1 alleles in rheumatoid arthritis in Pakistani patients. Study Design: Cross sectional / analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Immunology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi in collaboration with Rheumatology departments of Military Hospital, Rawalpindi and Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi, from January 2009 to January 2010. Methodology: HLA DR beta 1 genotyping of one hundred Pakistani patients, diagnosed as having RA as per American College of Rheumatology revised criteria 1987, was done. HLA DR beta 1 genotyping was carried out at allele group level (DR beta 1*01-DR beta 1*16) by sequence specific primers in RA patients. Comparison of HLA DR beta 1 allele frequencies between patients and control groups was made using Pearson's chi-square test to find possible association of HLA DR?1 alleles with RA in Pakistani rheumatoid patients. Results: HLA DR beta 1*04 was expressed with significantly increased frequency in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (p <0.05). HLA DR?1*11 was expressed statistically significantly more in control group as compared to rheumatoid patients indicating a possible protective effect. There was no statistically significant difference observed in frequencies of HLA DR beta 1 allele *01, DR beta 1 allele *03, DR beta 1 allele *07, DR beta 1 allele *08, DR beta 1 allele *09, DR beta 1 allele *10, DR beta 1 allele *12, DR beta 1 allele *13, DR beta 1 allele *14, DR?1 allele *15 and DR beta 1 allele *16 between patients and control groups. Conclusion: The identification of susceptible HLA DR beta 1 alleles in Pakistani RA patients may help physicians to make early decisions regarding initiation of early intensive therapy with disease modifying anti rheumatic medicines and biological agents decreasing disability in RA patients. (author)

  8. Influence of a radioprotector WR-638 on the lymphoid compartment of the irradiated rat thymus: a flow cytometric analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dragojevic-Simic, V.; Colic, M.; Gasic, S.

    1994-01-01

    The T cell composition of the thymus of X-ray irradiated (3.5 Gy) Wistar rat protected with WR-638 was analyzed by flow cytometry using monoclonal antibodies directed to the Thy 1.1, CD43, CD2, CD5, CD4, CD8 and class I and II MHC antigens. It was shown that this dose of X-rays caused cyclic changes in thymic cellularity manifested as: primary involution (until day 2), primary regeneration (from days 2 to 14), secondary involution (from days 14 to 21) and secondary regeneration (from days 21 to 30). WR-638 reduced the magnitude of thymocyte depletion in the primary involutive phase of the irradiated thymi. (author)

  9. The infrared emission features in the spectrum of the Wolf-Rayet star WR 48a

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chiar, JE; Peeters, E; Tielens, A. G. G. M.

    2002-01-01

    We present the first detection of unidentified infrared (UIR) emission features at similar to6.4 and 7.9 mum in the spectrum of the dusty WC8 Wolf-Rayet star WR 48a. Based on the H-deficient nature of WC stars, we attribute the emission features to large carbonaceous molecules or amorphous carbon

  10. HLA class II alleles and the presence of circulating Epstein-Barr virus DNA in greek patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karanikiotis, C.; Daniilidis, M.; Karyotis, N.; Nikolaou, A.; Bakogiannis, C.; Economopoulos, T.; Murray, S.; Papamichael, D.; Samantas, E.; Skoura, L.; Tselis, N.; Zamboglou, N.; Fountzilas, G.

    2008-01-01

    Background and purpose: nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) represents a seldom malignancy in most developed countries. Nevertheless, NPC receives an endemic form in concrete racial entities. The aims of this study were to detect the presence of Epstein-Barr virus DNA (EBV-DNA) in peripheral blood of NPC patients, to molecularly define human leukocyte antigens (HLA) DRB1*, DQA1* and DQB1* allele frequencies, and, finally, to determine whether the genetic predisposition of an individual to NPC depends on the liability to EBV infection. Patients and methods: a total of 101 patients of Hellenic origin and nationality, with histologically proven NPC, participated in this study. EBV-DNA detection was also applied in 66 patients with EBV-related malignancies (Hodgkin's [HL] and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma [NHL]) and infectious mononucleosis (IM), as well as in 80 healthy EBV-seropositive controls. Results: 81% of the NPC patients, 77.8% with HL, 72.2% with NHL, and 66.7% with IM were EBV-DNA positive, whereas the EBV genome was detected only in 15% of the healthy controls. These differences were statistically significant in all cases. Analysis of HLA class II antigens showed decreased frequency of the DRB1*07 (p 0.003), DQA1*0103 (p = 0.002), and DQA1*0201 (p = 0.003) alleles among NPC patients. A significant association between the HLA-DR/DQ alleles and the presence of EBV-DNA in peripheral whole blood was not established. Conclusion: circulating EBV-DNA and specific HLA class II alleles may predispose to or protect from NPC. However, the results of this study suggest that the genetic predisposition of an individual to NPC is independent of the liability to EBV infection. (orig.)

  11. Allelic Diversity and Geographical Distribution of the Gene Encoding Plasmodium falciparum Merozoite Surface Protein-3 in Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawaswong, Vorthon; Simpalipan, Phumin; Siripoon, Napaporn; Harnyuttanakorn, Pongchai; Pattaradilokrat, Sittiporn

    2015-04-01

    Merozoite surface proteins (MSPs) of malaria parasites play critical roles during the erythrocyte invasion and so are potential candidates for malaria vaccine development. However, because MSPs are often under strong immune selection, they can exhibit extensive genetic diversity. The gene encoding the merozoite surface protein-3 (MSP-3) of Plasmodium falciparum displays 2 allelic types, K1 and 3D7. In Thailand, the allelic frequency of the P. falciparum msp-3 gene was evaluated in a single P. falciparum population in Tak at the Thailand and Myanmar border. However, no study has yet looked at the extent of genetic diversity of the msp-3 gene in P. falciparum populations in other localities. Here, we genotyped the msp-3 alleles of 63 P. falciparum samples collected from 5 geographical populations along the borders of Thailand with 3 neighboring countries (Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia). Our study indicated that the K1 and 3D7 alleles coexisted, but at different proportions in different Thai P. falciparum populations. K1 was more prevalent in populations at the Thailand-Myanmar and Thailand-Cambodia borders, whilst 3D7 was more prevalent at the Thailand-Laos border. Global analysis of the msp-3 allele frequencies revealed that proportions of K1 and 3D7 alleles of msp-3 also varied in different continents, suggesting the divergence of malaria parasite populations. In conclusion, the variation in the msp-3 allelic patterns of P. falciparum in Thailand provides fundamental knowledge for inferring the P. falciparum population structure and for the best design of msp-3 based malaria vaccines.

  12. Functional mechanisms underlying pleiotropic risk alleles at the 19p13.1 breast–ovarian cancer susceptibility locus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawrenson, Kate; Kar, Siddhartha; McCue, Karen; Kuchenbaeker, Karoline; Michailidou, Kyriaki; Tyrer, Jonathan; Beesley, Jonathan; Ramus, Susan J.; Li, Qiyuan; Delgado, Melissa K.; Lee, Janet M.; Aittomäki, Kristiina; Andrulis, Irene L.; Anton-Culver, Hoda; Arndt, Volker; Arun, Banu K.; Arver, Brita; Bandera, Elisa V.; Barile, Monica; Barkardottir, Rosa B.; Barrowdale, Daniel; Beckmann, Matthias W.; Benitez, Javier; Berchuck, Andrew; Bisogna, Maria; Bjorge, Line; Blomqvist, Carl; Blot, William; Bogdanova, Natalia; Bojesen, Anders; Bojesen, Stig E.; Bolla, Manjeet K.; Bonanni, Bernardo; Børresen-Dale, Anne-Lise; Brauch, Hiltrud; Brennan, Paul; Brenner, Hermann; Bruinsma, Fiona; Brunet, Joan; Buhari, Shaik Ahmad; Burwinkel, Barbara; Butzow, Ralf; Buys, Saundra S.; Cai, Qiuyin; Caldes, Trinidad; Campbell, Ian; Canniotto, Rikki; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Chiquette, Jocelyne; Choi, Ji-Yeob; Claes, Kathleen B. M.; Collonge-Rame, Marie- Agnès; Damette, Alexandre; Barouk-Simonet, Emmanuelle; Bonnet, Françoise; Bubien, Virginie; Sevenet, Nicolas; Longy, Michel; Berthet, Pascaline; Vaur, Dominique; Castera, Laurent; Ferrer, Sandra Fert; Bignon, Yves-Jean; Uhrhammer, Nancy; Coron, Fanny; Faivre, Laurence; Baurand, Amandine; Jacquot, Caroline; Bertolone, Geoffrey; Lizard, Sarab; Leroux, Dominique; Dreyfus, Hélène; Rebischung, Christine; Peysselon, Magalie; Peyrat, Jean-Philippe; Fournier, Joëlle; Révillion, Françoise; Adenis, Claude; Vénat-Bouvet, Laurence; Léone, Mélanie; Boutry-Kryza, Nadia; Calender, Alain; Giraud, Sophie; Verny-Pierre, Carole; Lasset, Christine; Bonadona, Valérie; Barjhoux, Laure; Sobol, Hagay; Bourdon, Violaine; Noguchi, Tetsuro; Remenieras, Audrey; Coupier, Isabelle; Pujol, Pascal; Sokolowska, Johanna; Bronner, Myriam; Delnatte, Capucine; Bézieau, Stéphane; Mari, Véronique; Gauthier-Villars, Marion; Buecher, Bruno; Rouleau, Etienne; Golmard, Lisa; Moncoutier, Virginie; Belotti, Muriel; de Pauw, Antoine; Elan, Camille; Fourme, Emmanuelle; Birot, Anne-Marie; Saule, Claire; Laurent, Maïté; Houdayer, Claude; Lesueur, Fabienne; Mebirouk, Noura; Coulet, Florence; Colas, Chrystelle; Soubrier, Florent; Warcoin, Mathilde; Prieur, Fabienne; Lebrun, Marine; Kientz, Caroline; Muller, Danièle; Fricker, Jean-Pierre; Toulas, Christine; Guimbaud, Rosine; Gladieff, Laurence; Feillel, Viviane; Mortemousque, Isabelle; Bressac-de-Paillerets, Brigitte; Caron, Olivier; Guillaud-Bataille, Marine; Cook, Linda S.; Cox, Angela; Cramer, Daniel W.; Cross, Simon S.; Cybulski, Cezary; Czene, Kamila; Daly, Mary B.; Damiola, Francesca; Dansonka-Mieszkowska, Agnieszka; Darabi, Hatef; Dennis, Joe; Devilee, Peter; Diez, Orland; Doherty, Jennifer A.; Domchek, Susan M.; Dorfling, Cecilia M.; Dörk, Thilo; Dumont, Martine; Ehrencrona, Hans; Ejlertsen, Bent; Ellis, Steve; Gregory, Helen; Miedzybrodzka, Zosia; Morrison, Patrick J.; Donaldson, Alan; Rogers, Mark T.; Kennedy, M. John; Porteous, Mary E.; Brady, Angela; Barwell, Julian; Foo, Claire; Lalloo, Fiona; Side, Lucy E.; Eason, Jacqueline; Henderson, Alex; Walker, Lisa; Cook, Jackie; Snape, Katie; Murray, Alex; McCann, Emma; Engel, Christoph; Lee, Eunjung; Evans, D. Gareth; Fasching, Peter A.; Feliubadalo, Lidia; Figueroa, Jonine; Flesch-Janys, Dieter; Fletcher, Olivia; Flyger, Henrik; Foretova, Lenka; Fostira, Florentia; Foulkes, William D.; Fridley, Brooke L.; Friedman, Eitan; Frost, Debra; Gambino, Gaetana; Ganz, Patricia A.; Garber, Judy; García-Closas, Montserrat; Gentry-Maharaj, Aleksandra; Ghoussaini, Maya; Giles, Graham G.; Glasspool, Rosalind; Godwin, Andrew K.; Goldberg, Mark S.; Goldgar, David E.; González-Neira, Anna; Goode, Ellen L.; Goodman, Marc T.; Greene, Mark H.; Gronwald, Jacek; Guénel, Pascal; Haiman, Christopher A.; Hall, Per; Hallberg, Emily; Hamann, Ute; Hansen, Thomas V. O.; Harrington, Patricia A.; Hartman, Mikael; Hassan, Norhashimah; Healey, Sue; Rookus, M. A.; van Leeuwen, F. E.; van der Kolk, L. E.; Schmidt, M. K.; Russell, N. S.; de Lange, J. L.; Wijnands, R.; Collée, J. M.; Hooning, M. J.; Seynaeve, C.; van Deurzen, C. H. M.; Obdeijn, I. M.; van Asperen, C. J.; Tollenaar, R. A. E. M.; van Cronenburg, T. C. T. E. F.; Kets, C. M.; Ausems, M. G. E. M.; van der Pol, C. C.; van Os, T. A. M.; Waisfisz, Q.; Meijers-Heijboer, H. E. J.; Gómez-Garcia, E. B.; Oosterwijk, J. C.; Mourits, M. J.; de Bock, G. H.; Vasen, H. F.; Siesling, S.; Verloop, J.; Overbeek, L. I. H.; Heitz, Florian; Herzog, Josef; Høgdall, Estrid; Høgdall, Claus K.; Hogervorst, Frans B. L.; Hollestelle, Antoinette; Hopper, John L.; Hulick, Peter J.; Huzarski, Tomasz; Imyanitov, Evgeny N.; Fox, Stephen; Kirk, Judy; Lindeman, Geoff; Price, Melanie; Bowtell, David; deFazio, Anna; Webb, Penny; Isaacs, Claudine; Ito, Hidemi; Jakubowska, Anna; Janavicius, Ramunas; Jensen, Allan; John, Esther M.; Johnson, Nichola; Kabisch, Maria; Kang, Daehee; Kapuscinski, Miroslav; Karlan, Beth Y.; Khan, Sofia; Kiemeney, Lambertus A.; Kjaer, Susanne Kruger; Knight, Julia A.; Konstantopoulou, Irene; Kosma, Veli-Matti; Kristensen, Vessela; Kupryjanczyk, Jolanta; Kwong, Ava; de la Hoya, Miguel; Laitman, Yael; Lambrechts, Diether; Le, Nhu; De Leeneer, Kim; Lester, Jenny; Levine, Douglas A.; Li, Jingmei; Lindblom, Annika; Long, Jirong; Lophatananon, Artitaya; Loud, Jennifer T.; Lu, Karen; Lubinski, Jan; Mannermaa, Arto; Manoukian, Siranoush; Le Marchand, Loic; Margolin, Sara; Marme, Frederik; Massuger, Leon F. A. G.; Matsuo, Keitaro; Mazoyer, Sylvie; McGuffog, Lesley; McLean, Catriona; McNeish, Iain; Meindl, Alfons; Menon, Usha; Mensenkamp, Arjen R.; Milne, Roger L.; Montagna, Marco; Moysich, Kirsten B.; Muir, Kenneth; Mulligan, Anna Marie; Nathanson, Katherine L.; Ness, Roberta B.; Neuhausen, Susan L.; Nevanlinna, Heli; Nord, Silje; Nussbaum, Robert L.; Odunsi, Kunle; Offit, Kenneth; Olah, Edith; Olopade, Olufunmilayo I.; Olson, Janet E.; Olswold, Curtis; O'Malley, David; Orlow, Irene; Orr, Nick; Osorio, Ana; Park, Sue Kyung; Pearce, Celeste L.; Pejovic, Tanja; Peterlongo, Paolo; Pfeiler, Georg; Phelan, Catherine M.; Poole, Elizabeth M.; Pylkäs, Katri; Radice, Paolo; Rantala, Johanna; Rashid, Muhammad Usman; Rennert, Gad; Rhenius, Valerie; Rhiem, Kerstin; Risch, Harvey A.; Rodriguez, Gus; Rossing, Mary Anne; Rudolph, Anja; Salvesen, Helga B.; Sangrajrang, Suleeporn; Sawyer, Elinor J.; Schildkraut, Joellen M.; Schmidt, Marjanka K.; Schmutzler, Rita K.; Sellers, Thomas A.; Seynaeve, Caroline; Shah, Mitul; Shen, Chen-Yang; Shu, Xiao-Ou; Sieh, Weiva; Singer, Christian F.; Sinilnikova, Olga M.; Slager, Susan; Song, Honglin; Soucy, Penny; Southey, Melissa C.; Stenmark-Askmalm, Marie; Stoppa-Lyonnet, Dominique; Sutter, Christian; Swerdlow, Anthony; Tchatchou, Sandrine; Teixeira, Manuel R.; Teo, Soo H.; Terry, Kathryn L.; Terry, Mary Beth; Thomassen, Mads; Tibiletti, Maria Grazia; Tihomirova, Laima; Tognazzo, Silvia; Toland, Amanda Ewart; Tomlinson, Ian; Torres, Diana; Truong, Thérèse; Tseng, Chiu-chen; Tung, Nadine; Tworoger, Shelley S.; Vachon, Celine; van den Ouweland, Ans M. W.; van Doorn, Helena C.; van Rensburg, Elizabeth J.; Van't Veer, Laura J.; Vanderstichele, Adriaan; Vergote, Ignace; Vijai, Joseph; Wang, Qin; Wang-Gohrke, Shan; Weitzel, Jeffrey N.; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Whittemore, Alice S.; Wildiers, Hans; Winqvist, Robert; Wu, Anna H.; Yannoukakos, Drakoulis; Yoon, Sook-Yee; Yu, Jyh-Cherng; Zheng, Wei; Zheng, Ying; Khanna, Kum Kum; Simard, Jacques; Monteiro, Alvaro N.; French, Juliet D.; Couch, Fergus J.; Freedman, Matthew L.; Easton, Douglas F.; Dunning, Alison M.; Pharoah, Paul D.; Edwards, Stacey L.; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Antoniou, Antonis C.; Gayther, Simon A.

    2016-01-01

    A locus at 19p13 is associated with breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) risk. Here we analyse 438 SNPs in this region in 46,451 BC and 15,438 OC cases, 15,252 BRCA1 mutation carriers and 73,444 controls and identify 13 candidate causal SNPs associated with serous OC (P=9.2 × 10−20), ER-negative BC (P=1.1 × 10−13), BRCA1-associated BC (P=7.7 × 10−16) and triple negative BC (P-diff=2 × 10−5). Genotype-gene expression associations are identified for candidate target genes ANKLE1 (P=2 × 10−3) and ABHD8 (P<2 × 10−3). Chromosome conformation capture identifies interactions between four candidate SNPs and ABHD8, and luciferase assays indicate six risk alleles increased transactivation of the ADHD8 promoter. Targeted deletion of a region containing risk SNP rs56069439 in a putative enhancer induces ANKLE1 downregulation; and mRNA stability assays indicate functional effects for an ANKLE1 3′-UTR SNP. Altogether, these data suggest that multiple SNPs at 19p13 regulate ABHD8 and perhaps ANKLE1 expression, and indicate common mechanisms underlying breast and ovarian cancer risk. PMID:27601076

  13. HPV has left the building – the absence of detectable HPV DNA and the presence of r allele/s for the P72R polymorphism in the TP53 gene may call for more aggressive therapeutic approach in HPV-associated tumours

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petkova, Rumena; Chelenkova, Pavlina; Yemendzhiev, Husein; Tsekov, Iliya; Kalvatchev, Zlatko; Chakarov, Stoyan

    2013-01-01

    HPV infection is a major pathogenetic factor in cervical carcinoma as well as in many of the squamous cancers of head and neck and other epithelial cancers. Persistence of HPV DNA detectable by routine methods is considered to be a risk factor for advanced CIN and, in patients treated by surgery or non-surgical treatment modalities (radiotherapy, chemotherapy), HPV persistence is believed to be associated with increased risk for local recurrence. In terms of survival, however, it has been repeatedly proven that patients with cervical cancer and other HPV-associated cancers with detectable HPV DNA tend to have better outcomes than patients with HPV-negative tumours. The P72R polymorphism in the human TP53 gene has been contemplated as an independent phenotype modifier in cancers, especially the R allele which has been shown to confer higher pro-apoptotic properties to the resultant p53 protein. It has been demonstrated, however, that RR homozygotes were much more common in study groups with HPV-associated tumours than the other two genotypes and that the P allele in P/R heterozygotes was preferentially lost while the R allele was preferentially retained and mutated. It is possible that HPV-dependent carcinogenesis strictly relies on the presence of HPV and the expression of the E6 and E7 onco proteins only in the initial phases of transformation of infected cells (e.g. CIN). It may be associated with activation of latent HPV that would create a background of decreased control over the integrity of the genome of the host cell. The process can develop further by mechanisms independent of the presence of HPV and if the virus clears at some later point, that would not halt the already ongoing neoplastic transformation. Absence of HPV DNA in cervical tumours, whether before or after treatment, is not a reason to decrease vigilant monitoring and rule out the need for further treatment, as it may be quite possible that the TP53 gene of the infected cells has already been

  14. Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency caused by a novel mutation (p.Leu263Pro: Pi*ZQ0gaia – Q0gaia allele

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.J. Oliveira

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Severe alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD is generally associated with PI*ZZ genotype and less often with combinations of PI*Z, PI*S, and other rarer deficiency or null (Q0 alleles. Severe AATD predisposes patients to various diseases, including pulmonary emphysema. Presented here is a case report of a young man with COPD and AATD. The investigation of the AATD showed a novel mutation p.Leu263Pro (c.860T>C, which was named Q0gaia (Pi*ZQ0gaia. Q0gaia is associated with very low or no detectable serum concentrations of AAT. Keywords: Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, Null allele, COPD

  15. Identification of common bean alleles resistant to anthracnose using RAPD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana L.M. Castanheira

    1999-12-01

    Full Text Available RAPD markers were identified close to common bean alleles responsible for resistance to the fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum and may be useful in selecting plants resistant to this pathogen. DNA from F2 plants of the crosses Carioca 300V x P45, Carioca 300V x Ouro and P24 x Ouro was amplified by RAPD. Line P45 has the Co.4 allele for resistance, and the Ouro cultivar has the Co.5 allele. The primer OPC08 amplified a DNA fragment of about 1059 bp linked to the Co.4 allele. The recombination frequency was 0.133 (SE = 0.039; 95% CI = 0.056-0.211. Using the primer OPF10 a DNA fragment of about 912 bp was amplified and found to be associated with the Co.5 allele. The recombination frequency was 0.115 (SE = 0.038; 95% CI = 0.041-0.189. A second marker (1122 pb amplified by the OPR03 primer was identified in the population P24 x Ouro. The recombination frequency for this marker was 0.363 (SE = 0.081; 95% CI = 0.205-0.522. Both these markers flanked the Co.5 allele. The markers identified in this study may be useful in identifying lines with the Co.4 and Co.5 alleles.Marcadores RAPD foram identificados próximos de alelos do feijão responsáveis pela resistência ao Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, visando auxiliar na seleção de plantas resistentes ao patógeno. Empregou-se o método dos bulks segregantes de DNA extraídos de plantas F2 dos seguintes cruzamentos: Carioca 300V x P45, Carioca 300V x Ouro e P24 x Ouro. A linhagem P45 é portadora do alelo Co.4 de resistência e o cultivar Ouro é portador do alelo Co.5, os quais foram marcados. Procedeu-se à reação RAPD dos bulks e foi identificado o iniciador OPC08 que amplificou um fragmento de DNA com cerca de 1059 pb, ligado ao alelo Co.4. A freqüência de recombinação foi de 0,133 (erro padrão 0,039 e o intervalo de confiança foi 0,056 e 0,211, com 95% de probabilidade. Em relação ao alelo Co.5 foi identificado um fragmento de DNA amplificado pelo iniciador OPF10 com cerca de 912 pb, na

  16. Allele-specific expression at the androgen receptor alpha gene in a hybrid unisexual fish, the Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fangjun Zhu

    Full Text Available The all-female Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa is the result of a hybridization of the Atlantic molly (P. mexicana and the sailfin molly (P. latipinna approximately 120,000 years ago. As a gynogenetic species, P. formosa needs to copulate with heterospecific males including males from one of its bisexual ancestral species. However, the sperm only triggers embryogenesis of the diploid eggs. The genetic information of the sperm donor typically will not contribute to the next generation of P. formosa. Hence, P. formosa possesses generally one allele from each of its ancestral species at any genetic locus. This raises the question whether both ancestral alleles are equally expressed in P. formosa. Allele-specific expression (ASE has been previously assessed in various organisms, e.g., human and fish, and ASE was found to be important in the context of phenotypic variability and disease. In this study, we utilized Real-Time PCR techniques to estimate ASE of the androgen receptor alpha (arα gene in several distinct tissues of Amazon mollies. We found an allelic bias favoring the maternal ancestor (P. mexicana allele in ovarian tissue. This allelic bias was not observed in the gill or the brain tissue. Sequencing of the promoter regions of both alleles revealed an association between an Indel in a known CpG island and differential expression. Future studies may reveal whether our observed cis-regulatory divergence is caused by an ovary-specific trans-regulatory element, preferentially activating the allele of the maternal ancestor.

  17. Survival of irradiated mice treated with WR-151327, synthetic trehalose dicorynomycolate, or ofloxacin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ledney, G. D.; Elliott, T. B.; Landauer, M. R.; Vigneulle, R. M.; Henderson, P. L.; Harding, R. A.; Tom, S. P.

    1994-10-01

    Spaceflight personnel need treatment options that would enhance survival from radiation and would not disrupt task performance. Doses of prophylactic or therapeutic agents known to induce significant short-term (30-day) survival with minimal behavioral (locomotor) changes were used for 180-day survival studies. In protection studies, groups of mice were treated with the phosphorothioate WR-151327 (200 mg/kg, 25% of the LD10) or the immunomodulator, synthetic trehalose dicorynomycolate (S-TDCM; 8 mg/kg), before lethal irradiation with reactor-generated fission neutrons and γ-rays (n/γ = 1) or 60Co γ-rays. In therapy studies, groups of mice received either S-TDCM, the antimicrobial ofloxacin, or S-TDCM plus ofloxacin after irradiation. For WR-151327 treated-mice, survival at 180 days for n/γ = 1 and γ-irradiated mice was 90% and 92%, respectively; for S-TDCM (protection), 57% and 78%, respectively; for S-TDCM (therapy), 20% and 25%, respectively; for ofloxacin, 38% and 5%, respectively; for S-TDCM combined with ofloxacin, 30% and 30%, respectively; and for saline, 8% and 5%, respectively. Ofloxacin or combined ofloxacin and S-TDCM increased survival from the gram-negative bacterial sepsis that predominated in n/γ = 1) irradiated mice. The efficacies of the treatments depended on radiation quality, treatment agent and its mode of use, and microflora of the host.

  18. HLA class II alleles and the presence of circulating Epstein-Barr virus DNA in greek patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karanikiotis, C. [424 Army General Hospital, Thessaloniki (Greece); Daniilidis, M.; Karyotis, N.; Nikolaou, A. [AHEPA Hospital, Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki School of Medicine (Greece); Bakogiannis, C. [Hygeia Hospital, Athens (Greece); Economopoulos, T. [' Attikon' Univ. Hospital, Athens (Greece); Murray, S. [Metropolitan Hospital, Athens (Greece); Papamichael, D. [Bank of Cyprus Oncology Center, Nicosia, Cyprus (Greece); Samantas, E. [' Agii Anargiri' Cancer Hospital, Athens (Greece); Skoura, L. [' Hippokration' Hospital, Thessaloniki (Greece); Tselis, N.; Zamboglou, N. [Dept. of Radiotherapy, Offenbach Hospital (Germany); Fountzilas, G. [' Papageorgiou' Hospital, Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki School of Medicine (Greece)

    2008-06-15

    Background and purpose: nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) represents a seldom malignancy in most developed countries. Nevertheless, NPC receives an endemic form in concrete racial entities. The aims of this study were to detect the presence of Epstein-Barr virus DNA (EBV-DNA) in peripheral blood of NPC patients, to molecularly define human leukocyte antigens (HLA) DRB1*, DQA1* and DQB1* allele frequencies, and, finally, to determine whether the genetic predisposition of an individual to NPC depends on the liability to EBV infection. Patients and methods: a total of 101 patients of Hellenic origin and nationality, with histologically proven NPC, participated in this study. EBV-DNA detection was also applied in 66 patients with EBV-related malignancies (Hodgkin's [HL] and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma [NHL]) and infectious mononucleosis (IM), as well as in 80 healthy EBV-seropositive controls. Results: 81% of the NPC patients, 77.8% with HL, 72.2% with NHL, and 66.7% with IM were EBV-DNA positive, whereas the EBV genome was detected only in 15% of the healthy controls. These differences were statistically significant in all cases. Analysis of HLA class II antigens showed decreased frequency of the DRB1*07 (p = 0.003), DQA1*0103 (p = 0.002), and DQA1*0201 (p = 0.003) alleles among NPC patients. A significant association between the HLA-DR/DQ alleles and the presence of EBV-DNA in peripheral whole blood was not established. Conclusion: circulating EBV-DNA and specific HLA class II alleles may predispose to or protect from NPC. However, the results of this study suggest that the genetic predisposition of an individual to NPC is independent of the liability to EBV infection. (orig.)

  19. HLA-A AND HLA-B ALLELES ASSOCIATED IN PSORIASIS PATIENTS FROM MUMBAI, WESTERN INDIA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umapathy, Shankarkumar; Pawar, Aruna; Mitra, R; Khuperkar, D; Devaraj, J P; Ghosh, K; Khopkar, U

    2011-01-01

    Background: Psoriasis, a common autoimmune disorder characterized by T cell-mediated keratinocyte hyperproliferation, is known to be associated with the presence of certain specific Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) alleles. Aim: To evaluate distribution of HLA-A and HLA-B alleles and hence identify the susceptible allele of psoriasis from patients in Western India. Materials and Methods: The study design included 84 psoriasis patients and 291 normal individuals as controls from same geographical region. HLA-A and HLA-B typing was done using Serology typing. Standard statistical analysis was followed to identify the odds ratio (OR), allele frequencies, and significant P value using Graphpad software. Results: The study revealed significant increase in frequencies of HLA-A2 (OR-3.976, P<0.0001), B8 (OR-5.647, P<0.0001), B17 (OR-5.452, P<0.0001), and B44 (OR-50.460, P<0.0001), when compared with controls. Furthermore, the frequencies of HLA-A28 (OR-0.074, P=0.0024), B5 (OR-0.059, P<0.0001), B12 (OR-0.051, P=0.0002), and B15 (OR-0.237, P=0.0230) were significantly decreased in psoriasis patients. Conclusion: This study shows the strong association of HLA-A2, B8, and B17 antigens with psoriasis conferring susceptibility to psoriasis patients from Western India, while the antigens HLA-A28, B5, and B12 show strong negative association with the disease. PMID:22121262

  20. Polymorphism of the cytochrome P450 CYP2D6 gene in a European population: characterization of 48 mutations and 53 alleles, their frequencies and evolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marez, D; Legrand, M; Sabbagh, N; Lo Guidice, J M; Spire, C; Lafitte, J J; Meyer, U A; Broly, F

    1997-06-01

    The polymorphic cytochrome P450 CYP2D6 is involved in the metabolism of various drugs of wide therapeutic use and is a presumed susceptibility factor for certain environmentally-induced diseases. Our aim was to define the mutations and alleles of the CYP2D6 gene and to evaluate their frequencies in the European population. Using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism analysis, 672 unrelated subjects were screened for mutations in the 9 exons of the gene and their exon-intron boundaries. A total of 48 point mutations were identified, of which 29 were novel. Mutations 1749 G-->C, 2938 C-->T and 4268 G-->C represented 52.6%, 34.3% and 52.9% of the mutations in the total population, respectively. Of the eight detrimental mutations detected, the 1934 G-->A, the 1795 Tdel and the 2637 Adel accounted for 65.8%, 6.2% and 4.8% respectively, within the poor metabolizer subgroup. Fifty-three different alleles were characterized from the mutation pattern and by allele-specific sequencing. They are derived from three major alleles, namely the wild-type CYP2D6*1A, the functional CYP2D6*2 and the null CYP2D6*4A. Five allelic variants (CYP2D6*1A, *2, *2B, *4A and *5) account for about 87% of all alleles, while the remaining alleles occur with a frequency of 0.1%-2.7%. These data provide a solid basis for future epidemiological, clinical as well as interethnic studies of the CYP2D6 polymorphism and highlight that the described single strand conformation polymorphism method can be successfully used in designing such studies.

  1. Persistent HPV16/18 infection in Indian women with the A-allele (rs6457617) of HLA-DQB1 and T-allele (rs16944) of IL-1β -511 is associated with development of cervical carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dutta, Sankhadeep; Chakraborty, Chandraditya; Mandal, Ranajit Kumar; Basu, Partha; Biswas, Jaydip; Roychoudhury, Susanta; Panda, Chinmay Kumar

    2015-07-01

    The aim of this study was to understand the association of human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16/18 infection and polymorphisms in the HLA-DQB1 (rs6457617) and IL-1β -511 (rs16944) loci with the development of uterine cervical cancer (CaCx). The distribution of HLA-DQB1 G > A and IL-1β -511 C/T polymorphisms was determined in HPV-negative cervical swabs from normal women (N = 111) and compared with cervical swabs of HPV-cleared normal women (once HPV infected followed by natural clearance of the infection, N = 86), HPV16/18-positive cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN, N = 41) and CaCx biopsies (N = 107). The A-allele containing genotypes (i.e. G/A and A/A) of HLA-DQB1 was significantly associated with CaCx compared with HPV-negative [OR = 2.56(1.42-4.62), p = 0.001] or HPV-cleared [OR = 2.07(1.12-3.87), p = 0.01] normal women, whereas the T-allele containing genotypes (i.e. C/T and T/T) of IL-1β showed increased risk of CIN [OR = 3.68(0.97-16.35), p = 0.03; OR = 3.59(0.92-16.38), p = 0.03] and CaCx development [OR = 2.03(1.03-5.2), p = 0.02; OR = 2.25(0.96-5.31), p = 0.04] compared with HPV-negative or HPV-cleared normal women. Considering these two loci together, it was evident that the T- and A-alleles rendered significantly increased susceptibility for development of CIN and CaCx compared with HPV-negative and HPV-cleared normal women. Moreover, the T-allele of IL-1β showed increased susceptibility for CIN [OR = 3.62(0.85-17.95), p = 0.04] and CaCx [OR = 2.39(0.91-6.37), p = 0.05] development compared with the HPV-cleared women, even in the presence of the HLA-DQB1 G-allele. Thus, our data suggest that persistent HPV16/18 infection in the cervix due to the presence of the HLA-DQB1 A-allele and chronic inflammation due to the presence of the IL-1β -511 T-allele might predispose women to CaCx development.

  2. Allele-specific cytokine responses at the HLA-C locus, implications for psoriasis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hundhausen, Christian; Bertoni, Anna; Mak, Rose K; Botti, Elisabetta; Di Meglio, Paola; Clop, Alex; Laggner, Ute; Chimenti, Sergio; Hayday, Adrian C; Barker, Jonathan N; Trembath, Richard C; Capon, Francesca; Nestle, Frank O

    2011-01-01

    Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disorder that is inherited as a complex trait. Genetic studies have repeatedly highlighted HLA-C as the major determinant for psoriasis susceptibility, with the Cw*0602 allele conferring significant disease risk in a wide-range of populations. Despite the potential importance of HLA-C variation in psoriasis, either via an effect on peptide presentation or immuno-inhibitory activity, allele-specific expression patterns have not been investigated. Here, we used reporter assays to characterize two regulatory variants, which virtually abolished the response to TNF-α (rs2524094) and IFN-γ (rs10657191) in HLA-Cw*0602 and a cluster of related alleles. We validated these findings through the analysis of HLA-Cw*0602 expression in primary keratinocytes treated with TNF-α and IFN-γ. Finally, we showed that HLA-Cw*0602 transcripts are not increased in psoriatic skin lesions, despite highly elevated TNF-α levels. Thus, our findings demonstrate the presence of allele-specific differences in HLA-C expression and indicate that HLA-Cw*0602 is unresponsive to up-regulation by key pro-inflammatory cytokines in psoriasis. These data pave the way for functional studies into the pathogenic role of the major psoriasis susceptibility allele. PMID:22113476

  3. Allele-specific cytokine responses at the HLA-C locus: implications for psoriasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hundhausen, Christian; Bertoni, Anna; Mak, Rose K; Botti, Elisabetta; Di Meglio, Paola; Clop, Alex; Laggner, Ute; Chimenti, Sergio; Hayday, Adrian C; Barker, Jonathan N; Trembath, Richard C; Capon, Francesca; Nestle, Frank O

    2012-03-01

    Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disorder that is inherited as a complex trait. Genetic studies have repeatedly highlighted HLA-C as the major determinant for psoriasis susceptibility, with the Cw*0602 allele conferring significant disease risk in a wide range of populations. Despite the potential importance of HLA-C variation in psoriasis, either via an effect on peptide presentation or immuno-inhibitory activity, allele-specific expression patterns have not been investigated. Here, we used reporter assays to characterize two regulatory variants, which virtually abolished the response to tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α (rs2524094) and IFN-γ (rs10657191) in HLA-Cw*0602 and a cluster of related alleles. We validated these findings through the analysis of HLA-Cw*0602 expression in primary keratinocytes treated with TNF-α and IFN-γ. Finally, we showed that HLA-Cw*0602 transcripts are not increased in psoriatic skin lesions, despite highly elevated TNF-α levels. Thus, our findings demonstrate the presence of allele-specific differences in HLA-C expression and indicate that HLA-Cw*0602 is unresponsive to upregulation by key proinflammatory cytokines in psoriasis. These data pave the way for functional studies into the pathogenic role of the major psoriasis susceptibility allele.

  4. UNDERSTANDING THE UNUSUAL X-RAY EMISSION PROPERTIES OF THE MASSIVE, CLOSE BINARY WR 20a: A HIGH ENERGY WINDOW INTO THE STELLAR WIND INITIATION REGION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montes, Gabriela; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico; De Colle, Fabio; Strickler, Rachel

    2013-01-01

    The problem of explaining the X-ray emission properties of the massive, close binary WR 20a is discussed. Located near the cluster core of Westerlund 2, WR 20a is composed of two nearly identical Wolf-Rayet stars of 82 and 83 solar masses orbiting with a period of only 3.7 days. Although Chandra observations were taken during the secondary optical eclipse, the X-ray light curve shows no signs of a flux decrement. In fact, WR 20a appears slightly more X-ray luminous and softer during the optical eclipse, opposite to what has been observed in other binary systems. To aid in our interpretation of the data, we compare with the results of hydrodynamical simulations using the adaptive mesh refinement code Mezcal which includes radiative cooling and a radiative acceleration force term. It is shown that the X-ray emission can be successfully explained in models where the wind-wind collision interface in this system occurs while the outflowing material is still being accelerated. Consequently, WR 20a serves as a critical test-case for how radiatively driven stellar winds are initiated and how they interact. Our models not only procure a robust description of current Chandra data, which cover the orbital phases between 0.3 and 0.6, but also provide detailed predictions over the entire orbit

  5. Understanding the Unusual X-Ray Emission Properties of the Massive, Close Binary WR 20a: A High Energy Window into the Stellar Wind Initiation Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montes, Gabriela; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico; De Colle, Fabio; Strickler, Rachel

    2013-11-01

    The problem of explaining the X-ray emission properties of the massive, close binary WR 20a is discussed. Located near the cluster core of Westerlund 2, WR 20a is composed of two nearly identical Wolf-Rayet stars of 82 and 83 solar masses orbiting with a period of only 3.7 days. Although Chandra observations were taken during the secondary optical eclipse, the X-ray light curve shows no signs of a flux decrement. In fact, WR 20a appears slightly more X-ray luminous and softer during the optical eclipse, opposite to what has been observed in other binary systems. To aid in our interpretation of the data, we compare with the results of hydrodynamical simulations using the adaptive mesh refinement code Mezcal which includes radiative cooling and a radiative acceleration force term. It is shown that the X-ray emission can be successfully explained in models where the wind-wind collision interface in this system occurs while the outflowing material is still being accelerated. Consequently, WR 20a serves as a critical test-case for how radiatively driven stellar winds are initiated and how they interact. Our models not only procure a robust description of current Chandra data, which cover the orbital phases between 0.3 and 0.6, but also provide detailed predictions over the entire orbit.

  6. UNDERSTANDING THE UNUSUAL X-RAY EMISSION PROPERTIES OF THE MASSIVE, CLOSE BINARY WR 20a: A HIGH ENERGY WINDOW INTO THE STELLAR WIND INITIATION REGION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Montes, Gabriela; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico; De Colle, Fabio; Strickler, Rachel [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)

    2013-11-10

    The problem of explaining the X-ray emission properties of the massive, close binary WR 20a is discussed. Located near the cluster core of Westerlund 2, WR 20a is composed of two nearly identical Wolf-Rayet stars of 82 and 83 solar masses orbiting with a period of only 3.7 days. Although Chandra observations were taken during the secondary optical eclipse, the X-ray light curve shows no signs of a flux decrement. In fact, WR 20a appears slightly more X-ray luminous and softer during the optical eclipse, opposite to what has been observed in other binary systems. To aid in our interpretation of the data, we compare with the results of hydrodynamical simulations using the adaptive mesh refinement code Mezcal which includes radiative cooling and a radiative acceleration force term. It is shown that the X-ray emission can be successfully explained in models where the wind-wind collision interface in this system occurs while the outflowing material is still being accelerated. Consequently, WR 20a serves as a critical test-case for how radiatively driven stellar winds are initiated and how they interact. Our models not only procure a robust description of current Chandra data, which cover the orbital phases between 0.3 and 0.6, but also provide detailed predictions over the entire orbit.

  7. Allelic deletions of cell growth regulators during progression of bladder cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Primdahl, H; von der Maase, H; Christensen, M

    2000-01-01

    Cell growth regulators include proteins of the p53 pathway encoded by the genes CDKN2A (p16, p14arf), MDM2, TP53, and CDKN1A (p21) as well as proteins encoded by genes like RB1, E2F, and MYCL. In the present study we investigated allelic deletions of all these genes in each recurrent bladder tumor...... difference in the numbers of gene loci hit by deletions muscle-invasive versus noninvasive tumors (P = 0.0000002), with the genes most often hit by deletions in muscle-invasive tumors being TP53, RB1, and MYCL. A number of novel findings were made. Losses of MYCL and RB1 alleles were more pronounced...... that a characteristic difference between recurrent noninvasive and recurrent progressing bladder tumors is loss of cell cycle-regulatory genes in the latter group....

  8. Allele-specific deletions in mouse tumors identify Fbxw7 as germline modifier of tumor susceptibility.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesus Perez-Losada

    Full Text Available Genome-wide association studies (GWAS have been successful in finding associations between specific genetic variants and cancer susceptibility in human populations. These studies have identified a range of highly statistically significant associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs and susceptibility to development of a range of human tumors. However, the effect of each SNP in isolation is very small, and all of the SNPs combined only account for a relatively minor proportion of the total genetic risk (5-10%. There is therefore a major requirement for alternative routes to the discovery of genetic risk factors for cancer. We have previously shown using mouse models that chromosomal regions harboring susceptibility genes identified by linkage analysis frequently exhibit allele-specific genetic alterations in tumors. We demonstrate here that the Fbxw7 gene, a commonly mutated gene in a wide range of mouse and human cancers, shows allele-specific deletions in mouse lymphomas and skin tumors. Lymphomas from three different F1 hybrids show 100% allele-specificity in the patterns of allelic loss. Parental alleles from 129/Sv or Spretus/Gla mice are lost in tumors from F1 hybrids with C57BL/6 animals, due to the presence of a specific non-synonymous coding sequence polymorphism at the N-terminal portion of the gene. A specific genetic test of association between this SNP and lymphoma susceptibility in interspecific backcross mice showed a significant linkage (p = 0.001, but only in animals with a functional p53 gene. These data therefore identify Fbxw7 as a p53-dependent tumor susceptibility gene. Increased p53-dependent tumor susceptibility and allele-specific losses were also seen in a mouse skin model of skin tumor development. We propose that analysis of preferential allelic imbalances in tumors may provide an efficient means of uncovering genetic variants that affect mouse and human tumor susceptibility.

  9. Allele coding in genomic evaluation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Standen, Ismo; Christensen, Ole Fredslund

    2011-01-01

    Genomic data are used in animal breeding to assist genetic evaluation. Several models to estimate genomic breeding values have been studied. In general, two approaches have been used. One approach estimates the marker effects first and then, genomic breeding values are obtained by summing marker...... effects. In the second approach, genomic breeding values are estimated directly using an equivalent model with a genomic relationship matrix. Allele coding is the method chosen to assign values to the regression coefficients in the statistical model. A common allele coding is zero for the homozygous...... genotype of the first allele, one for the heterozygote, and two for the homozygous genotype for the other allele. Another common allele coding changes these regression coefficients by subtracting a value from each marker such that the mean of regression coefficients is zero within each marker. We call...

  10. Genotypic and allelic variability in CYP19A1 among populations of African and European ancestry.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Athena Starlard-Davenport

    Full Text Available CYP19A1 facilitates the bioconversion of estrogens from androgens. CYP19A1 intron single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs may alter mRNA splicing, resulting in altered CYP19A1 activity, and potentially influencing disease susceptibility. Genetic studies of CYP19A1 SNPs have been well documented in populations of European ancestry; however, studies in populations of African ancestry are limited. In the present study, ten 'candidate' intronic SNPs in CYP19A1 from 125 African Americans (AA and 277 European Americans (EA were genotyped and their frequencies compared. Allele frequencies were also compared with HapMap and ASW 1000 Genomes populations. We observed significant differences in the minor allele frequencies between AA and EA in six of the ten SNPs including rs10459592 (p<0.0001, rs12908960 (p<0.0001, rs1902584 (p = 0.016, rs2470144 (p<0.0001, rs1961177 (p<0.0001, and rs6493497 (p = 0.003. While there were no significant differences in allele frequencies between EA and CEU in the HapMap population, a 1.2- to 19-fold difference in allele frequency for rs10459592 (p = 0.004, rs12908960 (p = 0.0006, rs1902584 (p<0.0001, rs2470144 (p = 0.0006, rs1961177 (p<0.0001, and rs6493497 (p = 0.0092 was observed between AA and the Yoruba (YRI population. Linkage disequilibrium (LD blocks and haplotype clusters that is unique to the EA population but not AA was also observed. In summary, we demonstrate that differences in the allele frequencies of CYP19A1 intron SNPs are not consistent between populations of African and European ancestry. Thus, investigations into whether CYP19A1 intron SNPs contribute to variations in cancer incidence, outcomes and pharmacological response seen in populations of different ancestry may prove beneficial.

  11. Estimating the probability of allelic drop-out of STR alleles in forensic genetics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tvedebrink, Torben; Eriksen, Poul Svante; Mogensen, Helle Smidt

    2009-01-01

    In crime cases with available DNA evidence, the amount of DNA is often sparse due to the setting of the crime. In such cases, allelic drop-out of one or more true alleles in STR typing is possible. We present a statistical model for estimating the per locus and overall probability of allelic drop......-out using the results of all STR loci in the case sample as reference. The methodology of logistic regression is appropriate for this analysis, and we demonstrate how to incorporate this in a forensic genetic framework....

  12. Association between diabetes type 1 and DQB1 alleles in a case-control study conducted in Montevideo, Uruguay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mimbacas, Adriana; Pérez-Bravo, Francisco; Hidalgo, Pedro C; Javiel, Gerardo; Pisciottano, Carmen; Grignola, Rosario; Jorge, Ana María; Gallino, Juan Pablo; Gasagoite, Jackeline; Cardoso, Horacio

    2003-03-31

    We studied HLA DQB1 allele frequencies and the relative risk (RR) of various genotypes in 72 type 1 diabetic patients and 40 control individuals in Uruguay. This is a tri-racial (Caucasian, Black and Indo-American) mixed population. The products of the polymerase chain reaction amplifications were hybridized with oligonucleotides by allele-specific oligonucleotide reverse or dot blot methods. Significant differences between these two groups were observed only for allele DQB1*0302 (35%, RR = 7.34, P<0.001). The frequency of the alleles carrying a non-aspartic acid residue at position 57 was significantly higher in the diabetic patients (85 vs 53%, P<0.001). In contrast, the frequency of Asp alleles was negatively associated with type 1 diabetes (RR = 0.20, P<0.001). The genotype DQB1*0302/DQB1*0201 (33%, RR = 5.41, P<0.05) was positively associated with this disease. The genotype frequencies associated with type 1 diabetes in our population were significantly different from what is known for Caucasian and Black populations as well as compared with another admixed population, from Chile.

  13. Hearing loss associated with enlarged vestibular aqueduct and zero or one mutant allele of SLC26A4.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Jane; Muskett, Julie A; King, Kelly A; Zalewski, Christopher K; Chattaraj, Parna; Butman, John A; Kenna, Margaret A; Chien, Wade W; Brewer, Carmen C; Griffith, Andrew J

    2017-07-01

    To characterize the severity and natural history of hearing loss, and the prevalence of having a cochlear implant in a maturing cohort of individuals with enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) and zero or one mutant allele of SLC26A4. Prospective cohort study of subjects ascertained between 1998 and 2015 at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. Study subjects were 127 individuals (median age, 8 years; range, 0-59 years) with EVA in at least one ear. Ears with EVA and zero or one mutant allele of SLC26A4 had mean 0.5/1/2/4-kHz pure-tone averages of 62.6 and 52.9 dB HL, respectively, in contrast to EVA ears with two mutant alleles of SLC26A4 (88.1 dB HL; P zero, one, and two mutant alleles, respectively (P = .00833). This association was not independent (P = .534) but reflected underlying correlations with age at time of first audiogram (P = .003) or severity of hearing loss (P = .000). Ears with EVA and zero or one mutant allele of SLC26A4 have less severe hearing loss, no difference in prevalence of fluctuation, and a lower prevalence of cochlear implantation in comparison to ears with two mutant alleles of SLC26A4. NA Laryngoscope, 127:E238-E243, 2017. © 2016 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

  14. Human leukocyte antigen class II susceptibility conferring alleles among non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tipu, H.N.; Ahmed, T.A.; Bashir, M.M.

    2010-01-01

    To determine the frequency of Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) class II susceptibility conferring alleles among type 2 Diabetes mellitus patients, in comparison with healthy controls. Cross-sectional comparative study. Patients with non-insulin dependent Diabetes mellitus meeting World Health Organization criteria were studied. These were compared with age and gender matched healthy control subjects. For each subject (patients as well as controls), DNA was extracted from ethylene diamine tetra-acetate sample and HLA class II DRB1 typing was carried out at allele group level (DRB1*01-DRB1*16) by sequence specific primers. Human leukocyte antigen DRB1 type was determined by agarose gel electrophoresis and results were recorded. Frequencies were determined as number of an allele divided by total number of alleles per group; p-value was computed using Pearson's chi-square test. Among the 100 patients, there were 63 males and 37 females with 68 controls. A total of 13 different HLA DRB1 alleles were detected, with DRB1*15 being the commonest in both the groups. The allele DRB1*13 had statistically significant higher frequency in patient group as compared to controls (p 0.005). HLA DRB1*13 was found with a significantly increased frequency in non-insulin dependent Diabetes mellitus. (author)

  15. Widespread signatures of positive selection in common risk alleles associated to autism spectrum disorder.

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    Renato Polimanti

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The human brain is the outcome of innumerable evolutionary processes; the systems genetics of psychiatric disorders could bear their signatures. On this basis, we analyzed five psychiatric disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder (ASD, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and schizophrenia (SCZ, using GWAS summary statistics from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. Machine learning-derived scores were used to investigate two natural-selection scenarios: complete selection (loci where a selected allele reached fixation and incomplete selection (loci where a selected allele has not yet reached fixation. ASD GWAS results positively correlated with incomplete-selection (p = 3.53*10-4. Variants with ASD GWAS p<0.1 were shown to have a 19%-increased probability to be in the top-5% for incomplete-selection score (OR = 1.19, 95%CI = 1.11-1.8, p = 9.56*10-7. Investigating the effect directions of minor alleles, we observed an enrichment for positive associations in SNPs with ASD GWAS p<0.1 and top-5% incomplete-selection score (permutation p<10-4. Considering the set of these ASD-positive-associated variants, we observed gene-expression enrichments for brain and pituitary tissues (p = 2.3*10-5 and p = 3*10-5, respectively and 53 gene ontology (GO enrichments, such as nervous system development (GO:0007399, p = 7.57*10-12, synapse organization (GO:0050808, p = 8.29*10-7, and axon guidance (GO:0007411, p = 1.81*10-7. Previous genetic studies demonstrated that ASD positively correlates with childhood intelligence, college completion, and years of schooling. Accordingly, we hypothesize that certain ASD risk alleles were under positive selection during human evolution due to their involvement in neurogenesis and cognitive ability.

  16. Searching for WR stars in I Zw 18 -- The origin of HeII emission

    OpenAIRE

    de Mello, Duilia; Schaerer, Daniel; Heldmann, Jennifer; Leitherer, Claus

    1998-01-01

    I Zw 18 is the most metal poor star-forming galaxy known and is an ideal laboratory to probe stellar evolution theory at low metallicities. Using archival HST WFPC2 imaging and FOS spectroscopy we were able to improve previous studies. We constructed a continuum free HeII map, which was used to identify Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars recently found by ground-based spectroscopy and to locate diffuse nebular emission. Most of the HeII emission is associated with the NW stellar cluster, clearly displaced...

  17. The radioprotector WR-2721 reduces neutron-induced mutations at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase locus in mouse splenocytes when administered prior to or following irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grdina, D.J.; Basic, I.

    1992-01-01

    An in vitro T-lymphocyte cloning technique has been applied to study the effects of JANUS fission-spectrum neutron irradiation and the radioprotector S-2-(3-aminopropylamino) ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR-2721) on the subsequent development of somatic mutations at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (hprt) locus in hybrid B6CF1 male mice. In control studies performed to establish an in vitro cloning technique, the mutant frequencies of splenic T-lymphocytes, as a result of exposure to a 100 cGy dose of neutrons, increased with time from a control level of 9 x 10 -7 to a maximum value of 1.7 x 10 -5 at 56 days following irradiation. Between 56 and 150 days after irradiation, mutant frequencies were observed to plateau and remain stable. All subsequent determinations were performed at 56 days following the experimental treatment of animals. WR-2721 at a dose of 400 mg/kg was effective in protecting against the induction of hprt mutants (i.e. a mutant frequency reduction factor, MFRF) following the largest dose of neutrons used (i.e. 150 cGy). The antimutagenic effectiveness of WR-2721 administered 30 min prior to irradiation was unaffected, even when the dose was reduced to 200 mg/kg. These findings confirm our earlier report using the radioprotector N-(2-mercaptoethyl)-1,2-diaminopropane (WR-1065) under in vitro conditions, and demonstrate that these agents can be used as effective antimutagens even when they are administered up to 3 h following radiation exposure. (Author)

  18. Rapid detection of the CYP2A6*12 hybrid allele by Pyrosequencing® technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gallagher Margaret L

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Identification of CYP2A6 alleles associated with reduced enzyme activity is important in the study of inter-individual differences in drug metabolism. CYP2A6*12 is a hybrid allele that results from unequal crossover between CYP2A6 and CYP2A7 genes. The 5' regulatory region and exons 1–2 are derived from CYP2A7, and exons 3–9 are derived from CYP2A6. Conventional methods for detection of CYP2A6*12 consist of two-step PCR protocols that are laborious and unsuitable for high-throughput genotyping. We developed a rapid and accurate method to detect the CYP2A6*12 allele by Pyrosequencing technology. Methods A single set of PCR primers was designed to specifically amplify both the CYP2A6*1 wild-type allele and the CYP2A6*12 hybrid allele. An internal Pyrosequencing primer was used to generate allele-specific sequence information, which detected homozygous wild-type, heterozygous hybrid, and homozygous hybrid alleles. We first validated the assay on 104 DNA samples that were also genotyped by conventional two-step PCR and by cycle sequencing. CYP2A6*12 allele frequencies were then determined using the Pyrosequencing assay on 181 multi-ethnic DNA samples from subjects of African American, European Caucasian, Pacific Rim, and Hispanic descent. Finally, we streamlined the Pyrosequencing assay by integrating liquid handling robotics into the workflow. Results Pyrosequencing results demonstrated 100% concordance with conventional two-step PCR and cycle sequencing methods. Allele frequency data showed slightly higher prevalence of the CYP2A6*12 allele in European Caucasians and Hispanics. Conclusion This Pyrosequencing assay proved to be a simple, rapid, and accurate alternative to conventional methods, which can be easily adapted to the needs of higher-throughput studies.

  19. The link between some alleles on human leukocyte antigen system and autism in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mostafa, Gehan A; Shehab, Abeer A; Al-Ayadhi, Laila Y

    2013-02-15

    The reason behind the initiation of autoimmunity to brain in some patients with autism is not well understood. There is an association between some autoimmune disorders and specific alleles of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system. Thus, we examined the frequency of some HLA-DRB1 alleles in 100 autistic children and 100 healthy matched-children by differential hybridization with sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes. The risk of association between acquisition or absence of these alleles and autism and also a history of autoimmune diseases in autistic relatives was studied. Autistic children had significantly higher frequency of HLA-DRB1*11 allele than controls (P<0.001). In contrast, autistic children had significantly lower frequency of HLA-DRB1*03 allele than controls (P<0.001). Acquisition of HLA-DRB1*011 and absence of HLA-DRB1*3 had significant risk for association with autism (odds ratio: 3.21 and 0.17, respectively; 95% CI: 1.65-6.31 and 0.06-0.45, respectively). HLA-DRB1*11 had a significant risk for association with a family history of autoimmunity in autistic children (odds ratio: 5.67; 95% CI: 2.07-16.3). In conclusions, the link of some HLA alleles to autism and to family history of autoimmunity indicates the possible contributing role of these alleles to autoimmunity in some autistic children. Despite a relatively small sample size, we are the first to report a probable protective association of HLA-DRB1*03 allele with autism. It warrants a replication study of a larger sample to validate the HLA-DRB1 genetic association with autism. This is important to determine whether therapeutic modulations of the immune function are legitimate avenues for novel therapy in selected cases of autism. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Abnormal segregation of alleles in CEPH pedigree DNAs arising from allele loss in lymphoblastoid DNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Royle, N J; Armour, J A; Crosier, M; Jeffreys, A J

    1993-01-01

    Somatic events that result in the reduction to hemi- or homozygosity at all loci affected by the event have been identified in lymphoblastoid DNA from mothers of two CEPH families. Using suitably informative probes, the allele deficiencies were detected by the abnormal transmission of alleles from grandparents to grandchildren, with the apparent absence of the alleles from the parent. Undetected somatic deficiencies in family DNAs could result in misscoring of recombination events and consequently introduce errors into linkage analysis.

  1. Radioprotection by WR-151327 against the late normal tissue damage in mouse hind legs from gamma ray radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsushita, Satoru; Ando, Koichi; Koike, Sachiko

    1994-01-01

    To evaluate the protective effect of WR-151327 on late radiation-induced damaged to normal tissues in mice, the right hind legs of mice with or without WR-151327 administration (400 mg/kg) were irradiated with 137 Cs gamma rays. Leg contracture and skin shrinkage assays were performed at 380 days after irradiation. The mice were killed on day 400 postirradiation and histological sections of the legs were made. The thickness of the dermis, epidermis, and skin (dermis plus epidermis) was measured. The muscular area of the legs and the posterior knee angle between the femur and tibia were also measured. The left hind legs were similarly assessed as nonirradiated controls. Group means and standard deviations were calculated and dose-response curves were drawn for every endpoint. Then, the dose modifying factor (DMF) for each endpoint and the correlations among endpoints were determined. Latae damage assayed by leg contracture and skin shrinkage progressed with increasing radiation dose. However, it was reduced by drug treatment. The significant effect was indicated for skin shrinkage by a DMF of 1.8 at 35%. The DMF for leg contracture was 1.3 at 6 mm. In the irradiated legs, epidermal hyperplasia and dermal fibrosis in the skin, muscular atrophy, and extension disturbance of the knee joint were observed. These changes progressed with increasing radiation dose. Skin damage assayed by the present endpoints was also reduced by drug treatment by DMFs of 1.4 to 1.7. However, DMFs for damage to the muscle and knee were not determined because no isoeffect was observed. There were good correlations between leg contracture or skin shrinkage and the other endpoints in both untreated and drug-treated mice. WR-151327 has the potential to protect against radiation-induced late normal tissue damage. 17 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs

  2. Apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 allele and outcomes of traumatic spinal cord injury in a Chinese Han population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Chongyi; Ji, Guangrong; Liu, Qingpeng; Yao, Meng

    2011-10-01

    The association between apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon 4 (ε4) allele and outcomes of traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is still controversial and ambiguous. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that APOE polymorphisms are associated with outcomes after SCI in Chinese Han patients. APOE polymorphisms were determined in 100 patients with cervical SCI (C3-C8). The genotype frequency of this polymorphism was determined by using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. Patients with an APOE ε4 allele had significantly less motor recovery during rehabilitation than did patients without an APOE ε4 allele (mean 3.7 vs. 6.1; P = 0.04) and a longer rehabilitation length of stay (LOS) (mean 117.4 vs. 94.5; P = 0.02), but better sensory-pinprick recovery (mean 6.1 vs. 4.0; P = 0.03). There were no significant differences by APOE ε4 allele status in sensory-light touch recovery or acute LOS. This study suggests that the APOE ε4 allele is associated with outcomes after SCI and longer rehabilitation LOS in Chinese Han patients.

  3. A common mutation associated with the Duarte galactosemia allele

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Elsas, L.J.; Dembure, P.P.; Langley, S.; Paulk, E.M.; Hjelm, L.N.; Fridovich-Keil, J. (Emory Univ. School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA (United States))

    1994-06-01

    The human cDNA and gene for galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase (GALT) have been cloned and sequenced. A prevalant mutation (Q188R) is known to cause classic galactosemia (G/G). G/G galactosemia has an incidence of 1/38,886 in 1,396,766 Georgia live-born infants, but a more common variant of galactosemia, Duarte, has an unknown incidence. The proposed Duarte biochemical phenotypes of GALT are as follows: D/N, D/D, and D/G, which have [approximately]75%, 50%, and 25% of normal GALT activity, respectively. In addition, the D allele has isoforms of its enzyme that have more acidic pI than normal. Here the authors systematically determine (a) the prevalence of an A-to-G transition at base pair 2744 of exon 10 in the GALT gene, a transition that produces a codon change converting asparagine to aspartic acid at position 314 (N314D), and (b) the association of this mutation with the Duarte biochemical phenotype. The 2744G nucleotide change adds an AvaII (SinI) cut site, which was identified in PCR-amplified DNA. In 111 biochemically unphenotyped controls with no history of galactosemia, 13 N314D alleles were identified (prevalence 5.9%). In a prospective study, 40 D alleles were biochemically phenotyped, and 40 N314D alleles were found. By contrast, in 36 individuals known not to have the Duarte biochemical phenotype, no N314D alleles were found. The authors conclude that the N314D mutation is a common allele that probably causes the Duarte GALT biochemical phenotype and occurs in a predominantly Caucasian, nongalactosemic population, with a prevalence of 5.9%. 36 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.

  4. GWAS of follicular lymphoma reveals allelic heterogeneity at 6p21.32 and suggests shared genetic susceptibility with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karin E Smedby

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL represents a diverse group of hematological malignancies, of which follicular lymphoma (FL is a prevalent subtype. A previous genome-wide association study has established a marker, rs10484561 in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA class II region on 6p21.32 associated with increased FL risk. Here, in a three-stage genome-wide association study, starting with a genome-wide scan of 379 FL cases and 791 controls followed by validation in 1,049 cases and 5,790 controls, we identified a second independent FL-associated locus on 6p21.32, rs2647012 (OR(combined  = 0.64, P(combined  = 2 × 10(-21 located 962 bp away from rs10484561 (r(2<0.1 in controls. After mutual adjustment, the associations at the two SNPs remained genome-wide significant (rs2647012:OR(adjusted  = 0.70, P(adjusted  =  4 × 10(-12; rs10484561:OR(adjusted  = 1.64, P(adjusted  = 5 × 10(-15. Haplotype and coalescence analyses indicated that rs2647012 arose on an evolutionarily distinct haplotype from that of rs10484561 and tags a novel allele with an opposite (protective effect on FL risk. Moreover, in a follow-up analysis of the top 6 FL-associated SNPs in 4,449 cases of other NHL subtypes, rs10484561 was associated with risk of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (OR(combined  = 1.36, P(combined  =  1.4 × 10(-7. Our results reveal the presence of allelic heterogeneity within the HLA class II region influencing FL susceptibility and indicate a possible shared genetic etiology with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. These findings suggest that the HLA class II region plays a complex yet important role in NHL.

  5. Polymorphisms in the glucocerebrosidase gene and pseudogene urge caution in clinical analysis of Gaucher disease allele c.1448T>C (L444P

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lahey Cora

    2006-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Gaucher disease is a potentially severe lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the human glucocerebrosidase gene (GBA. We have developed a multiplexed genetic assay for eight diseases prevalent in the Ashkenazi population: Tay-Sachs, Gaucher type I, Niemann-Pick types A and B, mucolipidosis type IV, familial dysautonomia, Canavan, Bloom syndrome, and Fanconi anemia type C. This assay includes an allelic determination for GBA allele c.1448T>C (L444P. The goal of this study was to clinically evaluate this assay. Methods Biotinylated, multiplex PCR products were directly hybridized to capture probes immobilized on fluorescently addressed microspheres. After incubation with streptavidin-conjugated fluorophore, the reactions were analyzed by Luminex IS100. Clinical evaluations were conducted using de-identified patient DNA samples. Results We evaluated a multiplexed suspension array assay that includes wild-type and mutant genetic determinations for Gaucher disease allele c.1448T>C. Two percent of samples reported to be wild-type by conventional methods were observed to be c.1448T>C heterozygous using our assay. Sequence analysis suggested that this phenomenon was due to co-amplification of the functional gene and a paralogous pseudogene (ΨGBA due to a polymorphism in the primer-binding site of the latter. Primers for the amplification of this allele were then repositioned to span an upstream deletion in the pseudogene, yielding a much longer amplicon. Although it is widely reported that long amplicons negatively impact amplification or detection efficiency in recently adopted multiplex techniques, this assay design functioned properly and resolved the occurrence of false heterozygosity. Conclusion Although previously available sequence information suggested GBA gene/pseudogene discrimination capabilities with a short amplified product, we identified common single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the pseudogene that

  6. The Pleiotropic Phenotype of Apc Mutations in the Mouse: Allele Specificity and Effects of the Genetic Background

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halberg, Richard B.; Chen, Xiaodi; Amos-Landgraf, James M.; White, Alanna; Rasmussen, Kristin; Clipson, Linda; Pasch, Cheri; Sullivan, Ruth; Pitot, Henry C.; Dove, William F.

    2008-01-01

    Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is a human cancer syndrome characterized by the development of hundreds to thousands of colonic polyps and extracolonic lesions including desmoid fibromas, osteomas, epidermoid cysts, and congenital hypertrophy of the pigmented retinal epithelium. Afflicted individuals are heterozygous for mutations in the APC gene. Detailed investigations of mice heterozygous for mutations in the ortholog Apc have shown that other genetic factors strongly influence the phenotype. Here we report qualitative and quantitative modifications of the phenotype of Apc mutants as a function of three genetic variables: Apc allele, p53 allele, and genetic background. We have found major differences between the Apc alleles Min and 1638N in multiplicity and regionality of intestinal tumors, as well as in incidence of extracolonic lesions. By contrast, Min mice homozygous for either of two different knockout alleles of p53 show similar phenotypic effects. These studies illustrate the classic principle that functional genetics is enriched by assessing penetrance and expressivity with allelic series. The mouse permits study of an allelic gene series on multiple genetic backgrounds, thereby leading to a better understanding of gene action in a range of biological processes. PMID:18723878

  7. A risk allele for nicotine dependence in CHRNA5 is a protective allele for cocaine dependence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grucza, Richard A; Wang, Jen C; Stitzel, Jerry A; Hinrichs, Anthony L; Saccone, Scott F; Saccone, Nancy L; Bucholz, Kathleen K; Cloninger, C Robert; Neuman, Rosalind J; Budde, John P; Fox, Louis; Bertelsen, Sarah; Kramer, John; Hesselbrock, Victor; Tischfield, Jay; Nurnberger, John I; Almasy, Laura; Porjesz, Bernice; Kuperman, Samuel; Schuckit, Marc A; Edenberg, Howard J; Rice, John P; Goate, Alison M; Bierut, Laura J

    2008-12-01

    A nonsynonymous coding polymorphism, rs16969968, of the CHRNA5 gene that encodes the alpha-5 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) has been found to be associated with nicotine dependence. The goal of this study was to examine the association of this variant with cocaine dependence. Genetic association analysis was performed in two independent samples of unrelated case and control subjects: 1) 504 European Americans participating in the Family Study on Cocaine Dependence (FSCD) and 2) 814 European Americans participating in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA). In the FSCD, there was a significant association between the CHRNA5 variant and cocaine dependence (odds ratio = .67 per allele, p = .0045, assuming an additive genetic model), but in the reverse direction compared with that previously observed for nicotine dependence. In multivariate analyses that controlled for the effects of nicotine dependence, both the protective effect for cocaine dependence and the previously documented risk effect for nicotine dependence were statistically significant. The protective effect for cocaine dependence was replicated in the COGA sample. In COGA, effect sizes for habitual smoking, a proxy phenotype for nicotine dependence, were consistent with those observed in FSCD. The minor (A) allele of rs16969968, relative to the major G allele, appears to be both a risk factor for nicotine dependence and a protective factor for cocaine dependence. The biological plausibility of such a bidirectional association stems from the involvement of nAChRs with both excitatory and inhibitory modulation of dopamine-mediated reward pathways.

  8. Revisiting final state interaction in charmless Bq→P P decays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chua, Chun-Khiang

    2018-05-01

    Various new measurements in charmless Bu ,d ,s→P P modes, where P is a low lying pseudoscalar meson, are reported by Belle and LHCb. These include the rates of B0→π0π0, η π0, Bs→η'η', B0→K+K- and Bs0→π+π- decays. Some of these modes are highly suppressed and are among the rarest B decays. Direct C P asymmetries on various modes are constantly updated. It is well known that direct C P asymmetries and rates of suppressed modes are sensitive to final state interaction (FSI). As new measurements are reported and more data will be collected, it is interesting and timely to revisit the rescattering effects in Bu ,d ,s→P P states. We perform a χ2 analysis with all available data on C P -averaged rates and C P asymmetries in B¯u ,d ,s→P P decays. Our numerical results are compared to data and those from factorization approach. The quality of the fit is improved significantly from the factorization results in the presence of rescattering. The relations on topological amplitudes and rescattering are explored and they help to provide a better understanding of the effects of FSI. As suggested by U(3) symmetry on topological amplitudes and FSI, a vanishing exchange rescattering scenario is considered. The exchange, annihilation, u -penguin, u -penguin annihilation, and some electroweak penguin amplitudes are enhanced significantly via annihilation and total annihilation rescatterings. In particular, the u -penguin annihilation amplitude is sizably enhanced by the tree amplitude via total annihilation rescattering. These enhancements affect rates and C P asymmetries. Predictions can be checked in the near future.

  9. Allele-Specific DNA Methylation and Its Interplay with Repressive Histone Marks at Promoter-Mutant TERT Genes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josh Lewis Stern

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available A mutation in the promoter of the Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (TERT gene is the most frequent noncoding mutation in cancer. The mutation drives unusual monoallelic expression of TERT, allowing immortalization. Here, we find that DNA methylation of the TERT CpG island (CGI is also allele-specific in multiple cancers. The expressed allele is hypomethylated, which is opposite to cancers without TERT promoter mutations. The continued presence of Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2 on the inactive allele suggests that histone marks of repressed chromatin may be causally linked to high DNA methylation. Consistent with this hypothesis, TERT promoter DNA containing 5-methyl-CpG has much increased affinity for PRC2 in vitro. Thus, CpG methylation and histone marks appear to collaborate to maintain the two TERT alleles in different epigenetic states in TERT promoter mutant cancers. Finally, in several cancers, DNA methylation levels at the TERT CGI correlate with altered patient survival.

  10. Reduction of radiation effects by chemical protector (WR-2721)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, C.H.; Kim, Y.K.; Yun, T.K.; Koh, J.H.

    1985-01-01

    As a part studies on effect of radiation, the present report was carried out to evaluate the changes of leukocytes, lymphocytes percent of leukocytes and several organs in swiss webster (NIH-GP) mice by radiation protective agents prior to γ-ray exposure. The whole body irradiation after administration of a radiation protective agents was done in dose level of 25,50,100 and 300 rads by a single exposure of γ-ray delivered from 60 Co, source tele-irradiation unit at a dose rate of 100 rad/min. Mice of each experimental group were whole body γ-irradiated in plastic cage with special producted rotating machine. The radiation protective agent was employed WR-2721 and the amounts injected intraperitoneally were 400mg/kg of body weight. The leukocytes were counted with hemocytometer. Differential count of leukocytes was done with 200 cells every smear and lymphocyte percent of leukocyte were determined in relative proportion only. All major organ were examined grossly and weighted. After fixation with formalin solution, histo-pathological preparations were made for microscopical study. (Author)

  11. AllelicImbalance: An R/ bioconductor package for detecting, managing, and visualizing allele expression imbalance data from RNA sequencing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gådin, Jesper R.; van't Hooft, Ferdinand M.; Eriksson, Per

    2015-01-01

    the possible biases. Results: We present AllelicImblance, a software program that is designed to detect, manage, and visualize allelic imbalances comprehensively. The purpose of this software is to allow users to pose genetic questions in any RNA sequencing experiment quickly, enhancing the general utility...... of RNA sequencing. The visualization features can reveal notable, non-trivial allelic imbalance behavior over specific regions, such as exons. Conclusions: The software provides a complete framework to perform allelic imbalance analyses of aligned RNA sequencing data, from detection to visualization...

  12. Observation of chi(cJ) decaying into the p(p)over-barK(+)K(-) final state

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ablikim, M.; Achasov, M. N.; Alberto, D.; An, L.; An, Q.; An, Z. H.; Bai, J. Z.; Baldini, R.; Ban, Y.; Becker, J.; Berger, N.; Bertani, M.; Bian, J. M.; Bondarenko, O.; Boyko, I.; Briere, R. A.; Bytev, V.; Cai, X.; Cao, G. F.; Cao, X. X.; Chang, J. F.; Chelkov, G.; Chen, G.; Chen, H. S.; Chen, J. C.; Chen, M. L.; Chen, S. J.; Chen, Y.; Chen, Y. B.; Cheng, H. P.; Chu, Y. P.; Cronin-Hennessy, D.; Dai, H. L.; Dai, J. P.; Dedovich, D.; Deng, Z. Y.; Denysenko, I.; Destefanis, M.; Ding, Y.; Dong, L. Y.; Dong, M. Y.; Du, S. X.; Fan, R. R.; Fang, J.; Fang, S. S.; Feng, C. Q.; Fu, C. D.; Fu, J. L.; Gao, Y.; Geng, C.; Goetzen, K.; Gong, W. X.; Greco, M.; Grishin, S.; Gu, M. H.; Gu, Y. T.; Guan, Y. H.; Guo, A. Q.; Guo, L. B.; Guo, Y. P.; Hao, X. Q.; Harris, F. A.; He, K. L.; He, M.; He, Z. Y.; Heng, Y. K.; Hou, Z. L.; Hu, H. M.; Hu, J. F.; Hu, T.; Huang, B.; Huang, G. M.; Huang, J. S.; Huang, X. T.; Huang, Y. P.; Hussain, T.; Ji, C. S.; Ji, Q.; Ji, X. B.; Ji, X. L.; Jia, L. K.; Jiang, L. L.; Jiang, X. S.; Jiao, J. B.; Jiao, Z.; Jin, D. P.; Jin, S.; Jing, F. F.; Kalantar-Nayestanaki, N.; Kavatsyuk, M.; Komamiya, S.; Kuehn, W.; Lange, J. S.; Leung, J. K. C.; Li, Cheng; Li, Cui; Li, D. M.; Li, F.; Li, G.; Li, H. B.; Li, J. C.; Li, Lei; Li, N. B.; Li, Q. J.; Li, W. D.; Li, W. G.; Li, X. L.; Li, X. N.; Li, X. Q.; Li, X. R.; Li, Z. B.; Liang, H.; Liang, Y. F.; Liang, Y. T.; Liao, G. R.; Liao, X. T.; Liu, B. J.; Liu, B. J.; Liu, C. L.; Liu, C. X.; Liu, C. Y.; Liu, F. H.; Liu, Fang; Liu, G. C.; Liu, H.; Liu, H. B.; Liu, H. M.; Liu, H. W.; Liu, J. P.; Liu, K.; Liu, K. Y.; Liu, Q.; Liu, S. B.; Liu, X.; Liu, X. H.; Liu, Y. B.; Liu, Y. W.; Liu, Yong; Liu, Z. A.; Liu, Z. Q.; Loehner, H.; Lu, G. R.; Lu, H. J.; Lu, J. G.; Lu, Q. W.; Lu, X. R.; Lu, Y. P.; Luo, C. L.; Luo, M. X.; Luo, T.; Luo, X. L.; Ma, C. L.; Ma, F. C.; Ma, H. L.; Ma, Q. M.; Ma, T.; Ma, X.; Ma, X. Y.; Maggiora, M.; Malik, Q. A.; Mao, H.; Mao, Y. J.; Mao, Z. P.; Messchendorp, J. G.; Min, J.; Mitchell, R. E.; Mo, X. H.; Muchnoi, N. Yu.; Nefedov, Y.; Ning, Z.; Olsen, S. L.; Ouyang, Q.; Pacetti, S.; Pelizaeus, M.; Peters, K.; Ping, J. L.; Ping, R. G.; Poling, R.; Pun, C. S. J.; Qi, M.; Qian, S.; Qiao, C. F.; Qin, X. S.; Qiu, J. F.; Rashid, K. H.; Rong, G.; Ruan, X. D.; Sarantsev, A.; Schulze, J.; Shao, M.; Shen, C. P.; Shen, X. Y.; Sheng, H. Y.; Shepherd, M. R.; Song, X. Y.; Sonoda, S.; Spataro, S.; Spruck, B.; Sun, D. H.; Sun, G. X.; Sun, J. F.; Sun, S. S.; Sun, X. D.; Sun, Y. J.; Sun, Y. Z.; Sun, Z. J.; Sun, Z. T.; Tang, C. J.; Tang, X.; Tang, X. F.; Tian, H. L.; Toth, D.; Varner, G. S.; Wan, X.; Wang, B. Q.; Wang, K.; Wang, L. L.; Wang, L. S.; Wang, M.; Wang, P.; Wang, P. L.; Wang, Q.; Wang, S. G.; Wang, X. L.; Wang, Y. D.; Wang, Y. F.; Wang, Y. Q.; Wang, Z.; Wang, Z. G.; Wang, Z. Y.; Wei, D. H.; Wen, Q. G.; Wen, S. P.; Wiedner, U.; Wu, L. H.; Wu, N.; Wu, W.; Wu, Z.; Xiao, Z. J.; Xie, Y. G.; Xu, G. F.; Xu, G. M.; Xu, H.; Xu, Y.; Xu, Z. R.; Xu, Z. Z.; Xue, Z.; Yan, L.; Yan, W. B.; Yan, Y. H.; Yang, H. X.; Yang, M.; Yang, T.; Yang, Y.; Yang, Y. X.; Ye, M.; Ye, M. H.; Yu, B. X.; Yu, C. X.; Yu, L.; Yuan, C. Z.; Yuan, W. L.; Yuan, Y.; Zafar, A. A.; Zallo, A.; Zeng, Y.; Zhang, B. X.; Zhang, B. Y.; Zhang, C. C.; Zhang, D. H.; Zhang, H. H.; Zhang, H. Y.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, J. W.; Zhang, J. Y.; Zhang, J. Z.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, S. H.; Zhang, T. R.; Zhang, X. J.; Zhang, X. Y.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, Y. H.; Zhang, Z. P.; Zhang, Z. Y.; Zhao, G.; Zhao, H. S.; Zhao, Jiawei; Zhao, Jingwei; Zhao, Lei; Zhao, Ling; Zhao, M. G.; Zhao, Q.; Zhao, S. J.; Zhao, T. C.; Zhao, X. H.; Zhao, Y. B.; Zhao, Z. G.; Zhao, Z. L.; Zhemchugov, A.; Zheng, B.; Zheng, J. P.; Zheng, Y. H.; Zheng, Z. P.; Zhong, B.; Zhong, J.; Zhong, L.; Zhou, L.; Zhou, X. K.; Zhou, X. R.; Zhu, C.; Zhu, K.; Zhu, K. J.; Zhu, S. H.; Zhu, X. L.; Zhu, X. W.; Zhu, Y. S.; Zhu, Z. A.; Zhuang, J.; Zou, B. S.; Zou, J. H.; Zuo, J. X.; Zweber, P.

    2011-01-01

    First measurements of the decays of the three chi(cJ) states to p (p) over barK(+)K(-) final states are presented. Intermediate phi -> K+K- and Lambda(1520) -> pK(-) resonance states are observed, and branching fractions for chi(cJ) -> (p) over barK(+) Lambda(1520), Lambda(1520)(Lambda) over bar

  13. Increased NBCn1 expression, Na+/ HCO 3 ? co-transport and intracellular pH in human vascular smooth muscle cells with a risk allele for hypertension

    OpenAIRE

    Ng, Fu Liang; Boedtkjer, Ebbe; Witkowska, Kate; Ren, Meixia; Zhang, Ruoxin; Tucker, Arthur; Aalkj?r, Christian; Caulfield, Mark J.; Ye, Shu

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Genome-wide association studies have revealed an association between variation at the SLC4A7 locus and blood pressure. SLC4A7 encodes the electroneutral Na+/ HCO 3 ? co-transporter NBCn1 which regulates intracellular pH (pH i ). We conducted a functional study of variants at this locus in primary cultures of vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells. In both cell types, we found genotype-dependent differences for rs13082711 in DNA-nuclear protein interactions, where the risk allel...

  14. Phase I trials of WR2721 in combination with radiation therapy and with the alkylating agents cyclophosphamide and cis-platinum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kligerman, M.M.; Blumberg, A.L.; Glick, J.H.; Nelson, D.F.; Glover, D.; Yuhas, J.M.; Amols, H.I.; Goodman, R.L.

    Three phase I trials of the radioprotector S-2-(3-aminopropylamino) ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR2721) have accessed 60 patients. Study 1 is devised to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of a single dose of the protector 15 to 30 minutes before a single radiation treatment of a size used routinely in palliative management. Study 2 plans to determine the MTD for up to 15 daily doses of the drug over 3 weeks during palliative radiotherapy. Also, the multipe-dose study will establish the MTD before palliative irradiation for fewer than five fractions a week. Study 3 uses the existing single-dose MTD determined in Study 1 as pretreatment 15 to 30 minutes before cyclophosphamide or cis-platinum. Toxic symptoms include emesis, hypotension, hypertension, somnolence, and sneezing. Only one serious episode of hypotension, considered idiosyncratic, and one instance of moderate to severe vomiting have occurred. Forty-one patients have been entered in Study 1 and a dose of 600 mg/m2 has been reached. The next step is to proceed to the planned highest level of 740 mg/m2. Of five patients in the multiple-dose study, one has been given, without toxicity, WR2721 at the level of 100 mg/m2 for 15 fractions over 3 weeks. Fourteen patients are accessed to the alkylating agent study. Using protector doses of 450 mg/m2, a cyclophosphamide level of 1500 mg/m2 has been accomplished. However, two of three patients who received 450 mg/m2 of WR2721 before 120 mg/m2 of cis-platinum have shown moderate elevation of the serum creatinine, both of which returned to normal.

  15. Phase I trials of WR2721 in combination with radiation therapy and with the alkylating agents cyclophosphamide and cis-platinum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kligerman, M.M.; Blumberg, A.L.; Glick, J.H.; Nelson, D.F.; Glover, D.; Yuhas, J.M.; Amols, H.I.; Goodman, R.L.

    1981-01-01

    Three phase I trials of the radioprotector S-2-(3-aminopropylamino) ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR2721) have accessed 60 patients. Study 1 is devised to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of a single dose of the protector 15 to 30 minutes before a single radiation treatment of a size used routinely in palliative management. Study 2 plans to determine the MTD for up to 15 daily doses of the drug over 3 weeks during palliative radiotherapy. Also, the multipe-dose study will establish the MTD before palliative irradiation for fewer than five fractions a week. Study 3 uses the existing single-dose MTD determined in Study 1 as pretreatment 15 to 30 minutes before cyclophosphamide or cis-platinum. Toxic symptoms include emesis, hypotension, hypertension, somnolence, and sneezing. Only one serious episode of hypotension, considered idiosyncratic, and one instance of moderate to severe vomiting have occurred. Forty-one patients have been entered in Study 1 and a dose of 600 mg/m2 has been reached. The next step is to proceed to the planned highest level of 740 mg/m2. Of five patients in the multiple-dose study, one has been given, without toxicity, WR2721 at the level of 100 mg/m2 for 15 fractions over 3 weeks. Fourteen patients are accessed to the alkylating agent study. Using protector doses of 450 mg/m2, a cyclophosphamide level of 1500 mg/m2 has been accomplished. However, two of three patients who received 450 mg/m2 of WR2721 before 120 mg/m2 of cis-platinum have shown moderate elevation of the serum creatinine, both of which returned to normal

  16. Genetic exchange of fimbrial alleles exemplifies the adaptive virulence strategy of Porphyromonas gingivalis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer E Kerr

    Full Text Available Porphyromonas gingivalis is a gram-negative anaerobic bacterium, a member of the human oral microbiome, and a proposed "keystone" pathogen in the development of chronic periodontitis, an inflammatory disease of the gingiva. P. gingivalis is a genetically diverse species, and is able to exchange chromosomal DNA between strains by natural competence and conjugation. In this study, we investigate the role of horizontal DNA transfer as an adaptive process to modify behavior, using the major fimbriae as our model system, due to their critical role in mediating interactions with the host environment. We show that P. gingivalis is able to exchange fimbrial allele types I and IV into four distinct strain backgrounds via natural competence. In all recombinants, we detected a complete exchange of the entire fimA allele, and the rate of exchange varies between the different strain backgrounds. In addition, gene exchange within other regions of the fimbrial genetic locus was identified. To measure the biological implications of these allele swaps we compared three genotypes of fimA in an isogenic background, strain ATCC 33277. We demonstrate that exchange of fimbrial allele type results in profound phenotypic changes, including the quantity of fimbriae elaborated, membrane blebbing, auto-aggregation and other virulence-associated phenotypes. Replacement of the type I allele with either the type III or IV allele resulted in increased invasion of gingival fibroblast cells relative to the isogenic parent strain. While genetic variability is known to impact host-microbiome interactions, this is the first study to quantitatively assess the adaptive effect of exchanging genes within the pan genome cloud. This is significant as it presents a potential mechanism by which opportunistic pathogens may acquire the traits necessary to modify host-microbial interactions.

  17. Genetic exchange of fimbrial alleles exemplifies the adaptive virulence strategy of Porphyromonas gingivalis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, Jennifer E; Abramian, Jared R; Dao, Doan-Hieu V; Rigney, Todd W; Fritz, Jamie; Pham, Tan; Gay, Isabel; Parthasarathy, Kavitha; Wang, Bing-yan; Zhang, Wenjian; Tribble, Gena D

    2014-01-01

    Porphyromonas gingivalis is a gram-negative anaerobic bacterium, a member of the human oral microbiome, and a proposed "keystone" pathogen in the development of chronic periodontitis, an inflammatory disease of the gingiva. P. gingivalis is a genetically diverse species, and is able to exchange chromosomal DNA between strains by natural competence and conjugation. In this study, we investigate the role of horizontal DNA transfer as an adaptive process to modify behavior, using the major fimbriae as our model system, due to their critical role in mediating interactions with the host environment. We show that P. gingivalis is able to exchange fimbrial allele types I and IV into four distinct strain backgrounds via natural competence. In all recombinants, we detected a complete exchange of the entire fimA allele, and the rate of exchange varies between the different strain backgrounds. In addition, gene exchange within other regions of the fimbrial genetic locus was identified. To measure the biological implications of these allele swaps we compared three genotypes of fimA in an isogenic background, strain ATCC 33277. We demonstrate that exchange of fimbrial allele type results in profound phenotypic changes, including the quantity of fimbriae elaborated, membrane blebbing, auto-aggregation and other virulence-associated phenotypes. Replacement of the type I allele with either the type III or IV allele resulted in increased invasion of gingival fibroblast cells relative to the isogenic parent strain. While genetic variability is known to impact host-microbiome interactions, this is the first study to quantitatively assess the adaptive effect of exchanging genes within the pan genome cloud. This is significant as it presents a potential mechanism by which opportunistic pathogens may acquire the traits necessary to modify host-microbial interactions.

  18. Reduced risk of recurrent myocardial infarction in homozygous carriers of the chromosome 9p21 rs1333049 C risk allele in the contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention era: a prospective observational study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hara, Masahiko; Sakata, Yasuhiko; Nakatani, Daisaku; Suna, Shinichiro; Usami, Masaya; Matsumoto, Sen; Ozaki, Kouichi; Nishino, Masami; Sato, Hiroshi; Kitamura, Tetsuhisa; Nanto, Shinsuke; Hamasaki, Toshimitsu; Tanaka, Toshihiro; Hori, Masatsugu; Komuro, Issei

    2014-01-01

    Objectives Chromosome 9p21 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is a susceptibility variant for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the primary prevention setting. However, it is controversial whether this SNP is also associated with recurrent myocardial infarction (ReMI) in the secondary prevention setting. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of chromosome 9p21 SNP on ReMI in patients receiving secondary prevention programmes after AMI. Design A prospective observational study. Setting Osaka Acute Coronary Insufficiency Study (OACIS) in Japan. Participants 2022 patients from the OACIS database. Interventions Genotyping of the 9p21 rs1333049 variant. Primary outcome measures ReMI event after survival discharge for 1 year. Results A total of 43 ReMI occurred during the 1 year follow-up period. Although the rs1333049 C allele had an increased susceptibility to their first AMI in an additive model when compared with 1373 healthy controls (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.33, p=2.3*10−4), patients with the CC genotype had a lower incidence of ReMI at 1 year after discharge of AMI (log-rank p=0.005). The adjusted HR of the CC genotype as compared with the CG/GG genotypes was 0.20 (0.06 to 0.65, p=0.007). Subgroup analysis demonstrated that the association between the rs1333049 CC genotype and a lower incidence of 1 year ReMI was common to all subgroups. Conclusions Homozygous carriers of the rs1333049 C allele on chromosome 9p21 showed a reduced risk of 1 year ReMI in the contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention era, although the C allele had conferred susceptibility to their first AMI. PMID:25232560

  19. Investigations with beagles about toxicity and radioprotective effect of the chemical radioprotection substance WR 2721

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wagner, M.; Sedlmeier, H.; Wustrow, T.; Messerschmidt, O.

    1980-01-01

    The toxicity of the chemical radioprotection substance WR 2721 (S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethyl-thiophosphate) was examined in 25 beagles. The study showed that the toxicity of the substance increases as the dose gets higher. Between the doses 200 and 250 mg/kg of body weight, the increase of toxicity was significantly greater than could be expected on the basis of the dose difference. Until a dose of 200 mg/kg, the authors found no side effects which would have disturbed vital functions, but higher doses led to marked symptoms of intoxication. (orig.) [de

  20. HLA-DRB1 allele association with rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility and severity in Syria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mourad, Jamil; Monem, Fawza

    2013-02-01

    Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complex multifactorial chronic disease. The importance of human leukocyte antigen as a major genetic risk factor for RA was studied worldwide. Although it is widely distributed in different Syrian areas, studies of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles' role are absent. The aim of our study was to determine the association of HLA-DRB1 alleles with the susceptibility and severity of RA in Syria. Eighty-six RA patients and 200 healthy controls from Syria were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP). Anti-CCP antibodies were measured by ELISA. Rheumatoid factor (RF), C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and disease activity score 28 (DAS-28) values were obtained from patients' medical records. DAS-28 was used to assess the clinical severity of the patients. The HLA-DRB1*01, *04, and *10 frequencies showed a strong association with the disease susceptibility (OR = 2.29, 95% CI = 1.11-4.75, P = 0.022; OR = 3.16, 95% CI = 2.0 -4.8, P < 0.0001; OR = 2.43, 95% CI = 1.07-5.51, P = 0.029 respectively), while the frequencies of HLA-DRB1*11, and *13 were significantly lower in RA patients than in controls (OR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.3-0.8, P = 0.004; OR = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.15-0.69, P = 0.002, respectively). The other HLA-DRB1 alleles showed no significant difference. The frequency of anti-CCP antibodies was higher in shared epitope (SE) positive patients compared with SE-negative patients (OR = 5.5, 95% CI = 2-15.1, P = 0.00054). DAS-28 of RA patients didn't show significant difference between the SE negative and the SE positive groups. Our results indicate that HLA-DRB1*01, *04, and *10 alleles are related with RA, while HLA-DRB1*11 and *13 protect against RA in the Syrian population.

  1. A putative Alzheimer's disease risk allele in PCK1 influences brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zongqi Xia

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Brain atrophy and cognitive dysfunction are neurodegenerative features of Multiple Sclerosis (MS. We used a candidate gene approach to address whether genetic variants implicated in susceptibility to late onset Alzheimer's Disease (AD influence brain volume and cognition in MS patients.MS subjects were genotyped for five single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps associated with susceptibility to AD: PICALM, CR1, CLU, PCK1, and ZNF224. We assessed brain volume using Brain Parenchymal Fraction (BPF measurements obtained from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI data and cognitive function using the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT. Genotypes were correlated with cross-sectional BPF and SDMT scores using linear regression after adjusting for sex, age at symptom onset, and disease duration. 722 MS patients with a mean (±SD age at enrollment of 41 (±10 years were followed for 44 (±28 months. The AD risk-associated allele of a non-synonymous SNP in the PCK1 locus (rs8192708G is associated with a smaller average brain volume (P=0.0047 at the baseline MRI, but it does not impact our baseline estimate of cognition. PCK1 is additionally associated with higher baseline T2-hyperintense lesion volume (P=0.0088. Finally, we provide technical validation of our observation in a subset of 641 subjects that have more than one MRI study, demonstrating the same association between PCK1 and smaller average brain volume (P=0.0089 at the last MRI visit.Our study provides suggestive evidence for greater brain atrophy in MS patients bearing the PCK1 allele associated with AD-susceptibility, yielding new insights into potentially shared neurodegenerative process between MS and late onset AD.

  2. Functional PMS2 hybrid alleles containing a pseudogene-specific missense variant trace back to a single ancient intrachromosomal recombination event.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganster, Christina; Wernstedt, Annekatrin; Kehrer-Sawatzki, Hildegard; Messiaen, Ludwine; Schmidt, Konrad; Rahner, Nils; Heinimann, Karl; Fonatsch, Christa; Zschocke, Johannes; Wimmer, Katharina

    2010-05-01

    Sequence exchange between PMS2 and its pseudogene PMS2CL, embedded in an inverted duplication on chromosome 7p22, has been reported to be an ongoing process that leads to functional PMS2 hybrid alleles containing PMS2- and PMS2CL-specific sequence variants at the 5'-and the 3'-end, respectively. The frequency of PMS2 hybrid alleles, their biological significance, and the mechanisms underlying their formation are largely unknown. Here we show that overall hybrid alleles account for one-third of 384 PMS2 alleles analyzed in individuals of different ethnic backgrounds. Depending on the population, 14-60% of hybrid alleles carry PMS2CL-specific sequences in exons 13-15, the remainder only in exon 15. We show that exons 13-15 hybrid alleles, named H1 hybrid alleles, constitute different haplotypes but trace back to a single ancient intrachromosomal recombination event with crossover. Taking advantage of an ancestral sequence variant specific for all H1 alleles we developed a simple gDNA-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that can be used to identify H1-allele carriers with high sensitivity and specificity (100 and 99%, respectively). Because H1 hybrid alleles harbor missense variant p.N775S of so far unknown functional significance, we assessed the H1-carrier frequency in 164 colorectal cancer patients. So far, we found no indication that the variant plays a major role with regard to cancer susceptibility. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  3. Enhancement of allele discrimination by introduction of nucleotide mismatches into siRNA in allele-specific gene silencing by RNAi.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusuke Ohnishi

    Full Text Available Allele-specific gene silencing by RNA interference (RNAi is therapeutically useful for specifically inhibiting the expression of disease-associated alleles without suppressing the expression of corresponding wild-type alleles. To realize such allele-specific RNAi (ASP-RNAi, the design and assessment of small interfering RNA (siRNA duplexes conferring ASP-RNAi is vital; however, it is also difficult. In a previous study, we developed an assay system to assess ASP-RNAi with mutant and wild-type reporter alleles encoding the Photinus and Renilla luciferase genes. In line with experiments using the system, we realized that it is necessary and important to enhance allele discrimination between mutant and corresponding wild-type alleles. Here, we describe the improvement of ASP-RNAi against mutant alleles carrying single nucleotide variations by introducing base substitutions into siRNA sequences, where original variations are present in the central position. Artificially mismatched siRNAs or short-hairpin RNAs (shRNAs against mutant alleles of the human Prion Protein (PRNP gene, which appear to be associated with susceptibility to prion diseases, were examined using this assessment system. The data indicates that introduction of a one-base mismatch into the siRNAs and shRNAs was able to enhance discrimination between the mutant and wild-type alleles. Interestingly, the introduced mismatches that conferred marked improvement in ASP-RNAi, appeared to be largely present in the guide siRNA elements, corresponding to the 'seed region' of microRNAs. Due to the essential role of the 'seed region' of microRNAs in their association with target RNAs, it is conceivable that disruption of the base-pairing interactions in the corresponding seed region, as well as the central position (involved in cleavage of target RNAs, of guide siRNA elements could influence allele discrimination. In addition, we also suggest that nucleotide mismatches at the 3'-ends of sense

  4. Arene ruthenium(II) complexes with 2-acetamidothiazole derived ligands: Synthesis, structural studies, antifouling and antibacterial properties

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Singh, K.S.; PrabhaDevi; Sawant, S.G.; Kaminsky, W.

    . Habtemariam, P. J. Sadler, Chem. Commun. (2005) 4764. 11    [35] A. Habtemariam, M. Melchart, R. Fernández, S. Parsons, I. D. H. Oswald, A. Parkin, F. P. A. Fabbiani, J. E. Davidson, A. Dawson, R. E. Aird, D. I. Jodrell, P. J. Sadler, J. Med. Chem.49...-matrix least-squares on F 2 Data / restraints / parameters 4455 / 0 / 215 Goodness-of-fit on F2 1.038 Final R indices [I>2sigma(I)] R1 = 0.0202, wR2 = 0.0415 R indices (all data) R1 = 0.0261, wR2 = 0.0436 Largest diff. peak and hole 0.431 and -0.388 e...

  5. Distribution of HLA-A,B alleles in 13 panels of blood donors in France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prevost, P; Busson, M; Marcelli-Barge, A

    1984-05-01

    In this study, we analysed 13 samples of the French population--4147 non-related individuals living in Bordeaux, Brest, Caen, Dijon, Limoges, Lyon, Marseille, Nancy, Paris, Poitiers, Rennes, Strasbourg and Toulouse--all of whom were typed for 10 alleles of the HLA-A locus and 16 alleles of the HLA-B locus. The results showed a strong heterogeneity (chi 2 = 675.13 for 324 df, p less than 10(5)). A diagram has been drawn up, showing the matrix of genetic distances obtained thanks to the B2 of Balkrishnan & Sanghvi (1968). This diagram enables us to envisage the hypothesis of 6 homogeneous clusters. A partition of chi 2 was used to test this 6 luster hypothesis: Paris and Caen (p = 0.98); Nancy, Strasbourg (p less than 5%); Rennes, Brest (p less than 1%); Dijon, Lyon, Marseille (p = 0.89); Limoges, Poitiers (p = 0.18); Toulouse, Bordeaux (p less than 10(-5)). The heterogeneity within these clusters represents only 1/43 of the total heterogeneity.

  6. Allele-Specific DNA Methylation and Its Interplay with Repressive Histone Marks at Promoter-Mutant TERT Genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stern, Josh Lewis; Paucek, Richard D; Huang, Franklin W; Ghandi, Mahmoud; Nwumeh, Ronald; Costello, James C; Cech, Thomas R

    2017-12-26

    A mutation in the promoter of the Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (TERT) gene is the most frequent noncoding mutation in cancer. The mutation drives unusual monoallelic expression of TERT, allowing immortalization. Here, we find that DNA methylation of the TERT CpG island (CGI) is also allele-specific in multiple cancers. The expressed allele is hypomethylated, which is opposite to cancers without TERT promoter mutations. The continued presence of Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) on the inactive allele suggests that histone marks of repressed chromatin may be causally linked to high DNA methylation. Consistent with this hypothesis, TERT promoter DNA containing 5-methyl-CpG has much increased affinity for PRC2 in vitro. Thus, CpG methylation and histone marks appear to collaborate to maintain the two TERT alleles in different epigenetic states in TERT promoter mutant cancers. Finally, in several cancers, DNA methylation levels at the TERT CGI correlate with altered patient survival. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Deducing the pathogenic contribution of recessive ABCA4 alleles in an outbred population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schindler, Emily I; Nylen, Erik L; Ko, Audrey C; Affatigato, Louisa M; Heggen, Andrew C; Wang, Kai; Sheffield, Val C; Stone, Edwin M

    2010-10-01

    Accurate prediction of the pathogenic effects of specific genotypes is important for the design and execution of clinical trials as well as for meaningful counseling of individual patients. However, for many autosomal recessive diseases, it can be difficult to deduce the relative pathogenic contribution of individual alleles because relatively few affected individuals share the same two disease-causing variations. In this study, we used multiple regression analysis to estimate the pathogenicity of specific alleles of ABCA4 in patients with retinal phenotypes ranging from Stargardt disease to retinitis pigmentosa. This analysis revealed quantitative allelic effects on two aspects of the visual phenotype, visual acuity (P disease and will also aid in the optimal selection of subjects for clinical trials of new therapies.

  8. The Rh allele frequencies in Gaza city in Palestine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Skaik Younis

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The Rh blood group system is the second most clinically significant blood group system. It includes 49 antigens, but only five (D, C, E, c and e are the most routinely identified due to their unique relation to hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN and transfusion reactions. Frequency of the Rh alleles showed variation, with regard to race and ethnic. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to document the Rh alleles′ frequencies amongst males (M and females (F in Gaza city in Palestine. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and thirty-two blood samples (110 M and 122 F were tested against monoclonal IgM anti-C,anti-c, anti-E, anti-e and a blend of monoclonal/polyclonal IgM/IgG anti-D. The expected Rh phenotypes were calculated using gene counting method. Results: The most frequent Rh antigen in the total sample was e, while the least frequent was E.The order of the combined Rh allele frequencies in both M and F was CDe > cDe > cde > CdE > cDE > Cde > CDE. A significant difference was reported between M and F regarding the phenotypic frequencies (P < 0.05. However, no significance (P > 0.05 was reported with reference to the observed and expected Rh phenotypic frequencies in either M or F students. Conclusion: It was concluded that the Rh antigens, alleles and phenotypes in Gaza city have unique frequencies, which may be of importance to the Blood Transfusion Center in Gaza city and anthropology.

  9. Human minisatellite alleles detectable only after PCR amplification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armour, J A; Crosier, M; Jeffreys, A J

    1992-01-01

    We present evidence that a proportion of alleles at two human minisatellite loci is undetected by standard Southern blot hybridization. In each case the missing allele(s) can be identified after PCR amplification and correspond to tandem arrays too short to detect by hybridization. At one locus, there is only one undetected allele (population frequency 0.3), which contains just three repeat units. At the second locus, there are at least five undetected alleles (total population frequency 0.9) containing 60-120 repeats; they are not detected because these tandem repeats give very poor signals when used as a probe in standard Southern blot hybridization, and also cross-hybridize with other sequences in the genome. Under these circumstances only signals from the longest tandemly repeated alleles are detectable above the nonspecific background. The structures of these loci have been compared in human and primate DNA, and at one locus the short human allele containing three repeat units is shown to be an intermediate state in the expansion of a monomeric precursor allele in primates to high copy number in the longer human arrays. We discuss the implications of such loci for studies of human populations, minisatellite isolation by cloning, and the evolution of highly variable tandem arrays.

  10. Evidence of an association between the Arg72 allele of the peptide YY and increased risk of type 2 diabetes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Torekov, Signe S; Larsen, Lesli H; Glümer, Charlotte

    2005-01-01

    We tested the hypothesis that variants in the gene encoding the prepropeptide YY (PYY) associate with type 2 diabetes and/or obesity. Mutation analyses of DNA from 84 patients with obesity and familial type 2 diabetes identified two polymorphisms, IVS3 + 68C>T and Arg72Thr, and one rare variant......, +151C>A of PYY. The common allele of the Arg72Thr variant associated with type 2 diabetes with an allele frequency of the Arg allele of 0.667 (95% CI 0.658-0.677) among 4,639 glucose-tolerant subjects and 0.692 (0.674-0.710) among 1,326 patients with type 2 diabetes (P = 0.005, odds ratio 1.19 [95% CI...... tolerance test (OGTT) (P = 0.03), an increased area under the curve for the post-OGTT plasma glucose level (P = 0.03), and a lower insulinogenic index (P = 0.01). In conclusion, the common Arg allele of the PYY Arg72Thr variant modestly associates with type 2 diabetes and with type 2 diabetes...

  11. Population based allele frequencies of disease associated polymorphisms in the Personalized Medicine Research Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cross, Deanna S; Ivacic, Lynn C; Stefanski, Elisha L; McCarty, Catherine A

    2010-06-17

    There is a lack of knowledge regarding the frequency of disease associated polymorphisms in populations and population attributable risk for many populations remains unknown. Factors that could affect the association of the allele with disease, either positively or negatively, such as race, ethnicity, and gender, may not be possible to determine without population based allele frequencies.Here we used a panel of 51 polymorphisms previously associated with at least one disease and determined the allele frequencies within the entire Personalized Medicine Research Project population based cohort. We compared these allele frequencies to those in dbSNP and other data sources stratified by race. Differences in allele frequencies between self reported race, region of origin, and sex were determined. There were 19544 individuals who self reported a single racial category, 19027 or (97.4%) self reported white Caucasian, and 11205 (57.3%) individuals were female. Of the 11,208 (57%) individuals with an identifiable region of origin 8337 or (74.4%) were German.41 polymorphisms were significantly different between self reported race at the 0.05 level. Stratification of our Caucasian population by self reported region of origin revealed 19 polymorphisms that were significantly different (p = 0.05) between individuals of different origins. Further stratification of the population by gender revealed few significant differences in allele frequencies between the genders. This represents one of the largest population based allele frequency studies to date. Stratification by self reported race and region of origin revealed wide differences in allele frequencies not only by race but also by region of origin within a single racial group. We report allele frequencies for our Asian/Hmong and American Indian populations; these two minority groups are not typically selected for population allele frequency detection. Population wide allele frequencies are important for the design and

  12. EOMES-positive CD4+ T cells are increased in PTPN22 (1858T) risk allele carriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chemin, Karine; Ramsköld, Daniel; Diaz-Gallo, Lina-Marcela; Herrath, Jessica; Houtman, Miranda; Tandre, Karolina; Rönnblom, Lars; Catrina, Anca; Malmström, Vivianne

    2018-04-01

    The presence of the PTPN22 risk allele (1858T) is associated with several autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Despite a number of studies exploring the function of PTPN22 in T cells, the exact impact of the PTPN22 risk allele on T-cell function in humans is still unclear. In this study, using RNA sequencing, we show that, upon TCR-activation, naïve human CD4 + T cells homozygous for the PTPN22 risk allele overexpress a set of genes including CFLAR and 4-1BB, which are important for cytotoxic T-cell differentiation. Moreover, the protein expression of the T-box transcription factor Eomesodermin (EOMES) was increased in T cells from healthy donors homozygous for the PTPN22 risk allele and correlated with a decreased number of naïve CD4 + T cells. There was no difference in the frequency of other CD4 + T-cell subsets (Th1, Th17, Tfh, Treg). Finally, an accumulation of EOMES + CD4 + T cells was observed in synovial fluid of RA patients with a more pronounced production of Perforin-1 in PTPN22 risk allele carriers. Altogether, we propose a novel mechanism of action of PTPN22 risk allele through the generation of cytotoxic CD4 + T cells and identify EOMES + CD4 + T cells as a relevant T-cell subset in RA pathogenesis. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  13. Association between the DRD2 A1 allele and response to methadone and buprenorphine maintenance treatments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barratt, Daniel T; Coller, Janet K; Somogyi, Andrew A

    2006-06-05

    The TaqI A polymorphism (A(1)) of the dopamine D(2) receptor gene (DRD2), although not a specific predictor of opioid dependence, has been strongly associated with high levels of prior heroin use and poor treatment outcomes among methadone maintenance patients. The aims of this study were to confirm these findings via a retrospective analysis of A(1) allele frequency in methadone (n = 46) and buprenorphine (n = 25) patients, and non-opioid-dependent controls (n = 95). Subjects were genotyped at the DRD2 TaqI A locus using PCR amplification followed by TaqI restriction enzyme digestion and gel electrophoresis. For methadone and buprenorphine subjects, heroin use (prior to treatment), treatment outcomes, and withdrawal occurrence were determined from comprehensive case notes. No significant differences in A(1) allele frequency (%) were observed between: methadone (19.6%), buprenorphine (18.0%), and control (17.9%) groups (P > 0.7); successful and poor treatment outcome groups, methadone: 20.0% and 19.2%, respectively (P = 1.0); buprenorphine: 18.4% and 20.0%, respectively (P = 1.0). Also, there were no significant relationships between TaqI A genotype and prior heroin use (P = 0.47). However, among the successful methadone subjects, significantly fewer A(1) allele carriers experienced withdrawal than non-A(1) carriers (P = 0.04). In conclusion, the DRD2 genotype effects did not affect opioid maintenance treatment outcomes. This suggests the need for a further prospective investigation into the role of the DRD2 A(1) allele in heroin use and response to maintenance pharmacotherapies for opioid dependence.

  14. Analysis of FBN1 allele expression by dermal fibroblasts from Marfan syndrome patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Putman, E.A.; Cao, S.N.; Milewicz, D.M. [Univ. of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX (United States)

    1994-09-01

    Screening for mutations in the FBN1 cDNA from Marfan patient cell strains has detected mutations in only 10-15% of patients. In an attempt to explain this poor detection rate, we examined FBN1 allele expression and fibrillin synthesis by 26 cell strains from Marfan patients. DNA from the patients and 10 controls was assessed for the presence of a polymorphic Rsa I restriction site in the 3{prime} untranslated region of the FBN1 gene. Twelve of 26 patient and 5 of 10 control DNAs were heterozygous. Fibroblast RNA from the heterozygous cell strains was reverse-transcribed and subsequently PCR amplified using a [{sup 32}P]-labelled primer, digested with Rsa I and analyzed. Although 3 samples showed no transcript from one allele by ethidium bromide staining, a Betagen scanner detected low levels (10-15%) of that allele. In addition, there was unequal expression of the two alleles in three other patients; for example, only 30% expression from one allele. The remaining patients and the controls had equal expression of each allele. Fibrillin protein synthesis by fibroblasts from these heterozygous patients was also examined. After a 30 minute pulse with [{sup 35}S]-cysteine, cell lysates were collected and proteins analyzed by SDS-PAGE. The amount of fibrillin produced relative to a reference protein was determined using a Betagen scanner. Fibrillin protein synthesis was reduced in 2 of the 3 patients with very low RNA production from one of the FBN1 alleles. All other Marfan and control cell strains showed normal amounts of fibrillin synthesized. The low expression levels from one allele may contribute to, but not fully account for, the low detection rate of FBN1 mutations. Interestingly, protein synthesis levels were not affected in 4 of 6 cell strains demonstrating low levels of RNA expression.

  15. A strategy to discover genes that carry multi-allelic or mono-allelic risk for common diseases: A cohort allelic sums test (CAST)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morgenthaler, Stephan; Thilly, William G.

    2007-01-01

    A method is described to discover if a gene carries one or more allelic mutations that confer risk for any specified common disease. The method does not depend upon genetic linkage of risk-conferring mutations to high frequency genetic markers such as single nucleotide polymorphisms. Instead, the sums of allelic mutation frequencies in case and control cohorts are determined and a statistical test is applied to discover if the difference in these sums is greater than would be expected by chance. A statistical model is presented that defines the ability of such tests to detect significant gene-disease relationships as a function of case and control cohort sizes and key confounding variables: zygosity and genicity, environmental risk factors, errors in diagnosis, limits to mutant detection, linkage of neutral and risk-conferring mutations, ethnic diversity in the general population and the expectation that among all exonic mutants in the human genome greater than 90% will be neutral with regard to any effect on disease risk. Means to test the null hypothesis for, and determine the statistical power of, each test are provided. For this 'cohort allelic sums test' or 'CAST', the statistical model and test are provided as an Excel (TM) program, CASTAT (C) at http://epidemiology.mit.edu. Based on genetics, technology and statistics, a strategy of enumerating the mutant alleles carried in the exons and splice sites of the estimated ∼25,000 human genes in case cohort samples of 10,000 persons for each of 100 common diseases is proposed and evaluated: A wide range of possible conditions of multi-allelic or mono-allelic and monogenic, multigenic or polygenic (including epistatic) risk are found to be detectable using the statistical criteria of 1 or 10 ''false positive'' gene associations per 25,000 gene-disease pair-wise trials and a statistical power of >0.8. Using estimates of the distribution of both neutral and gene-inactivating nondeleterious mutations in humans and

  16. Allelic genealogies in sporophytic self-incompatibility systems in plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schierup, Mikkel Heide; Vekemans, Xavier; Christiansen, Freddy Bugge

    1998-01-01

    , alleles act codominantly in both pollen and style, in the SSIdom model, alleles form a dominance hierarchy, and in SSIdomcod, alleles are codominant in the style and show a dominance hierarchy in the pollen. Coalescence times of alleles rarely differ more than threefold from those under gametophytic self...

  17. The WR/LBV system HD 5980 in the Small Magellanic Cloud: What is its evolutionary status?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koenigsberger, Gloria; Morrell, Nidia; Hillier, D. John; Barba, Rodolfo; Gamen, Roberto

    2013-06-01

    HD 5980 is located in the Small Magellanic Cloud and consists of two binary systems which, if physically associated, are very widely separated. Their orbital periods are 19.3d and 97d and each of these systems contains very luminous massive stars. The P=19.3d binary is peculiar in that it consists of two WR stars, one of which underwent an LBV eruption in 1994. Because this binary is eclipsing and because it has been monitored since the 1950s, we now have a good grasp on the fundamental parameters of the LBV component. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that its bolometric luminosity increased during the 1994 eruption. In this poster we will summarize our current knowledge of HD 5980, including recent results derived from observations at Las Campanas Observatory which yield an improved orbital solution for the two binary systems and strong limits on the mass of the LBV. With these data, it should now be possible to constrain the evolutionary path that has been followed by the LBV and speculate on its properties as it approaches the supernova stage.

  18. Radioprotective effects of Sipunculus nudus L. polysaccharide combined with WR-2721, rhIL-11 and rhG-CSF on radiation-injured mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Shuqi; Shen Xianrong; Liu Yuming; He Ying; Jiang Dingwen; Chen Wei

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the radioprotective effect of Sipunculus nudus L. polysaccharide (SNP) in combination with WR-2721, rhIL-11 and rhG-CSF on irradiated mice. A total of 70 Imprinting Control Region (ICR) mice were divided into seven groups: the control group, the model group and five administration groups. All groups, except the control group, were exposed to a 5 Gy 60 Co γ-ray beam. Blood parameters [including white blood cell (WBC), red blood cell (RBC) and platelet counts and hemoglobin level] were assessed three days before irradiation, and the on the 3rd, 7th and 14th days after irradiation. Spleen, thymus and testicular indices, DNA contents of bone marrow cells, bone marrow nucleated cells, sperm counts, superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), testosterone and estradiol levels in the serum were assessed on the 14th day after irradiation. The combined administration of SNP, WR-2721, rhIL-11 and rhG-CSF exerted synergistic recovery effects on peripheral blood WBC, RBC and platelet counts and hemoglobin levels in irradiated mice, and synergistic promotion effects on spleen, thymus, testicle, bone marrow nucleated cells and sperm counts in irradiated mice. The synergistic administration increased the serum SOD activities and serum testosterone content of irradiated mice, but synergy decreased the content of serum MDA and estradiol in irradiated mice. These results suggest that the combined administration of SNP, WR-2721, rhIL-11 and rhG-CSF should increase the efficacy of these drugs for acute radiation sickness, protect immunity, hematopoiesis and the reproductive organs of irradiated-damaged mice, and improve oxidation resistance in the body. (author)

  19. Reversal of the ΔdegP Phenotypes by a Novel rpoE Allele of Escherichia coli

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leiser, Owen P.; Charlson, Emily S.; Gerken, Henri; Misra, Rajeev

    2012-01-01

    RseA sequesters RpoE (σE) to the inner membrane of Escherichia coli when envelope stress is low. Elevated envelope stress triggers RseA cleavage by the sequential action of two membrane proteases, DegS and RseP, releasing σE to activate an envelope stress reducing pathway. Revertants of a ΔdegP ΔbamB strain, which fails to grow at 37°C due to high envelope stress, harbored mutations in the rseA and rpoE genes. Null and missense rseA mutations constitutively hyper-activated the σE regulon and significantly reduced the major outer membrane protein (OMP) levels. In contrast, a novel rpoE allele, rpoE3, resulting from the partial duplication of the rpoE gene, increased σE levels greater than that seen in the rseA mutant background but did not reduce OMP levels. A σE-dependent RybB::LacZ construct showed only a weak activation of the σE pathway by rpoE3. Despite this, rpoE3 fully reversed the growth and envelope vesiculation phenotypes of ΔdegP. Interestingly, rpoE3 also brought down the modestly activated Cpx envelope stress pathway in the ΔdegP strain to the wild type level, showing the complementary nature of the σE and Cpx pathways. Through employing a labile mutant periplasmic protein, AcrAL222Q, it was determined that the rpoE3 mutation overcomes the ΔdegP phenotypes, in part, by activating a σE-dependent proteolytic pathway. Our data suggest that a reduction in the OMP levels is not intrinsic to the σE-mediated mechanism of lowering envelope stress. They also suggest that under extreme envelope stress, a tight homeostasis loop between RseA and σE may partly be responsible for cell death, and this loop can be broken by mutations that either lower RseA activity or increase σE levels. PMID:22439016

  20. Stress-related methylation of the catechol-O-methyltransferase Val 158 allele predicts human prefrontal cognition and activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ursini, Gianluca; Bollati, Valentina; Fazio, Leonardo; Porcelli, Annamaria; Iacovelli, Luisa; Catalani, Assia; Sinibaldi, Lorenzo; Gelao, Barbara; Romano, Raffaella; Rampino, Antonio; Taurisano, Paolo; Mancini, Marina; Di Giorgio, Annabella; Popolizio, Teresa; Baccarelli, Andrea; De Blasi, Antonio; Blasi, Giuseppe; Bertolino, Alessandro

    2011-05-04

    DNA methylation at CpG dinucleotides is associated with gene silencing, stress, and memory. The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val(158) allele in rs4680 is associated with differential enzyme activity, stress responsivity, and prefrontal activity during working memory (WM), and it creates a CpG dinucleotide. We report that methylation of the Val(158) allele measured from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of Val/Val humans is associated negatively with lifetime stress and positively with WM performance; it interacts with stress to modulate prefrontal activity during WM, such that greater stress and lower methylation are related to reduced cortical efficiency; and it is inversely related to mRNA expression and protein levels, potentially explaining the in vivo effects. Finally, methylation of COMT in prefrontal cortex and that in PBMCs of rats are correlated. The relationship of methylation of the COMT Val(158) allele with stress, gene expression, WM performance, and related brain activity suggests that stress-related methylation is associated with silencing of the gene, which partially compensates the physiological role of the high-activity Val allele in prefrontal cognition and activity. Moreover, these results demonstrate how stress-related DNA methylation of specific functional alleles impacts directly on human brain physiology beyond sequence variation.

  1. Natural host genetic resistance to lentiviral CNS disease: a neuroprotective MHC class I allele in SIV-infected macaques.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph L Mankowski

    Full Text Available Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection frequently causes neurologic disease even with anti-retroviral treatment. Although associations between MHC class I alleles and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS have been reported, the role MHC class I alleles play in restricting development of HIV-induced organ-specific diseases, including neurologic disease, has not been characterized. This study examined the relationship between expression of the MHC class I allele Mane-A*10 and development of lentiviral-induced central nervous system (CNS disease using a well-characterized simian immunodeficiency (SIV/pigtailed macaque model. The risk of developing CNS disease (SIV encephalitis was 2.5 times higher for animals that did not express the MHC class I allele Mane-A*10 (P = 0.002; RR = 2.5. Animals expressing the Mane-A*10 allele had significantly lower amounts of activated macrophages, SIV RNA, and neuronal dysfunction in the CNS than Mane-A*10 negative animals (P<0.001. Mane-A*10 positive animals with the highest CNS viral burdens contained SIV gag escape mutants at the Mane-A*10-restricted KP9 epitope in the CNS whereas wild type KP9 sequences dominated in the brain of Mane-A*10 negative animals with comparable CNS viral burdens. These concordant findings demonstrate that particular MHC class I alleles play major neuroprotective roles in lentiviral-induced CNS disease.

  2. Association of primary biliary cirrhosis with the allele HLA-DPB1*0301 in a German population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mella, J G; Roschmann, E; Maier, K P; Volk, B A

    1995-02-01

    The major histocompatibility complex class II alleles at the HLA-DPB1 locus were investigated in 32 German Caucasoid patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and compared with those from 47 normal control patients using molecular genotyping techniques. The second exon of the HLA-DPB1 gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hybridized with 25 sequence-specific oligonucleotides (SSOs) to assign the HLA-DPB1 alleles on the basis of known sequence variations, according to the protocols of the Eleventh International Histocompatibility Workshop. A strong association of PBC was found with the allele HLA-DPB1*0301. The allele HLA DPB1*0301 was present in 50% (16 of 32) of the patients with PBC compared with 13% (6 of 47) of normal controls (P corrected < .015), whereas the other HLA-DPB1 alleles showed no significant differences in both groups. The relative risk (RR) estimate for the allele HLA-DPB1*0301 was 6.8 (95% confidence limits: 2.27 to 20.57). In summary, this study clearly demonstrates an association of PBC with the HLA-DPB1*0301 allele in German Caucasoids and may add new data to the immunogenetic background of PBC, suggesting a contribution of the HLA-DPB1 gene to the genetic susceptibility of the disease.

  3. Phosphide oxides RE2AuP2O (RE = La, Ce, Pr, Nd): synthesis, structure, chemical bonding, magnetism, and 31P and 139La solid state NMR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartsch, Timo; Wiegand, Thomas; Ren, Jinjun; Eckert, Hellmut; Johrendt, Dirk; Niehaus, Oliver; Eul, Matthias; Pöttgen, Rainer

    2013-02-18

    Polycrystalline samples of the phosphide oxides RE(2)AuP(2)O (RE = La, Ce, Pr, Nd) were obtained from mixtures of the rare earth elements, binary rare earth oxides, gold powder, and red phosphorus in sealed silica tubes. Small single crystals were grown in NaCl/KCl fluxes. The samples were studied by powder X-ray diffraction, and the structures were refined from single crystal diffractometer data: La(2)AuP(2)O type, space group C2/m, a = 1515.2(4), b = 424.63(8), c = 999.2(2) pm, β = 130.90(2)°, wR2 = 0.0410, 1050 F(2) values for Ce(2)AuP(2)O, and a = 1503.6(4), b = 422.77(8), c = 993.0(2) pm, β = 130.88(2)°, wR2 = 0.0401, 1037 F(2) values for Pr(2)AuP(2)O, and a = 1501.87(5), b = 420.85(5), c = 990.3(3) pm, β = 131.12(1)°, wR2 = 0.0944, 1143 F(2) values for Nd(2)AuP(2)O with 38 variables per refinement. The structures are composed of [RE(2)O](4+) polycationic chains of cis-edge-sharing ORE(4/2) tetrahedra and polyanionic strands [AuP(2)](4-), which contain gold in almost trigonal-planar phosphorus coordination by P(3-) and P(2)(4-) entities. The isolated phosphorus atoms and the P(2) pairs in La(2)AuP(2)O could clearly be distinguished by (31)P solid state NMR spectroscopy and assigned on the basis of a double quantum NMR technique. Also, the two crystallographically inequivalent La sites could be distinguished by static (139)La NMR in conjunction with theoretical electric field gradient calculations. Temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements show diamagnetic behavior for La(2)AuP(2)O. Ce(2)AuP(2)O and Pr(2)AuP(2)O are Curie-Weiss paramagnets with experimental magnetic moments of 2.35 and 3.48 μ(B) per rare earth atom, respectively. Their solid state (31)P MAS NMR spectra are strongly influenced by paramagnetic interactions. Ce(2)AuP(2)O orders antiferromagnetically at 13.1(5) K and shows a metamagnetic transition at 11.5 kOe. Pr(2)AuP(2)O orders ferromagnetically at 7.0 K.

  4. Generation of mice harbouring a conditional loss-of-function allele of Gata6

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duncan Stephen A

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The zinc finger transcription factor GATA6 is believed to have important roles in the development of several organs including the liver, gastrointestinal tract and heart. However, analyses of the contribution of GATA6 toward organogenesis have been hampered because Gata6-/- mice fail to develop beyond gastrulation due to defects in extraembryonic endoderm function. We have therefore generated a mouse line harbouring a conditional loss-of-function allele of Gata6 using Cre/loxP technology. LoxP elements were introduced into introns flanking exon 2 of the Gata6 gene by homologous recombination in ES cells. Mice containing this altered allele were bred to homozygosity and were found to be viable and fertile. To assess the functional integrity of the loxP sites and to confirm that we had generated a Gata6 loss-of-function allele, we bred Gata6 'floxed' mice to EIIa-Cre mice in which Cre is ubiquitously expressed, and to Villin-Cre mice that express Cre in the epithelial cells of the intestine. We conclude that we have generated a line of mice in which GATA6 activity can be ablated in a cell type specific manner by expression of Cre recombinase. This line of mice can be used to establish the role of GATA6 in regulating embryonic development and various aspects of mammalian physiology.

  5. Association of low-activity MAOA allelic variants with violent crime in incarcerated offenders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stetler, Dean A; Davis, Chad; Leavitt, Kathryn; Schriger, Ilana; Benson, Katie; Bhakta, Samir; Wang, Lam Chee; Oben, Cynthia; Watters, Matthew; Haghnegahdar, Tara; Bortolato, Marco

    2014-11-01

    The main enzyme for serotonin degradation, monoamine oxidase (MAO) A, has recently emerged as a key biological factor in the predisposition to impulsive aggression. Male carriers of low-activity variants of the main functional polymorphism of the MAOA gene (MAOA-uVNTR) have been shown to exhibit a greater proclivity to engage in violent acts. Thus, we hypothesized that low-activity MAOA-uVNTR alleles may be associated with a higher risk for criminal violence among male offenders. To test this possibility, we analyzed the MAOA-uVNTR variants of violent (n = 49) and non-violent (n = 40) male Caucasian and African-American convicts in a correctional facility. All participants were also tested with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11) and Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) to assess their levels of childhood trauma exposure, impulsivity and aggression, respectively. Our results revealed a robust (P crime. This association was replicated in the group of Caucasian violent offenders (P crime charges were not associated with CTQ, BIS-11 and BPAQ scores, carriers of low-activity alleles exhibited a mild, yet significant (P genetic determinant for criminal violence. Further studies are required to confirm these results in larger samples of inmates and evaluate potential interactions between MAOA alleles and environmental vulnerability factors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Assigning breed origin to alleles in crossbred animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandenplas, Jérémie; Calus, Mario P L; Sevillano, Claudia A; Windig, Jack J; Bastiaansen, John W M

    2016-08-22

    For some species, animal production systems are based on the use of crossbreeding to take advantage of the increased performance of crossbred compared to purebred animals. Effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may differ between purebred and crossbred animals for several reasons: (1) differences in linkage disequilibrium between SNP alleles and a quantitative trait locus; (2) differences in genetic backgrounds (e.g., dominance and epistatic interactions); and (3) differences in environmental conditions, which result in genotype-by-environment interactions. Thus, SNP effects may be breed-specific, which has led to the development of genomic evaluations for crossbred performance that take such effects into account. However, to estimate breed-specific effects, it is necessary to know breed origin of alleles in crossbred animals. Therefore, our aim was to develop an approach for assigning breed origin to alleles of crossbred animals (termed BOA) without information on pedigree and to study its accuracy by considering various factors, including distance between breeds. The BOA approach consists of: (1) phasing genotypes of purebred and crossbred animals; (2) assigning breed origin to phased haplotypes; and (3) assigning breed origin to alleles of crossbred animals based on a library of assigned haplotypes, the breed composition of crossbred animals, and their SNP genotypes. The accuracy of allele assignments was determined for simulated datasets that include crosses between closely-related, distantly-related and unrelated breeds. Across these scenarios, the percentage of alleles of a crossbred animal that were correctly assigned to their breed origin was greater than 90 %, and increased with increasing distance between breeds, while the percentage of incorrectly assigned alleles was always less than 2 %. For the remaining alleles, i.e. 0 to 10 % of all alleles of a crossbred animal, breed origin could not be assigned. The BOA approach accurately assigns

  7. ALEA: a toolbox for allele-specific epigenomics analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Younesy, Hamid; Möller, Torsten; Heravi-Moussavi, Alireza; Cheng, Jeffrey B; Costello, Joseph F; Lorincz, Matthew C; Karimi, Mohammad M; Jones, Steven J M

    2014-04-15

    The assessment of expression and epigenomic status using sequencing based methods provides an unprecedented opportunity to identify and correlate allelic differences with epigenomic status. We present ALEA, a computational toolbox for allele-specific epigenomics analysis, which incorporates allelic variation data within existing resources, allowing for the identification of significant associations between epigenetic modifications and specific allelic variants in human and mouse cells. ALEA provides a customizable pipeline of command line tools for allele-specific analysis of next-generation sequencing data (ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, etc.) that takes the raw sequencing data and produces separate allelic tracks ready to be viewed on genome browsers. The pipeline has been validated using human and hybrid mouse ChIP-seq and RNA-seq data. The package, test data and usage instructions are available online at http://www.bcgsc.ca/platform/bioinfo/software/alea CONTACT: : mkarimi1@interchange.ubc.ca or sjones@bcgsc.ca Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. Database for the ampC alleles in Acinetobacter baumannii.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nabil Karah

    Full Text Available Acinetobacter baumannii is a troublesome opportunistic pathogen with a high capacity for clonal dissemination. We announce the establishment of a database for the ampC locus in A. baumannii, in which novel ampC alleles are differentiated based on the occurrence of ≥ 1 nucleotide change, regardless of whether it is silent or missense. The database is openly accessible at the pubmlst platform for A. baumannii (http://pubmlst.org/abaumannii/. Forty-eight distinctive alleles of the ampC locus have so far been identified and deposited in the database. Isolates from clonal complex 1 (CC1, according to the Pasteur multilocus sequence typing scheme, had a variety of the ampC locus alleles, including alleles 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 17, and 18. On the other hand, isolates from CC2 had the ampC alleles 2, 3, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, and 46. Allele 3 was characteristic for sequence types ST3 or ST32. The ampC alleles 10, 16, and 25 were characteristic for CC10, ST16, and CC25, respectively. Our study points out that novel gene databases, in which alleles are numbered based on differences in their nucleotide identities, should replace traditional records that use amino acid substitutions to define new alleles.

  9. Parkinson’s disease and low frequency alleles found together throughout LRRK2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paisán-Ruiz, Coro; Washecka, Nicole; Nath, Priti; Singleton, Andrew B.; Corder, Elizabeth H.

    2016-01-01

    Mutations within LRRK2, most notably p.G2019S, cause Parkinson’s disease (PD) in rare monogenic families, and sporadic occurrences in diverse populations. We investigated variation throughout LRRK2 (84 SNPs; genotype or diplotype found for 49 LD blocks) for 275 cases (European ancestry, onset at age 60 or older) and 275 neurologically healthy control subjects (NINDS Neurogenetics Repository). Three grade-of-membership groups, i.e. genetic risk sets, were identified that exactly matched many subjects (cases: 46, 4, 137; controls: 0, 178, 0), and distinguished 94% of the subjects (i.e. > 50% likeness to one set). Set I, affected, carried certain low frequency alleles located in multiple functional domains. Set II was unaffected. Set III, also affected, resembled II except for slightly elevated frequencies of minor alleles not defining set I. We conclude that certain low frequency alleles distributed throughout LRRK2 are a genetic background to a third of cases, defining a distinct subset. PMID:19489756

  10. Dynamics of leaf and spikelet primordia initiation in wheat as affected by Ppd-1a alleles under field conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ochagavía, Helga; Prieto, Paula; Savin, Roxana; Griffiths, Simon; Slafer, GustavoA

    2018-04-27

    Wheat adaptation is affected by Ppd genes, but the role of these alleles in the rates of leaf and spikelet initiation has not been properly analysed. Twelve near isogenic lines (NILs) combining Ppd-1a alleles from different donors introgressed in A, B, and/or D genomes were tested under field conditions during two growing seasons together with the wild type, Paragon. Leaf initiation rate was unaffected by Ppd-1a alleles so the final leaf number (FLN) was reduced in parallel with reductions in the duration of the vegetative phase. Spikelet primordia initiation was accelerated and consequently the effect on spikelets per spike was less than proportional to the effect on the duration of spikelet initiation. The magnitude of these effects on spikelet plastochron depended on the doses of Ppd-1 homoeoalleles and the specific insensitivity alleles carried. Double ridge was consistently later than floral initiation, but the difference between them was not affected by Ppd-1a alleles. These findings have potential for selecting the best combinations from the Ppd-1 homoeoallelic series for manipulating adaptation taking into consideration particular effects on spikelet number.

  11. Various pfcrt and pfmdr1 Genotypes of Plasmodium falciparum Cocirculate with P. malariae, P. ovale spp., and P. vivax in Northern Angola

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fançony, Cláudia; Gamboa, Dina; Sebastião, Yuri; Hallett, Rachel; Sutherland, Colin; Sousa-Figueiredo, José Carlos

    2012-01-01

    Artemisinin-based combination therapy for malaria has become widely available across Africa. Populations of Plasmodium falciparum that were previously dominated by chloroquine (CQ)-resistant genotypes are now under different drug selection pressures. P. malariae, P. ovale curtisi, and P. ovale wallikeri are sympatric with P. falciparum across the continent and are frequently present as coinfections. The prevalence of human Plasmodium species was determined by PCR using DNA from blood spots collected during a cross-sectional survey in northern Angola. P. falciparum was genotyped at resistance-associated loci in pfcrt and pfmdr1 by real-time PCR or by direct sequencing of amplicons. Of the 3,316 samples collected, 541 (16.3%) contained Plasmodium species infections; 477 (88.2%) of these were P. falciparum alone, 6.5% were P. falciparum and P. malariae together, and 1.1% were P. vivax alone. The majority of the remainder (3.7%) harbored P. ovale curtisi or P. ovale wallikeri alone or in combination with other species. Of 430 P. falciparum isolates genotyped for pfcrt, 61.6% carried the wild-type allele CVMNK at codons 72 to 76, either alone or in combination with the resistant allele CVIET. No other pfcrt allele was found. Wild-type alleles dominated at codons 86, 184, 1034, 1042, and 1246 of the pfmdr1 locus among the sequenced isolates. In contrast to previous studies, P. falciparum in the study area comprises an approximately equal mix of genotypes associated with CQ sensitivity and with CQ resistance, suggesting either lower drug pressure due to poor access to treatment in rural areas or a rapid impact of the policy change away from the use of standard monotherapies. PMID:22850519

  12. Alleles of Ppd-D1 gene in the collection of Aegilops tauschii accessions and bread wheat varieties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Babenko D. O.

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Light period significantly influences on the growth and development of plants. One of the major genes of photoperiod sensitivity is Ppd-D1, located on the chromosome 2D. The aim of the work was to determine the alleles and molecular structure of Ppd-D1 gene in samples from the collection of Ae. tauschii accessions, which have different flowering periods, and in 29 Ukrainian wheat varieties. Methods. We used methods of allele-specific PCR with primers to the Ppd-D1 gene, sequencing and Blast-analysis. Results. The collection of Ae. tauschii accessions and several varieties of winter and spring wheat was studied. The molecular structure of the allelic variants (414, 429 and 453 b. p. of Ppd-D1b gene was determined in the collection of Aegilops. tauschii accessions. Conclusions. The Ppd-D1a allele was present in all studied varieties of winter wheat. 60 % of spring wheat is characterized by Ppd-D1b allele (size of amplification products 414 b. p.. Blast-analysis of the sequence data banks on the basis of the reference sequence of sample k-1322 from the collection of Ae. tauschii accessions has shown a high homology (80 to 100 % between the nucleotide sequences of PRR genes, that characterize the A and D genomes of representatives of the genera Triticum and Aegilops.

  13. Procedures for identifying S-allele genotypes of Brassica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, D H

    1979-11-01

    Procedures are described for efficient selection of: (1) homozygous and heterozygous S-allele genotypes; (2) homozygous inbreds with the strong self- and sib-incompatibility required for effective seed production of single-cross F1 hybrids; (3) heterozygous genotypes with the high self- and sib-incompatibility required for effective seed production of 3- and 4-way hybrids.From reciprocal crosses between two first generation inbred (I1) plants there are three potential results: both crosses are incompatible; one is incompatible and the other compatible; and both are compatible. Incompatibility of both crosses is useful information only when combined with data from other reciprocal crosses. Each compatible cross, depending on whether its reciprocal is incompatible or compatible, dictates alternative reasoning and additional reciprocal crosses for efficiently and simultaneously identifying: (A) the S-allele genotype of all individual I1 plants, and (B) the expressions of dominance or codominance in pollen and stigma (sexual organs) of an S-allele heterozygous genotype. Reciprocal crosses provide the only efficient means of identifying S-allele genotypes and also the sexual-organ x S-allele-interaction types.Fluorescent microscope assay of pollen tube penetration into the style facilitates quantitation within 24-48 hours of incompatibility and compatibility of the reciprocal crosses. A procedure for quantitating the reciprocal difference is described that maximizes informational content of the data about interactions between S alleles in pollen and stigma of the S-allele-heterozygous genotype.Use of the non-inbred Io generation parent as a 'known' heterozygous S-allele genotype in crosses with its first generation selfed (I1) progeny usually reduces at least 7 fold the effort required for achieving objectives 1, 2, and 3, compared to the method of making reciprocal crosses only among I1 plants.Identifying the heterozygous and both homozygous S-allele genotypes during

  14. Allele specific expression and methylation in the bumblebee, Bombus terrestris

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zoë Lonsdale

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The social hymenoptera are emerging as models for epigenetics. DNA methylation, the addition of a methyl group, is a common epigenetic marker. In mammals and flowering plants methylation affects allele specific expression. There is contradictory evidence for the role of methylation on allele specific expression in social insects. The aim of this paper is to investigate allele specific expression and monoallelic methylation in the bumblebee, Bombus terrestris. We found nineteen genes that were both monoallelically methylated and monoallelically expressed in a single bee. Fourteen of these genes express the hypermethylated allele, while the other five express the hypomethylated allele. We also searched for allele specific expression in twenty-nine published RNA-seq libraries. We found 555 loci with allele-specific expression. We discuss our results with reference to the functional role of methylation in gene expression in insects and in the as yet unquantified role of genetic cis effects in insect allele specific methylation and expression.

  15. Allele-specific gene expression in a wild nonhuman primate population

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tung, J.; Akinyi, M. Y.; Mutura, S.; Altmann, J.; Wray, G. A.; Alberts, S. C.

    2015-01-01

    Natural populations hold enormous potential for evolutionary genetic studies, especially when phenotypic, genetic and environmental data are all available on the same individuals. However, untangling the genotype-phenotype relationship in natural populations remains a major challenge. Here, we describe results of an investigation of one class of phenotype, allele-specific gene expression (ASGE), in the well-studied natural population of baboons of the Amboseli basin, Kenya. ASGE measurements identify cases in which one allele of a gene is overexpressed relative to the alternative allele of the same gene, within individuals, thus providing a control for background genetic and environmental effects. Here, we characterize the incidence of ASGE in the Amboseli baboon population, focusing on the genetic and environmental contributions to ASGE in a set of eleven genes involved in immunity and defence. Within this set, we identify evidence for common ASGE in four genes. We also present examples of two relationships between cis-regulatory genetic variants and the ASGE phenotype. Finally, we identify one case in which this relationship is influenced by a novel gene-environment interaction. Specifically, the dominance rank of an individual’s mother during its early life (an aspect of that individual’s social environment) influences the expression of the gene CCL5 via an interaction with cis-regulatory genetic variation. These results illustrate how environmental and ecological data can be integrated into evolutionary genetic studies of functional variation in natural populations. They also highlight the potential importance of early life environmental variation in shaping the genetic architecture of complex traits in wild mammals. PMID:21226779

  16. Distortion of maternal-fetal angiotensin II type 1 receptor allele transmission in pre-eclampsia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, L; Crawshaw, S; Baker, P N; Brookfield, J F; Broughton Pipkin, F; Kalsheker, N

    1998-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To investigate the fetal angiotensin II type 1 receptor genotype in pre-eclampsia. DESIGN: Case-control study. POPULATION: Forty-one maternal-fetal pairs from pre-eclamptic pregnancies and 80 maternal-fetal pairs from normotensive pregnancies. METHODS: Maternal and fetal DNA was genotyped at three diallelic polymorphisms, at nucleotides 573, 1062, and 1166, in the coding exon of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor gene, and at a dinucleotide repeat polymorphism in its 3' flanking region. RESULTS: Allele and genotype frequencies at the four polymorphic regions investigated did not differ between pre-eclamptic and normotensive groups, in either fetal or maternal samples. Mothers heterozygous for the dinucleotide repeat allele designated A4 transmitted this allele to the fetus in 15 of 18 informative pre-eclamptic pregnancies and in eight of 26 normotensive pregnancies. This was greater than the expected probability in pre-eclamptic pregnancies (p=0.04) and less than expected in normotensive pregnancies (p<0.005). The 573T variant, which is in partial linkage disequilibrium with the A4 allele, showed a similar distortion of maternal-fetal transmission. CONCLUSION: Angiotensin II type 1 receptor gene expression in the fetus may contribute to the aetiology of pre-eclampsia. It is unclear whether susceptibility is conferred by the fetal genotype acting alone, or by allele sharing by mother and fetus. Possible mechanisms for the effect of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor gene are suggested by the association of the 573T variant with low levels of surface receptor expression on platelets. If receptor expression is similarly genetically determined in the placenta, responsiveness to angiotensin II may be affected, with the potential to influence placentation or placental prostaglandin secretion. PMID:9719367

  17. Influence of Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Alleles and Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptors (KIR) Types on Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karnes, Jason H; Shaffer, Christian M; Cronin, Robert; Bastarache, Lisa; Gaudieri, Silvana; James, Ian; Pavlos, Rebecca; Steiner, Heidi E; Mosley, Jonathan D; Mallal, Simon; Denny, Joshua C; Phillips, Elizabeth J; Roden, Dan M

    2017-09-01

    Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is an unpredictable, life-threatening, immune-mediated reaction to heparin. Variation in human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes is now used to prevent immune-mediated adverse drug reactions. Combinations of HLA alleles and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) are associated with multiple autoimmune diseases and infections. The objective of this study is to evaluate the association of HLA alleles and KIR types, alone or in the presence of different HLA ligands, with HIT. HIT cases and heparin-exposed controls were identified in BioVU, an electronic health record coupled to a DNA biobank. HLA sequencing and KIR type imputation using Illumina OMNI-Quad data were performed. Odds ratios for HLA alleles and KIR types and HLA*KIR interactions using conditional logistic regressions were determined in the overall population and by race/ethnicity. Analysis was restricted to KIR types and HLA alleles with a frequency greater than 0.01. The p values for HLA and KIR association were corrected by using a false discovery rate qHIT cases and 350 matched controls were identified. No statistical differences in baseline characteristics were observed between cases and controls. The HLA-DRB3*01:01 allele was significantly associated with HIT in the overall population (odds ratio 2.81 [1.57-5.02], p=2.1×10 -4 , q=0.02) and in individuals with European ancestry, independent of other alleles. No KIR types were associated with HIT, although a significant interaction was observed between KIR2DS5 and the HLA-C1 KIR binding group (p=0.03). The HLA-DRB3*01:01 allele was identified as a potential risk factor for HIT. This class II HLA gene and allele represent biologically plausible candidates for influencing HIT pathogenesis. We found limited evidence of the role of KIR types in HIT pathogenesis. Replication and further study of the HLA-DRB3*01:01 association is necessary. © 2017 Pharmacotherapy Publications, Inc.

  18. Higher FKBP5, COMT, CHRNA5, and CRHR1 allele burdens are associated with PTSD and interact with trauma exposure: implications for neuropsychiatric research and treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boscarino JA

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Joseph A Boscarino1,2, Porat M Erlich1,3, Stuart N Hoffman4, Xiaopeng Zhang51Center for Health Research, Geisinger Clinic, Danville, PA, 2Department of Psychiatry, 3Department of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 4Department of Neurology, 5Department of Anesthesiology, Geisinger Clinic, Danville, PA, USAObjective: The study aim was to assess the cumulative burden of polymorphisms located within four genetic loci previously associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD among outpatients at risk for PTSD.Methods: Diagnostic interviews were completed and DNA samples collected among 412 pain patients to determine if FKBP5 (rs9470080, COMT (rs4680, CHRNA5 (rs16969968, and CRHR1 (rs110402 single nucleotide polymorphisms were cumulatively associated with increased risk for PTSD.Results: In bivariate analyses, it was found that a count of specific PTSD risk alleles located within FKBP5, COMT, CHRNA5, and CRHR1 genetic loci (allele range = 0–6, mean count = 2.92, standard deviation = 1.36 was associated with lifetime (t [409] = 3.430, P = 0.001 and early onset PTSD (t [409] = 4.239, P = 0.000028. In logistic regression, controlling for demographic factors, personality traits, and trauma exposures, this risk allele count remained associated with both lifetime (odds ratio = 1.49, P = 0.00158 and early onset PTSD (odds ratio = 2.36, P = 0.000093. Interaction effects were also detected, whereby individuals with higher risk allele counts and higher trauma exposures had an increased risk of lifetime PTSD (allele count × high trauma, P = 0.026 and early onset PTSD (allele count × high trauma, P = 0.016 in these logistic regressions. Those with no or few risk alleles appeared resilient to PTSD, regardless of exposure history.Conclusion: A cumulative risk allele count involving four single nucleotide polymorphisms located within the FKBP5, COMT, CHRNA5, and CRHR1 genes are associated with PTSD. Level of trauma exposure

  19. Drop-out probabilities of IrisPlex SNP alleles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Jeppe Dyrberg; Tvedebrink, Torben; Mogensen, Helle Smidt

    2013-01-01

    In certain crime cases, information about a perpetrator's phenotype, including eye colour, may be a valuable tool if no DNA profile of any suspect or individual in the DNA database matches the DNA profile found at the crime scene. Often, the available DNA material is sparse and allelic drop-out...... of true alleles is possible. As part of the validation of the IrisPlex assay in our ISO17025 accredited, forensic genetic laboratory, we estimated the probability of drop-out of specific SNP alleles using 29 and 30 PCR cycles and 25, 50 and 100 Single Base Extension (SBE) cycles. We observed no drop-out...... when the amount of DNA was greater than 125 pg for 29 cycles of PCR and greater than 62 pg for 30 cycles of PCR. With the use of a logistic regression model, we estimated the allele specific probability of drop-out in heterozygote systems based on the signal strength of the observed allele...

  20. Natural Arabidopsis brx loss-of-function alleles confer root adaptation to acidic soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gujas, Bojan; Alonso-Blanco, Carlos; Hardtke, Christian S

    2012-10-23

    Soil acidification is a major agricultural problem that negatively affects crop yield. Root systems counteract detrimental passive proton influx from acidic soil through increased proton pumping into the apoplast, which is presumably also required for cell elongation and stimulated by auxin. Here, we found an unexpected impact of extracellular pH on auxin activity and cell proliferation rate in the root meristem of two Arabidopsis mutants with impaired auxin perception, axr3 and brx. Surprisingly, neutral to slightly alkaline media rescued their severely reduced root (meristem) growth by stimulating auxin signaling, independent of auxin uptake. The finding that proton pumps are hyperactive in brx roots could explain this phenomenon and is consistent with more robust growth and increased fitness of brx mutants on overly acidic media or soil. Interestingly, the original brx allele was isolated from a natural stock center accession collected from acidic soil. Our discovery of a novel brx allele in accessions recently collected from another acidic sampling site demonstrates the existence of independently maintained brx loss-of-function alleles in nature and supports the notion that they are advantageous in acidic soil pH conditions, a finding that might be exploited for crop breeding. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Risk allelic load in Th2 and Th3 cytokines genes as biomarker of susceptibility to HPV-16 positive cervical cancer: a case control study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Torres-Poveda, K.; Burguete-García, A. I.; Bahena-Román, M.; Méndez-Martínez, R.; Zurita-Díaz, M. A.; López-Estrada, G.; Delgado-Romero, K.; Peralta-Zaragoza, O.; Bermúdez-Morales, V. H.; Cantú, D.; García-Carrancá, A.; Madrid-Marina, V.

    2016-01-01

    Alterations in the host cellular immune response allow persistent infections with High-Risk Human Papillomavirus (HR-HPV) and development of premalignant cervical lesions and cervical cancer (CC). Variations of immunosuppressive cytokine levels in cervix are associated with the natural history of CC. To assess the potential role of genetic host immunity and cytokines serum levels in the risk of developing CC, we conducted a case–control study paired by age. Peripheral blood samples from patients with CC (n = 200) and hospital controls (n = 200), were used to evaluate nine biallelic SNPs of six cytokine genes of the adaptive immune system by allelic discrimination and cytokines serum levels by ELISA. After analyzing the SNP association by multivariate logistic regression adjusted by age, CC history and smoking history, three Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-6 and IL-10) and one Th3 (TGFB1) cytokine were significantly associated with CC. Individuals with at least one copy of the following risk alleles: T of SNP (−590C > T IL-4), C of SNP (−573G > C IL-6), A of SNP (−592C > A IL-10), T of SNP (−819C > T IL-10) and T of SNP (−509C > T TGFB1), had an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 2.08 (95 % CI 1.475–2.934, p = 0.0001), an OR of 1.70 (95 % CI 1.208–2.404, p = 0.002), an OR of 1.87 (95 % CI 1.332–2.630, p = 0.0001), an OR of 1.67 (95 % CI 1.192–2.353, p = 0.003) and an OR of 1.91 (95 % CI 1.354–2.701, p = 0.0001), respectively, for CC. The burden of carrying two or more of these risk alleles was found to have an additive effect on the risk of CC (p trend = 0.0001). Finally, the serum levels of Th2 and Th3 cytokines were higher in CC cases than the controls; whereas IFNG levels, a Th1 cytokine, were higher in controls than CC cases. The significant associations of five SNPs with CC indicate that these polymorphisms are potential candidates for predicting the risk of development of CC, representing a risk allelic load for CC and can be used as a biomarker of

  2. Forensic genetic informativeness of an SNP panel consisting of 19 multi-allelic SNPs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Zehua; Chen, Xiaogang; Zhao, Yuancun; Zhao, Xiaohong; Zhang, Shu; Yang, Yiwen; Wang, Yufang; Zhang, Ji

    2018-05-01

    Current research focusing on forensic personal identification, phenotype inference and ancestry information on single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) has been widely reported. In the present study, we focused on tetra-allelic SNPs in the Chinese Han population. A total of 48 tetra-allelic SNPs were screened out from the Chinese Han population of the 1000 Genomes Database, including Chinese Han in Beijing (CHB) and Chinese Han South (CHS). Considering the forensic genetic requirement for the polymorphisms, only 11 tetra-allelic SNPs with a heterozygosity >0.06 were selected for further multiplex panel construction. In order to meet the demands of personal identification and parentage identification, an additional 8 tri-allelic SNPs were combined into the final multiplex panel. To ensure application in the degraded DNA analysis, all the PCR products were designed to be 87-188 bp. Employing multiple PCR reactions and SNaPshot minisequencing, 511 unrelated Chinese Han individuals from Sichuan were genotyped. The combined match probability (CMP), combined discrimination power (CDP), and cumulative probability of exclusion (CPE) of the panel were 6.07 × 10 -11 , 0.9999999999393 and 0.996764, respectively. Based on the population data retrieved from the 1000 Genomes Project, Fst values between Chinese Han in Sichuan (SCH) and all the populations included in the 1000 Genomes Project were calculated. The results indicated that two SNPs in this panel may contain ancestry information and may be used as markers of forensic biogeographical ancestry inference. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Association of HY-restricting HLA class II alleles with pregnancy outcome in patients with recurrent miscarriage subsequent to a firstborn boy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Henriette Svarre; Steffensen, Rudi; Varming, Kim

    2009-01-01

    and in 203 of their children born prior to the miscarriages. The subsequent live birth in women with boys prior to the miscarriages compared with girls is lower in women with HY-restricting HLA class II alleles [odds ratio (OR): 0.17 (0.1-0.4), P = 0.0001]. One HY-restricting HLA class II allele in women...... with firstborn boys significantly reduces the chances of a live birth [OR: 0.46 (0.2-0.9), P = 0.02]. Two HY-restricting HLA class II alleles further reduced this chance [OR: 0.21 (0.1-0.7), P = 0.02]. HY-restricting HLA class II did not reduce the chances of a live birth in SRM women with firstborn girls. HY-restricting...... birth. This study explores the putative impact of known HY-presenting HLA alleles on future pregnancy outcome in women with at least three consecutive miscarriages following a birth [secondary recurrent miscarriage (SRM)]. HLA-A, -B, -DRB1, DRB3-5 and DQB1 genotyping was performed in 358 SRM patients...

  4. Quantitative threefold allele-specific PCR (QuanTAS-PCR) for highly sensitive JAK2 V617F mutant allele detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zapparoli, Giada V; Jorissen, Robert N; Hewitt, Chelsee A; McBean, Michelle; Westerman, David A; Dobrovic, Alexander

    2013-01-01

    The JAK2 V617F mutation is the most frequent somatic change in myeloproliferative neoplasms, making it an important tumour-specific marker for diagnostic purposes and for the detection of minimal residual disease. Sensitive quantitative assays are required for both applications, particularly for the monitoring of minimal residual disease, which requires not only high sensitivity but also very high specificity. We developed a highly sensitive probe-free quantitative mutant-allele detection method, Quantitative Threefold Allele-Specific PCR (QuanTAS-PCR), that is performed in a closed-tube system, thus eliminating the manipulation of PCR products. QuantTAS-PCR uses a threefold approach to ensure allele-specific amplification of the mutant sequence: (i) a mutant allele-specific primer, (ii) a 3′dideoxy blocker to suppress false-positive amplification from the wild-type template and (iii) a PCR specificity enhancer, also to suppress false-positive amplification from the wild-type template. Mutant alleles were quantified relative to exon 9 of JAK2. We showed that the addition of the 3′dideoxy blocker suppressed but did not eliminate false-positive amplification from the wild-type template. However, the addition of the PCR specificity enhancer near eliminated false-positive amplification from the wild-type allele. Further discrimination between true and false positives was enabled by using the quantification cycle (Cq) value of a single mutant template as a cut-off point, thus enabling robust distinction between true and false positives. As 10,000 JAK2 templates were used per replicate, the assay had a sensitivity of 1/10 -4 per replicate. Greater sensitivity could be reached by increasing the number of replicates analysed. Variation in replicates when low mutant-allele templates were present necessitated the use of a statistics-based approach to estimate the load of mutant JAK2 copies. QuanTAS-PCR showed comparable quantitative results when validated against a

  5. Linkage disequilibrium between an allele at the dopamine D4 receptor locus and Tourette syndrome, by the transmission-disequilibrium test

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grice, D.E.; Gelernter, J. [Veterans Administration Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT (United States); Leckman, J.F.; Pauls, D.L. [Yale Univ. School of Medicine, New Haven, CT (United States)] [and others

    1996-09-01

    Dopaminergic abnormalities are implicated in the pathogenesis of Tourette syndrome (TS) and chronic multiple tics. We used the transmission-disequilibrium test (TDT) method to test for linkage disequilibrium between a specific allele (the seven-repeat allele (DRD4*7R) of the exon 3 VNTR polymorphic site) at the D4 dopamine receptor locus (DRD4) and expression of chronic multiple tics and TS. This particular allele had been shown in functional studies to have different binding properties compared with the other common alleles in this DRD4 polymorphic system. We studied 64 family trios (consisting of an affected person and two parents, at least one heterozygous for DRD4*7R), including 12 nuclear family trios and 52 trios from four large TS kindreds. The DRD4*7R allele was transmitted significantly more frequently than expected ({chi}{sup 2}{sub TDT} ranging from 8.47 [P < .004] to 10.80 [P = .001], depending on breadth of disease definition and inclusion or exclusion of inferred genotypes). Confirmation of this finding will depend on either replication in other samples or the identification of a transmitted functional mutation within this sample. 56 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.

  6. Classification of ISO SWS 01 spectra of proto-planetary nebulae: a search for precursors of planetary nebulae with [WR] central stars

    OpenAIRE

    Szczerba, R.; Stasi{ń}ska, G.; Siódmiak, N.; Górny, S. K.

    2002-01-01

    We have analyzed ISO SWS 01 observations for 61 proto-planetary nebulae candidates and classified their spectra according to their dominant chemistry. On the basis of our classification and the more general classification of SWS 01 spectra by Kraemer et al. (2002) we discuss the connection between proto-planetary nebulae candidates and planetary nebulae, with emphasis on possible precursors of planetary nebulae with [WR] central stars.

  7. CD8 Knockout Mice Are Protected from Challenge by Vaccination with WR201, a Live Attenuated Mutant of Brucella melitensis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel L. Yingst

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available CD8+ T cells have been reported to play an important role in defense against B. abortus infection in mouse models. In the present report, we use CD8 knockout mice to further elucidate the role of these cells in protection from B. melitensis infection. Mice were immunized orally by administration of B. melitensis WR201, a purine auxotrophic attenuated vaccine strain, then challenged intranasally with B. melitensis 16M. In some experiments, persistence of WR201 in the spleens of CD8 knockout mice was slightly longer than that in the spleens of normal mice. However, development of anti-LPS serum antibody, antigen-induced production of γ-interferon (IFN-γ by immune splenic lymphocytes, protection against intranasal challenge, and recovery of nonimmunized animals from intranasal challenge were similar between normal and knockout animals. Further, primary Brucella infection was not exacerbated in perforin knockout and Fas-deficient mice and these animals’ anti-Brucella immune responses were indistinguishable from those of normal mice. These results indicate that CD8+ T cells do not play an essential role as either cytotoxic cells or IFN-γ producers, yet they do participate in a specific immune response to immunization and challenge in this murine model of B. melitensis infection.

  8. ADH1B*2 allele is protective against alcoholism but not chronic liver disease in the Hungarian population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toth, Reka; Pocsai, Zsuzsa; Fiatal, Szilvia; Szeles, Gyorgy; Kardos, Laszlo; Petrovski, Beata; McKee, Martin; Adany, Roza

    2010-05-01

    Standardized death rates from chronic liver diseases (CLDs) in Hungary are much higher than the European Union average. Carrying the alcohol dehydrogenase 1B 48His allele (rs1229984 or ADH1B*2) could decrease the risk of alcoholism, but with persistent drinking may confer a greater risk of CLDs. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of this polymorphism in the Hungarian population and its association with alcohol consumption and with CLDs. A total of 278 cases with diagnosed CLDs and 752 controls without any alterations in liver function, all males aged 45-64, were screened for ADH1B Arg48His polymorphism. ADH1B*2 allele frequencies in controls and cases were 8.31% and 4.50%, respectively (chi(2) = 9.2; P = 0.01). Carrying the ADH1B*2 allele was associated with significantly lower odds ratio (OR) for drinking frequency (OR = 0.63; P = 0.003), the number of positive answers on CAGE (Cut-down, Annoyed, Guilt, Eye-opener) assessment (OR = 0.58; P = 0.005) and a positive CAGE status (OR = 0.55; P = 0.007). There was a significant association between ADH1B*2 and CLDs (OR = 0.50; P = 0.003), but it disappeared after adjusting for CAGE status and scores (OR = 0.67 P = 0.134; OR = 0.67 P = 0.148, respectively) and weakened after adjusting for drinking frequency (OR = 0.61; P = 0.045). Among heavy drinkers the presence of ADH1B*2 did not increase the risk of cirrhosis but there was a significant interaction between genotype and CAGE status (P = 0.003, P = 0.042), with ADH1B*2 conferring reduced risk of CLDs in CAGE negatives. In Hungarians, the ADH1B 48His allele reduces the risk of alcoholism, but not the risk of chronic liver disease among heavy drinkers.

  9. Generation of New Hairless Alleles by Genomic Engineering at the Hairless Locus in Drosophila melanogaster.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heiko Praxenthaler

    Full Text Available Hairless (H is the major antagonist within the Notch signalling pathway of Drosophila melanogaster. By binding to Suppressor of Hairless [Su(H] and two co-repressors, H induces silencing of Notch target genes in the absence of Notch signals. We have applied genomic engineering to create several new H alleles. To this end the endogenous H locus was replaced with an attP site by homologous recombination, serving as a landing platform for subsequent site directed integration of different H constructs. This way we generated a complete H knock out allele HattP, reintroduced a wild type H genomic and a cDNA-construct (Hgwt, Hcwt as well as two constructs encoding H proteins defective of Su(H binding (HLD, HiD. Phenotypes regarding viability, bristle and wing development were recorded, and the expression of Notch target genes wingless and cut was analysed in mutant wing discs or in mutant cell clones. Moreover, genetic interactions with Notch (N5419 and Delta (DlB2 mutants were addressed. Overall, phenotypes were largely as expected: both HLD and HiD were similar to the HattP null allele, indicating that most of H activity requires the binding of Su(H. Both rescue constructs Hgwt and Hcwt were homozygous viable without phenotype. Unexpectedly, the hemizygous condition uncovered that they were not identical to the wild type allele: notably Hcwt showed a markedly reduced activity, suggesting the presence of as yet unidentified regulatory or stabilizing elements in untranslated regions of the H gene. Interestingly, Hgwt homozygous cells expressed higher levels of H protein, perhaps unravelling gene-by-environment interactions.

  10. Geostatistical analysis of allele presence patterns among American black bears in eastern North Carolina

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, L.M.; Van Manen, F.T.; King, T.L.

    2005-01-01

    Highways are one of the leading causes of wildlife habitat fragmentation and may particularly affect wide-ranging species, such as American black bears (Ursus americanus). We initiated a research project in 2000 to determine potential effects of a 4-lane highway on black bear ecology in Washington County, North Carolina. The research design included a treatment area (highway construction) and a control area and a pre- and post-construction phase. We used data from the pre-construction phase to determine whether we could detect scale dependency or directionality among allele occurrence patterns using geostatistics. Detection of such patterns could provide a powerful tool to measure the effects of landscape fragmentation on gene flow. We sampled DNA from roots of black bear hair at 70 hair-sampling sites on each study area for 7 weeks during fall of 2000. We used microsatellite analysis based on 10 loci to determine unique multi-locus genotypes. We examined all alleles sampled at ???25 sites on each study area and mapped their presence or absence at each hair-sample site. We calculated semivariograms, which measure the strength of statistical correlation as a function of distance, and adjusted them for anisotropy to determine the maximum direction of spatial continuity. We then calculated the mean direction of spatial continuity for all examined alleles. The mean direction of allele frequency variation was 118.3?? (SE = 8.5) on the treatment area and 172.3?? (SE = 6.0) on the control area. Rayleigh's tests showed that these directions differed from random distributions (P = 0.028 and P < 0.001, respectively), indicating consistent directional patterns for the alleles we examined in each area. Despite the small spatial scale of our study (approximately 11,000 ha for each study area), we observed distinct and consistent patterns of allele occurrence, suggesting different directions of gene flow between the study areas. These directions seemed to coincide with the

  11. TGFbeta1 (Leu10Pro), p53 (Arg72Pro) can predict for increased risk for breast cancer in south Indian women and TGFbeta1 Pro (Leu10Pro) allele predicts response to neo-adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajkumar, Thangarajan; Samson, Mani; Rama, Ranganathan; Sridevi, Veluswami; Mahji, Urmila; Swaminathan, Rajaraman; Nancy, Nirmala K

    2008-11-01

    The breast cancer incidence has been increasing in the south Indian women. A case (n=250)-control (n=500) study was undertaken to investigate the role of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP's) in GSTM1 (Present/Null); GSTP1 (Ile105Val), p53 (Arg72Pro), TGFbeta1 (Leu10Pro), c-erbB2 (Ile655Val), and GSTT1 (Null/Present) in breast cancer. In addition, the value of the SNP's in predicting primary tumor's pathologic response following neo-adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy was assessed. Genotyping was done using PCR (GSTM1, GSTT1), Taqman Allelic discrimination assay (GSTP1, c-erbB2) and PCR-CTPP (p53 and TGFbeta1). None of the gene SNP's studied were associated with a statistically significant increased risk for the breast cancer. However, combined analysis of the SNP's showed that p53 (Arg/Arg and Arg/Pro) with TGFbeta1 (Pro/Pro and Leu/Pro) were associated with greater than 2 fold increased risk for breast cancer in Univariate (P=0.01) and Multivariate (P=0.003) analysis. There was no statistically significant association for the GST family members with the breast cancer risk. TGFbeta1 (Pro/Pro) allele was found to predict complete pathologic response in the primary tumour following neo-adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy (OR=6.53 and 10.53 in Univariate and Multivariate analysis respectively) (P=0.004) and was independent of stage. This study suggests that SNP's can help predict breast cancer risk in south Indian women and that TGFbeta1 (Pro/Pro) allele is associated with a better pCR in the primary tumour.

  12. The origin of Wolf-Rayet stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doom, C.

    1987-01-01

    The paper reviews the origin of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars, with emphasis on the so-called Population I WR stars which are associated with the young and luminous stellar population. A description is given of the observational characteristics i.e. classification, luminosities composition, etc. of WR stars. The origin and evolution of WR stars is described, including the single, binary, subtypes and ratio WR/O. The interaction of the WR stars with their environment is discussed with respect to the energy deposition and composition anomalies. A brief account of the discovery of WR stars in other galaxies is given. Finally, some of the main issues in the research into the structure and evolution of WR stars are outlined. (U.K.)

  13. Multimer Formation Explains Allelic Suppression of PRDM9 Recombination Hotspots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Christopher L; Petkova, Pavlina; Walker, Michael; Flachs, Petr; Mihola, Ondrej; Trachtulec, Zdenek; Petkov, Petko M; Paigen, Kenneth

    2015-09-01

    Genetic recombination during meiosis functions to increase genetic diversity, promotes elimination of deleterious alleles, and helps assure proper segregation of chromatids. Mammalian recombination events are concentrated at specialized sites, termed hotspots, whose locations are determined by PRDM9, a zinc finger DNA-binding histone methyltransferase. Prdm9 is highly polymorphic with most alleles activating their own set of hotspots. In populations exhibiting high frequencies of heterozygosity, questions remain about the influences different alleles have in heterozygous individuals where the two variant forms of PRDM9 typically do not activate equivalent populations of hotspots. We now find that, in addition to activating its own hotspots, the presence of one Prdm9 allele can modify the activity of hotspots activated by the other allele. PRDM9 function is also dosage sensitive; Prdm9+/- heterozygous null mice have reduced numbers and less active hotspots and increased numbers of aberrant germ cells. In mice carrying two Prdm9 alleles, there is allelic competition; the stronger Prdm9 allele can partially or entirely suppress chromatin modification and recombination at hotspots of the weaker allele. In cell cultures, PRDM9 protein variants form functional heteromeric complexes which can bind hotspots sequences. When a heteromeric complex binds at a hotspot of one PRDM9 variant, the other PRDM9 variant, which would otherwise not bind, can still methylate hotspot nucleosomes. We propose that in heterozygous individuals the underlying molecular mechanism of allelic suppression results from formation of PRDM9 heteromers, where the DNA binding activity of one protein variant dominantly directs recombination initiation towards its own hotspots, effectively titrating down recombination by the other protein variant. In natural populations with many heterozygous individuals, allelic competition will influence the recombination landscape.

  14. A genomic study on distribution of human leukocyte antigen (HLA-A and HLA-B alleles in Lak population of Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farhad Shahsavar

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Anthropological studies based on the highly polymorphic gene, human leukocyte antigen (HLA, provide useful information for bone marrow donor registry, forensic medicine, disease association studies, as well as infertility treatment, designing peptide vaccines against tumors, and infectious or autoimmune diseases. The aim of this study was to determine HLA-A and HLA-B allele frequencies in 100 unrelated Lak/lᴂk/individuals from Lorestan province of Iran. Finally, we compared the results with that previously described in Iranian population. Commercial HLA-Type kits from BAG (Lich, Germany company were used for determination of the HLA-A and HLA-B allele frequencies in genomic DNA, based on polymerase chain reaction with sequence specific primer (PCR-SSP assay. The differences between the populations in distribution of HLA-A and HLA-B alleles were estimated by chi-squared test with Yate's correction. The most frequent HLA-A alleles were *24 (20%, *02 (18%, *03 (12% and *11 (10%, and the most frequent HLA-B alleles were *35 (24%, *51 (16%, *18 (6% and *38 (6% in Lak population. HLA-A*66 (1%, *74(1% and HLA-B*48 (1%, *55(1% were the least observed frequencies in Lak population. Our results based on HLA-A and HLA-B allele frequencies showed that Lak population possesses the previously reported general features of Iranians but still with unique.

  15. Allele-specific MMP-3 transcription under in vivo conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chaoyong, Zhu [Atherosclerosis Research Unit, King Gustav V Research Institute, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm (Sweden); Odeberg, Jacob [Atherosclerosis Research Unit, King Gustav V Research Institute, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm (Sweden); Department of Biotechnology, AlbaNova University Center, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm (Sweden); Hamsten, Anders [Atherosclerosis Research Unit, King Gustav V Research Institute, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm (Sweden); Eriksson, Per [Atherosclerosis Research Unit, King Gustav V Research Institute, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm (Sweden)

    2006-09-29

    A common matrix metalloproteinases-3 (MMP-3) -1612 5A/6A promoter polymorphism is associated with risk for cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and other diseases. Here we used the haplotype chromatin immunoprecipitation method to study allele-specific MMP-3 expression under in vivo conditions in heterozygous THP-1 cells. Pyrosequencing was used to analyse the ratio of 5A-allele to 6A-allele after chromatin immunoprecipitation using an antibody against phosphorylated active RNA polymerase II. There was no allele-specific difference in transcriptional activity during basal conditions, i.e., in unstimulated monocytic THP-1 cells. However, after stimulation of MMP-3 expression by monocyte differentiation or incubation with IL-1{beta}, the haplotype containing the 5A-allele was associated with higher transcriptional activity compared with the 6A-containing haplotype. Electromobility shift assay demonstrated increased binding of nuclear proteins to the 5A-allele after monocyte differentiation. In conclusion, the common MMP-3 5A/6A promoter polymorphism appears to be functional only during specific environmental conditions involving inflammation.

  16. SSR allelic variation in almond (Prunus dulcis Mill.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Hua; Sui, Yi; Chang, Feng-Qi; Xu, Yong; Ma, Rong-Cai

    2006-01-01

    Sixteen SSR markers including eight EST-SSR and eight genomic SSRs were used for genetic diversity analysis of 23 Chinese and 15 international almond cultivars. EST- and genomic SSR markers previously reported in species of Prunus, mainly peach, proved to be useful for almond genetic analysis. DNA sequences of 117 alleles of six of the 16 SSR loci were analysed to reveal sequence variation among the 38 almond accessions. For the four SSR loci with AG/CT repeats, no insertions or deletions were observed in the flanking regions of the 98 alleles sequenced. Allelic size variation of these loci resulted exclusively from differences in the structures of repeat motifs, which involved interruptions or occurrences of new motif repeats in addition to varying number of AG/CT repeats. Some alleles had a high number of uninterrupted repeat motifs, indicating that SSR mutational patterns differ among alleles at a given SSR locus within the almond species. Allelic homoplasy was observed in the SSR loci because of base substitutions, interruptions or compound repeat motifs. Substitutions in the repeat regions were found at two SSR loci, suggesting that point mutations operate on SSRs and hinder the further SSR expansion by introducing repeat interruptions to stabilize SSR loci. Furthermore, it was shown that some potential point mutations in the flanking regions are linked with new SSR repeat motif variation in almond and peach.

  17. XMM-Newton Detection of Hard X-Ray Emission in the Nitrogen-Type Wolf-Rayet Star WR 110

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skinner, Stephen L.; Zhekov, Svetozar A.; Güdel, Manuel; Schmutz, Werner

    2002-06-01

    We have used the excellent sensitivity of XMM-Newton to obtain the first high-quality X-ray spectrum of a Wolf-Rayet (W-R) star that is not known to be a member of a binary system. Our target, the nitrogen-type star WR 110 (HD 165688), was also observed and detected with the Very Large Array at four different frequencies. The radio flux density increases with frequency according to a power law Sν~ν+0.64+/-0.10, in very good agreement with the behavior expected for free-free wind emission. The radio data give an ionized mass-loss rate M=4.9×10-5 Msolar yr-1 for an assumed spherical constant-velocity wind. The undispersed CCD X-ray spectra reveal strong emission lines from He-like ions of Mg, Si, and S. The emission measure distribution shows a dominant contribution from cool plasma with a characteristic temperature kTcool~0.5 keV (~6 MK). Little or no excess absorption of this cool component above the value expected from the visual extinction is present. We conclude that the bulk of the cool plasma detected by XMM-Newton lies at hundreds of stellar radii or more if the wind is approximately spherical and homogeneous, but it could lie closer to the star if the wind is clumped. If the cool plasma is due to instability-driven wind shocks, then typical shock velocities are vs~340-550 km s-1 and the average filling factor of X-ray-emitting gas in the wind is no larger than f~10-6. A surprising result is the unambiguous detection of a hard X-ray component that is clearly seen in the hard-band images and the spectra. This hard component accounts for about half of the observed flux and can be acceptably fitted by a hot, optically thin thermal plasma or a power-law model. If the emission is thermal, then a temperature kThot>=3 keV is derived. Such high temperatures are not predicted by current instability-driven wind shock models, and a different mechanism is thus required to explain the hard X-rays. We examine several possible mechanisms and show that the hard emission

  18. A new electrophoresis technique to separate microsatellite alleles ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A new electrophoresis technique to separate microsatellite alleles* ... African Journal of Biotechnology ... with the CEQTM 8000 Genetic Analysis System and ABI 3130xl DNA Sequencer easily separated products and determined allelic size, ...

  19. Directional Positive Selection on an Allele of Arbitrary Dominance

    OpenAIRE

    Teshima, Kosuke M.; Przeworski, Molly

    2006-01-01

    Most models of positive directional selection assume codominance of the beneficial allele. We examine the importance of this assumption by implementing a coalescent model of positive directional selection with arbitrary dominance. We find that, for a given mean fixation time, a beneficial allele has a much weaker effect on diversity at linked neutral sites when the allele is recessive.

  20. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and II alleles which confer susceptibility or protection in the Morphea in Adults and Children (MAC) cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobe, Heidi; Ahn, Chul; Arnett, Frank; Reveille, John D.

    2014-01-01

    Objective To determine human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-class I) and II (HLA-class II) alleles associated with morphea (localized scleroderma) in the Morphea in Adults and Children (MAC) cohort by a nested case–control association study. Methods Morphea patients were included from MAC cohort and matched controls from the NIH/NIAMS Scleroderma Family Registry and DNA Repository and Division of Rheumatology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. HLA- Class II genotyping and SSCP typing was performed of HLA-A, -B, -C alleles. Associations between HLA-Class I and II alleles and morphea as well as its subphenotypes were determined. Results There were 211 cases available for HLA-class I typing with 726 matched controls and 158 cases available for HLA Class-II typing with 1108 matched controls. The strongest associations were found with DRB1*04:04 (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.4–4.0 P=0.002) and HLA-B*37 conferred the highest OR among Class I alleles (3.3, 95% CI 1.6–6.9, P= 0.0016). Comparison with risk alleles in systemic sclerosis determined using the same methods and control population revealed one common allele (DRB*04:04). Conclusion Results of the present study demonstrate specific HLA Class I and II alleles are associated with morphea and likely generalized and linear subtypes. The associated morphea alleles are different than in scleroderma, implicating morphea is also immunogenetically distinct. Risk alleles in morphea are also associated with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other autoimmune conditions. Population based studies indicate patients with RA have increased risk of morphea, implicating a common susceptibility allele. PMID:25223600

  1. Readressing the role of Toll-like receptor-4 alleles in inflammatory bowel disease: colitis, smoking, and seroreactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manolakis, Anastassios C; Kapsoritakis, Andreas N; Kapsoritaki, Anastasia; Tiaka, Elisavet K; Oikonomou, Konstantinos A; Lotis, Vassilis; Vamvakopoulou, Dimitra; Davidi, Ioanna; Vamvakopoulos, Nikolaos; Potamianos, Spyros P

    2013-02-01

    Toll-like receptor (TLR) polymorphisms, and especially TLR-4 Asp299Gly and TLR-4 Thr399Ile, have been linked with Crohn's disease (CD) and to a lesser extent with ulcerative colitis (UC), CD behavior, and compromised seroreactivity to microbial antigens. Available data, however, are conflicting. To address these issues, the distribution of TLR-4 polymorphic alleles was assessed in patients with UC, CD, and healthy controls (HC), considering patient and disease characteristics as well as related serological markers. TLR-4 Asp299Gly and TLR-4 Thr399Ile polymorphisms were determined in 187 UC and 163 CD patients and 274 randomly selected HC. C reactive protein, anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae mannan antibodies, anti-mannobioside carbohydrate antibodies, anti-laminariobioside carbohydrate antibodies IgG, and anti-chitobioside carbohydrate antibodies (ACCA) IgA levels were also assessed. UC and especially pancolitis patients carried the mutant alleles more frequently compared to CD patients and HC or UC patients with different disease extents (P = 0.002 and P ACCA IgA were lower in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients carrying the mutant compared to those with wild-type alleles (0.075 ACCA IgA levels. Smoking reduces the extent of UC, even in the presence of mutant alleles.

  2. Erasure and reestablishment of random allelic expression imbalance after epigenetic reprogramming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeffries, Aaron Richard; Uwanogho, Dafe Aghogho; Cocks, Graham; Perfect, Leo William; Dempster, Emma; Mill, Jonathan; Price, Jack

    2016-10-01

    Clonal level random allelic expression imbalance and random monoallelic expression provides cellular heterogeneity within tissues by modulating allelic dosage. Although such expression patterns have been observed in multiple cell types, little is known about when in development these stochastic allelic choices are made. We examine allelic expression patterns in human neural progenitor cells before and after epigenetic reprogramming to induced pluripotency, observing that loci previously characterized by random allelic expression imbalance (0.63% of expressed genes) are generally reset to a biallelic state in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). We subsequently neuralized the iPSCs and profiled isolated clonal neural stem cells, observing that significant random allelic expression imbalance is reestablished at 0.65% of expressed genes, including novel loci not found to show allelic expression imbalance in the original parental neural progenitor cells. Allelic expression imbalance was associated with altered DNA methylation across promoter regulatory regions, with clones characterized by skewed allelic expression being hypermethylated compared to their biallelic sister clones. Our results suggest that random allelic expression imbalance is established during lineage commitment and is associated with increased DNA methylation at the gene promoter. © 2016 Jeffries et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press for the RNA Society.

  3. The BTNL2 A allele variant is frequent in Danish patients with sarcoidosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Milman, Nils; Svendsen, Claus Bo; Nielsen, Finn Cilius

    2011-01-01

    The butyrophilin-like 2 (BTNL2) gene is located on chromosome 6p21.3 close to the HLA-class II genes. An association has been reported between sarcoidosis and a single nucleotide polymorphism in BTNL2, rs2076530, also termed the A allele....

  4. Allelic diversity of S-RNase at the self-incompatibility locus in natural flowering cherry populations (Prunus lannesiana var. speciosa).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kato, S; Mukai, Y

    2004-03-01

    In the Rosaceae family, which includes Prunus, gametophytic self-incompatibility (GSI) is controlled by a single multiallelic locus (S-locus), and the S-locus product expressed in the pistils is a glycoprotein with ribonuclease activity (S-RNase). Two populations of flowering cherry (Prunus lannesiana var. speciosa), located on Hachijo Island in Japan's Izu Islands, were sampled, and S-allele diversity was surveyed based on the sequence polymorphism of S-RNase. A total of seven S-alleles were cloned and sequenced. The S-RNases of flowering cherry showed high homology to those of Prunus cultivars (P. avium and P. dulcis). In the phylogenetic tree, the S-RNases of flowering cherry and other Prunus cultivars formed a distinct group, but they did not form species-specific subgroups. The nucleotide substitution pattern in S-RNases of flowering cherry showed no excess of nonsynonymous substitutions relative to synonymous substitutions. However, the S-RNases of flowering cherry had a higher Ka/Ks ratio than those of other Prunus cultivars, and a subtle heterogeneity in the nucleotide substitution rates was observed among the Prunus species. The S-genotype of each individual was determined by Southern blotting of restriction enzyme-digested genomic DNA, using cDNA for S-RNase as a probe. A total of 22 S-alleles were identified. All individuals examined were heterozygous, as expected under GSI. The allele frequencies were, contrary to the expectation under GSI, significantly unequal. The two populations studied showed a high degree of overlap, with 18 shared alleles. However, the allele frequencies differed considerably between the two populations.

  5. La{sub 3}Cu{sub 4}P{sub 4}O{sub 2} and La{sub 5}Cu{sub 4}P{sub 4}O{sub 4}Cl{sub 2}. Synthesis, structure and {sup 31}P solid state NMR spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bartsch, Timo; Eul, Matthias; Poettgen, Rainer [Muenster Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Anorganische und Analytische Chemie; Benndorf, Christopher; Eckert, Hellmut [Muenster Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Physikalische Chemie; Sao Paulo Univ., Sao Carlos, SP (Brazil). Inst. of Physics

    2016-04-01

    The phosphide oxides La{sub 3}Cu{sub 4}P{sub 4}O{sub 2} and La{sub 5}Cu{sub 4}P{sub 4}O{sub 4}Cl{sub 2} were synthesized from lanthanum, copper(I) oxide, red phosphorus, and lanthanum(III) chloride through a ceramic technique. Single crystals can be grown in a NaCl/KCl flux. Both structures were refined from single crystal X-ray diffractometer data: I4/mmm, a = 403.89(4), c = 2681.7(3) pm, wR2 = 0.0660, 269 F{sup 2} values, 19 variables for La{sub 3}Cu{sub 4}P{sub 4}O{sub 2} and a = 407.52(5), c = 4056.8(7) pm, wR2 = 0.0905, 426 F{sup 2} values, 27 variables for La{sub 5}Cu{sub 4}P{sub 4}O{sub 4}Cl{sub 2}. Refinement of the occupancy parameters revealed full occupancy for the oxygen sites in both compounds. The structures are composed of cationic (La{sub 2}O{sub 2}){sup 2+} layers and covalently bonded (Cu{sub 4}P{sub 4}){sup 5-} polyanionic layers with metallic characteristics, and an additional La{sup 3+} between two adjacent (Cu{sub 4}P{sub 4}){sup 5-} layers. The structure of La{sub 5}Cu{sub 4}P{sub 4}O{sub 4}Cl{sub 2} comprises two additional LaOCl slabs per unit cell. Temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility studies revealed Pauli paramagnetism. The phosphide substructure of La{sub 3}Cu{sub 4}P{sub 4}O{sub 2} was studied by {sup 31}P solid state NMR spectroscopy. By using a suitable dipolar re-coupling approach the two distinct resonances belonging to the P{sub 2}{sup 4-} and the P{sup 3-} units could be identified.

  6. Coupling hydrodynamics with comoving frame radiative transfer. I. A unified approach for OB and WR stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sander, A. A. C.; Hamann, W.-R.; Todt, H.; Hainich, R.; Shenar, T.

    2017-07-01

    Context. For more than two decades, stellar atmosphere codes have been used to derive the stellar and wind parameters of massive stars. Although they have become a powerful tool and sufficiently reproduce the observed spectral appearance, they can hardly be used for more than measuring parameters. One major obstacle is their inconsistency between the calculated radiation field and the wind stratification due to the usage of prescribed mass-loss rates and wind-velocity fields. Aims: We present the concepts for a new generation of hydrodynamically consistent non-local thermodynamical equilibrium (non-LTE) stellar atmosphere models that allow for detailed studies of radiation-driven stellar winds. As a first demonstration, this new kind of model is applied to a massive O star. Methods: Based on earlier works, the PoWR code has been extended with the option to consistently solve the hydrodynamic equation together with the statistical equations and the radiative transfer in order to obtain a hydrodynamically consistent atmosphere stratification. In these models, the whole velocity field is iteratively updated together with an adjustment of the mass-loss rate. Results: The concepts for obtaining hydrodynamically consistent models using a comoving-frame radiative transfer are outlined. To provide a useful benchmark, we present a demonstration model, which was motivated to describe the well-studied O4 supergiant ζPup. The obtained stellar and wind parameters are within the current range of literature values. Conclusions: For the first time, the PoWR code has been used to obtain a hydrodynamically consistent model for a massive O star. This has been achieved by a profound revision of earlier concepts used for Wolf-Rayet stars. The velocity field is shaped by various elements contributing to the radiative acceleration, especially in the outer wind. The results further indicate that for more dense winds deviations from a standard β-law occur.

  7. Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease in a family with mosaicism and hypomorphic allele.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiterová, Jana; Štekrová, Jitka; Merta, Miroslav; Kotlas, Jaroslav; Elišáková, Veronika; Lněnička, Petr; Korabečná, Marie; Kohoutová, Milada; Tesař, Vladimír

    2013-03-15

    Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common form of inherited kidney disease that results in renal failure. ADPKD is a systemic disorder with cysts and connective tissue abnormalities involving many organs. ADPKD caused by mutations in PKD1 gene is significantly more severe than the cases caused by PKD2 gene mutations. The large intra-familial variability of ADPKD highlights a role for genetic background. Here we report a case of ADPKD family initially appearing unlinked to the PKD1 or PKD2 loci and the influence of mosaicism and hypomorphic allele on the variability of the clinical course of the disease. A grandmother with the PKD1 gene mutation in mosaicism (p.Val1105ArgfsX4) and with mild clinical course of ADPKD (end stage renal failure at the age of 77) seemed to have ADPKD because of PKD2 gene mutation. On the other hand, her grandson had a severe clinical course (end stage renal disease at the age of 45) in spite of the early treatment of mild hypertension. There was found by mutational analysis of PKD genes that the severe clinical course was caused by PKD1 gene frameshifting mutation inherited from his father and mildly affected grandmother in combination with inherited hypomorphic PKD1 allele with described missense mutation (p.Thr2250Met) from his clinically healthy mother. The sister with two cysts and with PKD1 hypomorphic allele became the kidney donor to her severely affected brother. We present the first case of ADPKD with the influence of mosaicism and hypomorphic allele of the PKD1 gene on clinical course of ADPKD in one family. Moreover, this report illustrates the role of molecular genetic testing in assessing young related kidney donors for patients with ADPKD.

  8. Characterization of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa recA analog and its protein product: rec-102 is a mutant allele of the P. aeruginosa PAO recA gene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kokjohn, T.A.; Miller, R.V.

    1987-04-01

    We cloned a 2.3-kilobase-pair fragment of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO chromosome which is capable of complementing recA mutations of Escherichia coli. The recA-complementing activity was further localized to a 1.5-kilobase-pair PvuII-HindIII fragment. Southern blot analysis under conditions of high stringency indicated that DNA sequence homology is shared by the E. coli recA gene and the P. aeruginosa recA analog. The cloned recA analog was shown to restore resistance to methyl methanesulfonate, nitrofurantoin, and UV irradiation to E. coli recA mutants. Upon introduction of the cloned P. aeruginosa gene, these mutants regained recombination proficiency in HfrH-mediated conjugation and the ability to induce lambda prophages and SOS functions (din gene transcription) after exposure to DNA-damaging agents. Lambda prophage carrying a cI ind mutation was not inducible, suggesting that the mechanism of induction of these SOS functions by the P. aeruginosa RecA analog is similar to that by the activated E. coli RecA protein. The product of the recA analog was identified in minicells as a protein of approximately 47,000 daltons. Western blot analysis using anti-E. coli RecA antibody demonstrated that this protein is antigenically cross-reactive with the E. coli recA protein. The recA-containing fragment was cloned into the broad-host-range vector pCP13 and introduced into Rec- strains of P. aeruginosa containing the rec-102 allele. The plasmid was shown to restore recombination proficiency in FP5-mediated conjugations and to restore resistance to UV irradiation and methyl methanesulfonate to these Rec- mutants. It was shown that a wild-type allele of rec-102 is necessary for UV-mediated induction of D3 and F116 prophages. The cloned recA analog restored the UV inducibility of these prophages in rec-102 mutants.

  9. Characterization of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa recA analog and its protein product: rec-102 is a mutant allele of the P. aeruginosa PAO recA gene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kokjohn, T.A.; Miller, R.V.

    1987-01-01

    We cloned a 2.3-kilobase-pair fragment of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO chromosome which is capable of complementing recA mutations of Escherichia coli. The recA-complementing activity was further localized to a 1.5-kilobase-pair PvuII-HindIII fragment. Southern blot analysis under conditions of high stringency indicated that DNA sequence homology is shared by the E. coli recA gene and the P. aeruginosa recA analog. The cloned recA analog was shown to restore resistance to methyl methanesulfonate, nitrofurantoin, and UV irradiation to E. coli recA mutants. Upon introduction of the cloned P. aeruginosa gene, these mutants regained recombination proficiency in HfrH-mediated conjugation and the ability to induce lambda prophages and SOS functions (din gene transcription) after exposure to DNA-damaging agents. Lambda prophage carrying a cI ind mutation was not inducible, suggesting that the mechanism of induction of these SOS functions by the P. aeruginosa RecA analog is similar to that by the activated E. coli RecA protein. The product of the recA analog was identified in minicells as a protein of approximately 47,000 daltons. Western blot analysis using anti-E. coli RecA antibody demonstrated that this protein is antigenically cross-reactive with the E. coli recA protein. The recA-containing fragment was cloned into the broad-host-range vector pCP13 and introduced into Rec- strains of P. aeruginosa containing the rec-102 allele. The plasmid was shown to restore recombination proficiency in FP5-mediated conjugations and to restore resistance to UV irradiation and methyl methanesulfonate to these Rec- mutants. It was shown that a wild-type allele of rec-102 is necessary for UV-mediated induction of D3 and F116 prophages. The cloned recA analog restored the UV inducibility of these prophages in rec-102 mutants

  10. HLA Class II Alleles Susceptibility Markers of Type 1 Diabetes Fail to Specify Phenotypes of Ketosis-Prone Diabetes in Adult Tunisian Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lilia Laadhar

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available We aimed to characterize the different subgroups of ketosis-prone diabetes (KPD in a sample of Tunisian patients using the Aβ scheme based on the presence or absence of β-cell autoantibodies (A+ or A− and β-cell functional reserve (β+ or β− and we investigated whether HLA class II alleles could contribute to distinct KPD phenotypes. We enrolled 43 adult patients with a first episode of ketosis. For all patients we evaluated clinical parameters, β-cell autoimmunity, β-cell function and HLA class II alleles. Frequency distribution of the 4 subgroups was 23.3% A+β−, 23.3% A−β−, 11.6% A+β+ and 41.9% A−β+. Patients from the group A+β− were significantly younger than those from the group A−β− (P=.002. HLA susceptibility markers were significantly more frequent in patients with autoantibodies (P=.003. These patients also had resistance alleles but they were more frequent in A+β+ than A+β− patients (P=.04. Insulin requirement was not associated to the presence or the absence of HLA susceptibility markers. HLA class II alleles associated with susceptibility to autoimmune diabetes have not allowed us to further define Tunisian KPD groups. However, high prevalence of HLA resistance alleles in our patients may reflect a particular genetic background of Tunisian KPD population.

  11. The effect of 2-[(aminopropyl)amino] ethanethiol on fission-neutron-induced DNA damage and repair.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grdina, D. J.; Sigdestad, C. P.; Dale, P. J.; Perrin, J. M.

    1989-01-01

    The effect(s) of the radioprotector 2-[(aminopropyl)amino] ethanethiol (WR 1065) on fission-neutron-induced DNA damage and repair in V79 Chinese hamster cells was determined by using a neutral filter elution procedure (pH 7.2). When required, WR1065, at a final working concentration of 4 mM, was added to the culture medium, either 30 min before and during irradiation with fission spectrum neutrons (beam energy of 0.85 MeV) from the JANUS research reactor, or for selected intervals of time following exposure. The frequency of neutron-induced DNA strand breaks as measured by neutral elution as a function of dose equalled that observed for 60Co gamma-ray-induced damage (relative biological effectiveness of one). In contrast to the protective effect exhibited by WR1065 in reducing 60Co-induced DNA damage, WR1065 was ineffective in reducing or protecting against induction of DNA strand breaks by JANUS neutrons. The kinetics of DNA double-strand rejoining were measured following neutron irradiation. In the absence of WR1065, considerable DNA degradation by cellular enzymes was observed. This process was inhibited when WR1065 was present. These results indicate that, under the conditions used, the quality (i.e. nature), rather than quantity, of DNA lesions (measured by neutral elution) formed by neutrons was significantly different from that formed by gamma-rays. PMID:2667608

  12. Origin of allelic diversity in antirrhinum S locus RNases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Y; Carpenter, R; Dickinson, H G; Coen, E S

    1996-01-01

    In many plant species, self-incompatibility (SI) is genetically controlled by a single multiallelic S locus. Previous analysis of S alleles in the Solanaceae, in which S locus ribonucleases (S RNases) are responsible for stylar expression of SI, has demonstrated that allelic diversity predated speciation within this family. To understand how allelic diversity has evolved, we investigated the molecular basis of gametophytic SI in Antirrhinum, a member of the Scrophulariaceae, which is closely related to the Solanaceae. We have characterized three Antirrhinum cDNAs encoding polypeptides homologous to S RNases and shown that they are encoded by genes at the S locus. RNA in situ hybridization revealed that the Antirrhinum S RNase are primarily expressed in the stylar transmitting tissue. This expression is consistent with their proposed role in arresting the growth of self-pollen tubes. S alleles from the Scrophulariaceae form a separate group from those of the Solanaceae, indicating that new S alleles have been generated since these families separated (approximately 40 million years). We propose that the recruitment of an ancestral RNase gene into SI occurred during an early stage of angiosperm evolution and that, since that time, new alleles subsequently have arisen at a low rate. PMID:8672882

  13. Final chlorine dioxide stage at near-neutral pH for bleaching eucalypt pulp

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robisnéa A. Ribeiro

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available It is well known that pH is an important parameter for controlling the eucalyptus pulp bleaching when using the final chlorine dioxide stage, since it affects the effectiveness of the process. Recommendations found in the literature for operating are in the 3.5 to 4.0 range. However, in this paper it was shown that final chlorine dioxide has better performance, with significant brightness gain while also preserving pulp quality, when it is operated at near neutral pH. This result can be explained by the generation of sodium bicarbonate in situ upon adding carbon dioxide at this stage.

  14. HLA-DR alleles among Pakistani patients of coeliac disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saleem, N.; Ahmed, T.A.; Bashir, M.; Ali, S.; Iqbal, M.

    2013-01-01

    Objectives: To investigate whether certain DR alleles might also contribute to the genetic susceptibility among Coeliac disease patients in Pakistan. Methods: The case-control study was conducted at the Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, from October 2011 to January 2012, and analysed 25 children diagnosed to have coeliac disease as per the criteria set by the European Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, which included histopathological alterations in duodenal biopsies, clinical response to gluten withdrawal, and presence of anti-endomyseal antibodies. Patients were compared with a group of 150 healthy subjects. Dioxyribonucleic acid was extracted from peripheral blood collected in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid.K3. Human leukocyte antigen DRB1 typing was carried out on allele level (DRB1*01 - DRB1*16) using sequence specific primers. Human leukocyte antigen type was determined by agarose gel electrophoresis and results were recorded. Phenotype frequency of various alleles among the patient group and the control group was calculated by direct counting, and significance of their association was determined by Fisher Exact Test. Results: A total of 11 (44%) female paediatric coeliac patients in age range 1-9 (mean 7.2+-4.8 years) and 14 (56%) male paediatric patients in the age range 6-14 (mean 8.6+-5.1 years) were genotyped for HLA-DRB1 loci. A statistically significant positive association of the disease with HLA-DRB1*03 (n=23; 92% versus n=31; 21% in controls, p <0.01) was observed. Conclusion: HLA-DRB1*03 is associated with increased risk of developing coeliac disease. (author)

  15. RHD alleles in the Tunisian population

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouchari, Mouna; Jemni-Yaacoub, Saloua; Chakroun, Taher; Abdelkefi, Saida; Houissa, Batoul; Hmida, Slama

    2013-01-01

    Background: A comprehensive survey of RHD alleles in Tunisia population was lacking. The aim of this study was to use a multiplex RHD typing assay for simultaneous detection of partial D especially with RHD/RHCE deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence exchange mechanism and some weak D alleles. Materials and Methods: Six RHD specific primer sets were designed to amplify RHD exons 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9. DNA from 2000 blood donors (1777 D+ and 223 D-) from several regions was selected for RHD genotyping using a PCR multiplex assay. Further molecular investigations were done to characterize the RHD variants that were identified by the PCR multiplex assay. Results: In the 1777 D+ samples, only 10 individuals showed the absence of amplification of exons 4 and 5 that were subsequently identified by PCR-SSP as weak D type 4 variants. No hybrid allele was detected. In the 223 D-, RHD amplification of some exons was observed only in 5 samples: 4 individuals expressed only RHD exon 9, and one subject lacking exons 4 and 5. These samples were then screened by PCR-SSPs on d(C) ces and weak D type 4, respectively. Conclusion: The weak D type 4 appears to be the most common D variant allele. We have not found any partial D variant. Findings also indicated that RHD gene deletion is the most prevalent cause of the D- phenotype in the Tunisian population. PMID:24014941

  16. Novel cytochrome P450 (CYP6D1) and voltage sensitive sodium channel (Vssc) alleles of the house fly (Musca domestica) and their roles in pyrethroid resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Jing; Yang, Chan; Liu, Yan; Gao, Qi; Li, Mei; Qiu, Xinghui

    2018-04-01

    The house fly Musca domestica is an important disease vector. Point mutation-mediated target-site insensitivity of the voltage sensitive sodium channel (VSSC) and increased detoxification mediated by cytochrome P450 (CYP6D1) overexpression have been characterized as two major mechanisms of pyrethroid resistance. In this study, genetic mutations in the Vssc and CYP6D1 genes and their contribution to pyrethroid resistance were investigated. Twelve lines of house flies homozygous for four genotypes were established. House flies carrying the VSSC 1014F mutation and overexpressing CYP6D1 had higher resistance to pyrethroids than those carrying 1014F alone. The presence of the 15-bp insert in the promoter region of the CYP6D1 gene did not necessarily result in a significant increase in CYP6D1 mRNA and pyrethroid resistance levels. A novel Vssc allele carrying two mutations (G1924D and G2004S) in combination with the classic 1014F and a novel CYP6D1 allele that is very similar to CYP6D1v1 were identified in Chinese house flies. This work demonstrates the effect of genetic mutations in CYP6D1 and Vssc on the susceptibility of house flies to pyrethroids, and verifies that 15-bp insert-containing CYP6D1 alleles have a single origin. These findings offer insights into the evolution of insecticide resistance and have implications for house fly control. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  17. Association of the insertion allele of the common ACE gene polymorphism with type 2 diabetes mellitus among Kuwaiti cardiovascular disease patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Serri, Ahmad; Ismael, Fatma G; Al-Bustan, Suzanne A; Al-Rashdan, Ibrahim

    2015-12-01

    The D allele of the common angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) I/D gene polymorphism (rs4646994) predisposes to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, results on which allele predisposes to disease susceptibility remain controversial in Asian populations. This study was performed to evaluate the association of the common ACE I/D gene polymorphism with both T2DM and CVD susceptibility in an Arab population. We genotyped the ACE I/D polymorphisms by direct allele-specific PCR in 183 healthy controls and 400 CVD patients with diabetes (n=204) and without (n=196). Statistical analysis comparing between the different groups were conducted using R statistic package "SNPassoc". Two genetic models were used: the additive and co-dominant models. The I allele was found to be associated with T2DM (OR=1.84, p=0.00009) after adjusting for age, sex and body mass index. However, there was no association with CVD susceptibility (p>0.05). The ACE I allele is found to be associated with T2DM; however, no association was observed with CVD. The inconsistency between studies is suggested to be attributed to genetic diversity due to the existence of sub-populations found in Asian populations. © The Author(s) 2015.

  18. Weather regimes in the South American sector and neighbouring oceans during winter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Solman, S.A.; Menendez, C.G. [Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmosfera (CIMA-CONICET/UBA), Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires (Argentina)

    2003-07-01

    We classified 34 years of winter daily 500 hPa geopotential height patterns over the eastern South Pacific-South America-South Atlantic region using the K-means clustering method. We found a significant classification into five weather regimes (WRs) defined as the most frequent large-scale circulation anomalies: WR1 (trough centred downstream of the Drake Passage), WR2 (trough over the SW Pacific and ridge downstream), WR3 (ridge over the SE Pacific and NW-SE trough downstream), WR4 (trough over the SE Pacific and NW-SE ridge downstream) and WR5 (weak ridge to the west of southern South America). We also analysed their persistence and temporal evolution, including transitions between them and development around onsets and breaks of each regime. The preferred transitions, WR1{yields}WR3{yields}WR2{yields}WR4{yields}WR1 and also WR1{yields}WR3{yields}WR2{yields}WR1, suggest the progression of a Rossby wave-like pattern in which each of the regimes resemble the Pacific-South America modes. Significant influence of the WRs on local climate over Argentina was found. The preferred transitions WR1{yields}WR3 and WR3{yields}WR2 induce sustained cold conditions over Patagonia and over northern Argentina, respectively. The most significant change in precipitation frequency is found for WR3, with wetter conditions over all the analysed regions. Finally, the interannual to interdecadal significant variations in the occurrence of these regimes were discussed. WR1 and WR3 are more frequent and WR2 is less frequent during El Nino, and WR2 and WR5 are more frequent and WR1 is less frequent during La Nina. A significant decrease in WR2 and increase of WR4 and WR5 during the 1970s and early 1980s were found. (orig.)

  19. Mapping of the human APOB gene to chromosome 2p and demonstration of a two-allele restriction fragment length polymorphism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, L.; Miller, D.A.; Bruns, G.A.P.; Breslow, J.L.

    1986-01-01

    ApoB is a large glycoprotein with an apparent molecular mass of 550 kDa on NaDodSO 4 /PAGE. Recently, apoB cDNA clones have been isolated from an expression library made with mRNA from a human hepatoma cell line. These clones, which were all 1.5-1.6 kilobases (kb) long and corresponded to the 3' end of apoB mRNA, were used to demonstrate that hepatic apoB mRNA is ≅ 22 kb long. In the current report, a probe derived from one of these cDNA clones, pB8, was used for in situ hybridization experiments to map the human gene for apoB, APOB, to the distal half of the short arm of chromosome 2. This probe was also used to analyze somatic cell hybrids and, in agreement with the in situ hybridization studies, concordancy was demonstrated with chromosome 2. In addition, two hybrids with chromosome 2 translocations that contain only the short arm reacted with the pB8 probe. A third hybrid with a complex rearrangement of chromosome 2, which deleted an interstitial region and the tip of the short arm of chromosome 2, did not react. These data indicate that APOB maps to either 2p21-p23 or 2p24-pter. In further studies, DNA from normal individuals, digested with the restriction endonuclease EcoRI and subjected to Southern blot analysis with the pB8 probe, revealed a two-allele restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). The mapping studies provide the means for understanding the relationship of the APOB locus to others in the human genome, whereas the demonstration of an APOB RFLP increases their ability to assess the role of this locus in determining plasma lipoprotein levels

  20. Impact of pre-existing MSP142-allele specific immunity on potency of an erythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum vaccine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bergmann-Leitner Elke S

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background MSP1 is the major surface protein on merozoites and a prime candidate for a blood stage malaria vaccine. Preclinical and seroepidemiological studies have implicated antibodies to MSP1 in protection against blood stage parasitaemia and/or reduced parasite densities, respectively. Malaria endemic areas have multiple strains of Plasmodium falciparum circulating at any given time, giving rise to complex immune responses, an issue which is generally not addressed in clinical trials conducted in non-endemic areas. A lack of understanding of the effect of pre-existing immunity to heterologous parasite strains may significantly contribute to vaccine failure in the field. The purpose of this study was to model the effect of pre-existing immunity to MSP142 on the immunogenicity of blood-stage malaria vaccines based on alternative MSP1 alleles. Methods Inbred and outbred mice were immunized with various recombinant P. falciparum MSP142 proteins that represent the two major alleles of MSP142, MAD20 (3D7 and Wellcome (K1, FVO. Humoral immune responses were analysed by ELISA and LuminexTM, and functional activity of induced MSP142-specific antibodies was assessed by growth inhibition assays. T-cell responses were characterized using ex vivo ELISpot assays. Results Analysis of the immune responses induced by various immunization regimens demonstrated a strong allele-specific response at the T cell level in both inbred and outbred mice. The success of heterologous regimens depended on the degree of homology of the N-terminal p33 portion of the MSP142, likely due to the fact that most T cell epitopes reside in this part of the molecule. Analysis of humoral immune responses revealed a marked cross-reactivity between the alleles. Functional analyses showed that some of the heterologous regimens induced antibodies with improved growth inhibitory activities. Conclusion The development of a more broadly efficacious MSP1 based vaccine may be

  1. Severe complications in a child with achondroplasia and two FGFR3 mutations on the same allele

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rump, P; Letteboer, TGW; Gille, JJP; Torringa, MJL; Baerts, W; van Gestel, JPJ; Verheij, JBGM; van Essen, AJ

    2006-01-01

    We describe a unique case of achondroplasia with associated complications, including severe respiratory problems. Molecular analysis of the fibroblast growth factor receptor type 3 (FGFR3) gene in this patient showed the common p.G380R mutation and a second novel p.L377R Mutation. An allele-specific

  2. Allele and genotype frequencies of -β lactoglobulin gene in Iranian ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2009-08-04

    Aug 4, 2009 ... Blood samples were supplied from 80 Najdi cattle and 80 buffalo from different cities of Khouzestan province. ... The allele B of β-Lactoglobulin occurred at a higher frequency than the allele A in both. Najdi cattle and buffalo. .... that of the B allele in both groups of animals studied. Expected heterozygosity ...

  3. Vaccine Containing the Three Allelic Variants of the Plasmodium vivax Circumsporozoite Antigen Induces Protection in Mice after Challenge with a Transgenic Rodent Malaria Parasite

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alba Marina Gimenez

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Plasmodium vivax is the most common species that cause malaria outside of the African continent. The development of an efficacious vaccine would contribute greatly to control malaria. Recently, using bacterial and adenoviral recombinant proteins based on the P. vivax circumsporozoite protein (CSP, we demonstrated the possibility of eliciting strong antibody-mediated immune responses to each of the three allelic forms of P. vivax CSP (PvCSP. In the present study, recombinant proteins representing the PvCSP alleles (VK210, VK247, and P. vivax-like, as well as a hybrid polypeptide, named PvCSP-All epitopes, were generated. This hybrid containing the conserved C-terminal of the PvCSP and the three variant repeat domains in tandem were successfully produced in the yeast Pichia pastoris. After purification and biochemical characterization, they were used for the experimental immunization of C57BL/6 mice in a vaccine formulation containing the adjuvant Poly(I:C. Immunization with a recombinant protein expressing all three different allelic forms in fusion elicited high IgG antibody titers reacting with all three different allelic variants of PvCSP. The antibodies targeted both the C-terminal and repeat domains of PvCSP and recognized the native protein on the surface of P. vivax sporozoites. More importantly, mice that received the vaccine formulation were protected after challenge with chimeric Plasmodium berghei sporozoites expressing CSP repeats of P. vivax sporozoites (Pb/PvVK210. Our results suggest that it is possible to elicit protective immunity against one of the most common PvCSP alleles using soluble recombinant proteins expressed by P. pastoris. These recombinant proteins are promising candidates for clinical trials aiming to develop a multiallele vaccine against P. vivax malaria.

  4. Geographical gradient of the eIF4E alleles conferring resistance to potyviruses in pea (Pisum) germplasm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konečná, Eva; Šafářová, Dana; Navrátil, Milan; Hanáček, Pavel; Coyne, Clarice; Flavell, Andrew; Vishnyakova, Margarita; Ambrose, Mike; Redden, Robert; Smýkal, Petr

    2014-01-01

    The eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E was shown to be involved in resistance against several potyviruses in plants, including pea. We combined our knowledge of pea germplasm diversity with that of the eIF4E gene to identify novel genetic diversity. Germplasm of 2803 pea accessions was screened for eIF4E intron 3 length polymorphism, resulting in the detection of four eIF4E(A-B-C-S) variants, whose distribution was geographically structured. The eIF4E(A) variant conferring resistance to the P1 PSbMV pathotype was found in 53 accessions (1.9%), of which 15 were landraces from India, Afghanistan, Nepal, and 7 were from Ethiopia. A newly discovered variant, eIF4E(B), was present in 328 accessions (11.7%) from Ethiopia (29%), Afghanistan (23%), India (20%), Israel (25%) and China (39%). The eIF4E(C) variant was detected in 91 accessions (3.2% of total) from India (20%), Afghanistan (33%), the Iberian Peninsula (22%) and the Balkans (9.3%). The eIF4E(S) variant for susceptibility predominated as the wild type. Sequencing of 73 samples, identified 34 alleles at the whole gene, 26 at cDNA and 19 protein variants, respectively. Fifteen alleles were virologically tested and 9 alleles (eIF4E(A-1-2-3-4-5-6-7), eIF4E(B-1), eIF4E(C-2)) conferred resistance to the P1 PSbMV pathotype. This work identified novel eIF4E alleles within geographically structured pea germplasm and indicated their independent evolution from the susceptible eIF4E(S1) allele. Despite high variation present in wild Pisum accessions, none of them possessed resistance alleles, supporting a hypothesis of distinct mode of evolution of resistance in wild as opposed to crop species. The Highlands of Central Asia, the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, Eastern Africa and China were identified as important centers of pea diversity that correspond with the diversity of the pathogen. The series of alleles identified in this study provides the basis to study the co-evolution of potyviruses and the

  5. The minor C-allele of rs2014355 in ACADS is associated with reduced insulin release following an oral glucose load

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hornbak, Malene; Banasik, Karina; Justesen, Johanne Marie

    2011-01-01

    -aged Danish individuals (nACADS=4,324; nACADM=4,337). The T2D-case-control study involved a total of ~8,300 Danish individuals (nACADS=8,313; nACADM=8,344). Results In glucose-tolerant individuals the minor C-allele of rs2014355 of ACADS associated with reduced measures of serum insulin at 30 min following...... an oral glucose load (per allele effect (beta)=-3.8% (-6.3%;-1.3%), P=0.003), reduced incremental area under the insulin curve (beta=-3.6% (-6.3%;-0.9%), P=0.009), reduced acute insulin response (beta=-2.2% (-4.2%;0.2%), P=0.03), and with increased insulin sensitivity ISIMatsuda (beta= 2.9% (0.5%;5.2%), P...

  6. Identification of colorectal cancer patients with tumors carrying the TP53 mutation on the codon 72 proline allele that benefited most from 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) based postoperative chemotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Godai, Ten-i; Sakuma, Yuji; Tsuchiya, Eiju; Kameda, Yoichi; Akaike, Makoto; Miyagi, Yohei; Suda, Tetsuji; Sugano, Nobuhiro; Tsuchida, Kazuhito; Shiozawa, Manabu; Sekiguchi, Hironobu; Sekiyama, Akiko; Yoshihara, Mitsuyo; Matsukuma, Shoichi

    2009-01-01

    Although postoperative chemotherapy is widely accepted as the standard modality for Dukes' stage C or earlier stage colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, biomarkers to predict those who may benefit from the therapy have not been identified. Previous in vitro and clinical investigations reported that CRC patients with wild-type p53 gene (TP53)-tumors benefit from 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) based chemotherapy, while those with mutated TP53-tumors do not. However, these studies evaluated the mutation-status of TP53 by immunohistochemistry with or without single-strand conformation polymorphism, and the mutation frequency was different from study to study. In addition, the polymorphic status at p53 codon 72, which results in arginine or proline residues (R72P) and is thought to influence the function of the protein significantly, was not examined. To evaluate the significance of the TP53 mutation as a molecular marker to predict the prognosis of CRC patients, especially those who received postoperative chemotherapy, we examined the mutation by direct sequencing from fresh CRC tumors and evaluated the R72P polymorphism of the mutated TP53 by a combined mutant allele- and polymorphic allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The TP53 mutation occurred in 147 (70%) of 211 Japanese CRC tumors. The mutation was observed in 93 (63%) tumors on the R72 allele and in 54 (37%) tumors on the P72 allele. Although the alterations to TP53 have no prognostic significance for CRC patients overall, we found that Dukes' stage C CRC patients who did not receive postoperative chemotherapy and carried the mutated TP53-R72 showed significantly longer survival times than those with the mutated TP53-P72 when evaluated by overall survival (p = 0.012). Using a combined mutant allele- and polymorphic allele-specific PCR, we defined the codon 72 polymorphic status of the TP53 mutated allele in Japanese CRC patients. We raised a possibility that Dukes' stage C colorectal cancer

  7. S-allele diversity in Sorbus aucuparia and Crataegus monogyna (Rosaceae: Maloideae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raspé, O; Kohn, J R

    2002-06-01

    RT-PCR was used to obtain the first estimates from natural populations of allelic diversity at the RNase-based gametophytic self-incompatibility locus in the Rosaceae. A total of 20 alleles were retrieved from 20 Sorbus aucuparia individuals, whereas 17 alleles were found in 13 Crataegus monogyna samples. Estimates of population-level allele numbers fall within the range observed in the Solanaceae, the only other family with RNase-based incompatibility for which estimates are available. The nucleotide diversity of S-allele sequences was found to be much lower in the two Rosaceae species as compared with the Solanaceae. This was not due to a lower sequence divergence among most closely related alleles. Rather, it is the depth of the entire genealogy that differs markedly in the two families, with Rosaceae S-alleles exhibiting more recent apparent coalescence. We also investigated patterns of selection at the molecular level by comparing nucleotide diversity at synonymous and nonsynonymous sites. Stabilizing selection was inferred for the 5' region of the molecule, while evidence of diversifying selection was present elsewhere.

  8. Association mapping and favourable QTL alleles for fibre quality ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Cheng-Guang Dong

    A total of 201 markers were polymorphic and generated 394 allele loci, and 403 ... identified as containing favourable allele loci related to fibre quality traits. The identified .... environment. Field management followed respective local practices.

  9. Allele Frequency - JSNP | LSDB Archive [Life Science Database Archive metadata

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available nd 39 SNPs are assayed in three (POP_*) and two (RIKEN_japanese_*) panels, respectively. Derived from Flat f... assay (JBIC-allele and RIKEN_japanese_*), TaqMan assay (RIKEN-allele) or direct sequencing / allelic discri...unteers under informed consent RIKEN_japanese_normal_weight - 711 unrelated japanese normal weight volunteer...s ( body mass index RIKEN_japanese_obese - 796 unrelated japanese obese patients

  10. Results of the indoor radiological survey at the W.R. Grace Co., Curtis Bay site, Baltimore, Maryland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cottrell, W.D.; Foley, R.D.; Johnson, C.A.

    1989-07-01

    The W.R. Grace Company, Davison Chemical Division, conducted developmental research and extraction of thorium from monazite ore at its Curtis Bay facility in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 1950s under contract to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Only one of the numerous buildings on the site was used for these operations. A 1979 aerial survey of the site for the Department of Energy (DOE) indicated that a comprehensive ground survey was required to determine whether or not any contamination remained from the AEC activities in that building. A radiological scoping survey performed later that year for DOE by a team from the Measurement Applications and Development Group of the Health and Safety Research Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), disclosed surface contamination (alpha) levels in excess of DOE criteria on all five levels of the building. As a result of this finding, two additional surveys were performed in 1986 by ORNL at the request of DOE to evaluate any present or potential health risk. They are detailed in this report. The results of the 1986 surveys revealed several areas having elevated levels of radiation as a result of significant quantities of thorium on some building surfaces such as floors and ceiling beams. Most areas were small spots and in locations of low occupancy; thus, the possibility for significant exposure to workers was judged to be low. To confirm this evaluation, annual radiation exposure estimates for workers frequenting the few, larger contaminated areas on the site were derived using ORNL survey data and occupancy factors provided by the W.R. Grace Company. Estimates ranged from 27 to 41 mrem/yr or a maximum of 41% of the basic dose limit of 100 mrem/yr for members of the general public. 2 refs., 14 figs., 8 tabs

  11. The recommended Threshold Limit Values for heat exposure fail to maintain body core temperature within safe limits in older working adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamarche, Dallon T; Meade, Robert D; D'Souza, Andrew W; Flouris, Andreas D; Hardcastle, Stephen G; Sigal, Ronald J; Boulay, Pierre; Kenny, Glen P

    2017-09-01

    The American Conference of Governmental and Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH®) Threshold Limit Values (TLV® guidelines) for work in the heat consist of work-rest (WR) allocations designed to ensure a stable core temperature that does not exceed 38°C. However, the TLV® guidelines have not been validated in older workers. This is an important shortcoming given that adults as young as 40 years demonstrate impairments in their ability to dissipate heat. We therefore evaluated body temperature responses in older adults during work performed in accordance to the TLV® recommended guidelines. On three occasions, 9 healthy older (58 ± 5 years) males performed a 120-min work-simulated protocol in accordance with the TLV® guidelines for moderate-to-heavy intensity work (360 W fixed rate of heat production) in different wet-bulb globe temperatures (WBGT). The first was 120 min of continuous (CON) cycling at 28.0°C WBGT (CON[28°C]). The other two protocols were 15-min intermittent work bouts performed with different WR cycles and WBGT: (i) WR of 3:1 at 29.0°C (WR3:1[29°C]) and (ii) WR of 1:1 at 30.0°C (WR1:1[30°C]). Rectal temperature was measured continuously. The rate of change in mean body temperature was determined via thermometry (weighting coefficients: rectal, 0.9; mean skin temperature, 0.1) and direct calorimetry. Rectal temperature exceeded 38°C in all participants in CON[28°C] and WR3:1[29°C] whereas a statistically similar proportion of workers exceeded 38°C in WR1:1[30°C] (χ 2 ; P = 0.32). The average time for rectal temperature to reach 38°C was: CON[28°C], 53 ± 7; WR3:1[29°C], 79 ± 11; and WR1:1[30°C], 100 ± 29 min. Finally, while a stable mean body temperature was not achieved in any work condition as measured by thermometry (i.e., >0°C·min -1 ; all Pheat balance as determined by direct calorimetry was achieved in WR3:1[29°C] and WR1:1[30°C] (both P ≥ 0.08). Our findings indicate that the TLV® guidelines do not prevent body core

  12. Allelic inhibition of displacement activity: a simplified one tube allele-specific PCR for evaluation of ITPA polymorphisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galmozzi, E; Facchetti, F; Degasperi, E; Aghemo, A; Lampertico, P

    2013-02-01

    Recently, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection have identified two functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the inosine triphosphatase (ITPA) gene, that are associated strongly and independently with hemolytic anemia in patients exposed to pegylated-interferon (Peg-IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV) combined therapy. Here has been developed a simplified allele discrimination polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay named allelic inhibition of displacement activity (AIDA) for evaluation of ITPA polymorphisms. AIDA system relies on three unlabeled primers only, two outer common primers and one inner primer with allele-specific 3' terminus mismatch. DNA samples from 192 patients with chronic HCV infection were used to validate the AIDA system and results were compared with the gold standard TaqMan(®) SNP genotyping assay. Concordant data were obtained for all samples, granting for high specificity of the method. In conclusion, AIDA is a practical one-tube method to reproducibly and to assess accurately rs7270101 and rs1127354 ITPA SNPs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Protective role of the apolipoprotein E2 allele in age-related disease traits and survival: evidence from the Long Life Family Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulminski, Alexander M; Raghavachari, Nalini; Arbeev, Konstantin G; Culminskaya, Irina; Arbeeva, Liubov; Wu, Deqing; Ukraintseva, Svetlana V; Christensen, Kaare; Yashin, Anatoliy I

    2016-11-01

    The apolipoprotein E (apoE) is a classic example of a gene exhibiting pleiotropism. We examine potential pleiotropic associations of the apoE2 allele in three biodemographic cohorts of long-living individuals, offspring, and spouses from the Long Life Family Study, and intermediate mechanisms, which can link this allele with age-related phenotypes. We focused on age-related macular degeneration, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, stroke, creatinine, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, diseases of heart (HD), cancer, and survival. Our analysis detected favorable associations of the ε2 allele with lower LDL-C levels, lower risks of HD, and better survival. The ε2 allele was associated with LDL-C in each gender and biodemographic cohort, including long-living individuals, offspring, and spouses, resulting in highly significant association in the entire sample (β = -7.1, p = 6.6 × 10 -44 ). This allele was significantly associated with HD in long-living individuals and offspring (relative risk [RR] = 0.60, p = 3.1 × 10 -6 ) but this association was not mediated by LDL-C. The protective effect on survival was specific for long-living women but it was not explained by LDL-C and HD in the adjusted model (RR = 0.70, p = 2.1 × 10 -2 ). These results show that ε2 allele may favorably influence LDL-C, HD, and survival through three mechanisms. Two of them (HD- and survival-related) are pronounced in the long-living parents and their offspring; the survival-related mechanism is also sensitive to gender. The LDL-C-related mechanism appears to be independent of these factors. Insights into mechanisms linking ε2 allele with age-related phenotypes given biodemographic structure of the population studied may benefit translation of genetic discoveries to health care and personalized medicine.

  14. Mutations in the p53 homolog p63: allele-specific developmental syndromes in humans.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bokhoven, J.H.L.M. van; McKeon, F.

    2002-01-01

    p63 is the most recently discovered but most ancient member of the p53 family. In marked contrast to p53, p63 is highly expressed in embryonic ectoderm and in the basal, regenerative layers of many epithelial tissues in the adult. The p63-knockout mouse dies at birth and lacks limbs, epidermis,

  15. Competitive repair by naturally dispersed repetitive DNA during non-allelic homologous recombination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoang, Margaret L.; Tan, Frederick J.; Lai, David C.; Celniker, Sue E.; Hoskins, Roger A.; Dunham, Maitreya J.; Zheng, Yixian; Koshland, Douglas

    2010-08-27

    Genome rearrangements often result from non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR) between repetitive DNA elements dispersed throughout the genome. Here we systematically analyze NAHR between Ty retrotransposons using a genome-wide approach that exploits unique features of Saccharomyces cerevisiae purebred and Saccharomyces cerevisiae/Saccharomyces bayanus hybrid diploids. We find that DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) induce NAHR-dependent rearrangements using Ty elements located 12 to 48 kilobases distal to the break site. This break-distal recombination (BDR) occurs frequently, even when allelic recombination can repair the break using the homolog. Robust BDR-dependent NAHR demonstrates that sequences very distal to DSBs can effectively compete with proximal sequences for repair of the break. In addition, our analysis of NAHR partner choice between Ty repeats shows that intrachromosomal Ty partners are preferred despite the abundance of potential interchromosomal Ty partners that share higher sequence identity. This competitive advantage of intrachromosomal Tys results from the relative efficiencies of different NAHR repair pathways. Finally, NAHR generates deleterious rearrangements more frequently when DSBs occur outside rather than within a Ty repeat. These findings yield insights into mechanisms of repeat-mediated genome rearrangements associated with evolution and cancer.

  16. Competitive repair by naturally dispersed repetitive DNA during non-allelic homologous recombination.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margaret L Hoang

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Genome rearrangements often result from non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR between repetitive DNA elements dispersed throughout the genome. Here we systematically analyze NAHR between Ty retrotransposons using a genome-wide approach that exploits unique features of Saccharomyces cerevisiae purebred and Saccharomyces cerevisiae/Saccharomyces bayanus hybrid diploids. We find that DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs induce NAHR-dependent rearrangements using Ty elements located 12 to 48 kilobases distal to the break site. This break-distal recombination (BDR occurs frequently, even when allelic recombination can repair the break using the homolog. Robust BDR-dependent NAHR demonstrates that sequences very distal to DSBs can effectively compete with proximal sequences for repair of the break. In addition, our analysis of NAHR partner choice between Ty repeats shows that intrachromosomal Ty partners are preferred despite the abundance of potential interchromosomal Ty partners that share higher sequence identity. This competitive advantage of intrachromosomal Tys results from the relative efficiencies of different NAHR repair pathways. Finally, NAHR generates deleterious rearrangements more frequently when DSBs occur outside rather than within a Ty repeat. These findings yield insights into mechanisms of repeat-mediated genome rearrangements associated with evolution and cancer.

  17. Comparison of bovine lymphocyte antigen DRB3.2 allele ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2008-08-04

    Aug 4, 2008 ... The bovine lymphocyte antigen (BoLA-DRB3) gene encodes cell ... alleles were more resistant to clinical mastitis. ... DRB3.2 allele pattern in two Iranian Holstein cow .... observed and the number of immune parameters with.

  18. Tri-allelic SNP markers enable analysis of mixed and degraded DNA samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westen, Antoinette A; Matai, Anuska S; Laros, Jeroen F J; Meiland, Hugo C; Jasper, Mandy; de Leeuw, Wiljo J F; de Knijff, Peter; Sijen, Titia

    2009-09-01

    For the analysis of degraded DNA in disaster victim identification (DVI) and criminal investigations, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been recognized as promising markers mainly because they can be analyzed in short sized amplicons. Most SNPs are bi-allelic and are thereby ineffective to detect mixtures, which may lead to incorrect genotyping. We developed an algorithm to find non-binary (i.e. tri-allelic or tetra-allelic) SNPs in the NCBI dbSNP database. We selected 31 potential tri-allelic SNPs with a minor allele frequency of at least 10%. The tri-allelic nature was confirmed for 15 SNPs residing on 14 different chromosomes. Multiplex SNaPshot assays were developed, and the allele frequencies of 16 SNPs were determined among 153 Dutch and 111 Netherlands Antilles reference samples. Using these multiplex SNP assays, the presence of a mixture of two DNA samples in a ratio up to 1:8 could be recognized reliably. Furthermore, we compared the genotyping efficiency of the tri-allelic SNP markers and short tandem repeat (STR) markers by analyzing artificially degraded DNA and DNA from 30 approximately 500-year-old bone and molar samples. In both types of degraded DNA samples, the larger sized STR amplicons failed to amplify whereas the tri-allelic SNP markers still provided valuable information. In conclusion, tri-allelic SNP markers are suited for the analysis of degraded DNA and enable the detection of a second DNA source in a sample.

  19. A high-throughput method for genotyping S-RNase alleles in apple

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Bjarne; Ørgaard, Marian; Toldam-Andersen, Torben Bo

    2016-01-01

    We present a new efficient screening tool for detection of S-alleles in apple. The protocol using general and multiplexed primers for PCR reaction and fragment detection on an automatized capillary DNA sequencer exposed a higher number of alleles than any previous studies. Analysis of alleles...

  20. A BINARY ORBIT FOR THE MASSIVE, EVOLVED STAR HDE 326823, A WR+O SYSTEM PROGENITOR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richardson, N. D.; Gies, D. R.; Williams, S. J.

    2011-01-01

    The hot star HDE 326823 is a candidate transition-phase object that is evolving into a nitrogen-enriched Wolf-Rayet star. It is also a known low-amplitude, photometric variable with a 6.123 day period. We present new, high- and moderate-resolution spectroscopy of HDE 326823, and we show that the absorption lines show coherent Doppler shifts with this period while the emission lines display little or no velocity variation. We interpret the absorption line shifts as the orbital motion of the apparently brighter star in a close, interacting binary. We argue that this star is losing mass to a mass gainer star hidden in a thick accretion torus and to a circumbinary disk that is the source of the emission lines. HDE 326823 probably belongs to a class of objects that produce short-period WR+O binaries.

  1. Common Atrial Fibrillation Risk Alleles at 4q25 Predict Recurrence after Catheter-based Atrial Fibrillation Ablation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shoemaker, M. Benjamin; Muhammad, Raafia; Parvez, Babar; White, Brenda W.; Streur, Megan; Song, Yanna; Stubblefield, Tanya; Kucera, Gayle; Blair, Marcia; Rytlewski, Jason; Parvathaneni, Sunthosh; Nagarakanti, Rangadham; Saavedra, Pablo; Ellis, Christopher; Whalen, S. Patrick; Roden, Dan M; Darbar, Dawood

    2012-01-01

    Background Common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at chromosome 4q25 (rs2200733, rs10033464) are associated with both lone and typical AF. Risk alleles at 4q25 have recently been shown to predict recurrence of AF after ablation in a population of predominately lone AF, but lone AF represents only 5–30% of AF cases. Objective To test the hypothesis that 4q25 AF risk alleles can predict response to AF ablation in the majority of AF cases. Methods Patients enrolled in the Vanderbilt AF Registry underwent 378 catheter-based AF ablations (median age 60 years, 71% male, 89% typical AF) between 2004 and 2011. The primary endpoint was time to recurrence of any non-sinus atrial tachyarrhythmia (atrial tachycardia, atrial flutter, or AF; [AT/AF]). Results Two-hundred AT/AF recurrences (53%) were observed. In multivariable analysis, the rs2200733 risk allele predicted a 24% shorter recurrence-free time (survival time ratio 0.76 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.6–0.95, P=0.016) compared with wild-type. The heterozygous haplotype demonstrated a 21% shorter recurrence-free time (survival time ratio = 0.79, 95% CI 0.62–0.99) and the homozygous risk allele carriers a 39% shorter recurrence-free time (survival time ratio = 0.61, 95% CI 0.37–1.0) (P=0.037). Conclusion Risk alleles at the 4q25 loci predict impaired clinical response to AF ablation in a population of predominately typical AF patients. Our findings suggest the rs2200733 polymorphism may hold promise as an as an objectively measured patient characteristic that can used as a clinical tool for selection of patients for AF ablation. PMID:23178686

  2. Evolution of the proportions of two sigma viral types in experimental populations of Drosophila melanogaster in the absence of the allele that is restrictive of viral multiplication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleuriet, A

    1999-12-01

    A minority of flies in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster are endemically infected by a rhabdovirus, sigma. The virus is vertically transmitted through male and female gametes. Two alleles of a fly locus, the ref(2)P locus, are present as a polymorphism in all populations: O permissive, and P restrictive for viral multiplication and transmission. Two viral types are known, Type I, which is very sensitive to the P allele, and Type II, which is more resistant. Previous observations have shown that, in presence of the P allele, viral Type II is selected for, in both natural and experimental populations. The aim of the present study was to determine whether, in the absence of P, Type I is selected for, or whether the two types are equivalent. For this purpose, experimental populations deprived of the P allele and differing in the initial proportions of the two viral types were established. After several generations, and despite a possible bias toward Type I, the frequencies of Type I and Type II clones differed in the various populations, depending on their initial values. These findings do not rule out selective advantage of viral Type I in the absence of P, but suggest that, if any, this advantage is in no way comparable to that displayed by viral Type II in the presence of P.

  3. DRD4 dopamine receptor allelic diversity in various primate species

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adamson, M.; Higley, D. [NIAAA, Rockville, MD (United States); O`Brien, S. [NCI, Frederick, MD (United States)] [and others

    1994-09-01

    The DRD4 dopamine receptor is uniquely characterized by a 48 bp repeating segment within the coding region, located in exon III. Different DRD4 alleles are produced by the presence of additional 48 bp repeats, each of which adds 16 amino acids to the length of the 3rd intracytoplasmic loop of the receptor. The DRD4 receptor is therefore an intriguing candidate gene for behaviors which are influenced by dopamine function. In several human populations, DRD4 alleles with 2-8 and 10 repeats have previously been identified, and the 4 and 7 repeat alleles are the most abundant. We have determined DRD4 genotypes in the following nonhuman primate species: chimpanzee N=2, pygmy chimpanzee N=2, gorilla N=4, siamang N=2, Gelada baboon N=1, gibbon N=1, orangutan (Bornean and Sumatran) N=62, spider monkey N=4, owl monkey N=1, Colobus monkey N=1, Patas monkey N=1, ruffed lemur N=1, rhesus macaque N=8, and vervet monkey N=28. The degree of DRD4 polymorphism and which DRD4 alleles were present both showed considerable variation across primate species. In contrast to the human, rhesus macaque monkeys were monomorphic. The 4 and 7 repeat allels, highly abundant in the human, may not be present in certain other primates. For example, the four spider monkeys we studied showed the 7, 8 and 9 repeat length alleles and the only gibbon we analyzed was homozygous for the 9 repeat allele (thus far not observed in the human). Genotyping of other primate species and sequencing of the individual DRD4 repeat alleles in different species may help us determine the ancestral DRD4 repeat length and identify connections between DRD4 genotype and phenotype.

  4. HLA allele associations in idiopathic recurrent spontaneous abortion patients from India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    U Shankarkumar

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Background : Rejection of semiallogenic foetus in recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA has been postulated to be a consequence of genetic and immunological phenomena. Aim: To evaluate the role of human leukocyte antigen (HLA alleles in RSA in Indian couples. Settings and Design : A case-control study. Materials and Methods : Eighty-one randomly selected couples with unexplained three or more RSAs and a control group of 97 couples with live birth belonging to the same ethnic background, referred to the Gynaecology Department, KEM Hospital were included in the case-control study. Serological HLA A and B typing was done followed by molecular subtypes, defined using PCR-SSOP technique for HLA A, B, and C in 40 couples and DRB1FNx01 and DQB1FNx01 in 28 couples which were then compared with appropriate case 46 and 88 controls. Results : Serologically A3 (15.43% vs . 4.43%; odds ratio (OR = 4.34; P = 0.0002 and B17 (25.3% vs . 11.34%; OR = 3.49; P = 0.0001 were increased. Haplotype A1-B17 was significantly increased. Molecular subtyping revealed that AFNx01030102 (11.25% vs . 4.34%; OR = 3.00; P = 0.07, BFNx015701 (11.25% vs . 1.08%; OR = 13.10; P = 0.003, CwFNx01120201 (25% vs . 4.34%; OR = 10.50; P = 2.05E-05, HLA DRB1FNx01030101 (17.85% vs . 3.40%; OR = 7.6; P = 0.0001, DRB1FNx01150101 (32.14% vs . 13.63%; OR = 4.8; P = 0.0003, and DQB1FNx01060101 (35.71% vs . 29.34%; OR = 2.3; P = 0.004 were significantly increased in patients. A differential association was noticed when compared with reported world RSA patients. Conclusion: The HLA alleles AFNx01030101, BFNx015701, CwFNx01120201, DRB1FNx01030101, and DRB1FNx01150101 as well as their associated ancestral haplotype may play a significant role in development of RSA in India.

  5. Seasonal Changes in Brain Serotonin Transporter Binding in Short Serotonin Transporter Linked Polymorphic Region-Allele Carriers but Not in Long-Allele Homozygotes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kalbitzer, Jan; Erritzoe, David; Holst, Klaus K

    2010-01-01

    of the short 5-HTTLPR allele but not in homozygote carriers of the long allele. Conclusions: Our findings are in line with S-carriers having an increased response in neural circuits involved in emotional processing to stressful environmental stimuli but here demonstrated as a endophenotype with dynamic changes...

  6. Presentation of Complex Homozygous Allele in ABCA4 Gene in a Patient with Retinitis Pigmentosa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Māreta Audere

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Retinitis pigmentosa is a degenerative retinal disease characterized by progressive photoreceptor damage, which causes loss of peripheral and night vision and the development of tunnel vision and may result in loss of central vision. This study describes a patient with retinitis pigmentosa caused by a mutation in the ABCA4 gene with complex allele c.1622T>C, p.L541P; c.3113C>T, p.A1038V in homozygous state.

  7. An Allelic Series of Trp63 Mutations Defines TAp63 as a Modifier of EEC Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindahl, Emma Vernersson; Garcia, Elvin L.; Mills, Alea A.

    2014-01-01

    Human Ectrodactyly, Ectodermal dysplasia, Clefting (EEC) syndrome is an autosomal dominant developmental disorder defined by limb deformities, skin defects, and craniofacial clefting. Although associated with heterozygous missense mutations in TP63, the genetic basis underlying the variable expressivity and incomplete penetrance of EEC is unknown. Here we show that mice heterozygous for an allele encoding the Trp63 p.Arg318His mutation, which corresponds to the human TP63 p.Arg279His mutation found in patients with EEC, have features of human EEC. Using an allelic series, we discovered that whereas clefting and skin defects are caused by loss of Trp63 function, limb anomalies are due to gain- and/or dominant-negative effects of Trp63. Furthermore, we identify TAp63 as a strong modifier of EEC-associated phenotypes with regard to both penetrance and expressivity. PMID:23775923

  8. Implication of HLA-DMA Alleles in Corsican IDDM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Cucchi-Mouillot

    1998-01-01

    Full Text Available The HLA-DM molecule catalyses the CLIP/antigen peptide exchange in the classical class II peptide-binding groove. As such, DM is an antigen presentation regulator and may be linked to autoimmune diseases. Using PCR derived methods, a relationship was revealed between DM gene polymorphism and IDDM, in a Corsican population. The DMA*0101 allele was observed to confer a significant predisposition to this autoimmune disease while the DMA*0102 allele protected significantly. Experiments examining polymorphism of the HLA-DRB1 gene established that these relationships are not a consequence of linkage disequilibrium with HLA-DRB1 alleles implicated in this pathology. The study of the DMA gene could therefore be an additional tool for early IDDM diagnosis in the Corsican population.

  9. Allele frequency changes due to hitch-hiking in genomic selection programs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Huiming; Sørensen, Anders Christian; Meuwissen, Theo H E

    2014-01-01

    of inbreeding due to changes in allele frequencies and hitch-hiking. This study aimed at understanding the impact of using long-term genomic selection on changes in allele frequencies, genetic variation and the level of inbreeding. Methods Selection was performed in simulated scenarios with a population of 400......-BLUP, Genomic BLUP and Bayesian Lasso. Changes in allele frequencies at QTL, markers and linked neutral loci were investigated for the different selection criteria and different scenarios, along with the loss of favourable alleles and the rate of inbreeding measured by pedigree and runs of homozygosity. Results...

  10. Expression and loss of alleles in cultured mouse embryonic fibroblasts and stem cells carrying allelic fluorescent protein genes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stringer Saundra L

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Loss of heterozygosity (LOH contributes to many cancers, but the rate at which these events occur in normal cells of the body is not clear. LOH would be detectable in diverse cell types in the body if this event were to confer an obvious cellular phenotype. Mice that carry two different fluorescent protein genes as alleles of a locus would seem to be a useful tool for addressing this issue because LOH would change a cell's phenotype from dichromatic to monochromatic. In addition, LOH caused by mitotic crossing over might be discernable in tissues because this event produces a pair of neighboring monochromatic cells that are different colors. Results As a step in assessing the utility of this approach, we derived primary embryonic fibroblast populations and embryonic stem cell lines from mice that carried two different fluorescent protein genes as alleles at the chromosome 6 locus, ROSA26. Fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS showed that the vast majority of cells in each line expressed the two marker proteins at similar levels, and that populations exhibited expression noise similar to that seen in bacteria and yeast. Cells with a monochromatic phenotype were present at frequencies on the order of 10-4 and appeared to be produced at a rate of approximately 10-5 variant cells per mitosis. 45 of 45 stably monochromatic ES cell clones exhibited loss of the expected allele at the ROSA26 locus. More than half of these clones retained heterozygosity at a locus between ROSA26 and the centromere. Other clones exhibited LOH near the centromere, but were disomic for chromosome 6. Conclusion Allelic fluorescent markers allowed LOH at the ROSA26 locus to be detected by FACS. LOH at this locus was usually not accompanied by LOH near the centromere, suggesting that mitotic recombination was the major cause of ROSA26 LOH. Dichromatic mouse embryonic cells provide a novel system for studying genetic/karyotypic stability and factors

  11. Comparative analysis of conditional reporter alleles in the developing embryo and embryonic nervous system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellisor, Debra; Koveal, Dorothy; Hagan, Nellwyn; Brown, Ashly; Zervas, Mark

    2009-10-01

    A long-standing problem in development is understanding how progenitor cells transiently expressing genes contribute to complex anatomical and functional structures. In the developing nervous system an additional level of complexity arises when considering how cells of distinct lineages relate to newly established neural circuits. To address these problems, we used both cumulative marking with Cre/loxP and Genetic Inducible Fate Mapping (GIFM), which permanently and heritably marks small populations of progenitors and their descendants with fine temporal control using CreER/loxP. A key component used in both approaches is a conditional phenotyping allele that has the potential to be expressed in all cell types, but is quiescent because of a loxP flanked Stop sequence, which precedes a reporter allele. Upon recombination, the resulting phenotyping allele is 'turned on' and then constitutively expressed. Thus, the reporter functions as a high fidelity genetic lineage tracer in vivo. Currently there is an array of reporter alleles that can be used in marking strategies, but their recombination efficiency and applicability to a wide array of tissues has not been thoroughly described. To assess the recombination/marking potential of the reporters, we utilized CreER(T) under the control of a Wnt1 transgene (Wnt1-CreER(T)) as well as a cumulative, non-inducible En1(Cre) knock-in line in combination with three different reporters: R26R (LacZ reporter), Z/EG (EGFP reporter), and Tau-Lox-STOP-Lox-mGFP-IRES-NLS-LacZ (membrane-targeted GFP/nuclear LacZ reporter). We marked the Wnt1 lineage using each of the three reporters at embryonic day (E) 8.5 followed by analysis at E10.0, E12.5, and in the adult. We also compared cumulative marking of cells with a history of En1 expression at the same stages. We evaluated the reporters by whole-mount and section analysis and ascertained the strengths and weaknesses of each of the reporters. Comparative analysis with the reporters

  12. Improvements to a Markerless Allelic Exchange System for Bacillus anthracis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roger D Plaut

    Full Text Available A system was previously developed for conducting I-SceI-mediated allelic exchange in Bacillus anthracis. In this system, recombinational loss of a chromosomally-integrated allelic exchange vector is stimulated by creation of a double-stranded break within the vector by the homing endonuclease I-SceI. Although this system is reasonably efficient and represents an improvement in the tools available for allelic exchange in B. anthracis, researchers are nonetheless required to "pick and patch" colonies in order to identify candidate "exchangeants." In the present study, a number of improvements have been made to this system: 1 an improved I-SceI-producing plasmid includes oriT so that both plasmids can now be introduced by conjugation, thus avoiding the need for preparing electro-competent cells of each integration intermediate; 2 antibiotic markers have been changed to allow the use of the system in select agent strains; and 3 both plasmids have been marked with fluorescent proteins, allowing the visualization of plasmid segregation on a plate and obviating the need for "picking and patching." These modifications have made the process easier, faster, and more efficient, allowing for parallel construction of larger numbers of mutant strains. Using this improved system, the genes encoding the tripartite anthrax toxin were deleted singly and in combination from plasmid pXO1 of Sterne strain 34F2. In the course of this study, we determined that DNA transfer to B. anthracis could be accomplished by conjugation directly from a methylation-competent E. coli strain.

  13. Influence of starvation, triton WR-1339 and [131I]-human serum albumin on rat liver lysosomes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harikumar, P.; Ninjoor, V.

    1986-01-01

    The response of rat liver lysosomes to starvation and administration of lysosomotropic agents viz. Triton WR-1339 and [ 131 I]-human serum albumin, was assessed in terms of their distribution pattern after isopycnic sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Starvation induced changes in lysosomes appeared to be similar to that produced by the detergent uptake. Both the treatments caused a distinct decline in the equilibration densities of the organelles. On the other hand, injected labelled protein failed to comigrate with the lysosomal markers in starved as well as Triton treated rats and conspicuously remained in a region of high specific gravity in the gradient. These findings indicate retarded fusion between secondary lysosomes and [ 131 I]-human serum albumin containing phagosomes in the livers of rats subjected to starvation or detergent treatment. (author)

  14. A rare FANCA gene variation as a breast cancer susceptibility allele in an Iranian population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbasi, Sakineh; Rasouli, Mina

    2017-06-01

    Fanconi Anemia (FA) is an autosomal recessive syndrome characterized by congenital abnormalities, progressive bone marrow failure and Fanconi anemia complementation group A (FANCA) is also a potential breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene. A novel allele with tandem duplication of 13 base pair sequence in promoter region was identified. To investigate whether the 13 base pair sequence of tandem duplication in promoter region of the FANCA gene is of high penetrance in patients with breast cancer and to determine if the presence of the duplicated allele was associated with an altered risk of breast cancer, the present study screened DNA in blood samples from 304 breast cancer patients and 295 normal individuals as controls. The duplication allele had a frequency of 35.4 and 21.2% in patients with breast cancer and normal controls, respectively. There was a significant increase in the frequency of the duplication allele in patients with familial breast cancer compared with controls (45.1%, P=0.001). Furthermore, the estimated risk of breast cancer in individuals with a homozygote [odds ratio (OR), 4.093; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 1.957‑8.561] or heterozygote duplicated genotype (OR, 3.315; 95% CI, 1.996‑5.506) was higher compared with the corresponding normal homozygote genotype. In conclusion, the present study indicated that the higher the frequency of the duplicated allele, the higher the risk of breast cancer. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to report FANCA gene duplication in patients with breast cancer.

  15. Detecting imbalanced expression of SNP alleles by minisequencing on microarrays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dahlgren Andreas

    2004-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Each of the human genes or transcriptional units is likely to contain single nucleotide polymorphisms that may give rise to sequence variation between individuals and tissues on the level of RNA. Based on recent studies, differential expression of the two alleles of heterozygous coding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs may be frequent for human genes. Methods with high accuracy to be used in a high throughput setting are needed for systematic surveys of expressed sequence variation. In this study we evaluated two formats of multiplexed, microarray based minisequencing for quantitative detection of imbalanced expression of SNP alleles. We used a panel of ten SNPs located in five genes known to be expressed in two endothelial cell lines as our model system. Results The accuracy and sensitivity of quantitative detection of allelic imbalance was assessed for each SNP by constructing regression lines using a dilution series of mixed samples from individuals of different genotype. Accurate quantification of SNP alleles by both assay formats was evidenced for by R2 values > 0.95 for the majority of the regression lines. According to a two sample t-test, we were able to distinguish 1–9% of a minority SNP allele from a homozygous genotype, with larger variation between SNPs than between assay formats. Six of the SNPs, heterozygous in either of the two cell lines, were genotyped in RNA extracted from the endothelial cells. The coefficient of variation between the fluorescent signals from five parallel reactions was similar for cDNA and genomic DNA. The fluorescence signal intensity ratios measured in the cDNA samples were compared to those in genomic DNA to determine the relative expression levels of the two alleles of each SNP. Four of the six SNPs tested displayed a higher than 1.4-fold difference in allelic ratios between cDNA and genomic DNA. The results were verified by allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridisation and

  16. Evolutionary dynamics of sporophytic self-incompatibility alleles in plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schierup, Mikkel Heide; Vekemans, Xavier; Christiansen, Freddy Bugge

    1997-01-01

    codominantly in both pollen and style (SSIcod), in the second, alleles form a dominance hierarchy in pollen and style (SSIdom). In the third model, alleles interact codominantly in the style and form a dominance hierarchy in the pollen (SSIdomcod). The SSIcod model behaves similarly to the model...

  17. Ovarian Cancer Susceptibility Alleles and Risk of Ovarian Cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutation Carriers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramus, Susan J.; Antoniou, Antonis C; Kuchenbaecker, Karoline B.; Soucy, Penny; Beesley, Jonathan; Chen, Xiaoqing; McGuffog, Lesley; Sinilnikova, Olga M.; Healey, Sue; Barrowdale, Daniel; Lee, Andrew; Thomassen, Mads; Gerdes, Anne-Marie; Kruse, Torben A.; Jensen, Uffe Birk; Skytte, Anne-Bine; Caligo, Maria A.; Liljegren, Annelie; Lindblom, Annika; Olsson, Håkan; Kristoffersson, Ulf; Stenmark-Askmalm, Marie; Melin, Beatrice; Domchek, Susan M.; Nathanson, Katherine L.; Rebbeck, Timothy R.; Jakubowska, Anna; Lubinski, Jan; Jaworska, Katarzyna; Durda, Katarzyna; Złowocka, Elżbieta; Gronwald, Jacek; Huzarski, Tomasz; Byrski, Tomasz; Cybulski, Cezary; Toloczko-Grabarek, Aleksandra; Osorio, Ana; Benitez, Javier; Duran, Mercedes; Tejada, Maria-Isabel; Hamann, Ute; Rookus, Matti; van Leeuwen, Flora E.; Aalfs, Cora M.; Meijers-Heijboer, Hanne E.J.; van Asperen, Christi J.; van Roozendaal, K.E.P.; Hoogerbrugge, Nicoline; Collée, J. Margriet; Kriege, Mieke; van der Luijt, Rob B.; Peock, Susan; Frost, Debra; Ellis, Steve D.; Platte, Radka; Fineberg, Elena; Evans, D. Gareth; Lalloo, Fiona; Jacobs, Chris; Eeles, Ros; Adlard, Julian; Davidson, Rosemarie; Eccles, Diana; Cole, Trevor; Cook, Jackie; Paterson, Joan; Douglas, Fiona; Brewer, Carole; Hodgson, Shirley; Morrison, Patrick J.; Walker, Lisa; Porteous, Mary E.; Kennedy, M. John; Pathak, Harsh; Godwin, Andrew K.; Stoppa-Lyonnet, Dominique; Caux-Moncoutier, Virginie; de Pauw, Antoine; Gauthier-Villars, Marion; Mazoyer, Sylvie; Léoné, Mélanie; Calender, Alain; Lasset, Christine; Bonadona, Valérie; Hardouin, Agnès; Berthet, Pascaline; Bignon, Yves-Jean; Uhrhammer, Nancy; Faivre, Laurence; Loustalot, Catherine; Buys, Saundra; Daly, Mary; Miron, Alex; Terry, Mary Beth; Chung, Wendy K.; John, Esther M; Southey, Melissa; Goldgar, David; Singer, Christian F; Tea, Muy-Kheng; Pfeiler, Georg; Fink-Retter, Anneliese; Hansen, Thomas v. O.; Ejlertsen, Bent; Johannsson, Oskar Th.; Offit, Kenneth; Kirchhoff, Tomas; Gaudet, Mia M.; Vijai, Joseph; Robson, Mark; Piedmonte, Marion; Phillips, Kelly-Anne; Van Le, Linda; Hoffman, James S; Toland, Amanda Ewart; Montagna, Marco; Tognazzo, Silvia; Imyanitov, Evgeny; Isaacs, Claudine; Janavicius, Ramunas; Lazaro, Conxi; Blanco, Ignacio; Tornero, Eva; Navarro, Matilde; Moysich, Kirsten B.; Karlan, Beth Y.; Gross, Jenny; Olah, Edith; Vaszko, Tibor; Teo, Soo-Hwang; Ganz, Patricia A.; Beattie, Mary S.; Dorfling, Cecelia M; van Rensburg, Elizabeth J; Diez, Orland; Kwong, Ava; Schmutzler, Rita K.; Wappenschmidt, Barbara; Engel, Christoph; Meindl, Alfons; Ditsch, Nina; Arnold, Norbert; Heidemann, Simone; Niederacher, Dieter; Preisler-Adams, Sabine; Gadzicki, Dorotehea; Varon-Mateeva, Raymonda; Deissler, Helmut; Gehrig, Andrea; Sutter, Christian; Kast, Karin; Fiebig, Britta; Schäfer, Dieter; Caldes, Trinidad; de la Hoya, Miguel; Nevanlinna, Heli; Aittomäki, Kristiina; Plante, Marie; Spurdle, Amanda B.; Neuhausen, Susan L.; Ding, Yuan Chun; Wang, Xianshu; Lindor, Noralane; Fredericksen, Zachary; Pankratz, V. Shane; Peterlongo, Paolo; Manoukian, Siranoush; Peissel, Bernard; Zaffaroni, Daniela; Bonanni, Bernardo; Bernard, Loris; Dolcetti, Riccardo; Papi, Laura; Ottini, Laura; Radice, Paolo; Greene, Mark H.; Mai, Phuong L.; Andrulis, Irene L.; Glendon, Gord; Ozcelik, Hilmi; Pharoah, Paul D.P.; Gayther, Simon A.; Simard, Jacques; Easton, Douglas F.; Couch, Fergus J.; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia

    2012-01-01

    Germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 are associated with increased risks of breast and ovarian cancer. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified six alleles associated with risk of ovarian cancer for women in the general population. We evaluated four of these loci as potential modifiers of ovarian cancer risk for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. Four single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs10088218 (at 8q24), rs2665390 (at 3q25), rs717852 (at 2q31), and rs9303542 (at 17q21), were genotyped in 12,599 BRCA1 and 7,132 BRCA2 carriers, including 2,678 ovarian cancer cases. Associations were evaluated within a retrospective cohort approach. All four loci were associated with ovarian cancer risk in BRCA2 carriers; rs10088218 per-allele hazard ratio (HR) = 0.81 (95% CI: 0.67–0.98) P-trend = 0.033, rs2665390 HR = 1.48 (95% CI: 1.21–1.83) P-trend = 1.8 × 10−4, rs717852 HR = 1.25 (95% CI: 1.10–1.42) P-trend = 6.6 × 10−4, rs9303542 HR = 1.16 (95% CI: 1.02–1.33) P-trend = 0.026. Two loci were associated with ovarian cancer risk in BRCA1 carriers; rs10088218 per-allele HR = 0.89 (95% CI: 0.81–0.99) P-trend = 0.029, rs2665390 HR = 1.25 (95% CI: 1.10–1.42) P-trend = 6.1 × 10−4. The HR estimates for the remaining loci were consistent with odds ratio estimates for the general population. The identification of multiple loci modifying ovarian cancer risk may be useful for counseling women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations regarding their risk of ovarian cancer. PMID:22253144

  18. Allele-specific characterization of alanine: glyoxylate aminotransferase variants associated with primary hyperoxaluria.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa D Lage

    Full Text Available Primary Hyperoxaluria Type 1 (PH1 is a rare autosomal recessive kidney stone disease caused by deficiency of the peroxisomal enzyme alanine: glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT, which is involved in glyoxylate detoxification. Over 75 different missense mutations in AGT have been found associated with PH1. While some of the mutations have been found to affect enzyme activity, stability, and/or localization, approximately half of these mutations are completely uncharacterized. In this study, we sought to systematically characterize AGT missense mutations associated with PH1. To facilitate analysis, we used two high-throughput yeast-based assays: one that assesses AGT specific activity, and one that assesses protein stability. Approximately 30% of PH1-associated missense mutations are found in conjunction with a minor allele polymorphic variant, which can interact to elicit complex effects on protein stability and trafficking. To better understand this allele interaction, we functionally characterized each of 34 mutants on both the major (wild-type and minor allele backgrounds, identifying mutations that synergize with the minor allele. We classify these mutants into four distinct categories depending on activity/stability results in the different alleles. Twelve mutants were found to display reduced activity in combination with the minor allele, compared with the major allele background. When mapped on the AGT dimer structure, these mutants reveal localized regions of the protein that appear particularly sensitive to interactions with the minor allele variant. While the majority of the deleterious effects on activity in the minor allele can be attributed to synergistic interaction affecting protein stability, we identify one mutation, E274D, that appears to specifically affect activity when in combination with the minor allele.

  19. BRAF Gene Copy Number and Mutant Allele Frequency Correlate with Time to Progression in Metastatic Melanoma Patients Treated with MAPK Inhibitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stagni, Camilla; Zamuner, Carolina; Elefanti, Lisa; Zanin, Tiziana; Bianco, Paola Del; Sommariva, Antonio; Fabozzi, Alessio; Pigozzo, Jacopo; Mocellin, Simone; Montesco, Maria Cristina; Chiarion-Sileni, Vanna; De Nicolo, Arcangela; Menin, Chiara

    2018-06-01

    Metastatic melanoma is characterized by complex genomic alterations, including a high rate of mutations in driver genes and widespread deletions and amplifications encompassing various chromosome regions. Among them, chromosome 7 is frequently gained in BRAF -mutant melanoma, inducing a mutant allele-specific imbalance. Although BRAF amplification is a known mechanism of acquired resistance to therapy with MAPK inhibitors, it is still unclear if BRAF copy-number variation and BRAF mutant allele imbalance at baseline can be associated with response to treatment. In this study, we used a multimodal approach to assess BRAF copy number and mutant allele frequency in pretreatment melanoma samples from 46 patients who received MAPK inhibitor-based therapy, and we analyzed the association with progression-free survival. We found that 65% patients displayed BRAF gains, often supported by chromosome 7 polysomy. In addition, we observed that 64% patients had a balanced BRAF -mutant/wild-type allele ratio, whereas 14% and 23% patients had low and high BRAF mutant allele frequency, respectively. Notably, a significantly higher risk of progression was observed in patients with a diploid BRAF status versus those with BRAF gains [HR, 2.86; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.29-6.35; P = 0.01] and in patients with low percentage versus those with a balanced BRAF mutant allele percentage (HR, 4.54; 95% CI, 1.33-15.53; P = 0.016). Our data suggest that quantitative analysis of the BRAF gene could be useful to select the melanoma patients who are most likely to benefit from therapy with MAPK inhibitors. Mol Cancer Ther; 17(6); 1332-40. ©2018 AACR . ©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.

  20. Final state selection in the 4p photoemission of Rb by combining laser spectroscopy with soft-x-ray photoionization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schulz, J.; Tchaplyguine, M.; Rander, T.; Bergersen, H.; Lindblad, A.; Oehrwall, G.; Svensson, S.; Heinaesmaeki, S.; Sankari, R.; Osmekhin, S.; Aksela, S.; Aksela, H.

    2005-01-01

    Fine structure resolved 4p photoemission studies have been performed on free rubidium atoms in the ground state and after excitation into the [Kr]5p 2 P 1/2 and 2 P 3/2 states. The 4p 5 5p final states have been excited in the 4p 6 5s→4p 5 5p conjugate shakeup process from ground state atoms as well as by direct photoemission from laser excited atoms. The relative intensities differ considerably in these three excitation schemes. The differences in the laser excited spectra could be described well using calculations based on the pure jK-coupling scheme. Thereby it was possible to specify the character of the various final states. Furthermore it has been possible to resolve two of the final states whose energy separation is smaller than the experimental resolution by selectively exciting them in a two step scheme, where the laser selects the spin-orbit coupling in the intermediate state and determines the final state coupling after x-ray photoemission

  1. Apolipoprotein E4 allele does not influence serum triglyceride ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study investigated how the APOε4 allele affects the serum triglyceride response after a fatmeal in apparently healthy black South African young adults. Sixty students were successfully screened for APOE genotype using Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) and were divided into four groups; the ε2 allele ...

  2. Duplications of the Y-chromosome specific loci P25 and 92R7 and forensic implications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sanchez Sanchez, Juan Jose; Brión, Maria; Parson, Walther

    2004-01-01

    methodologies were used in order to detect the SNP alleles and the PSVs of the loci. All results obtained with the various typing techniques supported the conclusion. The allele distributions of the binary markers were analysed in more than 600 males with seven different haplogroups. For P25, the ancestral...... allele C was found in several samples from different haplogroups. The derived allele A was always present with an additional C variant. Haplogroup P was defined by the derived allele A at the 92R7 locus. However, the ancestral allele G was always associated with an A variant due to the duplication....

  3. The dominant allele Aft induces a shift from flavonol to anthocyanin production in response to UV-B radiation in tomato fruit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catola, Stefano; Castagna, Antonella; Santin, Marco; Calvenzani, Valentina; Petroni, Katia; Mazzucato, Andrea; Ranieri, Annamaria

    2017-08-01

    The introgression of the A ft allele into domesticated tomato induced a shift from flavonol to anthocyanin production in response to UV-B radiation, while the hp - 1 allele negatively influenced the response of flavonoid biosynthesis to UV-B. Introgression of the dominant allele Anthocyanin fruit (Aft) from Solanum chilense induces anthocyanin accumulation in the peel of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruit. UV-B radiation can influence plant secondary metabolism regulating the expression of several genes, among which those involved in flavonoid biosynthesis. Here, we investigated whether post-harvest UV-B treatment could up-regulate flavonoid production in tomato fruits and whether the Aft allele could affect flavonoid biosynthesis under UV-B radiation. Mature green fruits of an anthocyanin-rich tomato mutant line (SA206) and of its wild-type reference, cv. Roma, were daily subjected to post-harvest UV-B treatment until full ripening. Up-regulation of CHS and CHI transcription by UV-B treatment induced flavonoid accumulation in the peel of cv. Roma. Conversely, UV-B decreased the total flavonoid content and CHS transcript levels in the SA206 peel. SA206 being a double mutant containing also hp-1 allele, we investigated also the behavior of hp-1 fruit. The decreased peel flavonoid accumulation and gene transcription in response to UV-B suggest that hp-1 allele is involved in the marked down-regulation of the flavonoid biosynthesis observed in SA206 fruit. Interestingly, in SA206, UV-B radiation promoted the synthesis of delphinidin, petunidin, and malvidin by increasing F3'5'H and DFR transcription, but it decreased rutin production, suggesting a switch from flavonols to anthocyanins. Finally, although UV-B radiation does not reach the inner fruit tissues, it down-regulated flavonoid biosynthesis in the flesh of both genotypes. This study provides, for the first time, evidence that the presence of the functional Aft allele, under UV-B radiation, redirects

  4. Association of HLA-A and HLA-B Alleles with Lamotrigine-Induced Cutaneous Adverse Drug Reactions in the Thai Population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Napatrupron Koomdee

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: Lamotrigine (LTG is commonly used for treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder. It is one of the common cause of cutaneous adverse drug reactions (CADR. Clinical symptoms of LTG-induced CADR range from maculopapular exanthema (MPE to severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCAR. This study aimed to determine the association of the LTG-induced CADR with human leukocyte antigen (HLA alleles in Thai patients.Methods: Fifteen patients with LTG-induced CADR [10 MPE; 4 Stevens–Johnson syndrome; and 1 drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms] and 50 LTG-tolerant controls were included in the study. HLA-A and HLA-B genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific oligonucleotides probes.Results: The proportion of HLA-A∗02:07 and HLA-B∗15:02 allele carriers were significantly higher in the LTG-induced CADR group than in the tolerant controls [odds ratio (OR: 7.83; 95% confidence interval (CI: 1.60–38.25; P = 0.013, and OR: 4.89; 95% CI: 1.28–18.67; P = 0.014]. In addition, subjects with HLA-A∗33:03, HLA-B∗15:02, and HLA-B∗44:03 were significantly higher in the LTG-induced MPE group than in the tolerant controls (OR: 8.27; 95% CI: 1.83–37.41; P = 0.005, OR: 7.33; 95% CI: 1.63–33.02; P = 0.005; and OR: 10.29; 95% CI: 1.45–72.81; P = 0.029. In contrast to the LTG-induced MPE group, there were no significant differences between HLA alleles and LTG-induced SCAR group.Conclusion:HLA-A∗02:07 and HLA-B∗15:02 were associated with LTG-induced CADR in Thai patients. We also identified an association between HLA-A∗33:03, HLA-B∗15:02, and HLA-B∗44:03 and LTG-induced MPE in this population. These results suggest that these alleles could be useful screening markers for preventing CADR before LTG treatment in Thai patients, but further replication studies with larger sample sizes are needed.

  5. Determination of allele frequencies in nine short tandem repeat loci ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SERVER

    2008-04-17

    Apr 17, 2008 ... the normal cellular process of replication of DNA molecules. ... probability of a certain genetic variant (alleles) occuring in ... have preservatives that hinder spoilage and are easily packaged .... Allele distribution at Nine STR.

  6. pK{sup +}Λ final state: Towards the extraction of the ppK{sup −} contribution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fabbietti, L., E-mail: laura.fabbietti@ph.tum.de [Excellence Cluster ‘Origin and Structure of the Universe’, 85748 Garching (Germany); Agakishiev, G. [Joint Institute of Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna (Russian Federation); Behnke, C. [Institut für Kernphysik, Goethe-Universität, 60438 Frankfurt (Germany); Belver, D. [LabCAF, F. Física, Univ. de Santiago de Compostela, 15706 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Belyaev, A. [Joint Institute of Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna (Russian Federation); Berger-Chen, J.C. [Excellence Cluster ‘Origin and Structure of the Universe’, 85748 Garching (Germany); Blanco, A. [LIP-Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas, 3004-516 Coimbra (Portugal); Blume, C. [Institut für Kernphysik, Goethe-Universität, 60438 Frankfurt (Germany); Böhmer, M. [Physik Department E12, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching (Germany); Cabanelas, P. [LabCAF, F. Física, Univ. de Santiago de Compostela, 15706 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Chernenko, S. [Joint Institute of Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna (Russian Federation); Dritsa, C. [II. Physikalisches Institut, Justus Liebig Universität Giessen, 35392 Giessen (Germany); Dybczak, A. [Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University of Cracow, 30-059 Kraków (Poland); and others

    2013-09-20

    The reaction p(@3.5 GeV)+p→p+Λ+K{sup +} can be studied to search for the existence of kaonic bound states like ppK{sup −} leading to this final state. This effort has been motivated by the assumption that in p+p collisions the Λ(1405) resonance can act as a doorway to the formation of the kaonic bound states. The status of this analysis within the HADES Collaboration, with particular emphasis on the comparison to simulations, is shown in this work and the deviation method utilized by the DISTO Collaboration in a similar analysis is discussed. The outcome suggests the employment of a partial wave analysis do disentangle the different contributions to the measured pK{sup +}Λ final state.

  7. Hadronic final states in high -pT QCD at CDF

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matera, Keith [University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

    2013-11-18

    The heavy quark content of gauge boson events is of great interest to studies of QCD. These events probe the gluon and heavy-quark parton distribution functions of the proton, and also provide a measurement of the rate of final state gluon splitting to heavy flavor. In addition, gauge boson plus heavy quark events are representative of backgrounds to Higgs, single top, and supersymmetric particle searches. Recent work with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron has measured the cross-section of several gauge boson plus heavy flavor production processes, including the first Tevatron observation of specific charm process p{p bar} → W +c. Results are found to be in agreement with NLO predictions that include an enhanced rate of g → {cc bar}/bb splitting. Lastly, a new analysis promises to probe a lower pT (c) region than has been previously explored, by fully reconstructing D* → D0(Kπ)π decays in the full CDF dataset (9.7 fb-1).

  8. DQB1*06:02 allele-specific expression varies by allelic dosage, not narcolepsy status

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weiner Lachmi, Karin; Lin, Ling; Kornum, Birgitte Rahbek

    2012-01-01

    The association of narcolepsy-cataplexy, a sleep disorder caused by the loss of hypocretin/orexin neurons in the hypothalamus, with DQA1*01:02-DQB1*06:02 is one of the tightest known single-allele human leukocyte antigen (HLA) associations. In this study, we explored genome-wide expression...

  9. QuASAR: quantitative allele-specific analysis of reads.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harvey, Chris T; Moyerbrailean, Gregory A; Davis, Gordon O; Wen, Xiaoquan; Luca, Francesca; Pique-Regi, Roger

    2015-04-15

    Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) studies have discovered thousands of genetic variants that regulate gene expression, enabling a better understanding of the functional role of non-coding sequences. However, eQTL studies are costly, requiring large sample sizes and genome-wide genotyping of each sample. In contrast, analysis of allele-specific expression (ASE) is becoming a popular approach to detect the effect of genetic variation on gene expression, even within a single individual. This is typically achieved by counting the number of RNA-seq reads matching each allele at heterozygous sites and testing the null hypothesis of a 1:1 allelic ratio. In principle, when genotype information is not readily available, it could be inferred from the RNA-seq reads directly. However, there are currently no existing methods that jointly infer genotypes and conduct ASE inference, while considering uncertainty in the genotype calls. We present QuASAR, quantitative allele-specific analysis of reads, a novel statistical learning method for jointly detecting heterozygous genotypes and inferring ASE. The proposed ASE inference step takes into consideration the uncertainty in the genotype calls, while including parameters that model base-call errors in sequencing and allelic over-dispersion. We validated our method with experimental data for which high-quality genotypes are available. Results for an additional dataset with multiple replicates at different sequencing depths demonstrate that QuASAR is a powerful tool for ASE analysis when genotypes are not available. http://github.com/piquelab/QuASAR. fluca@wayne.edu or rpique@wayne.edu Supplementary Material is available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  10. Population differentiation in allele frequencies of obesity-associated SNPs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Linyong; Fang, Yayin; Campbell, Michael; Southerland, William M

    2017-11-10

    Obesity is emerging as a global health problem, with more than one-third of the world's adult population being overweight or obese. In this study, we investigated worldwide population differentiation in allele frequencies of obesity-associated SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). We collected a total of 225 obesity-associated SNPs from a public database. Their population-level allele frequencies were derived based on the genotype data from 1000 Genomes Project (phase 3). We used hypergeometric model to assess whether the effect allele at a given SNP is significantly enriched or depleted in each of the 26 populations surveyed in the 1000 Genomes Project with respect to the overall pooled population. Our results indicate that 195 out of 225 SNPs (86.7%) possess effect alleles significantly enriched or depleted in at least one of the 26 populations. Populations within the same continental group exhibit similar allele enrichment/depletion patterns whereas inter-continental populations show distinct patterns. Among the 225 SNPs, 15 SNPs cluster in the first intron region of the FTO gene, which is a major gene associated with body-mass index (BMI) and fat mass. African populations exhibit much smaller blocks of LD (linkage disequilibrium) among these15 SNPs while European and Asian populations have larger blocks. To estimate the cumulative effect of all variants associated with obesity, we developed the personal composite genetic risk score for obesity. Our results indicate that the East Asian populations have the lowest averages of the composite risk scores, whereas three European populations have the highest averages. In addition, the population-level average of composite genetic risk scores is significantly correlated (R 2 = 0.35, P = 0.0060) with obesity prevalence. We have detected substantial population differentiation in allele frequencies of obesity-associated SNPs. The results will help elucidate the genetic basis which may contribute to population

  11. Distribution of a pseudodeficiency allele among Tay-Sachs carriers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tomczak, J.; Grebner, E.E. (Thomas Jefferson Univ., Philadelphia, PA (United States)); Boogen, C. (Univ. of Essen Medical School (Germany))

    1993-08-01

    Recently Triggs-Raine et al. (1992) identified a new mutation in the gene coding for the [alpha]-subunit of [beta]-hexosaminidase A (hex A), the enzyme whose deficiency causes Tay-Sachs disease. This mutation, a C[sub 739]-to-T transition in exon 7, results in an altered enzyme that is active (albeit at reduced levels) in cells but that has essentially no activity in serum. This so-called pseudodeficient allele was first detected in compound heterozygotes who also carried a Tay-Sachs disease allele and therefore had no detectable hex A in their serum but who were in good health. Carriers of this apparently benign mutation are generally indistinguishable from carriers of a lethal mutation by means of routine enzyme-based screening tests, because the product of the pseudodeficient allele is not detectable in serum and has decreased activity in cells. This suggests that some individuals who have been classified as Tay-Sachs carriers are actually carriers of the pseudodeficient allele and are not at risk to have a child affected with Tay-Sachs disease. The pseudodeficient allele may also be responsible for some inconclusive diagnoses, where leukocyte values fall below the normal range but are still above the carrier range. The fact that there are now two mutant alleles (the psuedodeficient and the adult) that are indistinguishable from the lethal infantile mutations by means of enzyme assay yet that are phenotypically very different and that together may account for as much as 12% of enzyme-defined carriers on the basis of the data here suggests that DNA analysis should be part of a comprehensive screening program. It will be particularly useful to identify the mutations in couples at risk, before they undergo prenatal diagnosis. DNA analysis will also resolve some inconclusive diagnoses.

  12. Immunogenicity of Recombinant Proteins Consisting of Plasmodium vivax Circumsporozoite Protein Allelic Variant-Derived Epitopes Fused with Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Flagellin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leal, Monica Teixeira Andrade; Camacho, Ariane Guglielmi Ariza; Teixeira, Laís Helena; Bargieri, Daniel Youssef; Soares, Irene Silva; Tararam, Cibele Aparecida

    2013-01-01

    A Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (CSP)-based recombinant fusion vaccine is the first malaria vaccine to reach phase III clinical trials. Resistance to infection correlated with the production of antibodies to the immunodominant central repeat region of the CSP. In contrast to P. falciparum, vaccine development against the CSP of Plasmodium vivax malaria is far behind. Based on this gap in our knowledge, we generated a recombinant chimeric protein containing the immunodominant central repeat regions of the P. vivax CSP fused to Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium-derived flagellin (FliC) to activate the innate immune system. The recombinant proteins that were generated contained repeat regions derived from each of the 3 different allelic variants of the P. vivax CSP or a fusion of regions derived from each of the 3 allelic forms. Mice were subcutaneously immunized with the fusion proteins alone or in combination with the Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR-3) agonist poly(I·C), and the anti-CSP serum IgG response was measured. Immunization with a mixture of the 3 recombinant proteins, each containing immunodominant epitopes derived from a single allelic variant, rather than a single recombinant protein carrying a fusion of regions derived from each of 3 allelic forms elicited a stronger immune response. This response was independent of TLR-4 but required TLR-5/MyD88 activation. Antibody titers significantly increased when poly(I·C) was used as an adjuvant with a mixture of the 3 recombinant proteins. These recombinant fusion proteins are novel candidates for the development of an effective malaria vaccine against P. vivax. PMID:23863502

  13. 8q24 allelic imbalance and MYC gene copy number in primary prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, H; Liu, W; Roberts, W; Hooker, S; Fedor, H; DeMarzo, A; Isaacs, W; Kittles, R A

    2010-09-01

    Four independent regions within 8q24 near the MYC gene are associated with risk for prostate cancer (Pca). Here, we investigated allelic imbalance (AI) at 8q24 risk variants and MYC gene DNA copy number (CN) in 27 primary Pcas. Heterozygotes were observed in 24 of 27 patients at one or more 8q24 markers and 27% of the loci exhibited AI in tumor DNA. The 8q24 risk alleles were preferentially favored in the tumors. Increased MYC gene CN was observed in 33% of tumors, and the co-existence of increased MYC gene CN with AI at risk loci was observed in 86% (P<0.004 exact binomial test) of the informative tumors. No AI was observed in tumors, which did not reveal increased MYC gene CN. Higher Gleason score was associated with tumors exhibiting AI (P=0.04) and also with increased MYC gene CN (P=0.02). Our results suggest that AI at 8q24 and increased MYC gene CN may both be related to high Gleason score in Pca. Our findings also suggest that these two somatic alterations may be due to the same preferential chromosomal duplication event during prostate tumorigenesis.

  14. Overdispersion in allelic counts and θ-correction in forensic genetics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tvedebrink, Torben

    2010-01-01

    We present a statistical model for incorporating the extra variability in allelic counts due to subpopulation structures. In forensic genetics, this effect is modelled by the identical-by-descent parameter θ, which measures the relationship between pairs of alleles within a population relative...... with computation of the profile log-likelihood, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing. In order to compare our method with existing methods, we reanalysed FBI data from Budowle and Moretti (1999) with allele counts in six US subpopulations. Furthermore, we investigate properties of our methodology from...

  15. Allele specific expression in worker reproduction genes in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harindra E. Amarasinghe

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Methylation has previously been associated with allele specific expression in ants. Recently, we found methylation is important in worker reproduction in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. Here we searched for allele specific expression in twelve genes associated with worker reproduction in bees. We found allele specific expression in Ecdysone 20 monooxygenase and IMP-L2-like. Although we were unable to confirm a genetic or epigenetic cause for this allele specific expression, the expression patterns of the two genes match those predicted for imprinted genes.

  16. Comparative frequency and allelic distribution of ABO and Rh (D ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Gourab Dewan

    2015-02-18

    Feb 18, 2015 ... desh and having borders with India and Myanmar (Fig. 1). It is a hilly area with ..... calculated allelic frequencies for ABO/Rh systems previously. Therefore, allelic .... in backward caste population of Uttar Pradesh, India. Not Sci.

  17. Non-stoichiometry in the KMo2P3O12-tunnel structure: The oxide K0.75MoNbP3O12

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leclaire, A.; Borel, M.M.; Grandin, A.; Raveau, B.

    1990-01-01

    K 0.75 MoNbP 3 O 12 , M r =503.009, orthorhombic, Pbcm, a=8.8518 (5), b=9.1453 (11), c=12.5174 (11) A, V=1013.3 (3) A 3 , Z=4, D x =3.300 Mg m -3 , λ(Mo Kα)=0.71073 A, μ=3.13 mm -1 , F(000)=953, T=294 K, R=0.029, wR=0.033 for 1235 observed reflections. This compound is isostructural with KMo 2 P 3 O 12 -type oxides. Its framework is built up from MoO 6 octahedra and PO 4 tetrahedra which delimit tunnels running along b. Different from KMo 2 P 3 O 12 , the tunnels are partly occupied by the potassium ions which are distributed at random. (orig.)

  18. Peripheral subnuclear positioning suppresses Tcrb recombination and segregates Tcrb alleles from RAG2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Elizabeth A W; Teng, Grace; Corbett, Elizabeth; Choudhury, Kingshuk Roy; Bassing, Craig H; Schatz, David G; Krangel, Michael S

    2013-11-26

    Allelic exclusion requires that the two alleles at antigen-receptor loci attempt to recombine variable (V), diversity (D), and joining (J) gene segments [V(D)J recombination] asynchronously in nuclei of developing lymphocytes. It previously was shown that T-cell receptor β (Tcrb) alleles frequently and stochastically associate with the nuclear lamina and pericentromeric heterochromatin in CD4(-)CD8(-) thymocytes. Moreover, rearranged alleles were underrepresented at these locations. Here we used 3D immunofluorescence in situ hybridization to identify recently rearranged Tcrb alleles based on the accumulation of the DNA-repair protein 53BP1. We found that Tcrb alleles recombine asynchronously in double-negative thymocytes and that V(D)J recombination is suppressed on peripheral as compared with central Tcrb alleles. Moreover, the recombination events that did take place at the nuclear periphery preferentially occurred on Tcrb alleles that were partially dissociated from the nuclear lamina. To understand better the mechanism by which V(D)J recombination is suppressed at the nuclear periphery, we evaluated the subnuclear distribution of recombination-activating gene 2 (RAG2) protein. We found that RAG2 abundance was reduced at the nuclear periphery. Moreover, RAG2 was distributed differently from RNA polymerase II and histone H3K4 trimethylation. Our data suggest that the nuclear periphery suppresses V(D)J recombination, at least in part, by segregating Tcrb alleles from RAG proteins.

  19. A study of the association of childhood asthma with HLA alleles in the population of Siliguri, West Bengal, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lama, M; Chatterjee, M; Chaudhuri, T K

    2014-09-01

    Asthma is a heterogeneous disease for which a strong genetic basis is firmly established. It is a complex disorder influenced by gene-environment interaction. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes have been shown to be consistently associated with asthma and its related phenotypes in various populations. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of the selected HLA classes I and II allelic groups in asthmatic and control groups. HLA typing was performed using polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific typing (PCR-SSP) method. The allele frequency was estimated by direct counting. Frequency of each HLA allelic group was compared between asthmatic group and control group using χ(2) test. P-value was corrected by multiplying with the number of the allelic groups studied. Odds ratio (OR) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) for each allelic group were calculated using graphpad instat 3.10. The results of this study showed a significantly higher frequency of HLA-DRB1*03 in asthmatics than in controls (11.43% vs 3.64%, OR = 3.78, 95% CI = 1.61-8.85, P = 0.0025, Pcorr  population. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Allele-dependent differences in quorum-sensing dynamics result in variant expression of virulence genes in Staphylococcus aureus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geisinger, Edward; Chen, John; Novick, Richard P

    2012-06-01

    Agr is an autoinducing, quorum-sensing system that functions in many Gram-positive species and is best characterized in the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, in which it is a global regulator of virulence gene expression. Allelic variations in the agr genes have resulted in the emergence of four quorum-sensing specificity groups in S. aureus, which correlate with different strain pathotypes. The basis for these predilections is unclear but is hypothesized to involve the phenomenon of quorum-sensing interference between strains of different agr groups, which may drive S. aureus strain isolation and divergence. Whether properties intrinsic to each agr allele directly influence virulence phenotypes within S. aureus is unknown. In this study, we examined group-specific differences in agr autoinduction and virulence gene regulation by utilizing congenic strains, each harboring a unique S. aureus agr allele, enabling a dissection of agr locus-dependent versus genotype-dependent effects on quorum-sensing dynamics and virulence factor production. Employing a reporter fusion to the principal agr promoter, P3, we observed allele-dependent differences in the timing and magnitude of agr activation. These differences were mediated by polymorphisms within the agrBDCA genes and translated to significant variations in the expression of a key transcriptional regulator, Rot, and of several important exoproteins and surface factors involved in pathogenesis. This work uncovers the contribution of divergent quorum-sensing alleles to variant expression of virulence determinants within a bacterial species.

  1. The number of self-incompatibility alleles in a finite, subdivided population

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schierup, M H

    1998-01-01

    The actual and effective number of gametophytic self-incompatibility alleles maintained at mutation-drift-selection equilibrium in a finite population subdivided as in the island model is investigated by stochastic simulations. The existing theory founded by Wright predicts that for a given...... population size the number of alleles maintained increases monotonically with decreasing migration as is the case for neutral alleles. The simulation results here show that this is not true. At migration rates above Nm = 0.01-0.1, the actual and effective number of alleles is lower than for an undivided...... of individuals in the population but it underestimates the neutral effective size of the subdivided population. Udgivelsesdato: 1998-Jun...

  2. Loss of a Single Mcl-1 Allele Inhibits MYC-Driven Lymphomagenesis by Sensitizing Pro-B Cells to Apoptosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephanie Grabow

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available MCL-1 is critical for progenitor cell survival during emergency hematopoiesis, but its role in sustaining cells undergoing transformation and in lymphomagenesis is only poorly understood. We investigated the importance of MCL-1 in the survival of B lymphoid progenitors undergoing MYC-driven transformation and its functional interactions with pro-apoptotic BIM and PUMA and the tumor suppressor p53 in lymphoma development. Loss of one Mcl-1 allele almost abrogated MYC-driven-lymphoma development owing to a reduction in lymphoma initiating pre-B cells. Although loss of the p53 target PUMA had minor impact, loss of one p53 allele substantially accelerated lymphoma development when MCL-1 was limiting, most likely because p53 loss also causes defects in non-apoptotic tumor suppressive processes. Remarkably, loss of BIM restored the survival of lymphoma initiating cells and rate of tumor development. Thus, MCL-1 has a major role in lymphoma initiating pro-B cells to oppose BIM, which is upregulated in response to oncogenic stress.

  3. Intrinsic MYH7 expression regulation contributes to tissue level allelic imbalance in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montag, Judith; Syring, Mandy; Rose, Julia; Weber, Anna-Lena; Ernstberger, Pia; Mayer, Anne-Kathrin; Becker, Edgar; Keyser, Britta; Dos Remedios, Cristobal; Perrot, Andreas; van der Velden, Jolanda; Francino, Antonio; Navarro-Lopez, Francesco; Ho, Carolyn Yung; Brenner, Bernhard; Kraft, Theresia

    2017-08-01

    HCM, the most common inherited cardiac disease, is mainly caused by mutations in sarcomeric genes. More than a third of the patients are heterozygous for mutations in the MYH7 gene encoding for the β-myosin heavy chain. In HCM-patients, expression of the mutant and the wildtype allele can be unequal, thus leading to fractions of mutant and wildtype mRNA and protein which deviate from 1:1. This so-called allelic imbalance was detected in whole tissue samples but also in individual cells. There is evidence that the severity of HCM not only depends on the functional effect of the mutation itself, but also on the fraction of mutant protein in the myocardial tissue. Allelic imbalance has been shown to occur in a broad range of genes. Therefore, we aimed to examine whether the MYH7-alleles are intrinsically expressed imbalanced or whether the allelic imbalance is solely associated with the disease. We compared the expression of MYH7-alleles in non-HCM donors and in HCM-patients with different MYH7-missense mutations. In the HCM-patients, we identified imbalanced as well as equal expression of both alleles. Also at the protein level, allelic imbalance was determined. Most interestingly, we also discovered allelic imbalance and balance in non-HCM donors. Our findings therefore strongly indicate that apart from mutation-specific mechanisms, also non-HCM associated allelic-mRNA expression regulation may account for the allelic imbalance of the MYH7 gene in HCM-patients. Since the relative amount of mutant mRNA and protein or the extent of allelic imbalance has been associated with the severity of HCM, individual analysis of the MYH7-allelic expression may provide valuable information for the prognosis of each patient.

  4. Distribution of coat-color-associated alleles in the domestic horse population and Przewalski's horse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reissmann, Monika; Musa, Lutfi; Zakizadeh, Sonia; Ludwig, Arne

    2016-11-01

    Considering the hidden mode of inheritance of some coat-color-associated alleles, we investigated the presence/absence of coat-color-associated alleles in 1093 domestic horses of 55 breeds and 20 specimens of Przewalski's horse. For coat-color genotyping, allele specific PCR, pyrosequencing and Li-Cor analyses were conducted on 12 coat-color-associated alleles of five genes. Our data provide deep insight into the distribution of coat-color-associated alleles within breeds. We found that the alleles for the basic colorations (bay, black, and chestnut) are widely distributed and occur in nearly all breeds. Alleles leading to dilutions or patterns are rare in domestic breeds and were not found in Przewalski's horse. Higher frequencies of these alleles are only found in breeds that are selected for their expressed phenotypes (e.g., Kinsky horse, Lewitzer, Tinker). Nevertheless, our study produced strong evidence that molecular testing of the coat color is necessary for well-defined phenotyping to avoid unexpected colorations of offspring that can result in legal action.

  5. Swedish Spring Wheat Varieties with the Rare High Grain Protein Allele of NAM-B1 Differ in Leaf Senescence and Grain Mineral Content

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asplund, Linnéa; Bergkvist, Göran; Leino, Matti W.; Westerbergh, Anna; Weih, Martin

    2013-01-01

    Some Swedish spring wheat varieties have recently been shown to carry a rare wildtype (wt) allele of the gene NAM-B1, known to affect leaf senescence and nutrient retranslocation to the grain. The wt allele is believed to increase grain protein concentration and has attracted interest from breeders since it could contribute to higher grain quality and more nitrogen-efficient varieties. This study investigated whether Swedish varieties with the wt allele differ from varieties with one of the more common, non-functional alleles in order to examine the effect of the gene in a wide genetic background, and possibly explain why the allele has been retained in Swedish varieties. Forty varieties of spring wheat differing in NAM-B1 allele type were cultivated under controlled conditions. Senescence was monitored and grains were harvested and analyzed for mineral nutrient concentration. Varieties with the wt allele reached anthesis earlier and completed senescence faster than varieties with the non-functional allele. The wt varieties also had more ears, lighter grains and higher yields of P and K. Contrary to previous information on effects of the wt allele, our wt varieties did not have increased grain N concentration or grain N yield. In addition, temporal studies showed that straw length has decreased but grain N yield has remained unaffected over a century of Swedish spring wheat breeding. The faster development of wt varieties supports the hypothesis of NAM-B1 being preserved in Fennoscandia, with its short growing season, because of accelerated development conferred by the NAM-B1 wt allele. Although the possible effects of other gene actions were impossible to distinguish, the genetic resource of Fennoscandian spring wheats with the wt NAM-B1 allele is interesting to investigate further for breeding purposes. PMID:23555754

  6. MicroRNAs differentially regulate carbonyl reductase 1 (CBR1 gene expression dependent on the allele status of the common polymorphic variant rs9024.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James L Kalabus

    Full Text Available MicroRNAs (miRNAs are small RNAs responsible for the post-transcriptional regulation of a variety of human genes. To date, their involvement in the regulation of CBR1 is unknown. This study reports for the first time the identification of microRNA-574-5p (hsa-miR-574-5p and microRNA-921 (hsa-miR-921 as two miRNAs capable of interacting with the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR of the CBR1 gene and downregulating CBR1 expression. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a common single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP in the CBR1 3'-UTR (rs9024, CBR1 1096G>A differentially impacts the regulation of CBR1 by hsa-miR-574-5p and hsa-miR-921 dependent on genotype. First, four candidate miRNAs were selected based on bioinformatic analyses, and were tested in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO cells transfected with CBR1 3'-UTR constructs harboring either the G or A allele for rs9024. We found that hsa-miR-574-5p and hsa-miR-921 significantly decreased luciferase activity in CHO cells transfected with the CBR1 3'-UTR construct carrying the major rs9024 G allele by 35% and 46%, respectively. The influence of these miRNAs was different in cells transfected with a CBR1 3'-UTR construct containing the minor rs9024 A allele in that only hsa-miR-574-5p had a demonstrable effect (i.e., 52% decrease in lucifersase activity. To further determine the functional effects of miRNA-mediated regulation of polymorphic CBR1, we assessed CBR1 protein expression and CBR1 enzymatic activity for the prototypical substrate menadione in human lymphoblastoid cell lines with distinct rs9024 genotypes. We found that hsa-miR-574-5p and hsa-miR-921 significantly decreased CBR1 protein (48% and 40%, respectively and CBR1 menadione activity (54% and 18%, respectively in lymphoblastoid cells homozygous for the major rs9024 G allele. In contrast, only hsa-miR-574-5p decreased CBR1 protein and CBR1 activity in cells homozygous for the minor rs9024 A allele, and did so by 49% and 56%, respectively. These

  7. Paradoxical expression of INK4c in proliferative multiple myeloma tumors: bi-allelic deletion vs increased expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanamura Ichiro

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A high proliferative capacity of tumor cells usually is associated with shortened patient survival. Disruption of the RB pathway, which is critically involved in regulating the G1 to S cell cycle transition, is a frequent target of oncogenic events that are thought to contribute to increased proliferation during tumor progression. Previously, we determined that p18INK4c, an essential gene for normal plasma cell differentiation, was bi-allelically deleted in five of sixteen multiple myeloma (MM cell lines. The present study was undertaken to investigate a possible role of p18INK4c in increased proliferation of myeloma tumors as they progress. Results Thirteen of 40 (33% human myeloma cell lines do not express normal p18INK4c, with bi-allelic deletion of p18 in twelve, and expression of a mutated p18 fragment in one. Bi-allelic deletion of p18, which appears to be a late progression event, has a prevalence of about 2% in 261 multiple myeloma (MM tumors, but the prevalence is 6 to10% in the 50 tumors with a high expression-based proliferation index. Paradoxically, 24 of 40 (60% MM cell lines, and 30 of 50 (60% MM tumors with a high proliferation index express an increased level of p18 RNA compared to normal bone marrow plasma cells, whereas this occurs in only five of the 151 (3% MM tumors with a low proliferation index. Tumor progression is often accompanied by increased p18 expression and an increased proliferation index. Retroviral-mediated expression of exogenous p18 results in marked growth inhibition in three MM cell lines that express little or no endogenous p18, but has no effect in another MM cell line that already expresses a high level of p18. Conclusion Paradoxically, although loss of p18 appears to contribute to increased proliferation of nearly 10% of MM tumors, most MM cell lines and proliferative MM tumors have increased expression of p18. Apart from a small fraction of cell lines and tumors that have inactivated

  8. Global phylogeography of the avian malaria pathogen Plasmodium relictum based on MSP1 allelic diversity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hellgren, Olof; Atkinson, Carter T.; Bensch, Staffan; Albayrak, Tamer; Dimitrov, Dimitar; Ewen, John G.; Kim, Kyeong Soon; Lima, Marcos R.; Martin, Lynn; Palinauskas, Vaidas; Ricklefs, Robert; Sehgal, Ravinder N. M.; Gediminas, Valkiunas; Tsuda, Yoshio; Marzal, Alfonso

    2015-01-01

    Knowing the genetic variation that occurs in pathogen populations and how it is distributed across geographical areas is essential to understand parasite epidemiology, local patterns of virulence, and evolution of host-resistance. In addition, it is important to identify populations of pathogens that are evolutionarily independent and thus ‘free’ to adapt to hosts and environments. Here, we investigated genetic variation in the globally distributed, highly invasive avian malaria parasite Plasmodium relictum, which has several distinctive mitochondrial haplotyps (cyt b lineages, SGS1, GRW11 and GRW4). The phylogeography of P. relictum was accessed using the highly variable nuclear gene merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1), a gene linked to the invasion biology of the parasite. We show that the lineage GRW4 is evolutionarily independent of GRW11 and SGS1 whereas GRW11 and SGS1 share MSP1 alleles and thus suggesting the presence of two distinct species (GRW4 versus SGS1 and GRW11). Further, there were significant differences in the global distribution of MSP1 alleles with differences between GRW4 alleles in the New and the Old World. For SGS1, a lineage formerly believed to have both tropical and temperate transmission, there were clear differences in MSP1 alleles transmitted in tropical Africa compared to the temperate regions of Europe and Asia. Further, we highlight the occurrence of multiple MSP1 alleles in GRW4 isolates from the Hawaiian Islands, where the parasite has contributed to declines and extinctions of endemic forest birds since it was introduced. This study stresses the importance of multiple independent loci for understanding patterns of transmission and evolutionary independence across avian malaria parasites.

  9. Phenotypic and allelic distribution of the ABO and Rhesus (D) blood groups in the Cameroonian population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ndoula, S T; Noubiap, J J N; Nansseu, J R N; Wonkam, A

    2014-06-01

    Data on blood group phenotypes are important for blood transfusion programs, for disease association and population genetics studies. This study aimed at reporting the phenotypic and allelic distribution of ABO and Rhesus (Rh) groups in various ethnolinguistic groups in the Cameroonians. We obtained ABO and Rhesus blood groups and self-identified ethnicity from 14,546 Cameroonian students. Ethnicity was classified in seven major ethnolinguistic groups: Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Kordofanian/West Atlantic, Niger-Kordofanian/Adamawa-Ubangui, Niger-Kordofanian/Benue-Congo/Bantu/Grassfield, Niger-Kordofanian/Benue-Congo/Bantu/Mbam and Niger-Kordofanian/Benue-Congo/Bantu/Equatorial. ABO allelic frequencies were determined using the Bernstein method. Differences in phenotypic distribution of blood groups were assessed using the chi-square test; a P value blood groups O, A, B and AB were 48.62%, 25.07%, 21.86% and 4.45%, respectively. Rhesus-positive was 96.32%. The allelic frequencies of O, A and B genes were 0.6978, 0.1605 and 0.1416, respectively. Phenotypic frequencies of the blood groups in the general study population and in the different ethnolinguistic groups were in agreement with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations (P > 0.05). The frequencies of O, A, and B blood phenotypes were significantly lower, respectively, in the Nilo-Saharan group (P = 0.009), the Niger-Kordofanian/Benue-Congo/Bantu groups (P = 0.021) and the Niger-Kordofanian/West-Atlantic group. AB blood group was most frequent in the Niger-Kordofanian/Adamawa-Ubangui group (P = 0.024). Our study provides the first data on ethnic distribution of ABO and Rhesus blood groups in the Cameroonian population and suggests that its general profile is similar to those of several sub-Saharan African populations. We found some significant differences in phenotypic distribution amongst major ethnolinguistic groups. These data may be important for blood donor recruitment policy and blood transfusion

  10. The protease inhibitor PI*S allele and COPD

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hersh, C P; Ly, N P; Berkey, C S

    2005-01-01

    In many countries, the protease inhibitor (SERPINA1) PI*S allele is more common than PI*Z, the allele responsible for most cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) due to severe alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency. However, the risk of COPD due to the PI*S allele is not clear. The current...... authors located studies that addressed the risk of COPD or measured lung function in individuals with the PI SZ, PI MS and PI SS genotypes. A separate meta-analysis for each genotype was performed. Aggregating data from six studies, the odds ratio (OR) for COPD in PI SZ compound heterozygotes compared...... with PI MM (normal) individuals was significantly increased at 3.26 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.24-8.57). In 17 cross-sectional and case-control studies, the OR for COPD in PI MS heterozygotes was 1.19 (95%CI: 1.02-1.38). However, PI MS genotype was not associated with COPD risk after correcting...

  11. Final State Interactions and Polarization Observables in the Reaction pp → p

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Röder Matthias

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Due to the lack of high quality hyperon beams, final state interactions in hyperon production reactions are a compelling tool to study hyperon-nucleon interactions. The COSY-TOF experiment has recently been upgraded in order to reconstruct the pK+Λ final state with sufficient precision to determine the spin triplet pΛ scattering length with a polarized proton beam. We find an unexpected behavior of the K+ analyzing power which prevents the extraction method to be used with the available statistics. A theoretical explanation is pending. Furthermore, the polarized beam together with the self analyzing decay of the Λ allows us to determine the Λ depolarization. This is especially sensitive to K+ and π exchange in the production mechanism. Our finding verifies, to a large extent, the result from DISTO [2] that has so far been the only measurement close to the production threshold.

  12. Human rotavirus strains bearing VP4 gene P[6] allele recovered from asymptomatic or symptomatic infections share similar, if not identical, VP4 neutralization specificities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoshino, Yasutaka; Jones, Ronald W.; Ross, Jerri; Santos, Norma; Kapikian, Albert Z.

    2003-01-01

    A rotavirus VP4 gene P[6] allele has been documented in a number of countries to be characteristically associated with an endemic predominantly asymptomatic infection in neonates in maternity hospital nurseries. The mechanisms underlying the endemicity and asymptomatic nature of such neonatal infections remain unknown. Rotavirus strains sharing this same P genotype, however, have more recently been recovered from an increasing number of symptomatic diarrheal episodes in infants and young children in various parts of the world. Previously, we have shown that an asymptomatic P[6] rotavirus neonatal infection is not associated with a unique VP7 (G) serotype but may occur in conjunction with various G types. Although amino acid sequence comparisons of the VP4 gene between selected 'asymptomatic' and 'symptomatic' P[6] rotavirus strains have been reported and yielded information concerning their VP4 genotypes, serotypic comparisons of the outer capsid spike protein VP4 of such viruses have not been studied systematically by two-way cross-neutralizations. We determined the VP4 neutralization specificities of four asymptomatic and four symptomatic P[6] strains: two each of asymptomatic and symptomatic strains by two-way tests, and two each of additional asymptomatic and symptomatic strains by one-way tests. Both asymptomatic and symptomatic P[6] strains were shown to bear similar, if not identical, VP4 neutralization specificities. Thus, P[6] rotavirus strains causing asymptomatic or symptomatic infections did not appear to belong to unique P (VP4) serotypes. In addition, a close VP4 serotypic relationship between human P[6] rotavirus strains and the porcine P[6] rotavirus Gottfried strain was confirmed

  13. Germinated Brown Rice Attenuates Atherosclerosis and Vascular Inflammation in Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Knockout Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Ruozhi; Ghazzawi, Nora; Wu, Jiansu; Le, Khuong; Li, Chunyang; Moghadasian, Mohammed H; Siow, Yaw L; Apea-Bah, Franklin B; Beta, Trust; Yin, Zhengfeng; Shen, Garry X

    2018-05-02

    The present study investigates the impact of germinated brown rice (GBR) on atherosclerosis and the underlying mechanism in low-density lipoprotein receptor-knockout (LDLr-KO) mice. The intensity of atherosclerosis in aortas of LDLr-KO mice receiving diet supplemented with 60% GBR (weight/weight) was significantly less than that in mice fed with 60% white rice (WR) or control diet ( p mice fed with WR diet was significantly more than that from mice receiving the control diet ( p mice in comparison to the WR diet ( p mice compared to WR. The anti-atherosclerotic effect of GBR in LDLr-KO mice at least in part results from its anti-inflammatory activity.

  14. Fine mapping of dominant X-linked incompatibility alleles in Drosophila hybrids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matute, Daniel R; Gavin-Smyth, Jackie

    2014-04-01

    Sex chromosomes have a large effect on reproductive isolation and play an important role in hybrid inviability. In Drosophila hybrids, X-linked genes have pronounced deleterious effects on fitness in male hybrids, which have only one X chromosome. Several studies have succeeded at locating and identifying recessive X-linked alleles involved in hybrid inviability. Nonetheless, the density of dominant X-linked alleles involved in interspecific hybrid viability remains largely unknown. In this report, we study the effects of a panel of small fragments of the D. melanogaster X-chromosome carried on the D. melanogaster Y-chromosome in three kinds of hybrid males: D. melanogaster/D. santomea, D. melanogaster/D. simulans and D. melanogaster/D. mauritiana. D. santomea and D. melanogaster diverged over 10 million years ago, while D. simulans (and D. mauritiana) diverged from D. melanogaster over 3 million years ago. We find that the X-chromosome from D. melanogaster carries dominant alleles that are lethal in mel/san, mel/sim, and mel/mau hybrids, and more of these alleles are revealed in the most divergent cross. We then compare these effects on hybrid viability with two D. melanogaster intraspecific crosses. Unlike the interspecific crosses, we found no X-linked alleles that cause lethality in intraspecific crosses. Our results reveal the existence of dominant alleles on the X-chromosome of D. melanogaster which cause lethality in three different interspecific hybrids. These alleles only cause inviability in hybrid males, yet have little effect in hybrid females. This suggests that X-linked elements that cause hybrid inviability in males might not do so in hybrid females due to differing sex chromosome interactions.

  15. Estimating and testing the effect of allelic recombination on the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Jane

    2011-01-21

    Jan 21, 2011 ... The significance of the correlation coefficient as well as the fitted regression model was obtained using. Analysis of Variance method. Key words: Allele, genotype, regression, correlation, F-ratio, analysis of variance. INTRODUCTION .... while if the allelic replacement is being made on an Aa individual the ...

  16. Comparative frequency and allelic distribution of ABO and Rh (D ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Allelic distribution of major blood groups (ABO and rhesus) has not been defined in Bangladeshi population. Determinants of blood group frequency in this region have not been studied properly. Aim: To determine ABO and rhesus blood group frequency and allelic distribution in a multiethnic area of ...

  17. Allelic Variation of Risk for Anxiety Symptoms Moderates the Relation Between Adolescent Safety Behaviors and Social Anxiety Symptoms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Sarah A.; Weeks, Justin W.; Dougherty, Lea R.; Lipton, Melanie F.; Daruwala, Samantha E.; Kline, Kathryn

    2015-01-01

    Social anxiety often develops in adolescence, and precedes the onset of depression and substance use disorders. The link between social anxiety and use of behaviors to minimize distress in social situations (i.e., safety behaviors) is strong and for some patients, this link poses difficulty for engaging in, and benefiting from, exposure-based treatment. Yet, little is known about whether individual differences may moderate links between social anxiety and safety behaviors, namely variations in genetic alleles germane to anxiety. We examined the relation between adolescent social anxiety and expressions of safety behaviors, and whether allelic variation for anxiety moderates this relation. Adolescents (n=75; ages 14–17) were recruited from two larger studies investigating measurement of family relationships or adolescent social anxiety. Adolescents completed self-report measures about social anxiety symptoms and use of safety behaviors. They also provided saliva samples to assess allelic variations for anxiety from two genetic polymorphisms (BDNF rs6265; TAQ1A rs1800497). Controlling for adolescent age and gender, we observed a significant interaction between social anxiety symptoms and allelic variation (β=0.37, t=2.41, p=.02). Specifically, adolescents carrying allelic variations for anxiety evidenced a statistically significant and relatively strong positive relation between social anxiety symptoms and safety behaviors (β=0.73), whereas adolescents not carrying allelic variation evidenced a statistically non-significant and relatively weak relation (β=0.22). These findings have important implications for treating adolescent social anxiety, in that we identified an individual difference variable that can be used to identify people who evidence a particularly strong link between use of safety behaviors and expressing social anxiety. PMID:26692635

  18. On coding genotypes for genetic markers with multiple alleles in genetic association study of quantitative traits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Tao

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In genetic association study of quantitative traits using F∞ models, how to code the marker genotypes and interpret the model parameters appropriately is important for constructing hypothesis tests and making statistical inferences. Currently, the coding of marker genotypes in building F∞ models has mainly focused on the biallelic case. A thorough work on the coding of marker genotypes and interpretation of model parameters for F∞ models is needed especially for genetic markers with multiple alleles. Results In this study, we will formulate F∞ genetic models under various regression model frameworks and introduce three genotype coding schemes for genetic markers with multiple alleles. Starting from an allele-based modeling strategy, we first describe a regression framework to model the expected genotypic values at given markers. Then, as extension from the biallelic case, we introduce three coding schemes for constructing fully parameterized one-locus F∞ models and discuss the relationships between the model parameters and the expected genotypic values. Next, under a simplified modeling framework for the expected genotypic values, we consider several reduced one-locus F∞ models from the three coding schemes on the estimability and interpretation of their model parameters. Finally, we explore some extensions of the one-locus F∞ models to two loci. Several fully parameterized as well as reduced two-locus F∞ models are addressed. Conclusions The genotype coding schemes provide different ways to construct F∞ models for association testing of multi-allele genetic markers with quantitative traits. Which coding scheme should be applied depends on how convenient it can provide the statistical inferences on the parameters of our research interests. Based on these F∞ models, the standard regression model fitting tools can be used to estimate and test for various genetic effects through statistical contrasts with the

  19. Genomic Features That Predict Allelic Imbalance in Humans Suggest Patterns of Constraint on Gene Expression Variation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fédrigo, Olivier; Haygood, Ralph; Mukherjee, Sayan; Wray, Gregory A.

    2009-01-01

    Variation in gene expression is an important contributor to phenotypic diversity within and between species. Although this variation often has a genetic component, identification of the genetic variants driving this relationship remains challenging. In particular, measurements of gene expression usually do not reveal whether the genetic basis for any observed variation lies in cis or in trans to the gene, a distinction that has direct relevance to the physical location of the underlying genetic variant, and which may also impact its evolutionary trajectory. Allelic imbalance measurements identify cis-acting genetic effects by assaying the relative contribution of the two alleles of a cis-regulatory region to gene expression within individuals. Identification of patterns that predict commonly imbalanced genes could therefore serve as a useful tool and also shed light on the evolution of cis-regulatory variation itself. Here, we show that sequence motifs, polymorphism levels, and divergence levels around a gene can be used to predict commonly imbalanced genes in a human data set. Reduction of this feature set to four factors revealed that only one factor significantly differentiated between commonly imbalanced and nonimbalanced genes. We demonstrate that these results are consistent between the original data set and a second published data set in humans obtained using different technical and statistical methods. Finally, we show that variation in the single allelic imbalance-associated factor is partially explained by the density of genes in the region of a target gene (allelic imbalance is less probable for genes in gene-dense regions), and, to a lesser extent, the evenness of expression of the gene across tissues and the magnitude of negative selection on putative regulatory regions of the gene. These results suggest that the genomic distribution of functional cis-regulatory variants in the human genome is nonrandom, perhaps due to local differences in evolutionary

  20. Pleiotropic Associations of Allelic Variants in a 2q22 Region with Risks of Major Human Diseases and Mortality.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander M Kulminski

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Gaining insights into genetic predisposition to age-related diseases and lifespan is a challenging task complicated by the elusive role of evolution in these phenotypes. To gain more insights, we combined methods of genome-wide and candidate-gene studies. Genome-wide scan in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC Study (N = 9,573 was used to pre-select promising loci. Candidate-gene methods were used to comprehensively analyze associations of novel uncommon variants in Caucasians (minor allele frequency~2.5% located in band 2q22.3 with risks of coronary heart disease (CHD, heart failure (HF, stroke, diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases (ND, and mortality in the ARIC study, the Framingham Heart Study (N = 4,434, and the Health and Retirement Study (N = 9,676. We leveraged the analyses of pleiotropy, age-related heterogeneity, and causal inferences. Meta-analysis of the results from these comprehensive analyses shows that the minor allele increases risks of death by about 50% (p = 4.6×10-9, CHD by 35% (p = 8.9×10-6, HF by 55% (p = 9.7×10-5, stroke by 25% (p = 4.0×10-2, and ND by 100% (p = 1.3×10-3. This allele also significantly influences each of two diseases, diabetes and cancer, in antagonistic fashion in different populations. Combined significance of the pleiotropic effects was p = 6.6×10-21. Causal mediation analyses show that endophenotypes explained only small fractions of these effects. This locus harbors an evolutionary conserved gene-desert region with non-coding intergenic sequences likely involved in regulation of protein-coding flanking genes ZEB2 and ACVR2A. This region is intensively studied for mutations causing severe developmental/genetic disorders. Our analyses indicate a promising target region for interventions aimed to reduce risks of many major human diseases and mortality.

  1. GACT: a Genome build and Allele definition Conversion Tool for SNP imputation and meta-analysis in genetic association studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sulovari, Arvis; Li, Dawei

    2014-07-19

    Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified genes associated with complex human diseases. Although much of the heritability remains unexplained, combining single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotypes from multiple studies for meta-analysis will increase the statistical power to identify new disease-associated variants. Meta-analysis requires same allele definition (nomenclature) and genome build among individual studies. Similarly, imputation, commonly-used prior to meta-analysis, requires the same consistency. However, the genotypes from various GWAS are generated using different genotyping platforms, arrays or SNP-calling approaches, resulting in use of different genome builds and allele definitions. Incorrect assumptions of identical allele definition among combined GWAS lead to a large portion of discarded genotypes or incorrect association findings. There is no published tool that predicts and converts among all major allele definitions. In this study, we have developed a tool, GACT, which stands for Genome build and Allele definition Conversion Tool, that predicts and inter-converts between any of the common SNP allele definitions and between the major genome builds. In addition, we assessed several factors that may affect imputation quality, and our results indicated that inclusion of singletons in the reference had detrimental effects while ambiguous SNPs had no measurable effect. Unexpectedly, exclusion of genotypes with missing rate > 0.001 (40% of study SNPs) showed no significant decrease of imputation quality (even significantly higher when compared to the imputation with singletons in the reference), especially for rare SNPs. GACT is a new, powerful, and user-friendly tool with both command-line and interactive online versions that can accurately predict, and convert between any of the common allele definitions and between genome builds for genome-wide meta-analysis and imputation of genotypes from SNP-arrays or deep

  2. pfmdr1 Amplification and Fixation of pfcrt Chloroquine Resistance Alleles in Plasmodium falciparum in Venezuela ▿ †

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffing, Sean; Syphard, Luke; Sridaran, Sankar; McCollum, Andrea M.; Mixson-Hayden, Tonya; Vinayak, Sumiti; Villegas, Leopoldo; Barnwell, John W.; Escalante, Ananias A.; Udhayakumar, Venkatachalam

    2010-01-01

    Molecular tools are valuable for determining evolutionary history and the prevalence of drug-resistant malaria parasites. These tools have helped to predict decreased sensitivity to antimalarials and fixation of multidrug resistance genotypes in some regions. In order to assess how historical drug policies impacted Plasmodium falciparum in Venezuela, we examined molecular changes in genes associated with drug resistance. We examined pfmdr1 and pfcrt in samples from Sifontes, Venezuela, and integrated our findings with earlier work describing dhfr and dhps in these samples. We characterized pfmdr1 genotypes and copy number variation, pfcrt genotypes, and proximal microsatellites in 93 samples originating from surveillance from 2003 to 2004. Multicopy pfmdr1 was found in 12% of the samples. Two pfmdr1 alleles, Y184F/N1042D/D1246Y (37%) and Y184F/S1034C/N1042D/D1246Y (63%), were found. These alleles share ancestry, and no evidence of strong selective pressure on mutations was found. pfcrt chloroquine resistance alleles are fixed with two alleles: StctVMNT (91%) and SagtVMNT (9%). These alleles are associated with strong selection. There was also an association between pfcrt, pfmdr1, dhfr, and dhps genotypes/haplotypes. Duplication of pfmdr1 suggests a potential shift in mefloquine sensitivity in this region, which warrants further study. A bottleneck occurred in P. falciparum in Sifontes, Venezuela, and multidrug resistance genotypes are present. This population could be targeted for malaria elimination programs to prevent the possible spread of multidrug-resistant parasites. PMID:20145087

  3. Low Penetrance Alleles in Colorectal Cancer: the arachidonic acid pathway

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C.L.E. Siezen

    2006-01-01

    textabstractIn summary, we can conclude that we have successfully identified low penetrance alleles in the PPAR., PLA2G2A and ALOX15 genes, conferring differential colorectal adenoma risk, and two such alleles in the PTGS2 gene, one of which is also involved in colorectal cancer risk. These

  4. A case-control study on the combined effects of p53 and p73 polymorphisms on head and neck cancer risk in an Italian population

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gallì, Paola; Boccia, Stefania; Cadoni, Gabriella; Volante, Mariangela; De Feo, Emma; Amore, Rosarita; Giorgio, Arianna; Arzani, Dario; Paludetti, Gaetano; Ricciardi, Gualtiero

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to analyze the combined effects of selected p53 and p73 polymorphisms and their interaction with lifestyle habits on squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) risk and progression in an Italian population. Two hundred and eighty-three cases and 295 hospital controls were genotyped for p53 polymorphisms on exon 4 (Arg72Pro), intron 3 and 6, and p73 G4C14-to-A4T14. Their association with SCCHN was estimated using a logistic regression analysis, while a multinomial logistic regression approach was applied to calculate the effect of the selected polymorphisms on SCCHN different sites (oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx). We performed an haplotype analysis of the p53 polymorphisms, and a gene-gene interaction analysis for the combined effects of p73 G4C14-to-A4T14 and p53 polymorphisms. We found a significant increased risk of SCCHN among individuals with combined p73 exon 2 G4A and p53 intron 3 variant alleles (OR = 2.22, 95% CI: 1.08–4.56), and a protective effect for those carrying the p53 exon 4-p53 intron 6 diplotype combination (OR = 0.67; 95% CI: 0.47–0.92). From the gene-environment interaction analysis we found that individuals aged < 45 years carrying p73 exon 2 G4A variant allele have a 12.85-increased risk of SCCHN (95% CI: 2.10–78.74) compared with persons of the same age with the homozygous wild type genotype. Improved survival rate was observed among p53 intron 6 variant allele carriers (Hazard Ratio = 0.51 (95% CI: 0.23–1.16). Our study provides for the first time evidence that individuals carrying p53 exon 4 and p53 intron 6 variant alleles are significantly protected against SCCHN, and also shows that an additional risk is conferred by the combination of p73 exon 2 G4C14-to-A4T14 and p53 intron 3 variant allele. Larger studies are required to confirm these findings

  5. Genotype and allelic frequencies of CYP2E1*5B polymorphism in the southwest population of Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatemeh Zanganeh

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1 is a main enzyme which plays a major role in activating and detoxifying many xenobiotics, carcinogens and drugs. Available studies suggest that CYP2E1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs are involved in the risk of developing certain cancers after exposure to carcinogens. The purpose of the present study was to assess genotype and allele frequencies of polymorphic CYP2E1*5B in the Iranian population. Material and Methods: This study was performed on 200 healthy individuals (female: 100, male: 100 in medical laboratories of Ahvaz during 2011. The CYP2E1 *5B (rs3813867 G-1293C assessment was carried out using PCR-RFLP method. The data were analyzed with ĸ2 and hardy-Weinberg Equation statistically methods. Results: The frequency of *1A/*1A (c1/c1, *1A/*5B (c1/c2 and *5B/*5B (c2/c2 genotypes was computed 97, 3 and 0 percent, respectively. The frequency of *1A (c1 and *5B (c2 alleles was computed 98.5 and 1.5 percent, respectively. No statistically significant difference was between two genders (p>0.05. Conclusion: The genotype distribution and allele frequencies of CYP2E1*5B polymorphism were similar to Turkish and some of the European populations. However, there are significant interethnic differences when the Iranian population is compared with the Eastern Asian, American and some of the European populations. The allelic distribution of this polymorphism did not vary with gender.

  6. Beach Point Test Site, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Edgewood Area, Maryland. Focused Feasibility Study, Final Project Work Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    1993-10-01

    Evialuatihwoat VMIOIU EMueat and Sidi .adroMe" ftae Cooamrnderg Sedimentnby CW4rChm liftwu m5 at o wTO &* MIVdLW* aInv0 .Irc-gres uf Engownnuen Ul C UM& jini ...Diwa C nesgtsiSxeSdea D80413 $Pak. Od &%1wrVU AST1W r. OP 976 pp 4%,J,. (US) We"h IN. WI ADMet. P. R.. a&W GAO &di 0. J.. -PankdeSiu I,"l.r r.r I Ah~abY

  7. Distinct Niemann-Pick Disease Type C Clinical, Cytological, and Biochemical Phenotype in an Adult Patient With 1 Mutated, Overexpressed Allele

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia Jecel MD

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Niemann-Pick disease type C (NP-C is a rare autosomal-recessive neurovisceral lysosomal storage disease. We report on a juvenile onset, now 25-year-old female patient with typical neurologic symptoms, including vertical gaze palsy, of NP-C. The diagnosis was supported by a positive filipin test (“variant biochemical phenotype” of cholesterol accumulation in cultured fibroblasts, high numbers of “Niemann-Pick cells” in the bone marrow, and 1 positive out of 3 NP-C biomarkers tested, but NP-C was not definitely confirmed genetically. She showed only 1 known NPC1 variant (3 bp deletion in exon 18; p.N916del; this allele, however, being distinctly overexpressed at the messenger RNA level as compared to the wild-type allele, as a not as yet clarified (copathogenic? phenomenon. The patient’s mother, also carrying the p.N916del allele but without overexpression, has a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system classified as multiple sclerosis. However, her severe clinical phenotype includes some signs also consistent with NP-C. The laboratory diagnosis of NP-C can be challenging in detecting novel disease constellations.

  8. The derived allele of ASPM is associated with lexical tone perception.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick C M Wong

    Full Text Available The ASPM and MCPH1 genes have been implicated in the adaptive evolution of the human brain [Mekel-Bobrov N. et al., 2005. Ongoing adaptive evolution of ASPM, a brain size determinant in homo sapiens. Science 309; Evans P.D. et al., 2005. Microcephalin, a gene regulating brain size, continues to evolve adaptively in humans. Science 309]. Curiously, experimental attempts have failed to connect the implicated SNPs in these genes with higher-level brain functions. These results stand in contrast with a population-level study linking the population frequency of their alleles with the tendency to use lexical tones in a language [Dediu D., Ladd D.R., 2007. Linguistic tone is related to the population frequency of the adaptive haplogroups of two brain size genes, ASPM and microcephalin. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104]. In the present study, we found a significant correlation between the load of the derived alleles of ASPM and tone perception in a group of European Americans who did not speak a tone language. Moreover, preliminary results showed a significant correlation between ASPM load and hemodynamic responses to lexical tones in the auditory cortex, and such correlation remained after phonemic awareness, auditory working memory, and non-verbal IQ were controlled. As in previous studies, no significant correlation between ASPM and cognitive measures were found. MCPH1 did not correlate with any measures. These results suggest that the association between the recently derived allele of ASPM is likely to be specific and is tied to higher level brain functions in the temporal cortex related to human communication.

  9. Cytotoxic T lymphocyte-Associated Antigen +49G Variant Confers Risk for Anti-CCP- and Rheumatoid Factor-Positive Type of Rheumatoid Arthritis Only in Combination with CT60∗G Allele

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernadett Farago

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Controversial observations have been published on the association of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen gene's variants with rheumatoid arthritis (RA. After genotyping 428 patients and 230 matched controls, the prevalence of the CT60∗G allele was more frequent in RF- and/or anti-CCP-seropositive RApatients, compared to the healthy controls (P<.001. Regression analysis revealed that the CT60∗G allele is a possible predisposing factor for RA in these subgroups. No accumulation of the +49∗G allele was found among patients, and this variant was not found to correlate with RA. Assaying the possible genotype variations, the +49∗G-CT60∗G allelic combination was accumulated in seropositive RA-subtypes, and was associated with the risk of RA (OR=1.73, P=.001 for the whole RA-population. Although the +49∗G allele did not mean a predisposition to RA alone, in combination with CT60∗G it, also conferred risk, suggesting that the +49A/G variant is associated with the risk of RA only in certain haplotypes.

  10. Semiparametric Allelic Tests for Mapping Multiple Phenotypes: Binomial Regression and Mahalanobis Distance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majumdar, Arunabha; Witte, John S; Ghosh, Saurabh

    2015-12-01

    Binary phenotypes commonly arise due to multiple underlying quantitative precursors and genetic variants may impact multiple traits in a pleiotropic manner. Hence, simultaneously analyzing such correlated traits may be more powerful than analyzing individual traits. Various genotype-level methods, e.g., MultiPhen (O'Reilly et al. []), have been developed to identify genetic factors underlying a multivariate phenotype. For univariate phenotypes, the usefulness and applicability of allele-level tests have been investigated. The test of allele frequency difference among cases and controls is commonly used for mapping case-control association. However, allelic methods for multivariate association mapping have not been studied much. In this article, we explore two allelic tests of multivariate association: one using a Binomial regression model based on inverted regression of genotype on phenotype (Binomial regression-based Association of Multivariate Phenotypes [BAMP]), and the other employing the Mahalanobis distance between two sample means of the multivariate phenotype vector for two alleles at a single-nucleotide polymorphism (Distance-based Association of Multivariate Phenotypes [DAMP]). These methods can incorporate both discrete and continuous phenotypes. Some theoretical properties for BAMP are studied. Using simulations, the power of the methods for detecting multivariate association is compared with the genotype-level test MultiPhen's. The allelic tests yield marginally higher power than MultiPhen for multivariate phenotypes. For one/two binary traits under recessive mode of inheritance, allelic tests are found to be substantially more powerful. All three tests are applied to two different real data and the results offer some support for the simulation study. We propose a hybrid approach for testing multivariate association that implements MultiPhen when Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) is violated and BAMP otherwise, because the allelic approaches assume HWE

  11. [Analysis of allele dropout at TH01 locus in paternity testing].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Li; Shen, Xiao-li; Xue, Shi-jie; Hu, Jie

    2013-10-01

    To analyze allele dropout at TH01 locus in paternity testing in order to determine the accurate genotype. To use a two STR loci genotyping system to verify an abnormal genotype for the TH01 locus with PCR using specific primers, cloning and DNA sequencing. A rare allele at TH01 locus named 5.2, which was undetectable with PowerPlex 21 system, was detected with an Identifiler system. Genetic variations may result in rare alleles and loci loss. To avoid misjudgment, laboratories should have a variety of methods for detecting loci loss.

  12. Age, gender, and cancer but not neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases strongly modulate systemic effect of the Apolipoprotein E4 allele on lifespan

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kulminski, Alexander M; Arbeev, Konstantin G; Culminskaya, Irina

    2014-01-01

    cohorts and the Long Life Family Study (LLFS) to investigate gender-specific effects of the ApoE4 allele on human survival in a wide range of ages from midlife to extreme old ages, and the sensitivity of these effects to cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders (ND.......6 × 10(-6)) in the FHS cohorts. Major human diseases including CVD, ND, and cancer, whose risks can be sensitive to the e4 allele, do not mediate the association of this allele with lifespan in large FHS samples. Non-skin cancer non-additively increases mortality of the FHS women with moderate lifespans...... by 150% (p = 5.3 × 10(-8)) compared to the non-carriers. This risk explains the 4.2 year shorter life expectancy of the e4 carriers compared to the non-carriers in this sample. The analyses suggest the existence of age- and gender-sensitive systemic mechanisms linking the e4 allele to lifespan which can...

  13. Robust Control of Welding Robot for Tracking a Rectangular Welding Line

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manh Dung Ngo

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper highlights a welding robot (WR for its end effector to track a rectangular welding line (RWL. The WR includes five actuators which use a DC motor as a power source. Two controllers are proposed to control the WR's end effector: a main controller and a servo controller. Firstly, based on WR's kinematic equations and its feedback errors using backstepping method the main controller is proposed to design the reference-inputs for the WR's actuators in order that the WR's end effector tracks the RWL. Secondly, based on the dynamic equation of WR's actuator, the servo controller is designed using an active disturbance rejection control method. Finally, a control system incorporated with the main controller and the servo controllers make the WR's end effector robustly track a RWL in the presence of the modeling uncertainty and disturbances during the welding process. In experiment, the main controller which has a function as a master of the control system links to the five servo controllers which have a function as a slave via I2C communication. The effectiveness of the proposed control system is proven through the simulation and experimental results.

  14. Robust Control of Welding Robot for Tracking a Rectangular Welding Line

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manh Dung Ngo

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper highlights a welding robot (WR for its end effector to track a rectangular welding line (RWL. The WR includes five actuators which use a DC motor as a power source. Two controllers are proposed to control the WR's end effector: a main controller and a servo controller. Firstly, based on WR's kinematic equations and its feedback errors using backstepping method the main controller is proposed to design the reference-inputs for the WR's actuators in order that the WR's end effector tracks the RWL. Secondly, based on the dynamic equation of WR's actuator, the servo controller is designed using an active disturbance rejection control method. Finally, a control system incorporated with the main controller and the servo controllers make the WR's end effector robustly track a RWL in the presence of the modeling uncertainty and disturbances during the welding process. In experiment, the main controller which has a function as a master of the control system links to the five servo controllers which have a function as a slave via I2C communication. The effectiveness of the proposed control system is proven through the simulation and experimental results.

  15. Carriers of the Complex Allele HFE c.[187C>G;340+4T>C] Have Increased Risk of Iron Overload in São Miguel Island Population (Azores, Portugal).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Branco, Claudia C; Gomes, Cidália T; De Fez, Laura; Bulhões, Sara; Brilhante, Maria José; Pereirinha, Tânia; Cabral, Rita; Rego, Ana Catarina; Fraga, Cristina; Miguel, António G; Brasil, Gracinda; Macedo, Paula; Mota-Vieira, Luisa

    2015-01-01

    Iron overload is associated with acquired and genetic conditions, the most common being hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) type-I, caused by HFE mutations. Here, we conducted a hospital-based case-control study of 41 patients from the São Miguel Island (Azores, Portugal), six belonging to a family with HH type-I pseudodominant inheritance, and 35 unrelated individuals fulfilling the biochemical criteria of iron overload compatible with HH type-I. For this purpose, we analyzed the most common HFE mutations- c.845G>A [p.Cys282Tyr], c.187C>G [p.His63Asp], and c.193A>T [p.Ser65Cys]. Results revealed that the family's HH pseudodominant pattern is due to consanguineous marriage of HFE-c.845G>A carriers, and to marriage with a genetically unrelated spouse that is a -c.187G carrier. Regarding unrelated patients, six were homozygous for c.845A, and three were c.845A/c.187G compound heterozygous. We then performed sequencing of HFE exons 2, 4, 5 and their intron-flanking regions. No other mutations were observed, but we identified the -c.340+4C [IVS2+4C] splice variant in 26 (74.3%) patients. Functionally, the c.340+4C may generate alternative splicing by HFE exon 2 skipping and consequently, a protein missing the α1-domain essential for HFE/ transferrin receptor-1 interactions. Finally, we investigated HFE mutations configuration with iron overload by determining haplotypes and genotypic profiles. Results evidenced that carriers of HFE-c.187G allele also carry -c.340+4C, suggesting in-cis configuration. This data is corroborated by the association analysis where carriers of the complex allele HFE-c.[187C>G;340+4T>C] have an increased iron overload risk (RR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.40-2.94, poverload because they will produce two altered proteins--the p.63Asp [c.187G], and the protein lacking 88 amino acids encoded by exon 2. In summary, we provide evidence that the complex allele HFE-c.[187C>G;340+4T>C] has a role, as genetic predisposition factor, on iron overload in the S

  16. Genetic dissection of the Drosophila melanogaster female head transcriptome reveals widespread allelic heterogeneity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Elizabeth G; Sanderson, Brian J; McNeil, Casey L; Long, Anthony D; Macdonald, Stuart J

    2014-05-01

    Modern genetic mapping is plagued by the "missing heritability" problem, which refers to the discordance between the estimated heritabilities of quantitative traits and the variance accounted for by mapped causative variants. One major potential explanation for the missing heritability is allelic heterogeneity, in which there are multiple causative variants at each causative gene with only a fraction having been identified. The majority of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) implicitly assume that a single SNP can explain all the variance for a causative locus. However, if allelic heterogeneity is prevalent, a substantial amount of genetic variance will remain unexplained. In this paper, we take a haplotype-based mapping approach and quantify the number of alleles segregating at each locus using a large set of 7922 eQTL contributing to regulatory variation in the Drosophila melanogaster female head. Not only does this study provide a comprehensive eQTL map for a major community genetic resource, the Drosophila Synthetic Population Resource, but it also provides a direct test of the allelic heterogeneity hypothesis. We find that 95% of cis-eQTLs and 78% of trans-eQTLs are due to multiple alleles, demonstrating that allelic heterogeneity is widespread in Drosophila eQTL. Allelic heterogeneity likely contributes significantly to the missing heritability problem common in GWAS studies.

  17. Correlation Between HLA-A, B and DRB1 Alleles and Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shu-Jun Ding

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS is an emerging hemorrhagic fever caused by a tick-borne bunyavirus (SFTSV in East Asian countries. The role of human leukocyte antigen (HLA in resistance and susceptibility to SFTSV is not known. We investigated the correlation of HLA locus A, B and DRB1 alleles with the occurrence of SFTS.A total of 84 confirmed SFTS patients (patient group and 501 unrelated non-SFTS patients (healthy individuals as control group from Shandong Province were genotyped by PCR-sequence specific oligonucleotide probe (PCR-SSOP for HLA-A, B and DRB1 loci.Allele frequency was calculated and compared using χ2 test or the Fisher's exact test. A corrected P value was calculated with a bonferronis correction. Odds Ratio (OR and 95% confidence intervals (CI were calculated by Woolf's method.A total of 11 HLA-A, 23 HLA-B and 12 HLA-DRB1 alleles were identified in the patient group, whereas 15 HLA-A, 30 HLA-B and 13 HLA-DRB1 alleles were detected in the control group. The frequencies of A*30 and B*13 in the SFTS patient group were lower than that in the control group (P = 0.0341 and 0.0085, Pc = 0.5115 and 0.252. The ORs of A*30 and B*13 in the SFTS patient group were 0.54 and 0.49, respectively. The frequency of two-locus haplotype A*30-B*13 was lower in the patient group than in the control group(5.59% versus 12.27%, P = 0.037,OR = 0.41, 95%CI = 0.18-0.96 without significance(Pc>0.05. A*30-B*13-DRB1*07 and A*02-B*15-DRB1*04 had strong associations with SFTS resistance and susceptibility respectively (Pc = 0.0412 and 0.0001,OR = 0.43 and 5.07.The host HLA class I polymorphism might play an important role with the occurrence of SFTS. Negative associations were observed with HLA-A*30, HLA-B*13 and Haplotype A*30-B*13, although the associations were not statistically significant. A*30-B*13-DRB1*07 had negative correlation with the occurrence of SFTS; in contrast, haplotype A*02-B*15-DRB1*04 was positively correlated with SFTS.

  18. Functionally Complete Excision of Conditional Alleles in the Mouse Suprachiasmatic Nucleus by Vgat-ires-Cre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weaver, David R; van der Vinne, Vincent; Giannaris, E Lela; Vajtay, Thomas J; Holloway, Kristopher L; Anaclet, Christelle

    2018-04-01

    Mice with targeted gene disruption have provided important information about the molecular mechanisms of circadian clock function. A full understanding of the roles of circadian-relevant genes requires manipulation of their expression in a tissue-specific manner, ideally including manipulation with high efficiency within the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). To date, conditional manipulation of genes within the SCN has been difficult. In a previously developed mouse line, Cre recombinase was inserted into the vesicular GABA transporter (Vgat) locus. Since virtually all SCN neurons are GABAergic, this Vgat-Cre line seemed likely to have high efficiency at disrupting conditional alleles in SCN. To test this premise, the efficacy of Vgat-Cre in excising conditional (fl, for flanked by LoxP) alleles in the SCN was examined. Vgat-Cre-mediated excision of conditional alleles of Clock or Bmal1 led to loss of immunostaining for products of the targeted genes in the SCN. Vgat-Cre + ; Clock fl/fl ; Npas2 m/m mice and Vgat-Cre + ; Bmal1 fl/fl mice became arrhythmic immediately upon exposure to constant darkness, as expected based on the phenotype of mice in which these genes are disrupted throughout the body. The phenotype of mice with other combinations of Vgat-Cre + , conditional Clock, and mutant Npas2 alleles also resembled the corresponding whole-body knockout mice. These data indicate that the Vgat-Cre line is useful for Cre-mediated recombination within the SCN, making it useful for Cre-enabled technologies including gene disruption, gene replacement, and opto- and chemogenetic manipulation of the SCN circadian clock.

  19. Enhanced low-template DNA analysis conditions and investigation of allele dropout patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedell, Ronny; Dufva, Charlotte; Ansell, Ricky; Mostad, Petter; Hedman, Johannes

    2015-01-01

    Forensic DNA analysis applying PCR enables profiling of minute biological samples. Enhanced analysis conditions can be applied to further push the limit of detection, coming with the risk of visualising artefacts and allele imbalances. We have evaluated the consecutive increase of PCR cycles from 30 to 35 to investigate the limitations of low-template (LT) DNA analysis, applying the short tandem repeat (STR) analysis kit PowerPlex ESX 16. Mock crime scene DNA extracts of four different quantities (from around 8-84 pg) were tested. All PCR products were analysed using 5, 10 and 20 capillary electrophoresis (CE) injection seconds. Bayesian models describing allele dropout patterns, allele peak heights and heterozygote balance were developed to assess the overall improvements in EPG quality with altered PCR/CE settings. The models were also used to evaluate the impact of amplicon length, STR marker and fluorescent label on the risk for allele dropout. The allele dropout probability decreased for each PCR cycle increment from 30 to 33 PCR cycles. Irrespective of DNA amount, the dropout probability was not affected by further increasing the number of PCR cycles. For the 42 and 84 pg samples, mainly complete DNA profiles were generated applying 32 PCR cycles. For the 8 and 17 pg samples, the allele dropouts decreased from 100% using 30 cycles to about 75% and 20%, respectively. The results for 33, 34 and 35 PCR cycles indicated that heterozygote balance and stutter ratio were mainly affected by DNA amount, and not directly by PCR cycle number and CE injection settings. We found 32 and 33 PCR cycles with 10 CE injection seconds to be optimal, as 34 and 35 PCR cycles did not improve allele detection and also included CE saturation problems. We find allele dropout probability differences between several STR markers. Markers labelled with the fluorescent dyes CXR-ET (red in electropherogram) and TMR-ET (shown as black) generally have higher dropout risks compared with those

  20. Increased risk for CRC in diabetic patients with the nonrisk allele of SNPs at 8q24.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishimaru, Shinya; Mimori, Koshi; Yamamoto, Ken; Inoue, Hiroshi; Imoto, Seiya; Kawano, Shuichi; Yamaguchi, Rui; Sato, Tetsuya; Toh, Hiroyuki; Iinuma, Hisae; Maeda, Toyoki; Ishii, Hideshi; Suzuki, Sadao; Tokudome, Shinkan; Watanabe, Masahiko; Tanaka, Jun-ichi; Kudo, Shin-ei; Sugihara, Ken-ichi; Hase, Kazuo; Mochizuki, Hidetaka; Kusunoki, Masato; Yamada, Kazutaka; Shimada, Yasuhiro; Moriya, Yoshihiro; Barnard, Graham F; Miyano, Satoru; Mori, Masaki

    2012-09-01

    Colorectal cancer (CRC) oncogenesis was considered to be determined by interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Specific interacting factors that influence CRC morbidity have yet to be fully investigated. A multi-institutional collaborative study with 1511 CRC patients and 2098 control subjects was used to compare the odds ratios for the occurrence of polymorphisms at 11 known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). TaqMan PCR and questionnaires were used to evaluate the effects of environmental exposures. Variants of rs6983267 on 8q24 were the most significant markers of risk for CRC (odds ratio 1.16, 95% confidence interval 1.06-1.27, P = 0.0015). Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (DM), a higher body mass index at age 20, and meat consumption were environmental risk factors, whereas a tuna-rich diet and vitamin intake were protective factors. The cohort of rs6983267 SNP major (T) allele at 8q24 and DM had a 1.66-fold higher risk ratio than the cohort of major allele patients without DM. We confirmed that interactions between the genetic background and environmental factors are associated with increased risk for CRC. There is a robust risk of the minor G allele at the 8q24 rs6983267 SNP; however, a major T allele SNP could more clearly reveal a correlation with CRC specifically when DM is present.

  1. Factors responsible for the patchy distribution of natural soil water repellency in Mediterranean semiarid forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lozano, E.; Jiménez-Pinilla, P.; Mataix-Solera, J.; González-Pérez, J. A.; García-Orenes, F.; Torres, M. P.; Arcenegui, V.; Mataix-Beneyto, J.

    2012-04-01

    Soil water repellency (WR) is commonly observed in forest areas showing wettable and water repellent patches with high spatial variability. This has important hydrological implications; in semiarid areas where water supply is limited, even slight WR may play an important role in infiltration patterns and distribution of water into the soil (Mataix-Solera et al., 2007). It has been proposed that the origin of WR is the release of organic compounds from different plants species and sources (due to waxes and other organic substances in their tissues; Doerr et al., 1998). However, the relationship between WR and plants may not always be a direct one: a group of fungi (mainly mycorrhizal fungi) and microorganisms could be also responsible for WR. The aim of this research is to study the relationships between WR in soils under different plant cover with selected soil properties and the quantity of fungi and their exudates. The study area is located in Southeast Spain, "Sierra de la Taja" near Pinoso (Alicante)), with a semiarid Mediterranean climate (Pm=260mm). Samples were taken in September 2011, when WR is normally strongest after summer drought. Soil samples were collected from the first 2.5cm of the mineral A horizon at microsites beneath each of the four most representative species (Pinus halepensis, Rosmarinus officinalis, Quercus. rotundifolia and Cistus albidus; n=15 per specie) and 5 samples from bare soil with no influence of any species. Different soil parameters were analyzed; water content, soil organic mater content (SOM), pH, WR, easily extractable glomalin (EEG), total mycelium and extractable lipids. The occurrence of WR was higher under P. halepensis (87% of samples) and Q. rotundifolia (60% of samples). Positive significant correlations were found between WR and SOM content for all species, with the best correlations for Pinus and Quercus (r=0.855**, r= 0.934** respectively). In addition, negative significant correlations were found between WR and p

  2. Effects of CCR5-Delta32, CCR2-64I, and SDF-1 3'A alleles on HIV-1 disease progression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ioannidis, J P; Rosenberg, P S; Goedert, J J

    2001-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Studies relating certain chemokine and chemokine receptor gene alleles with the outcome of HIV-1 infection have yielded inconsistent results. OBJECTIVE: To examine postulated associations of genetic alleles with HIV-1 disease progression. DESIGN: Meta-analysis of individual-patient data....... SETTING: 19 prospective cohort studies and case-control studies from the United States, Europe, and Australia. PATIENTS: Patients with HIV-1 infection who were of European or African descent. MEASUREMENTS: Time to AIDS, death, and death after AIDS and HIV-1 RNA level at study entry or soon after...... (relative hazard among seroconverters, 0.64 and 0.74; P HIV-1 RNA levels after seroconversion (difference, -0.18 log(10) copies/mL and -0.14 log(10) copies/mL; P

  3. The allele frequency of two single nucleotide polymorphisms in the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene in the Taiwanese population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Wen-Chung; Chen, Hui-Ju; Shu, Wei-Pang; Tsai, Yi-Chang; Lai, Yen-Chein

    2011-10-01

    The von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene located on chromosome 3p25-26 is implicated in VHL disease. Two informative single nucleotide polymorphisms are at positions 19 and 1149 on the nucleotide sequence from Gene Bank NM_000551. In this study we examined the allele frequencies at these two loci in the Taiwanese population and compared the results to those from European ethnic populations. The allele frequency was examined in 616 healthy individuals including 301 university students and 315 neonates. Both A/G polymorphisms were investigated using restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis created by restriction enzymes, BsaJ I and Acc I. Among these subjects, the allele frequencies at 19 SNP and 1149 SNP for variant G were 0.130 and 0.133, respectively. And these results were significant differences from those of the Caucasian populations. In addition, 90% of the tested subjects had identical genotypes at these two loci suggesting the existence of nonrandom association of alleles. We found that the G allele frequency at these two loci in the Taiwanese population is much lower than that in people from Western countries. This phenomenon may be attributed to ethnic effects. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  4. Genome-wide survey of allele-specific splicing in humans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scheffler Konrad

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Accurate mRNA splicing depends on multiple regulatory signals encoded in the transcribed RNA sequence. Many examples of mutations within human splice regulatory regions that alter splicing qualitatively or quantitatively have been reported and allelic differences in mRNA splicing are likely to be a common and important source of phenotypic diversity at the molecular level, in addition to their contribution to genetic disease susceptibility. However, because the effect of a mutation on the efficiency of mRNA splicing is often difficult to predict, many mutations that cause disease through an effect on splicing are likely to remain undiscovered. Results We have combined a genome-wide scan for sequence polymorphisms likely to affect mRNA splicing with analysis of publicly available Expressed Sequence Tag (EST and exon array data. The genome-wide scan uses published tools and identified 30,977 SNPs located within donor and acceptor splice sites, branch points and exonic splicing enhancer elements. For 1,185 candidate splicing polymorphisms the difference in splicing between alternative alleles was corroborated by publicly available exon array data from 166 lymphoblastoid cell lines. We developed a novel probabilistic method to infer allele-specific splicing from EST data. The method uses SNPs and alternative mRNA isoforms mapped to EST sequences and models both regulated alternative splicing as well as allele-specific splicing. We have also estimated heritability of splicing and report that a greater proportion of genes show evidence of splicing heritability than show heritability of overall gene expression level. Our results provide an extensive resource that can be used to assess the possible effect on splicing of human polymorphisms in putative splice-regulatory sites. Conclusion We report a set of genes showing evidence of allele-specific splicing from an integrated analysis of genomic polymorphisms, EST data and exon array

  5. Chimerism representing both paternal alleles detected by HLA typing before kidney transplantation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Mette; Petersen, Mikkel Steen; Møller, Bjarne Kuno

    2014-01-01

    trisomy 6p or by chimerism. Flow cytometric analysis, employing antibodies specific for the two paternal HLA-A alleles, clearly showed two distinct populations of cells: 83% expressing HLA-A11 and 12% expressing HLA-A2, suggesting a paternal chimerism. We are studying these cell populations to possibly...... identify the mechanism behind this rather unusual paternally derived chimerism. This exceptional case illustrates that careful scrutiny of HLA-typing results may produce atypical conclusions. Clinically, the father is considered the best donor based on immunogenetics....

  6. Segregation of male-sterility alleles across a species boundary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weller, S G; Sakai, A K; Culley, T M; Duong, L; Danielson, R E

    2014-02-01

    Hybrid zones may serve as bridges permitting gene flow between species, including alleles influencing the evolution of breeding systems. Using greenhouse crosses, we assessed the likelihood that a hybrid zone could serve as a conduit for transfer of nuclear male-sterility alleles between a gynodioecious species and a hermaphroditic species with very rare females in some populations. Segregation patterns in progeny of crosses between rare females of hermaphroditic Schiedea menziesii and hermaphroditic plants of gynodioecious Schiedea salicaria heterozygous at the male-sterility locus, and between female S. salicaria and hermaphroditic plants from the hybrid zone, were used to determine whether male-sterility was controlled at the same locus in the parental species and the hybrid zone. Segregations of females and hermaphrodites in approximately equal ratios from many of the crosses indicate that the same nuclear male-sterility allele occurs in the parent species and the hybrid zone. These rare male-sterility alleles in S. menziesii may result from gene flow from S. salicaria through the hybrid zone, presumably facilitated by wind pollination in S. salicaria. Alternatively, rare male-sterility alleles might result from a reversal from gynodioecy to hermaphroditism in S. menziesii, or possibly de novo evolution of male sterility. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that some species of Schiedea have probably evolved separate sexes independently, but not in the lineage containing S. salicaria and S. menziesii. High levels of selfing and expression of strong inbreeding depression in S. menziesii, which together should favour females in populations, argue against a reversal from gynodioecy to hermaphroditism in S. menziesii. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2014 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

  7. Deleterious alleles in the human genome are on average younger than neutral alleles of the same frequency

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kiezun, Adam; Pulit, Sara L.; Francioli, Laurent C.; van Dijk, Freerk; Swertz, Morris; Boomsma, Dorret I.; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; Slagboom, P. Eline; van Ommen, G. J. B.; Wijmenga, Cisca; de Bakker, Paul I. W.; Sunyaev, Shamil R.

    Large-scale population sequencing studies provide a complete picture of human genetic variation within the studied populations. A key challenge is to identify, among the myriad alleles, those variants that have an effect on molecular function, phenotypes, and reproductive fitness. Most non-neutral

  8. TNF-α -308 A allele is associated with an increased risk of distant metastasis in rectal cancer patients from Southwestern China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhen Li

    Full Text Available Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α, an important factor in systematic inflammation, is reportedly involved in several cancer types. The TNF-α -308 G>A (rs1800629 polymorphism in the promoter region influences TNF-α production. The association between TNF-α -308 G>A polymorphism and colorectal cancer (CRC is not fully understood, especially the connections between TNF-α -308 G>A polymorphism and clinical features of CRC. In this study, TNF-α -308 G>A polymorphism was genotyped in 1140 individuals with or without CRC from Southwestern China. In case-control studies, we found no association between TNF-α -308 G>A polymorphism and CRC risk. Analysis of the correlations between TNF-α -308 G>A polymorphism and clinical features of CRC revealed that TNF-α -308 A allele was associated with higher body mass index (BMI larger tumor size, and distant tumor metastasis in all CRC patients. Notably, rectal cancer (a subtype of CRC patients with TNF-α -308 A allele had a very high risk of distant tumor metastasis [odds ratio (OR = 4.481; 95% confidence interval (CI: 2.072-9.693; P = 0.00025]. The association between TNF-α -308 A allele and distant tumor metastasis remained even significant after adjusting all clinical characteristics (OR = 7.099; 95% CI: 2.482-20.301; P = 0.000256 in rectal cancer patients. Our results suggested that TNF-α -308 A allele was significantly associated with distant tumor metastasis in rectal cancer patients.

  9. Allele frequency distribution for 21 autosomal STR loci in Nepal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraaijenbrink, T; van Driem, G L; Opgenort, J R M L; Tuladhar, N M; de Knijff, P

    2007-05-24

    The allele frequency distributions of 21 autosomal loci contained in the AmpFlSTR Identifiler, the Powerplex 16 and the FFFL multiplex PCR kits, was studied in 953 unrelated individuals from Nepal. Several new alleles (i.e. not yet reported in the NIST Short Tandem Repeat DNA Internet DataBase [http://www.cstl.nist.gov/biotech/strbase/]) have been detected in the process.

  10. Genetic dissection of the Drosophila melanogaster female head transcriptome reveals widespread allelic heterogeneity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth G King

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Modern genetic mapping is plagued by the "missing heritability" problem, which refers to the discordance between the estimated heritabilities of quantitative traits and the variance accounted for by mapped causative variants. One major potential explanation for the missing heritability is allelic heterogeneity, in which there are multiple causative variants at each causative gene with only a fraction having been identified. The majority of genome-wide association studies (GWAS implicitly assume that a single SNP can explain all the variance for a causative locus. However, if allelic heterogeneity is prevalent, a substantial amount of genetic variance will remain unexplained. In this paper, we take a haplotype-based mapping approach and quantify the number of alleles segregating at each locus using a large set of 7922 eQTL contributing to regulatory variation in the Drosophila melanogaster female head. Not only does this study provide a comprehensive eQTL map for a major community genetic resource, the Drosophila Synthetic Population Resource, but it also provides a direct test of the allelic heterogeneity hypothesis. We find that 95% of cis-eQTLs and 78% of trans-eQTLs are due to multiple alleles, demonstrating that allelic heterogeneity is widespread in Drosophila eQTL. Allelic heterogeneity likely contributes significantly to the missing heritability problem common in GWAS studies.

  11. CYP21A2 polymorphisms in patients with autoimmune Addison's disease, and linkage disequilibrium to HLA risk alleles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brønstad, Ingeborg; Skinningsrud, Beate; Bratland, Eirik; Løvås, Kristian; Undlien, Dag; Sverre Husebye, Eystein; Wolff, Anette Susanne Bøe

    2014-12-01

    Steroid 21-hydroxylase, encoded by CYP21A2, is the major autoantigen in autoimmune Addison's disease (AAD). CYP21A2 is located in the region of the HLA complex on chromosome 6p21.3, which harbours several risk alleles for AAD. The objective was to investigate whether CYP21A2 gene variants confer risk of AAD independently of other risk alleles in the HLA loci. DNA samples from 381 Norwegian patients with AAD and 340 healthy controls (HC) previously genotyped for the HLA-A, -B, -DRB1, and -DQB1 and MICA loci were used for genotyping of CYP21A2. Genotyping of CYP21A2 was carried out by direct sequencing. Linkage of CYP21A2 to the HLA loci was assessed using UNPHASED version 3.0.10 and PHASE version 2.1. Heterozygotes of the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs397515394, rs6467, rs6474, rs76565726 and rs6473 were detected significantly more frequently in AAD patients compared with HC (P<0.005), but all SNPs were in a linkage disequilibrium (LD) with high-risk HLA-DRB1 haplotypes. rs6472C protected against AAD (odds ratio=0.15, 95% CI (0.08-0.30), P=3.8×10(-10)). This SNP was not in an LD with HLA loci (P=0.02), but did not increase protection when considering the effect of HLA-DRB1 alleles. Mutations causing congenital adrenal hyperplasia were found in heterozygosity in <1.5% of the cases in both groups. Genetic variants of CYP21A2 associated to AAD are in LD with the main AAD risk locus HLA-DRB1, and CYP21A2 does not constitute an independent susceptibility locus. © 2014 European Society of Endocrinology.

  12. Structural comparisons of two allelic variants of human placental alkaline phosphatase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millán, J L; Stigbrand, T; Jörnvall, H

    1985-01-01

    A simple immunosorbent purification scheme based on monoclonal antibodies has been devised for human placental alkaline phosphatase. The two most common allelic variants, S and F, have similar amino acid compositions with identical N-terminal amino acid sequences through the first 13 residues. Both variants have identical lectin binding properties towards concanavalin A, lentil-lectin, wheat germ agglutinin, phytohemagglutinin and soybean agglutinin, and identical carbohydrate contents as revealed by methylation analysis. CNBr fragments of the variants demonstrate identical high performance liquid chromatography patterns. The carbohydrate containing fragment is different from the 32P-labeled active site fragment and the N-terminal fragment.

  13. Association of p21 SNPs and risk of cervical cancer among Chinese women

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Ning; Wang, Shizhuo; Zhang, Qiao; Lu, Yanming; Wei, Heng; Li, Wei; Zhang, Shulan; Yin, Duo; Ou, Yangling

    2012-01-01

    The p21 codon 31 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs1801270, has been linked to cervical cancer but with controversial results. The aims of this study were to investigate the role of p21 SNP-rs1801270 and other untested p21 SNPs in the risk of cervical cancer in a Chinese population. We genotyped five p21 SNPs (rs762623, rs2395655, rs1801270, rs3176352, and rs1059234) using peripheral blood DNA from 393 cervical cancer patients and 434 controls. The frequency of the rs1801270 A allele in patients (0.421) was significantly lower than that in controls (0.494, p = 0.003). The frequency of the rs3176352 C allele in cases (0.319) was significantly lower than that in controls (0.417, p < 0.001).The allele frequency of other three p21 SNPs showed not statistically significantly different between patients and controls. The rs1801270 AA genotype was associated with a decreased risk for the development of cervical cancer (OR = 0.583, 95%CI: 0.399 - 0.853, P = 0.005). We observed that the three p21 SNPs (rs1801270, rs3176352, and rs1059234) was in linkage disequilibrium (LD) and thus haplotype analysis was performed. The AGT haplotype (which includes the rs1801270A allele) was the most frequent haplotype among all subjects, and both homozygosity and heterozygosity for the AGT haplotype provided a protective effect from development of cervical cancer. We show an association between the p21 SNP rs1801270A allele and a decreased risk for cervical cancer in a population of Chinese women. The AGT haplotype formed by three p21 SNPs in LD (rs1801270, rs3176352 and rs1059234) also provided a protective effect in development of cervical cancer in this population

  14. QuASAR-MPRA: accurate allele-specific analysis for massively parallel reporter assays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalita, Cynthia A; Moyerbrailean, Gregory A; Brown, Christopher; Wen, Xiaoquan; Luca, Francesca; Pique-Regi, Roger

    2018-03-01

    The majority of the human genome is composed of non-coding regions containing regulatory elements such as enhancers, which are crucial for controlling gene expression. Many variants associated with complex traits are in these regions, and may disrupt gene regulatory sequences. Consequently, it is important to not only identify true enhancers but also to test if a variant within an enhancer affects gene regulation. Recently, allele-specific analysis in high-throughput reporter assays, such as massively parallel reporter assays (MPRAs), have been used to functionally validate non-coding variants. However, we are still missing high-quality and robust data analysis tools for these datasets. We have further developed our method for allele-specific analysis QuASAR (quantitative allele-specific analysis of reads) to analyze allele-specific signals in barcoded read counts data from MPRA. Using this approach, we can take into account the uncertainty on the original plasmid proportions, over-dispersion, and sequencing errors. The provided allelic skew estimate and its standard error also simplifies meta-analysis of replicate experiments. Additionally, we show that a beta-binomial distribution better models the variability present in the allelic imbalance of these synthetic reporters and results in a test that is statistically well calibrated under the null. Applying this approach to the MPRA data, we found 602 SNPs with significant (false discovery rate 10%) allele-specific regulatory function in LCLs. We also show that we can combine MPRA with QuASAR estimates to validate existing experimental and computational annotations of regulatory variants. Our study shows that with appropriate data analysis tools, we can improve the power to detect allelic effects in high-throughput reporter assays. http://github.com/piquelab/QuASAR/tree/master/mpra. fluca@wayne.edu or rpique@wayne.edu. Supplementary data are available online at Bioinformatics. © The Author (2017). Published by

  15. High-efficiency genome editing and allele replacement in prototrophic and wild strains of Saccharomyces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, William G; Doering, Drew T; Hittinger, Chris Todd

    2014-11-01

    Current genome editing techniques available for Saccharomyces yeast species rely on auxotrophic markers, limiting their use in wild and industrial strains and species. Taking advantage of the ancient loss of thymidine kinase in the fungal kingdom, we have developed the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene as a selectable and counterselectable marker that forms the core of novel genome engineering tools called the H: aploid E: ngineering and R: eplacement P: rotocol (HERP) cassettes. Here we show that these cassettes allow a researcher to rapidly generate heterogeneous populations of cells with thousands of independent chromosomal allele replacements using mixed PCR products. We further show that the high efficiency of this approach enables the simultaneous replacement of both alleles in diploid cells. Using these new techniques, many of the most powerful yeast genetic manipulation strategies are now available in wild, industrial, and other prototrophic strains from across the diverse Saccharomyces genus. Copyright © 2014 by the Genetics Society of America.

  16. Distribution of Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel (Nav) Alleles among the Aedes aegypti Populations In Central Java Province and Its Association with Resistance to Pyrethroid Insecticides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sayono, Sayono; Hidayati, Anggie Puspa Nur; Fahri, Sukmal; Sumanto, Didik; Dharmana, Edi; Hadisaputro, Suharyo; Asih, Puji Budi Setia; Syafruddin, Din

    2016-01-01

    The emergence of insecticide resistant Aedes aegypti mosquitoes has hampered dengue control efforts. WHO susceptibility tests, using several pyrethroid compounds, were conducted on Ae. aegypti larvae that were collected and raised to adulthood from Semarang, Surakarta, Kudus and Jepara in Java. The AaNaV gene fragment encompassing kdr polymorphic sites from both susceptible and resistant mosquitoes was amplified, and polymorphisms were associated with the resistant phenotype. The insecticide susceptibility tests demonstrated Ae, aegypti resistance to the pyrethroids, with mortality rates ranging from 1.6%-15.2%. Three non-synonymous polymorphisms (S989P, V1016G and F1534C) and one synonymous polymorphism (codon 982) were detected in the AaNaV gene. Eight AaNaV alleles were observed in specimens from Central Java. Allele 3 (SGF) and allele 7 (PGF) represent the most common alleles found and demonstrated strong associations with resistance to pyrethroids (OR = 2.75, CI: 0.97-7.8 and OR = 7.37, CI: 2.4-22.5, respectively). This is the first report of 8 Ae. aegypti AaNaV alleles, and it indicates the development of resistance in Ae. aegypti in response to pyrethroid insecticide-based selective pressure. These findings strongly suggest the need for an appropriate integrated use of insecticides in the region. The 989P, 1016G and 1534C polymorphisms in the AaNaV gene are potentially valuable molecular markers for pyrethroid insecticide resistance monitoring.

  17. Microangiopathic complications related to different alleles of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Egyptian Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Journal Home ... Microangiopathic complications related to different alleles of manganese superoxide dismutase gene in diabetes mellitus type 1. TM EL Masry ... 23(2) 2005: 155-167 ...

  18. Lipoprotein(a) and HIV: Allele-Specific Apolipoprotein(a) Levels Predict Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in HIV-Infected Young Women in the Women's Interagency HIV Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enkhmaa, Byambaa; Anuurad, Erdembileg; Zhang, Wei; Li, Chin-Shang; Kaplan, Robert; Lazar, Jason; Merenstein, Dan; Karim, Roksana; Aouizerat, Brad; Cohen, Mardge; Butler, Kenneth; Pahwa, Savita; Ofotokun, Igho; Adimora, Adaora A; Golub, Elizabeth; Berglund, Lars

    2017-05-01

    In the general population, lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] has been established as an independent causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Lp(a) levels are to a major extent regulated by a size polymorphism in the apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)] gene. The roles of Lp(a)/apo(a) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related elevated cardiovascular disease risk remain unclear. The associations between total plasma Lp(a) level, allele-specific apo(a) level, an Lp(a) level carried by individual apo(a) alleles, and common carotid artery intima-media thickness were assessed in 150 HIV-infected and 100 HIV-uninfected women in the WIHS (Women's Interagency HIV Study). Linear regression analyses with and without adjustments were used. The cohort was young (mean age, ≈31 years), with the majority being Blacks (≈70%). The prevalence of a small size apo(a) (≤22 Kringle repeats) or a high Lp(a) level (≥30 mg/dL) was similar by HIV status. Total plasma Lp(a) level ( P =0.029) and allele-specific apo(a) level carried by the smaller apo(a) sizes ( P =0.022) were significantly associated with carotid artery intima-media thickness in the HIV-infected women only. After accounting for confounders (age, race, smoking, body mass index, blood pressure, hepatitis C virus coinfection, menopause, plasma lipids, treatment status, CD4 + T cell count, and HIV/RNA viral load), the association remained significant for both Lp(a) ( P =0.035) and allele-specific apo(a) level carried by the smaller apo(a) sizes ( P =0.010) in the HIV-infected women. Notably, none of the other lipids/lipoproteins was associated with carotid artery intima-media thickness. Lp(a) and allele-specific apo(a) levels predict carotid artery intima-media thickness in HIV-infected young women. Further research is needed to identify underlying mechanisms of an increased Lp(a) atherogenicity in HIV infection. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  19. Effect of APOE ε4 allele on survival and fertility in an adverse environment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric van Exel

    Full Text Available The apolipoprotein-ε4 allele (APOE-ε4 is strongly associated with detrimental outcomes in affluent populations including atherosclerotic disease, Alzheimer's disease, and reduced lifespan. Despite these detrimental outcomes, population frequencies of APOE-ε4 are high. We hypothesize that the high frequency of APOE-ε4 was maintained because of beneficial effects during evolution when infectious pathogens were more prevalent and a major cause of mortality. We examined a rural Ghanaian population with a high pathogen exposure for selective advantages of APOE-ε4, to survival and or fertility.This rural Ghanaian population (n = 4311 has high levels of mortality from widespread infectious diseases which are the main cause of death. We examined whether APOE-ε4 was associated with survival (total follow-up time was 30,262 years and fertility after stratifying by exposure to high or low pathogen levels. Households drawing water from open wells and rivers were classified as exposed to high pathogen levels while low pathogen exposure was classified as those drawing water from borehole wells. We found a non-significant, but positive survival benefit, i.e. the hazard ratio per APOE-ε4 allele was 0.80 (95% confidence interval: 0.69 to 1.05, adjusted for sex, tribe, and socioeconomic status. Among women aged 40 years and older (n = 842, APOE-ε4 was not associated with the lifetime number of children. However, APOE-ε4 was associated with higher fertility in women exposed to high pathogen levels. Compared with women not carrying an APOE-ε4 allele, those carrying one APOE-ε4 allele had on average one more child and those carrying two APOE-ε4 alleles had 3.5 more children (p = 0.018.Contrary to affluent modern-day populations, APOE-ε4 did not carry a survival disadvantage in this rural Ghanaian population. Moreover, APOE-ε4 promotes fertility in highly infectious environments. Our findings suggest that APOE-ε4 may be considered as evolutionarily

  20. Effect of APOE ε4 allele on survival and fertility in an adverse environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Exel, Eric; Koopman, Jacob J E; Bodegom, David van; Meij, Johannes J; Knijff, Peter de; Ziem, Juventus B; Finch, Caleb E; Westendorp, Rudi G J

    2017-01-01

    The apolipoprotein-ε4 allele (APOE-ε4) is strongly associated with detrimental outcomes in affluent populations including atherosclerotic disease, Alzheimer's disease, and reduced lifespan. Despite these detrimental outcomes, population frequencies of APOE-ε4 are high. We hypothesize that the high frequency of APOE-ε4 was maintained because of beneficial effects during evolution when infectious pathogens were more prevalent and a major cause of mortality. We examined a rural Ghanaian population with a high pathogen exposure for selective advantages of APOE-ε4, to survival and or fertility. This rural Ghanaian population (n = 4311) has high levels of mortality from widespread infectious diseases which are the main cause of death. We examined whether APOE-ε4 was associated with survival (total follow-up time was 30,262 years) and fertility after stratifying by exposure to high or low pathogen levels. Households drawing water from open wells and rivers were classified as exposed to high pathogen levels while low pathogen exposure was classified as those drawing water from borehole wells. We found a non-significant, but positive survival benefit, i.e. the hazard ratio per APOE-ε4 allele was 0.80 (95% confidence interval: 0.69 to 1.05), adjusted for sex, tribe, and socioeconomic status. Among women aged 40 years and older (n = 842), APOE-ε4 was not associated with the lifetime number of children. However, APOE-ε4 was associated with higher fertility in women exposed to high pathogen levels. Compared with women not carrying an APOE-ε4 allele, those carrying one APOE-ε4 allele had on average one more child and those carrying two APOE-ε4 alleles had 3.5 more children (p = 0.018). Contrary to affluent modern-day populations, APOE-ε4 did not carry a survival disadvantage in this rural Ghanaian population. Moreover, APOE-ε4 promotes fertility in highly infectious environments. Our findings suggest that APOE-ε4 may be considered as evolutionarily adaptive. Its

  1. The geographic spread of the CCR5 Delta32 HIV-resistance allele.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Novembre

    2005-11-01

    Full Text Available The Delta32 mutation at the CCR5 locus is a well-studied example of natural selection acting in humans. The mutation is found principally in Europe and western Asia, with higher frequencies generally in the north. Homozygous carriers of the Delta32 mutation are resistant to HIV-1 infection because the mutation prevents functional expression of the CCR5 chemokine receptor normally used by HIV-1 to enter CD4+ T cells. HIV has emerged only recently, but population genetic data strongly suggest Delta32 has been under intense selection for much of its evolutionary history. To understand how selection and dispersal have interacted during the history of the Delta32 allele, we implemented a spatially explicit model of the spread of Delta32. The model includes the effects of sampling, which we show can give rise to local peaks in observed allele frequencies. In addition, we show that with modest gradients in selection intensity, the origin of the Delta32 allele may be relatively far from the current areas of highest allele frequency. The geographic distribution of the Delta32 allele is consistent with previous reports of a strong selective advantage (>10% for Delta32 carriers and of dispersal over relatively long distances (>100 km/generation. When selection is assumed to be uniform across Europe and western Asia, we find support for a northern European origin and long-range dispersal consistent with the Viking-mediated dispersal of Delta32 proposed by G. Lucotte and G. Mercier. However, when we allow for gradients in selection intensity, we estimate the origin to be outside of northern Europe and selection intensities to be strongest in the northwest. Our results describe the evolutionary history of the Delta32 allele and establish a general methodology for studying the geographic distribution of selected alleles.

  2. Tumor transcriptome sequencing reveals allelic expression imbalances associated with copy number alterations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian B Tuch

    Full Text Available Due to growing throughput and shrinking cost, massively parallel sequencing is rapidly becoming an attractive alternative to microarrays for the genome-wide study of gene expression and copy number alterations in primary tumors. The sequencing of transcripts (RNA-Seq should offer several advantages over microarray-based methods, including the ability to detect somatic mutations and accurately measure allele-specific expression. To investigate these advantages we have applied a novel, strand-specific RNA-Seq method to tumors and matched normal tissue from three patients with oral squamous cell carcinomas. Additionally, to better understand the genomic determinants of the gene expression changes observed, we have sequenced the tumor and normal genomes of one of these patients. We demonstrate here that our RNA-Seq method accurately measures allelic imbalance and that measurement on the genome-wide scale yields novel insights into cancer etiology. As expected, the set of genes differentially expressed in the tumors is enriched for cell adhesion and differentiation functions, but, unexpectedly, the set of allelically imbalanced genes is also enriched for these same cancer-related functions. By comparing the transcriptomic perturbations observed in one patient to his underlying normal and tumor genomes, we find that allelic imbalance in the tumor is associated with copy number mutations and that copy number mutations are, in turn, strongly associated with changes in transcript abundance. These results support a model in which allele-specific deletions and duplications drive allele-specific changes in gene expression in the developing tumor.

  3. Diversity Outbred Mice at 21: Maintaining Allelic Variation in the Face of Selection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elissa J. Chesler

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Multi-parent populations (MPPs capture and maintain the genetic diversity from multiple inbred founder strains to provide a resource for high-resolution genetic mapping through the accumulation of recombination events over many generations. Breeding designs that maintain a large effective population size with randomized assignment of breeders at each generation can minimize the impact of selection, inbreeding, and genetic drift on allele frequencies. Small deviations from expected allele frequencies will have little effect on the power and precision of genetic analysis, but a major distortion could result in reduced power and loss of important functional alleles. We detected strong transmission ratio distortion in the Diversity Outbred (DO mouse population on chromosome 2, caused by meiotic drive favoring transmission of the WSB/EiJ allele at the R2d2 locus. The distorted region harbors thousands of polymorphisms derived from the seven non-WSB founder strains and many of these would be lost if the sweep was allowed to continue. To ensure the utility of the DO population to study genetic variation on chromosome 2, we performed an artificial selection against WSB/EiJ alleles at the R2d2 locus. Here, we report that we have purged the WSB/EiJ allele from the drive locus while preserving WSB/EiJ alleles in the flanking regions. We observed minimal disruption to allele frequencies across the rest of the autosomal genome. However, there was a shift in haplotype frequencies of the mitochondrial genome and an increase in the rate of an unusual sex chromosome aneuploidy. The DO population has been restored to genome-wide utility for genetic analysis, but our experience underscores that vigilant monitoring of similar genetic resource populations is needed to ensure their long-term utility.

  4. The Microcephalin Ancestral Allele in a Neanderthal Individual

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lari, Martina; Rizzi, Ermanno; Milani, Lucio; Corti, Giorgio; Balsamo, Carlotta; Vai, Stefania; Catalano, Giulio; Pilli, Elena; Longo, Laura; Condemi, Silvana; Giunti, Paolo; Hänni, Catherine; De Bellis, Gianluca; Orlando, Ludovic; Barbujani, Guido; Caramelli, David

    2010-01-01

    Background The high frequency (around 0.70 worlwide) and the relatively young age (between 14,000 and 62,000 years) of a derived group of haplotypes, haplogroup D, at the microcephalin (MCPH1) locus led to the proposal that haplogroup D originated in a human lineage that separated from modern humans >1 million years ago, evolved under strong positive selection, and passed into the human gene pool by an episode of admixture circa 37,000 years ago. The geographic distribution of haplogroup D, with marked differences between Africa and Eurasia, suggested that the archaic human form admixing with anatomically modern humans might have been Neanderthal. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we report the first PCR amplification and high- throughput sequencing of nuclear DNA at the microcephalin (MCPH1) locus from Neanderthal individual from Mezzena Rockshelter (Monti Lessini, Italy). We show that a well-preserved Neanderthal fossil dated at approximately 50,000 years B.P., was homozygous for the ancestral, non-D, allele. The high yield of Neanderthal mtDNA sequences of the studied specimen, the pattern of nucleotide misincorporation among sequences consistent with post-mortem DNA damage and an accurate control of the MCPH1 alleles in all personnel that manipulated the sample, make it extremely unlikely that this result might reflect modern DNA contamination. Conclusions/Significance The MCPH1 genotype of the Monti Lessini (MLS) Neanderthal does not prove that there was no interbreeding between anatomically archaic and modern humans in Europe, but certainly shows that speculations on a possible Neanderthal origin of what is now the most common MCPH1 haplogroup are not supported by empirical evidence from ancient DNA. PMID:20498832

  5. The microcephalin ancestral allele in a Neanderthal individual.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martina Lari

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The high frequency (around 0.70 worldwide and the relatively young age (between 14,000 and 62,000 years of a derived group of haplotypes, haplogroup D, at the microcephalin (MCPH1 locus led to the proposal that haplogroup D originated in a human lineage that separated from modern humans >1 million years ago, evolved under strong positive selection, and passed into the human gene pool by an episode of admixture circa 37,000 years ago. The geographic distribution of haplogroup D, with marked differences between Africa and Eurasia, suggested that the archaic human form admixing with anatomically modern humans might have been Neanderthal. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we report the first PCR amplification and high-throughput sequencing of nuclear DNA at the microcephalin (MCPH1 locus from Neanderthal individual from Mezzena Rockshelter (Monti Lessini, Italy. We show that a well-preserved Neanderthal fossil dated at approximately 50,000 years B.P., was homozygous for the ancestral, non-D, allele. The high yield of Neanderthal mtDNA sequences of the studied specimen, the pattern of nucleotide misincorporation among sequences consistent with post-mortem DNA damage and an accurate control of the MCPH1 alleles in all personnel that manipulated the sample, make it extremely unlikely that this result might reflect modern DNA contamination. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The MCPH1 genotype of the Monti Lessini (MLS Neanderthal does not prove that there was no interbreeding between anatomically archaic and modern humans in Europe, but certainly shows that speculations on a possible Neanderthal origin of what is now the most common MCPH1 haplogroup are not supported by empirical evidence from ancient DNA.

  6. nduced hyperlipidemic rats. Methods: Column chromatographic fractionation of butanol fraction of total methanol extract of leaves of Bauhinia variegata (Linn. yields four sub-fractions (sub-fraction A-D. All sub-fractions tested for their anti-hyperlipidemic activity. Sub-fractions administered at a dose of 65 mg/kg (oral to the Triton WR-1339 induced hyperlipidemic rats and total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL and VLDL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deepak Kumar

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To investigate the effect and evaluation of Anti-hyperlipidemic activity guided subfraction isolated from total methanolic extract of Bauhinia variegata (Linn. leaves on Triton WR-1339 induced hyperlipidemic rats. Methods: Column chromatographic fractionation of butanol fraction of total methanol extract of leaves of Bauhinia variegata (Linn. yields four subfractions (sub-fraction A-D. All sub-fractions tested for their anti-hyperlipidemic activity. Subfractions administered at a dose of 65 mg/kg (oral to the Triton WR-1339 induced hyperlipidemic rats and total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL and VLDL level in the blood were checked. Results: Sub-fraction D showed significant reduction (P<0.05 among four sub-fraction in comparison with standard drug fenofibrate. Conclusions: From the above study it could be concluded that butanol sub-fraction D of Bauhinia variegata (Linn. not only have resulted in significant reduction in cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL, VLDL level but also increases the HDL level at a reduced dose level.

  7. Prevalence of Huntington's disease gene CAG trinucleotide repeat alleles in patients with bipolar disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos, Eliana Marisa; Gillis, Tammy; Mysore, Jayalakshmi S; Lee, Jong-Min; Alonso, Isabel; Gusella, James F; Smoller, Jordan W; Sklar, Pamela; MacDonald, Marcy E; Perlis, Roy H

    2015-06-01

    Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms that are caused by huntingtin gene (HTT) CAG trinucleotide repeat alleles of 36 or more units. A greater than expected prevalence of incompletely penetrant HTT CAG repeat alleles observed among individuals diagnosed with major depressive disorder raises the possibility that another mood disorder, bipolar disorder, could likewise be associated with Huntington's disease. We assessed the distribution of HTT CAG repeat alleles in a cohort of individuals with bipolar disorder. HTT CAG allele sizes from 2,229 Caucasian individuals diagnosed with DSM-IV bipolar disorder were compared to allele sizes in 1,828 control individuals from multiple cohorts. We found that HTT CAG repeat alleles > 35 units were observed in only one of 4,458 chromosomes from individuals with bipolar disorder, compared to three of 3,656 chromosomes from control subjects. These findings do not support an association between bipolar disorder and Huntington's disease. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Mutation intolerant genes and targets of FMRP are enriched for nonsynonymous alleles in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonenko, Ganna; Richards, Alexander L; Walters, James T; Pocklington, Andrew; Chambert, Kimberly; Al Eissa, Mariam M; Sharp, Sally I; O'Brien, Niamh L; Curtis, David; Bass, Nicholas J; McQuillin, Andrew; Hultman, Christina; Moran, Jennifer L; McCarroll, Steven A; Sklar, Pamela; Neale, Benjamin M; Holmans, Peter A; Owen, Michael J; Sullivan, Patrick F; O'Donovan, Michael C

    2017-10-01

    Risk of schizophrenia is conferred by alleles occurring across the full spectrum of frequencies from common SNPs of weak effect through to ultra rare alleles, some of which may be moderately to highly penetrant. Previous studies have suggested that some of the risk of schizophrenia is attributable to uncommon alleles represented on Illumina exome arrays. Here, we present the largest study of exomic variation in schizophrenia to date, using samples from the United Kingdom and Sweden (10,011 schizophrenia cases and 13,791 controls). Single variants, genes, and gene sets were analyzed for association with schizophrenia. No single variant or gene reached genome-wide significance. Among candidate gene sets, we found significant enrichment for rare alleles (minor allele frequency [MAF] schizophrenia by excluding a role for uncommon exomic variants (0.01 ≤ MAF ≥ 0.001) that confer a relatively large effect (odds ratio [OR] > 4). We also show risk alleles within this frequency range exist, but confer smaller effects and should be identified by larger studies. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. The IL23R A/Gln381 allele promotes IL-23 unresponsiveness in human memory T-helper 17 cells and impairs Th17 responses in psoriasis patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Meglio, Paola; Villanova, Federica; Napolitano, Luca; Tosi, Isabella; Terranova Barberio, Manuela; Mak, Rose K; Nutland, Sarah; Smith, Catherine H; Barker, Jonathan N W N; Todd, John A; Nestle, Frank O

    2013-10-01

    We and others have shown that the minor, nonconserved allele Gln381 of the Arg381Gln single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs11209026G>A) of the IL-23 receptor gene (IL23R) protects against psoriasis. Moreover, we have recently shown impaired IL-23-induced IL-17A production and STAT-3 phosphorylation in Th17 cells generated in vitro from healthy individuals heterozygous for the protective A allele (GA). However, the biological effect of this variant has not been determined in homozygous carriers of the protective A allele (AA), nor in psoriatic patients. Here we expand our functional investigation of the IL23R Arg381Gln gene variant to include AA homozygous individuals. By using isolated memory CD4+ T cells, we found attenuated IL-23-induced Th17 response in heterozygous individuals. Moreover, we found that AA homozygous individuals were strikingly unresponsive to IL-23, with minimal or no IL-17A and IL-17F production and failure of human memory Th17 cell survival/expansion. Finally, IL-23-induced Th17 response was also attenuated in age- and sex-matched GA versus GG psoriatic patients undergoing systemic treatment. Taken together, our data provide evidence for an allele-dosage effect for IL-23R Gln381 and indicate that common gene alleles associated with complex diseases might have biological effects of considerable magnitude in homozygous carriers.

  10. KEY COMPARISON: Final report of EUROMET Project 696: pH determination of a phthalate buffer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spitzer, Petra; Charlet, Philippe; Eberhard, Ralf; Karpov, Oleg V.; Philippe, Rachel; Rivier, Cedric; Maximov, Igor; Sudmeier, Uwe

    2005-01-01

    The EUROMET project 696, a trilateral comparison between PTB, Germany, LNE, France and VNIIFTRI, Russia was performed in order to demonstrate and document the capability of the participants to measure the pH of a phthalate buffer by the primary measurement procedure for pH. Good agreement of the reported results was observed. The sample was very similar to the one used in the comparison CCQM-K17. PTB acts as pilot laboratory in CCQM-K17 and in EUROMET 696. This comparison allows one to link the results obtained by LNE to the CCQM-K17 key comparison through the degree of equivalence of PTB. On the other hand, the discrepancy between measured pH values at the VNIIFTRI and PTB for the same type of buffer solution decreased, as compared with a bilateral comparison in 1997. Main text. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCQM, according to the provisions of the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA).

  11. Association between the CCR5 32-bp deletion allele and late onset of schizophrenia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Henrik Berg; Timm, Sally; Wang, August G

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The 32-bp deletion allele in chemokine receptor CCR5 has been associated with several immune-mediated diseases and might be implicated in schizophrenia as well. METHOD: The authors genotyped DNA samples from 268 schizophrenia patients and 323 healthy subjects. Age at first admission...... of the deletion allele in the latter subgroup of patients. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the CCR5 32-bp deletion allele is a susceptibility factor for schizophrenia with late onset. Alternatively, the CCR5 32-bp deletion allele may act as a modifier by delaying the onset of schizophrenia without...

  12. Association between the CCR5 32-bp deletion allele and late onset of schizophrenia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, H.B.; Timm, S.; Wang, A.G.

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The 32-bp deletion allele in chemokine receptor CCR5 has been associated with several immune-mediated diseases and might be implicated in schizophrenia as well. METHOD: The authors genotyped DNA samples from 268 schizophrenia patients and 323 healthy subjects. Age at first admission...... to a psychiatric hospital department served as a measure of disease onset. RESULTS: Patients and comparison subjects differed marginally in their genotype distribution, with a slightly higher frequency of the deletion allele seen in the patients. The authors found the deletion allele to be associated with higher......-onset schizophrenia) and healthy subjects differed significantly. This was reflected in an increased frequency of the deletion allele in the patient subgroup. Patients with ages at first admission below and above 40 years significantly differed in distribution of genotypes and alleles, with an overrepresentation...

  13. Preferential Allele Expression Analysis Identifies Shared Germline and Somatic Driver Genes in Advanced Ovarian Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halabi, Najeeb M.; Martinez, Alejandra; Al-Farsi, Halema; Mery, Eliane; Puydenus, Laurence; Pujol, Pascal; Khalak, Hanif G.; McLurcan, Cameron; Ferron, Gwenael; Querleu, Denis; Al-Azwani, Iman; Al-Dous, Eman; Mohamoud, Yasmin A.; Malek, Joel A.; Rafii, Arash

    2016-01-01

    Identifying genes where a variant allele is preferentially expressed in tumors could lead to a better understanding of cancer biology and optimization of targeted therapy. However, tumor sample heterogeneity complicates standard approaches for detecting preferential allele expression. We therefore developed a novel approach combining genome and transcriptome sequencing data from the same sample that corrects for sample heterogeneity and identifies significant preferentially expressed alleles. We applied this analysis to epithelial ovarian cancer samples consisting of matched primary ovary and peritoneum and lymph node metastasis. We find that preferentially expressed variant alleles include germline and somatic variants, are shared at a relatively high frequency between patients, and are in gene networks known to be involved in cancer processes. Analysis at a patient level identifies patient-specific preferentially expressed alleles in genes that are targets for known drugs. Analysis at a site level identifies patterns of site specific preferential allele expression with similar pathways being impacted in the primary and metastasis sites. We conclude that genes with preferentially expressed variant alleles can act as cancer drivers and that targeting those genes could lead to new therapeutic strategies. PMID:26735499

  14. Relationship between work rate and oxygen uptake in mitochondrial myopathy during ramp-incremental exercise

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.C. Gimenes

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available We determined the response characteristics and functional correlates of the dynamic relationship between the rate (Δ of oxygen consumption ( O2 and the applied power output (work rate = WR during ramp-incremental exercise in patients with mitochondrial myopathy (MM. Fourteen patients (7 males, age 35.4 ± 10.8 years with biopsy-proven MM and 10 sedentary controls (6 males, age 29.0 ± 7.8 years took a ramp-incremental cycle ergometer test for the determination of the O2 on-exercise mean response time (MRT and the gas exchange threshold (GET. The ΔO2/ΔWR slope was calculated up to GET (S1, above GET (S2 and over the entire linear portion of the response (S T. Knee muscle endurance was measured by isokinetic dynamometry. As expected, peak O2 and muscle performance were lower in patients than controls (P O2/ΔWR than controls, especially the S2 component (6.8 ± 1.5 vs 10.3 ± 0.6 mL·min-1·W-1, respectively; P O2/ΔWR (S T and muscle endurance, MRT-O2, GET and peak O2 in MM patients (P O2/ΔWR below 8 mL·min-1·W-1 had severely reduced peak O2 values (O2 had lower ΔO2/ΔWR (P O2/ΔWR is typically reduced in patients with MM, being related to increased functional impairment and higher cardiopulmonary stress.

  15. Effects of the APOE ε2 Allele on Mortality and Cognitive Function in the Oldest Old

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lindahl-Jacobsen, Rune; Tan, Qihua; Mengel-From, Jonas

    2013-01-01

    Some studies indicate that the APOE ε2 allele may have a protective effect on mortality and mental health among the elderly adults. We investigated the effect of the APOE ε2 allele on cognitive function and mortality in 1651 members of the virtually extinct Danish 1905 birth cohort. We found...... no protective effect of the APOE ε2 allele on mortality compared with the APOE ε3 allele. The point estimates indicated an increased protection against cognitive decline over time for persons with the APOE ε2 allele. Cognitive score did not significantly modify the mortality risk of the various APOE genotypes....... We did not find a protective effect of the APOE ε2 allele on mortality among the oldest old, but in agreement with our previous findings, we found a 22% increased mortality risk for APOE ε4 carriers. The APOE ε2 allele may be protective on cognitive decline among the oldest old....

  16. Pyramiding of transgenic Pm3 alleles in wheat results in improved powdery mildew resistance in the field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koller, Teresa; Brunner, Susanne; Herren, Gerhard; Hurni, Severine; Keller, Beat

    2018-04-01

    The combined effects of enhanced total transgene expression level and allele-specificity combination in transgenic allele-pyramided Pm3 wheat lines result in improved powdery mildew field resistance without negative pleiotropic effects. Allelic Pm3 resistance genes of wheat confer race-specific resistance to powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici, Bgt) and encode nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich repeat (NLR) receptors. Transgenic wheat lines overexpressing alleles Pm3a, b, c, d, f, and g have previously been generated by transformation of cultivar Bobwhite and tested in field trials, revealing varying degrees of powdery mildew resistance conferred by the transgenes. Here, we tested four transgenic lines each carrying two pyramided Pm3 alleles, which were generated by crossbreeding of lines transformed with single Pm3 alleles. All four allele-pyramided lines showed strongly improved powdery mildew resistance in the field compared to their parental lines. The improved resistance results from the two effects of enhanced total transgene expression levels and allele-specificity combinations. In contrast to leaf segment tests on greenhouse-grown seedlings, no allelic suppression was observed in the field. Plant development and yield scores of the pyramided lines were similar to the mean scores of the corresponding parental lines, and thus, the allele pyramiding did not cause any negative effects. On the contrary, in pyramided line, Pm3b × Pm3f normal plant development was restored compared to the delayed development and reduced seed set of parental line Pm3f. Allele-specific RT qPCR revealed additive transgene expression levels of the two Pm3 alleles in the pyramided lines. A positive correlation between total transgene expression level and powdery mildew field resistance was observed. In summary, allele pyramiding of Pm3 transgenes proved to be successful in enhancing powdery mildew field resistance.

  17. Clinical evaluation of exercise thallium-201 whole body scintigraphy in ischemic heart disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaneko, Kenzo; Watanabe, Yoshihiko; Kondo, Takeshi

    1985-01-01

    To evaluate whole body distribution and kinetics of Thallium-201 at exercise and redistribution, whole body scintigraphy (WB-S) was performed on 12 normal subjects (N), 19 patients with angina pectoris (AP) and 18 patients with old myocardial infarction (MI). WB-S was obtained using a gamma camera OMEGA 500 and analized by ADAC System IV. We estimated the following parameters from WB-S; 1) %Distribution (%D): the ratio of whole body counts to organ counts 2) washout rate (WR) in each organ. %D of the heart in N, AP and MI was similar at rest and exercise. At exercise, %D of the lung and the liver decreased and %D of thighs increased remarkably than at rest. At supine exercise, the lung indicated high %D and thinghs indicated low %D compared with at upright exercise. WR of the heart in AP and MI was significantly lower than in N (p<0.005, p<0.01) and further decreased proportionally to the number of stenotic coronary arteries and related to the ischemic ST depression of exercise ECG. WR of the heart was not correlation with pressure rate product and this finding suggested that WR of the heart was not prescribed by the tolerance of exercise but related to coronary flow at exercise a certain degree. WR of the lung in MI was significantly higher (p<0.025) and WR of thighs in AP and MI was significantly lower (p<0.025, p<0.05) compared with N. (author)

  18. The STAT4 SLE risk allele rs7574865[T] is associated with increased IL-12-induced IFN-γ production in T cells from patients with SLE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagberg, Niklas; Joelsson, Martin; Leonard, Dag; Reid, Sarah; Eloranta, Maija-Leena; Mo, John; Nilsson, Magnus K; Syvänen, Ann-Christine; Bryceson, Yenan T; Rönnblom, Lars

    2018-02-23

    Genetic variants in the transcription factor STAT4 are associated with increased susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and a more severe disease phenotype. This study aimed to clarify how the SLE-associated intronic STAT4 risk allele rs7574865[T] affects the function of immune cells in SLE. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from 52 genotyped patients with SLE. Phosphorylation of STAT4 (pSTAT4) and STAT1 (pSTAT1) in response to interferon (IFN)-α, IFN-γ or interleukin (IL)-12, total levels of STAT4, STAT1 and T-bet, and frequency of IFN-γ + cells on IL-12 stimulation were determined by flow cytometry in subsets of immune cells before and after preactivation of cells with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and IL-2. Cellular responses and phenotypes were correlated to STAT4 risk allele carriership. Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) selective for TYK2 (TYK2i) or JAK2 (JAK2i) were evaluated for inhibition of IL-12 or IFN-γ-induced activation of SLE PBMCs. In resting PBMCs, the STAT4 risk allele was neither associated with total levels of STAT4 or STAT1, nor cytokine-induced pSTAT4 or pSTAT1. Following PHA/IL-2 activation, CD8 + T cells from STAT4 risk allele carriers displayed increased levels of STAT4 resulting in increased pSTAT4 in response to IL-12 and IFN-α, and an augmented IL-12-induced IFN-γ production in CD8 + and CD4 + T cells. The TYK2i and the JAK2i efficiently blocked IL-12 and IFN-γ-induced activation of PBMCs from STAT4 risk patients, respectively. T cells from patients with SLE carrying the STAT4 risk allele rs7574865[T] display an augmented response to IL-12 and IFN-α. This subset of patients may benefit from JAKi treatment. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  19. Insights into Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrate Study Sites GC955 and WR313 from New Multicomponent and High-Resolution 2D Seismic Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haines, S. S.; Hart, P. E.; Collett, T. S.; Shedd, W. W.; Frye, M.

    2014-12-01

    In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey led a seismic acquisition expedition in the Gulf of Mexico, acquiring multicomponent data and high-resolution 2D multichannel seismic (MCS) data at Green Canyon 955 (GC955) and Walker Ridge 313 (WR313). Based on previously collected logging-while-drilling (LWD) borehole data, these gas hydrate study sites are known to include high concentrations of gas hydrate within sand layers. At GC955 our new 2D data reveal at least three features that appear to be fluid-flow pathways (chimneys) responsible for gas migration and thus account for some aspects of the gas hydrate distribution observed in the LWD data. Our new data also show that the main gas hydrate target, a Pleistocene channel/levee complex, has an areal extent of approximately 5.5 square kilometers and that a volume of approximately 3 x 107 cubic meters of this body lies within the gas hydrate stability zone. Based on LWD-inferred values and reasonable assumptions for net sand, sand porosity, and gas hydrate saturation, we estimate a total equivalent gas-in-place volume of approximately 8 x 108 cubic meters for the inferred gas hydrate within the channel/levee deposits. At WR313 we are able to map the thin hydrate-bearing sand layers in considerably greater detail than that provided by previous data. We also can map the evolving and migrating channel feature that persists in this area. Together these data and the emerging results provide valuable new insights into the gas hydrate systems at these two sites.

  20. Mouse survival motor neuron alleles that mimic SMN2 splicing and are inducible rescue embryonic lethality early in development but not late.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suzan M Hammond

    Full Text Available Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA is caused by low survival motor neuron (SMN levels and patients represent a clinical spectrum due primarily to varying copies of the survival motor neuron-2 (SMN2 gene. Patient and animals studies show that disease severity is abrogated as SMN levels increase. Since therapies currently being pursued target the induction of SMN, it will be important to understand the dosage, timing and cellular requirements of SMN for disease etiology and potential therapeutic intervention. This requires new mouse models that can induce SMN temporally and/or spatially. Here we describe the generation of two hypomorphic Smn alleles, Smn(C-T-Neo and Smn(2B-Neo. These alleles mimic SMN2 exon 7 splicing, titre Smn levels and are inducible. They were specifically designed so that up to three independent lines of mice could be generated, herein we describe two. In a homozygous state each allele results in embryonic lethality. Analysis of these mutants indicates that greater than 5% of Smn protein is required for normal development. The severe hypomorphic nature of these alleles is caused by inclusion of a loxP-flanked neomycin gene selection cassette in Smn intron 7, which can be removed with Cre recombinase. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate these as inducible Smn alleles. When combined with an inducible Cre mouse, embryonic lethality caused by low Smn levels can be rescued early in gestation but not late. This provides direct genetic evidence that a therapeutic window for SMN inductive therapies may exist. Importantly, these lines fill a void for inducible Smn alleles. They also provide a base from which to generate a large repertoire of SMA models of varying disease severities when combined with other Smn alleles or SMN2-containing mice.

  1. Lower Frequency of HLA-DRB1 Type 1 Diabetes Risk Alleles in Pediatric Patients with MODY.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urrutia, Inés; Martínez, Rosa; López-Euba, Tamara; Velayos, Teresa; Martínez de LaPiscina, Idoia; Bilbao, José Ramón; Rica, Itxaso; Castaño, Luis

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of susceptible HLA-DRB1 alleles for type 1 diabetes in a cohort of pediatric patients with a confirmed genetic diagnosis of MODY. 160 families with a proband diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and 74 families with a molecular diagnosis of MODY (61 GCK-MODY and 13 HNF1A-MODY) were categorized at high definition for HLA-DRB1 locus. According to the presence or absence of the susceptible HLA-DRB1 alleles for type 1 diabetes, we considered three different HLA-DRB1 genotypes: 0 risk alleles (no DR3 no DR4); 1 risk allele (DR3 or DR4); 2 risk alleles (DR3 and/or DR4). Compared with type 1 diabetes, patients with MODY carried higher frequency of 0 risk alleles, OR 22.7 (95% CI: 10.7-48.6) and lower frequency of 1 or 2 risk alleles, OR 0.53 (95% CI: 0.29-0.96) and OR 0.06 (95% CI: 0.02-0.18), respectively. The frequency of HLA-DRB1 risk alleles for type 1 diabetes is significantly lower in patients with MODY. In children and adolescents with diabetes, the presence of 2 risk alleles (DR3 and/or DR4) reduces the probability of MODY diagnosis, whereas the lack of risk alleles increases it. Therefore, we might consider that HLA-DRB1 provides additional information for the selection of patients with high probability of monogenic diabetes.

  2. Lower Frequency of HLA-DRB1 Type 1 Diabetes Risk Alleles in Pediatric Patients with MODY.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Inés Urrutia

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of susceptible HLA-DRB1 alleles for type 1 diabetes in a cohort of pediatric patients with a confirmed genetic diagnosis of MODY.160 families with a proband diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and 74 families with a molecular diagnosis of MODY (61 GCK-MODY and 13 HNF1A-MODY were categorized at high definition for HLA-DRB1 locus. According to the presence or absence of the susceptible HLA-DRB1 alleles for type 1 diabetes, we considered three different HLA-DRB1 genotypes: 0 risk alleles (no DR3 no DR4; 1 risk allele (DR3 or DR4; 2 risk alleles (DR3 and/or DR4.Compared with type 1 diabetes, patients with MODY carried higher frequency of 0 risk alleles, OR 22.7 (95% CI: 10.7-48.6 and lower frequency of 1 or 2 risk alleles, OR 0.53 (95% CI: 0.29-0.96 and OR 0.06 (95% CI: 0.02-0.18, respectively.The frequency of HLA-DRB1 risk alleles for type 1 diabetes is significantly lower in patients with MODY. In children and adolescents with diabetes, the presence of 2 risk alleles (DR3 and/or DR4 reduces the probability of MODY diagnosis, whereas the lack of risk alleles increases it. Therefore, we might consider that HLA-DRB1 provides additional information for the selection of patients with high probability of monogenic diabetes.

  3. Type 2 diabetes risk alleles demonstrate extreme directional differentiation among human populations, compared to other diseases.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rong Chen

    Full Text Available Many disease-susceptible SNPs exhibit significant disparity in ancestral and derived allele frequencies across worldwide populations. While previous studies have examined population differentiation of alleles at specific SNPs, global ethnic patterns of ensembles of disease risk alleles across human diseases are unexamined. To examine these patterns, we manually curated ethnic disease association data from 5,065 papers on human genetic studies representing 1,495 diseases, recording the precise risk alleles and their measured population frequencies and estimated effect sizes. We systematically compared the population frequencies of cross-ethnic risk alleles for each disease across 1,397 individuals from 11 HapMap populations, 1,064 individuals from 53 HGDP populations, and 49 individuals with whole-genome sequences from 10 populations. Type 2 diabetes (T2D demonstrated extreme directional differentiation of risk allele frequencies across human populations, compared with null distributions of European-frequency matched control genomic alleles and risk alleles for other diseases. Most T2D risk alleles share a consistent pattern of decreasing frequencies along human migration into East Asia. Furthermore, we show that these patterns contribute to disparities in predicted genetic risk across 1,397 HapMap individuals, T2D genetic risk being consistently higher for individuals in the African populations and lower in the Asian populations, irrespective of the ethnicity considered in the initial discovery of risk alleles. We observed a similar pattern in the distribution of T2D Genetic Risk Scores, which are associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program cohort, for the same individuals. This disparity may be attributable to the promotion of energy storage and usage appropriate to environments and inconsistent energy intake. Our results indicate that the differential frequencies of T2D risk alleles may

  4. Multifragment alleles in DNA fingerprints of the parrot, Amazona ventralis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brock, M.K.; White, B.N.

    1991-01-01

    Human DNA probes that identify variable numbers of tandem repeat loci are being used to generate DNA fingerprints in many animal and plant species. In most species the majority of the sc rable autoradiographic bands of the DNA fingerprint represent alleles from numerous unlinked loci. This study was initiated to use DNA fingerprints to determine the amount of band-sharing among captive Hispaniolan parrots (Amazona ventralis) with known genetic relationships. This would form the data base to examine DNA fingerprints of the closely related and endangered Puerto Rican parrot (A. vittata) and to estimate the degree of inbreeding in the relic population. We found by segregation analysis of the bands scored in the DNA fingerprints of the Hispaniolan parrots that there may be as few as two to five loci identified by the human 33.15 probe. Furthermore, at one locus we identified seven alleles, one of which is represented by as many as 19 cosegregating bands. It is unknown how common multiband alleles might be in natural populations, and their existence will cause problems in the assessment of relatedness by band-sharing analysis. We believe, therefore, that a pedigree analysis should be included in all DNA fingerprinting studies, where possible, in order to estimate the number of loci identified by a minisatellite DNA probe and to examine the nature of their alleles.

  5. Recombinational micro-evolution of functionally different metallothionein promoter alleles from Orchesella cincta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van Straalen Nico M

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Metallothionein (mt transcription is elevated in heavy metal tolerant field populations of Orchesella cincta (Collembola. This suggests that natural selection acts on transcriptional regulation of mt in springtails at sites where cadmium (Cd levels in soil reach toxic values This study investigates the nature and the evolutionary origin of polymorphisms in the metallothionein promoter (pmt and their functional significance for mt expression. Results We sequenced approximately 1600 bp upstream the mt coding region by genome walking. Nine pmt alleles were discovered in NW-European populations. They differ in the number of some indels, consensus transcription factor binding sites and core promoter elements. Extensive recombination events between some of the alleles can be inferred from the alignment. A deviation from neutral expectations was detected in a cadmium tolerant population, pointing towards balancing selection on some promoter stretches. Luciferase constructs were made from the most abundant alleles, and responses to Cd, paraquat (oxidative stress inducer and moulting hormone were studied in cell lines. By using paraquat we were able to dissect the effect of oxidative stress from the Cd specific effect, and extensive differences in mt induction levels between these two stressors were observed. Conclusion The pmt alleles evolved by a number of recombination events, and exhibited differential inducibilities by Cd, paraquat and molting hormone. In a tolerant population from a metal contaminated site, promoter allele frequencies differed significantly from a reference site and nucleotide polymorphisms in some promoter stretches deviated from neutral expectations, revealing a signature of balancing selection. Our results suggest that the structural differences in the Orchesella cincta metallothionein promoter alleles contribute to the metallothionein -over-expresser phenotype in cadmium tolerant populations.

  6. Allele frequencies of AVPR1A and MAOA in the Afrikaner population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Christoff Erasmus

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The Afrikaner population was founded mainly by European immigrants that arrived in South Africa from 1652. However, female slaves from Asia and Africa and local KhoeSan women may have contributed as much as 7% to this population’s genes. We quantified variation at two tandem repeats to see if this historical founder effect and/or admixture could be detected. The two loci were chosen because they are in the promoters of genes of neurotransmitters that are known to be correlated with social behaviour. Specifically, arginine vasopressin receptor 1A’s (AVPR1A RS3 locus has been shown to correlate with age of sexual onset and happiness in monogamous relationships while the tandem repeat in the promoter of the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA gene correlates with reactive aggression. The Afrikaner population contained more AVPR1A RS3 alleles than other Caucasoid populations, potentially reflecting a history of admixture. Even though Afrikaners have one of the lowest recorded non-paternity rates in the world, the population did not differ at AVPR1A RS3 locus form other European populations, suggesting a non-genetic explanation, presumably religion, for the low non-paternity rate. By comparing population allele-frequency spectra it was found that different studies have confused AVPR1A RS3 alleles and we make some suggestions to rectify these mistakes in future studies. While MAOA allele frequencies differed between racial groups, the Afrikaner population showed no evidence of admixture. In fact, Afrikaners had more 4-repeat alleles than other populations of European origin, not fewer. The 4-repeat allele may have been selected for during colonisation.

  7. DNA Methylation Analysis of BRD1 Promoter Regions and the Schizophrenia rs138880 Risk Allele.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mads Dyrvig

    Full Text Available The bromodomain containing 1 gene, BRD1 is essential for embryogenesis and CNS development. It encodes a protein that participates in histone modifying complexes and thereby regulates the expression of a large number of genes. Genetic variants in the BRD1 locus show association with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and risk alleles in the promoter region correlate with reduced BRD1 expression. Insights into the transcriptional regulation of BRD1 and the pathogenic mechanisms associated with BRD1 risk variants, however, remain sparse. By studying transcripts in human HeLa and SH-SY5Y cells we provide evidence for differences in relative expression of BRD1 transcripts with three alternative 5' UTRs (exon 1C, 1B, and 1A. We further show that expression of these transcript variants covaries negatively with DNA methylation proportions in their upstream promoter regions suggesting that promoter usage might be regulated by DNA methylation. In line with findings that the risk allele of the rs138880 SNP in the BRD1 promoter region correlates with reduced BRD1 expression, we find that it is also associated with moderate regional BRD1 promoter hypermethylation in both adipose tissue and blood. Importantly, we demonstrate by inspecting available DNA methylation and expression data that these regions undergo changes in methylation during fetal brain development and that differences in their methylation proportions in fetal compared to postnatal frontal cortex correlate significantly with BRD1 expression. These findings suggest that BRD1 may be dysregulated in both the developing and mature brain of risk allele carriers. Finally, we demonstrate that commonly used mood stabilizers Lithium, Valproate, and Carbamazepine affect the expression of BRD1 in SH-SY5Y cells. Altogether this study indicates a link between genetic risk and epigenetic dysregulation of BRD1 which raises interesting perspectives for targeting the mechanisms pharmacologically.

  8. Identification of a new defective SERPINA1 allele (PI*Zla palma) encoding an alpha-1-antitrypsin with altered glycosylation pattern.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández-Pérez, José M; Ramos-Díaz, Ruth; Pérez, José A

    2017-10-01

    Alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is a genetic condition that arises from mutations in the SERPINA1 gene and predisposes to develop pulmonary emphysema and, less frequently, liver disease. Occasionally, new defective SERPINA1 alleles are detected as an outcome of targeted-screening programs or case-findings. This study began with a female patient showing bronchial hyperreactivity. Serum level and phenotype for AAT was analysed by immunonephelometry and isoelectric focusing electrophoresis. The SERPINA1 gene of the proband was genotyped by PCR amplification and DNA sequencing. Analysis of AAT deficiency was extended to the proband's family. An abnormal AAT variant that migrated to a more cathodal position than PiZ AAT was detected in the proband's serum. Genetic analysis demonstrated that proband is heterozygous for a new defective SERPINA1 allele (PI*Z la palma ) characterized by the c.321C > A (p.Asn83Lys) mutation in the M1Val213 background. This mutation abolishes the N-glycosylation site in position 83 of the mature AAT. Eight relatives of the proband are carriers of the PI*Z la palma allele and four of them have shown symptoms of bronchial asthma or bronchial hyperreactivity. The mean α1AT level in the serum of PI*MZ la palma individuals was 87.1 mg/dl. The reduction in circulating AAT levels associated to the PI*Z la palma allele was similar to that of PI*Z allele, representing a risk of impairment in lung function. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Association between allelic variants of the human glucocorticoid receptor gene and autoimmune diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrera, Cristian; Marcos, Miguel; Carbonell, Cristina; Mirón-Canelo, José Antonio; Espinosa, Gerard; Cervera, Ricard; Chamorro, Antonio-Javier

    2018-05-01

    The human glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) is considered to play a role in the differences and sensitivities of the glucocorticoid response in individuals with autoimmune diseases. The objective of this study was to examine by means of a systematic review previous findings regarding allelic variants of NR3C1 in relation to the risk of developing systemic autoimmune diseases. Studies that analysed the genotype distribution of NR3C1 allelic variants among patients with systemic autoimmune diseases were retrieved. A meta-analysis was conducted with a random effects model. Odds ratios (ORs) and their confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. In addition, sub-analysis by ethnicity, sensitivity analysis and tests for heterogeneity of the results were performed. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis. We found no evidence that the analysed NR3C1 polymorphisms, rs6198, rs56149945, and rs6189/rs6190, modulate the risk of developing a systemic autoimmune disease. Nonetheless, a protective role for the minor allele of rs41423247 was found among Caucasians (OR=0.78; 95% CI: 0.65, 0.92; P=0.004). A subgroup analysis according to underlying diseases revealed no significant association either for Behçet's disease or rheumatoid arthritis, while correlations between NR3C1 polymorphisms and disease activity or response to glucocorticoids could not be evaluated due to insufficient data. There is no clear evidence that the analysed NR3C1 allelic variants confer a risk for developing systemic autoimmune diseases although the minor G allele of rs41423247 may be protective among Caucasians. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Power laws for heavy-tailed distributions: modeling allele and haplotype diversity for the national marrow donor program.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noa Slater

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Measures of allele and haplotype diversity, which are fundamental properties in population genetics, often follow heavy tailed distributions. These measures are of particular interest in the field of hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT. Donor/Recipient suitability for HSCT is determined by Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA similarity. Match predictions rely upon a precise description of HLA diversity, yet classical estimates are inaccurate given the heavy-tailed nature of the distribution. This directly affects HSCT matching and diversity measures in broader fields such as species richness. We, therefore, have developed a power-law based estimator to measure allele and haplotype diversity that accommodates heavy tails using the concepts of regular variation and occupancy distributions. Application of our estimator to 6.59 million donors in the Be The Match Registry revealed that haplotypes follow a heavy tail distribution across all ethnicities: for example, 44.65% of the European American haplotypes are represented by only 1 individual. Indeed, our discovery rate of all U.S. European American haplotypes is estimated at 23.45% based upon sampling 3.97% of the population, leaving a large number of unobserved haplotypes. Population coverage, however, is much higher at 99.4% given that 90% of European Americans carry one of the 4.5% most frequent haplotypes. Alleles were found to be less diverse suggesting the current registry represents most alleles in the population. Thus, for HSCT registries, haplotype discovery will remain high with continued recruitment to a very deep level of sampling, but population coverage will not. Finally, we compared the convergence of our power-law versus classical diversity estimators such as Capture recapture, Chao, ACE and Jackknife methods. When fit to the haplotype data, our estimator displayed favorable properties in terms of convergence (with respect to sampling depth and accuracy (with respect to diversity

  11. Inactivation and inducible oncogenic mutation of p53 in gene targeted pigs.

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    Simon Leuchs

    Full Text Available Mutation of the tumor suppressor p53 plays a major role in human carcinogenesis. Here we describe gene-targeted porcine mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs and live pigs carrying a latent TP53(R167H mutant allele, orthologous to oncogenic human mutant TP53(R175H and mouse Trp53(R172H, that can be activated by Cre recombination. MSCs carrying the latent TP53(R167H mutant allele were analyzed in vitro. Homozygous cells were p53 deficient, and on continued culture exhibited more rapid proliferation, anchorage independent growth, and resistance to the apoptosis-inducing chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin, all characteristic of cellular transformation. Cre mediated recombination activated the latent TP53(R167H allele as predicted, and in homozygous cells expressed mutant p53-R167H protein at a level ten-fold greater than wild-type MSCs, consistent with the elevated levels found in human cancer cells. Gene targeted MSCs were used for nuclear transfer and fifteen viable piglets were produced carrying the latent TP53(R167H mutant allele in heterozygous form. These animals will allow study of p53 deficiency and expression of mutant p53-R167H to model human germline, or spontaneous somatic p53 mutation. This work represents the first inactivation and mutation of the gatekeeper tumor suppressor gene TP53 in a non-rodent mammal.

  12. Nitric oxide synthase gene G298 allele

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagib El-Kilany, Galal E.; Nayel, Ehab; Hazzaa, Sahar

    2004-01-01

    Background: Nitric oxide (NO) has an important effect on blood pressure, arterial wall, and the basal release of endothelial NO in hypertension (HPN) may be reduced. Until now, there is no solid data revealing the potential role of the polymorphism of the nitric oxide synthase gene (NOS) in patients with HPN and microvascular angina. Aim: The aim of the present study is to investigate the gene of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), as the polymorphism of this gene may be a putative candidate for HPN and initiate the process of atherosclerosis. Methods: Sixty participants were recruited for this study; 50 were hypertensive patients complaining of chest pain [30 of them have electrocardiogram (EKG) changes of ischemia], 20 had isolated HPN, and 10 healthy volunteers served as control. All patients underwent stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) and coronary angiography. Genotyping of eNOS for all patients and controls was performed. The linkages between HPN, microvascular angina and eNOS gene polymorphism were investigated. Results: MPI and coronary angiography revealed that 15 patients had chest pain with true ischemia and reversible myocardial perfusion defects (multiple and mild) but normal epicardial coronary arteries (microvascular angina), while 15 patients had significant coronary artery disease (CAD), and 20 hypertensive patients showed normal perfusion scan and coronary angiography. The prevalence of the NOS G 298 allele was higher in the hypertensive group with microvascular angina (documented by MPI) than it was among the control participants (P<.005). The eNOS allele was significantly higher in the hypertensive group than in the control participants, but there was no significant difference in homozygote mutants among hypertensive participants, x-syndrome and patients with CAD. Conclusion: eNOS gene polymorphism is proved to be an important etiology in microvascular angina (x-syndrome) among hypertensive patients. In addition, the eNOS mutant

  13. Allele Age Under Non-Classical Assumptions is Clarified by an Exact Computational Markov Chain Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Sanctis, Bianca; Krukov, Ivan; de Koning, A P Jason

    2017-09-19

    Determination of the age of an allele based on its population frequency is a well-studied problem in population genetics, for which a variety of approximations have been proposed. We present a new result that, surprisingly, allows the expectation and variance of allele age to be computed exactly (within machine precision) for any finite absorbing Markov chain model in a matter of seconds. This approach makes none of the classical assumptions (e.g., weak selection, reversibility, infinite sites), exploits modern sparse linear algebra techniques, integrates over all sample paths, and is rapidly computable for Wright-Fisher populations up to N e  = 100,000. With this approach, we study the joint effect of recurrent mutation, dominance, and selection, and demonstrate new examples of "selective strolls" where the classical symmetry of allele age with respect to selection is violated by weakly selected alleles that are older than neutral alleles at the same frequency. We also show evidence for a strong age imbalance, where rare deleterious alleles are expected to be substantially older than advantageous alleles observed at the same frequency when population-scaled mutation rates are large. These results highlight the under-appreciated utility of computational methods for the direct analysis of Markov chain models in population genetics.

  14. Association of apolipoprotein E allele {epsilon}4 with late-onset sporadic Alzheimer`s disease

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lucotte, G.; David, F.; Berriche, S. [Regional Center of Neurogenetics, Reims (France)] [and others

    1994-09-15

    Apolipoprotein E, type {epsilon}4 allele (ApoE {epsilon}4), is associated with late-onset sporadic Alzheimer`s disease (AD) in French patients. The association is highly significant (0.45 AD versus 0.12 controls for {epsilon}4 allele frequencies). These data support the involvement of ApoE {epsilon}4 allele as a very important risk factor for the clinical expression of AD. 22 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs.

  15. The TGFBR1*6A allele is not associated with susceptibility to colorectal cancer in a Spanish population: a case-control study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castillejo, Adela; Guillén-Ponce, Carmen; Carrato, Alfredo; Soto, José-Luís; Mata-Balaguer, Trinidad; Montenegro, Paola; Ochoa, Enrique; Lázaro, Rafael; Martínez-Cantó, Ana; Castillejo, María-Isabel; Guarinos, Carla; Barberá, Víctor-Manuel

    2009-01-01

    TGF-β receptor type I is a mediator of growth inhibitory signals. TGFBR1*6A (rs11466445) is a common polymorphic variant of the TGF-β receptor I gene and has been associated with tumour susceptibility. Nevertheless, the role of this polymorphism as a risk factor for colorectal cancer is controversial. The aim of this study was to assess the association between TGFBR1*6A and colorectal cancer, age, sex, tumour location and tumour stage in a Spanish population. The case-control study involved 800 Spanish subjects: 400 sporadic colorectal cancer patients and 400 age-, sex-, and ethnic-matched controls. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for the TGFBR1*6A polymorphism were calculated using unconditional logistic regression adjusted for age and sex. Analysis of somatic mutations at the GCG repeat of TGFBR1 exon 1 and germline allele-specific expression were also conducted to obtain further information on the contribution of the TGFBR1*6A allele to CRC susceptibility. There was no statistically significant association between the TGFBR1*6A allele and CRC (p > 0.05). The OR was 1.147 (95% CI: 0.799–1.647) for carriers of the TGFBR1*6A allele and 0.878 (95% CI: 0.306–2.520) for homozygous TGFBR1*6A individuals compared with the reference. The frequency of the polymorphism was not affected by age, sex or tumour stage. The TGFBR1*6A allele was more prevalent among colon tumour patients than among rectal tumour patients. Tumour somatic mutations were found in only two of 69 cases (2.9%). Both cases involved a GCG deletion that changed genotype 9A/9A in normal DNA to genotype 9A/8A. Interestingly, these two tumours were positive for microsatellite instability, suggesting that these mutations originated because of a deficient DNA mismatch repair system. Allele-specific expression of the 9A allele was detected in seven of the 14 heterozygous 9A/6A tumour cases. This could have been caused by linkage disequilibrium of the TGFBR1*6A allele with

  16. Study of $\\pi^{-}p$ interactions with neutral final states

    CERN Document Server

    2002-01-01

    This experiment is a study of the production of neutral particles or states decaying into photons in the reaction $\\pi^{-} + p \\rightarrow M^{0} + n$ at SPS energies. \\\\ \\\\ Special attention is paid to the measurement of the production of heavy particles with hidden quantum numbers and of possible new heavy spinless states decaying into two photons. \\\\ \\\\ The large four-momentum transfer behaviour of binary processes involving known neutral mesons and the production of new meson resonances with high mass and spin will also be studied. Complex multiparticle final states will be analysed as a by-product.\\\\ \\\\ The central unit of the experimental set-up is a 4000 cell Cerenkov hodoscope spectrometer (GAMS) which allows the measurement of the momentum vector of each $\\gamma$ in a multigamma event. \\\\ \\\\ The longitudinal position of the interaction point in the liquid hydrogen target is measured by the Cerenkov light intensity. \\\\ \\\\ A guard system, made of scintillation counters and lead-glass Cerenkov counters, ...

  17. The genetic basis of resistance and matching-allele interactions of a host-parasite system: The Daphnia magna-Pasteuria ramosa model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gilberto Bento

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Negative frequency-dependent selection (NFDS is an evolutionary mechanism suggested to govern host-parasite coevolution and the maintenance of genetic diversity at host resistance loci, such as the vertebrate MHC and R-genes in plants. Matching-allele interactions of hosts and parasites that prevent the emergence of host and parasite genotypes that are universally resistant and infective are a genetic mechanism predicted to underpin NFDS. The underlying genetics of matching-allele interactions are unknown even in host-parasite systems with empirical support for coevolution by NFDS, as is the case for the planktonic crustacean Daphnia magna and the bacterial pathogen Pasteuria ramosa. We fine-map one locus associated with D. magna resistance to P. ramosa and genetically characterize two haplotypes of the Pasteuria resistance (PR- locus using de novo genome and transcriptome sequencing. Sequence comparison of PR-locus haplotypes finds dramatic structural polymorphisms between PR-locus haplotypes including a large portion of each haplotype being composed of non-homologous sequences resulting in haplotypes differing in size by 66 kb. The high divergence of PR-locus haplotypes suggest a history of multiple, diverse and repeated instances of structural mutation events and restricted recombination. Annotation of the haplotypes reveals striking differences in gene content. In particular, a group of glycosyltransferase genes that is present in the susceptible but absent in the resistant haplotype. Moreover, in natural populations, we find that the PR-locus polymorphism is associated with variation in resistance to different P. ramosa genotypes, pointing to the PR-locus polymorphism as being responsible for the matching-allele interactions that have been previously described for this system. Our results conclusively identify a genetic basis for the matching-allele interaction observed in a coevolving host-parasite system and provide a first insight into

  18. The genetic basis of resistance and matching-allele interactions of a host-parasite system: The Daphnia magna-Pasteuria ramosa model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bento, Gilberto; Routtu, Jarkko; Fields, Peter D; Bourgeois, Yann; Du Pasquier, Louis; Ebert, Dieter

    2017-02-01

    Negative frequency-dependent selection (NFDS) is an evolutionary mechanism suggested to govern host-parasite coevolution and the maintenance of genetic diversity at host resistance loci, such as the vertebrate MHC and R-genes in plants. Matching-allele interactions of hosts and parasites that prevent the emergence of host and parasite genotypes that are universally resistant and infective are a genetic mechanism predicted to underpin NFDS. The underlying genetics of matching-allele interactions are unknown even in host-parasite systems with empirical support for coevolution by NFDS, as is the case for the planktonic crustacean Daphnia magna and the bacterial pathogen Pasteuria ramosa. We fine-map one locus associated with D. magna resistance to P. ramosa and genetically characterize two haplotypes of the Pasteuria resistance (PR-) locus using de novo genome and transcriptome sequencing. Sequence comparison of PR-locus haplotypes finds dramatic structural polymorphisms between PR-locus haplotypes including a large portion of each haplotype being composed of non-homologous sequences resulting in haplotypes differing in size by 66 kb. The high divergence of PR-locus haplotypes suggest a history of multiple, diverse and repeated instances of structural mutation events and restricted recombination. Annotation of the haplotypes reveals striking differences in gene content. In particular, a group of glycosyltransferase genes that is present in the susceptible but absent in the resistant haplotype. Moreover, in natural populations, we find that the PR-locus polymorphism is associated with variation in resistance to different P. ramosa genotypes, pointing to the PR-locus polymorphism as being responsible for the matching-allele interactions that have been previously described for this system. Our results conclusively identify a genetic basis for the matching-allele interaction observed in a coevolving host-parasite system and provide a first insight into its molecular basis.

  19. Identification of Ppd-B1 alleles in common wheat cultivars by CAPS marker.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okoń, S; Kowalczyk, K; Miazga, D

    2012-05-01

    Photoperiod response is a major determinant of the duration of growth stages in common wheat. In common wheat, many genes play a role in determining flowering time, but the Ppd genes located on the homoeologous group 2 play a major role. Of these Ppd-B1 is located on the short arm of 2B. In 107 common wheat cultivars grown in Poland and neighboring countries, the identification of Ppd-B1 alleles using in-del analysis by using a CAPS markers was investigated. 87 cultivars were shown to carry dominant Ppd-B1 alleles. This shows that Ppd-B1 alleles is have been widely used in common wheat breeding programme in these countries. Recessive ppd-B1 alleles were found only in 20 cultivars (12 Polish, 5 former Soviet Union, 2 German, 1 Swedish).

  20. Conversion of Sleeve Gastrectomy to Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass is Effective for Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disease but not for Further Weight Loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parmar, Chetan D; Mahawar, Kamal K; Boyle, Maureen; Schroeder, Norbert; Balupuri, Shlok; Small, Peter K

    2017-07-01

    Inadequate weight loss (IWL)/weight regain (WR) and gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), unresponsive to medical management, are two most common indications for conversion of sleeve gastrectomy (SG) to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). This study reports detailed outcomes of conversion of SG to RYGB for these two indications separately. We interrogated our prospectively maintained database to identify patients who underwent a conversion of their SG to RYGB in our unit. Outcomes in patients converted for IWL/WR and those converted for GERD were evaluated separately. We carried out 22 SG to RYGB in our unit between Aug 2012 and April 2015 with a mean follow-up of 16 months. Indication for conversion was GERD in 10/22 (45.5%) patients and IWL/WR in 11/22 (50.0%) patients. Patients undergoing conversion for GERD were significantly lighter (BMI 30.5) than those converted for IWL/WR (BMI 43.3) at the time of conversion. The conversion was very effective for GERD with 100% patients reporting improvement in symptoms, and 80% patients were able to stop their antacid medications. IWL/WR group achieved a further BMI drop of 2.5 points 2 years after surgery (final BMI 40.8) in comparison with 2.0 points BMI drop achieved by the GERD group (final BMI 28.5). This study demonstrates that conversion of SG to RYGB is effective for GERD symptoms but not for further weight loss, which was modest in both groups. Future studies need to examine the best revisional procedure for IWL/WR after SG.

  1. TRPV6 alleles do not influence prostate cancer progression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kessler, Thorsten; Wissenbach, Ulrich; Grobholz, Rainer; Flockerzi, Veit

    2009-01-01

    The transient receptor potential, subfamily V, member 6 (TRPV6) is a Ca 2+ selective cation channel. Several studies have shown that TRPV6 transcripts are expressed in locally advanced prostatic adenocarcinoma, metastatic and androgen-insensitive prostatic lesions but are undetectable in healthy prostate tissue and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Two allelic variants of the human trpv6 gene have been identified which are transcribed into two independent mRNAs, TRPV6a and TRPV6b. We now asked, whether the trpv6a allele is correlated with the onset of prostate cancer, with the Gleason score and the tumour stage. Genomic DNA of prostate cancer patients and control individuals was isolated from resections of prostatic adenocarcinomas and salivary fluid respectively. Genotyping of SNPs of the TRPV6 gene was performed by restriction length polymorphism or by sequencing analysis. RNA used for RT-PCR was isolated from prostate tissue. Data sets were analyzed by Chi-Square test. We first characterized in detail the five polymorphisms present in the protein coding exons of the trpv6 gene and show that these polymorphisms are coupled and are underlying the TRPV6a and the TRPV6b variants. Next we analysed the frequencies of the two TRPV6 alleles using genomic DNA from saliva samples of 169 healthy individuals. The homozygous TRPV6b genotype predominated with 86%, whereas no homozygous TRPV6a carriers could be identified. The International HapMap Project identified a similar frequency for an Utah based population whereas in an African population the a-genotype prevailed. The incidence of prostate cancer is several times higher in African populations than in non-African and we then investigated the TRPV6a/b frequencies in 141 samples of prostatic adenocarcinoma. The TRPV6b allele was found in 87% of the samples without correlation with Gleason score and tumour stage. Our results show that the frequencies of trpv6 alleles in healthy control individuals and prostate cancer patients

  2. TRPV6 alleles do not influence prostate cancer progression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kessler, Thorsten; Wissenbach, Ulrich; Grobholz, Rainer; Flockerzi, Veit

    2009-10-26

    The transient receptor potential, subfamily V, member 6 (TRPV6) is a Ca(2+) selective cation channel. Several studies have shown that TRPV6 transcripts are expressed in locally advanced prostatic adenocarcinoma, metastatic and androgen-insensitive prostatic lesions but are undetectable in healthy prostate tissue and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Two allelic variants of the human trpv6 gene have been identified which are transcribed into two independent mRNAs, TRPV6a and TRPV6b. We now asked, whether the trpv6a allele is correlated with the onset of prostate cancer, with the Gleason score and the tumour stage. Genomic DNA of prostate cancer patients and control individuals was isolated from resections of prostatic adenocarcinomas and salivary fluid respectively. Genotyping of SNPs of the TRPV6 gene was performed by restriction length polymorphism or by sequencing analysis. RNA used for RT-PCR was isolated from prostate tissue. Data sets were analyzed by Chi-Square test. We first characterized in detail the five polymorphisms present in the protein coding exons of the trpv6 gene and show that these polymorphisms are coupled and are underlying the TRPV6a and the TRPV6b variants. Next we analysed the frequencies of the two TRPV6 alleles using genomic DNA from saliva samples of 169 healthy individuals. The homozygous TRPV6b genotype predominated with 86%, whereas no homozygous TRPV6a carriers could be identified. The International HapMap Project identified a similar frequency for an Utah based population whereas in an African population the a-genotype prevailed. The incidence of prostate cancer is several times higher in African populations than in non-African and we then investigated the TRPV6a/b frequencies in 141 samples of prostatic adenocarcinoma. The TRPV6b allele was found in 87% of the samples without correlation with Gleason score and tumour stage. Our results show that the frequencies of trpv6 alleles in healthy control individuals and prostate cancer patients

  3. TRPV6 alleles do not influence prostate cancer progression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flockerzi Veit

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The transient receptor potential, subfamily V, member 6 (TRPV6 is a Ca2+ selective cation channel. Several studies have shown that TRPV6 transcripts are expressed in locally advanced prostatic adenocarcinoma, metastatic and androgen-insensitive prostatic lesions but are undetectable in healthy prostate tissue and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Two allelic variants of the human trpv6 gene have been identified which are transcribed into two independent mRNAs, TRPV6a and TRPV6b. We now asked, whether the trpv6a allele is correlated with the onset of prostate cancer, with the Gleason score and the tumour stage. Methods Genomic DNA of prostate cancer patients and control individuals was isolated from resections of prostatic adenocarcinomas and salivary fluid respectively. Genotyping of SNPs of the TRPV6 gene was performed by restriction length polymorphism or by sequencing analysis. RNA used for RT-PCR was isolated from prostate tissue. Data sets were analyzed by Chi-Square test. Results We first characterized in detail the five polymorphisms present in the protein coding exons of the trpv6 gene and show that these polymorphisms are coupled and are underlying the TRPV6a and the TRPV6b variants. Next we analysed the frequencies of the two TRPV6 alleles using genomic DNA from saliva samples of 169 healthy individuals. The homozygous TRPV6b genotype predominated with 86%, whereas no homozygous TRPV6a carriers could be identified. The International HapMap Project identified a similar frequency for an Utah based population whereas in an African population the a-genotype prevailed. The incidence of prostate cancer is several times higher in African populations than in non-African and we then investigated the TRPV6a/b frequencies in 141 samples of prostatic adenocarcinoma. The TRPV6b allele was found in 87% of the samples without correlation with Gleason score and tumour stage. Conclusion Our results show that the frequencies of trpv6

  4. Genetic structure, diversity, and allelic richness in composite collection and reference set in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gowda Cholenahalli LL

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Plant genetic resources (PGR are the basic raw materials for future genetic progress and an insurance against unforeseen threats to agricultural production. An extensive characterization of PGR provides an opportunity to dissect structure, mine allelic variations, and identify diverse accessions for crop improvement. The Generation Challenge Program http://www.generationcp.org conceptualized the development of "composite collections" and extraction of "reference sets" from these for more efficient tapping of global crop-related genetic resources. In this study, we report the genetic structure, diversity and allelic richness in a composite collection of chickpea using SSR markers, and formation of a reference set of 300 accessions. Results The 48 SSR markers detected 1683 alleles in 2915 accessions, of which, 935 were considered rare, 720 common and 28 most frequent. The alleles per locus ranged from 14 to 67, averaged 35, and the polymorphic information content was from 0.467 to 0.974, averaged 0.854. Marker polymorphism varied between groups of accessions in the composite collection and reference set. A number of group-specific alleles were detected: 104 in Kabuli, 297 in desi, and 69 in wild Cicer; 114 each in Mediterranean and West Asia (WA, 117 in South and South East Asia (SSEA, and 10 in African region accessions. Desi and kabuli shared 436 alleles, while wild Cicer shared 17 and 16 alleles with desi and kabuli, respectively. The accessions from SSEA and WA shared 74 alleles, while those from Mediterranean 38 and 33 alleles with WA and SSEA, respectively. Desi chickpea contained a higher proportion of rare alleles (53% than kabuli (46%, while wild Cicer accessions were devoid of rare alleles. A genotype-based reference set captured 1315 (78% of the 1683 composite collection alleles of which 463 were rare, 826 common, and 26 the most frequent alleles. The neighbour-joining tree diagram of this reference set represents

  5. Geographic differences in allele frequencies of susceptibility SNPs for cardiovascular disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kullo Iftikhar J

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background We hypothesized that the frequencies of risk alleles of SNPs mediating susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases differ among populations of varying geographic origin and that population-specific selection has operated on some of these variants. Methods From the database of genome-wide association studies (GWAS, we selected 36 cardiovascular phenotypes including coronary heart disease, hypertension, and stroke, as well as related quantitative traits (eg, body mass index and plasma lipid levels. We identified 292 SNPs in 270 genes associated with a disease or trait at P -8. As part of the Human Genome-Diversity Project (HGDP, 158 (54.1% of these SNPs have been genotyped in 938 individuals belonging to 52 populations from seven geographic areas. A measure of population differentiation, FST, was calculated to quantify differences in risk allele frequencies (RAFs among populations and geographic areas. Results Large differences in RAFs were noted in populations of Africa, East Asia, America and Oceania, when compared with other geographic regions. The mean global FST (0.1042 for 158 SNPs among the populations was not significantly higher than the mean global FST of 158 autosomal SNPs randomly sampled from the HGDP database. Significantly higher global FST (P FST of 2036 putatively neutral SNPs. For four of these SNPs, additional evidence of selection was noted based on the integrated Haplotype Score. Conclusion Large differences in RAFs for a set of common SNPs that influence risk of cardiovascular disease were noted between the major world populations. Pairwise comparisons revealed RAF differences for at least eight SNPs that might be due to population-specific selection or demographic factors. These findings are relevant to a better understanding of geographic variation in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease.

  6. Sex-specific allelic transmission bias suggests sexual conflict at MC1R.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ducret, Valérie; Gaigher, Arnaud; Simon, Céline; Goudet, Jérôme; Roulin, Alexandre

    2016-09-01

    Sexual conflict arises when selection in one sex causes the displacement of the other sex from its phenotypic optimum, leading to an inevitable tension within the genome - called intralocus sexual conflict. Although the autosomal melanocortin-1-receptor gene (MC1R) can generate colour variation in sexually dichromatic species, most previous studies have not considered the possibility that MC1R may be subject to sexual conflict. In the barn owl (Tyto alba), the allele MC1RWHITE is associated with whitish plumage coloration, typical of males, and the allele MC1RRUFOUS is associated with dark rufous coloration, typical of females, although each sex can express any phenotype. Because each colour variant is adapted to specific environmental conditions, the allele MC1RWHITE may be more strongly selected in males and the allele MC1RRUFOUS in females. We therefore investigated whether MC1R genotypes are in excess or deficit in male and female fledglings compared with the expected Hardy-Weinberg proportions. Our results show an overall deficit of 7.5% in the proportion of heterozygotes in males and of 12.9% in females. In males, interannual variation in assortative pairing with respect to MC1R explained the year-specific deviations from Hardy-Weinberg proportions, whereas in females, the deficit was better explained by the interannual variation in the probability of inheriting the MC1RWHITE or MC1RRUFOUS allele. Additionally, we observed that sons inherit the MC1RRUFOUS allele from their fathers on average slightly less often than expected under the first Mendelian law. Transmission ratio distortion may be adaptive in this sexually dichromatic species if males and females are, respectively, selected to display white and rufous plumages. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Frequency of CCR5Δ32 allele in healthy Bosniak population.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grażyna Adler

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Recent evidence has demonstrated the role of CCR5Δ32 in a variety of human diseases: from infectious and inflammatory diseases to cancer. Several studies have confirmed that genetic variants in chemokine receptor CCR5 gene are correlated with susceptibility and resistance to HIV infection. A 32-nucleotide deletion within the CCR5 reading frame is associated with decreased susceptibility to HIV acquisition and a slower progression to AIDS. Mean frequency of CCR5Δ32 allele in Europe is approximately 10%. The highest allele frequency is observed among Nordic populations (about 12% and lower in the regions of Southeast Mediterranean (about 5%. Although the frequency of CCR5Δ32 was determined in numerous European populations, there is a lack of studies on this variant in the Bosnia and Hercegovina population. Therefore, the aim of our study was to assess the frequency of CCR5Δ32 allele in the cohort of Bosniaks and compare the results with European reports. CCR5Δ32 was detected by sequence-specific PCR in a sample of 100 healthy subjects from Bosnia and Herzegovina (DNA collected 2011-2013.  Mean age of the cohort being 58.8 (±10.7 years, with 82% of women. We identified 17 heterozygotes and one mutant homozygote in study group, with mean ∆32 allele frequency of 9.5%. CCR5∆32 allele frequency among Bosniaks is comparable to that found in Caucasian populations and follows the pattern of the north-southern gradient observed for Europe. Further studies on larger cohorts with adequate female-to-male ratio are necessary. 

  8. Genotype calling in tetraploid species from bi-allelic marker data using mixture models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Voorrips, R.E.; Gort, G.; Vosman, B.

    2011-01-01

    Background: Automated genotype calling in tetraploid species was until recently not possible, which hampered genetic analysis. Modern genotyping assays often produce two signals, one for each allele of a bi-allelic marker. While ample software is available to obtain genotypes (homozygous for either

  9. Precision-engineering the Pseudomonas aeruginosa genome with two-step allelic exchange

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hmelo, Laura R; Borlee, Bradley R; Almblad, Henrik

    2015-01-01

    Allelic exchange is an efficient method of bacterial genome engineering. This protocol describes the use of this technique to make gene knockouts and knock-ins, as well as single-nucleotide insertions, deletions and substitutions, in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Unlike other approaches to allelic exch...

  10. Energy independent scaling of the ridge and final state description of high multiplicity p +p collisions at √{s }=7 and 13 TeV

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarkar, Debojit

    2018-02-01

    An energy independent scaling of the near-side ridge yield at a given multiplicity has been observed by the ATLAS and the CMS collaborations in p +p collisions at √{s }=7 and 13 TeV. Such a striking feature of the data can be successfully explained by approaches based on initial state momentum space correlation generated due to gluon saturation. In this paper, we try to examine if such a scaling is also an inherent feature of the approaches that employ strong final state interaction in p +p collisions. We find that hydrodynamical modeling of p +p collisions using EPOS 3 shows a violation of such scaling. The current study can, therefore, provide important new insights on the origin of long-range azimuthal correlations in high multiplicity p +p collisions at the LHC energies.

  11. The HLA-B*39 allele increases type 1 diabetes risk conferred by HLA-DRB1*04:04-DQB1*03:02 and HLA-DRB1*08-DQB1*04 class II haplotypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mikk, M-L; Kiviniemi, M; Laine, A-P; Härkönen, T; Veijola, R; Simell, O; Knip, M; Ilonen, J

    2014-01-01

    To further characterise the effect of the HLA-B*39 allele on type 1 diabetes risk we assessed its role in different HLA-DR/DQ haplotypes and genotypes using 1764 nuclear families with a diabetic child collected in the framework of the Finnish Paediatric Diabetes Register. HLA assays were based on sequence specific hybridization using lanthanide labelled oligonucleotide probes. Transmissions of major HLA-DR/DQ haplotypes with and without the HLA-B*39 allele to diabetic index cases were analysed by direct haplotype and allele counting. The HLA-B*39 allele significantly increased the disease risk conferred by DRB1*04:04-DQA1*03-DQB1*03:02 and (DR8)-DQB1*04 haplotypes. The same effect was observed on genotype level as disease association for the HLA-B*39 allele was observed in multiple genotypes containing DRB1*04:04-DQA1*03-DQB1*03:02 or (DR8)-DQB1*04 haplotypes. Finally we considered the two common subtypes of the HLA-B*39 allele, B*39:01 and B*39:06 and observed their unequal distribution when stratified for specific DR-DQ haplotypes. The risk for type 1 diabetes conferred by certain DR/DQ haplotypes is modified by the presence of the HLA-B*39 and this confirms the independent disease predisposing effect of the HLA-B*39 allele. The results can be applied in enhancing the sensitivity and specificity of DR/DQ based screening programs for subjects at disease risk. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. X-ray M4,5 Resonant Raman Scattering from La metal with final 4p hole: Calculations with 4p-4d-4f configuration interaction in the final state and comparison with the experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taguchi, M.; Braicovich, L.; Tagliaferri, A.; Dallera, C.; Giarda, K.; Ghiringhelli, G.; Brookes, N.B.; Borgatti, F.

    2001-03-01

    We consider the X-Ray Resonant Raman Scattering (RRS) in La in the whole M 4,5 region ending with a state with a 4p hole, along the sequence 3d 10 4f 0 →3d 9 4f 1 →3d 10 4p 5 4f 1 . The final state configuration mixes with that with two 4d holes i.e. 3d 10 4d 8 4f n+2 having almost the same energy. Thus RRS must be described by introducing final state Configuration Interaction (CI) between states with one 4p hole and with two 4d holes. This approach allows detailed experimental data on La-metal to be interpreted on the basis of a purely ionic approach. It is shown that the inclusion of CI is crucial and has very clear effects. The calculations with the Kramers-Heisenberg formula describe all measured spectral features appearing in the strict Raman regime i.e. dispersing with the incident photon energy. In the experiment also a nondispersive component is present when the excitation energy is greater than about 2 eV above the M 5 peak. The shape and position of this component is well accounted for by a model based on all possible partitions of the excitation energy between localised and extended states. However, the intensity of the nondispersive component is greater in the measurements, suggesting a rearrangement in the intermediate excited state. The comparison of ionic calculations with the metal measurements is legitimate, as shown by the comparison between the measurements on La-metal and on LaF 3 with M 5 excitation, giving the same spectrum within the experimental accuracy. Moreover, the experiment shows that the final lifetime broadening is much greater in the final states corresponding to lower outgoing photon energies than in the states corresponding to higher outgoing photon energies. (author)

  13. Correlation between carboxylesterase alleles and insecticide resistance in Culex pipiens complex from China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liu Yangyang

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In China, large amounts of chemical insecticides are applied in fields or indoors every year, directly or indirectly bringing selection pressure on vector mosquitoes. Culex pipiens complex has evolved to be resistant to all types of chemical insecticides, especially organophosphates, through carboxylesterases. Six resistant carboxylesterase alleles (Ester were recorded previously and sometimes co-existed in one field population, representing a complex situation for the evolution of Ester genes. Results In order to explore the evolutionary scenario, we analyzed the data from an historical record in 2003 and a recent investigation on five Culex pipiens pallens populations sampled from north China in 2010. Insecticide bioassays showed that these five populations had high resistance to pyrethroids, medium resistance to organophosphates, and low resistance to carbamates. Six types of Ester alleles, EsterB1, Ester2, Ester8, Ester9, EsterB10, and Ester11 were identified, and the overall pattern of their frequencies in geographic distribution was consistent with the report seven years prior to this study. Statistical correlation analysis indicated that Ester8 and Ester9 positively correlated with resistance to four insecticides, and EsterB10 to one insecticide. The occurrences of these three alleles were positively correlated, while the occurrence of EsterB1 was negatively correlated with Ester8, indicating an allelic competition. Conclusion Our analysis suggests that one insecticide can select multiple Ester alleles and one Ester allele can work on multiple insecticides. The evolutionary scenario of carboxylesterases under insecticide selection is possibly "one to many".

  14. HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DRB1 Allele and Haplotype Frequencies in Renal Transplant Candidates in a Population in Southern Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saito, Patrícia Keiko; Yamakawa, Roger Haruki; Noguti, Erika Noda; Bedendo, Gustavo Borelli; Júnior, Waldir Veríssimo da Silva; Yamada, Sérgio Seiji; Borelli, Sueli Donizete

    2016-05-01

    Very few studies have examined the diversity of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) in the Brazilian renal transplant candidates. The frequencies of the HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DRB1 alleles, haplotypes and phenotypes were studied in 522 patients with chronic renal failure, renal transplant candidates, registered at the Transplant Centers in north/northwestern Paraná State, southern Brazil. Patients were classified according to the ethnic group (319 whites [Caucasians], 134 mestizos [mixed race descendants of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians; browns or "pardos"] and 69 blacks). The HLA typing was performed by the polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific oligonucleotide method (PCR-SSO), combined with Luminex technology. In the analysis of the total samples, 20 HLA-A, 32 HLA-B, and 13 HLA-DRB1 allele groups were identified. The most frequent allele groups for each HLA locus were HLA-A*02 (25.4%), HLA-B*44 (10.9%), and HLA-DRB1*13 (13.9%). The most frequent haplotypes were HLA-A*01-B*08-DRB1*03 (2.3%), A*02-B*44-DRB1*07 (1.2%), and A*03-B*07-DRB1*11 (1.0%). Significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed in the HLA-A*68, B*08, and B*58 allele frequencies among ethnic groups. This study provides the first data on the HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DRB1 allele, phenotype and haplotype frequencies of renal transplant candidates in a population in southern Brazil. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. The FOXO3A rs2802292 G-Allele Associates with Improved Peripheral and Hepatic Insulin Sensitivity and Increased Skeletal Muscle-FOXO3A mRNA Expression in Twins

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Banasik, Karina; Ribel-Madsen, Rasmus; Gjesing, Anette P

    2011-01-01

    was genotyped in a phenotypically well-characterized population of young and elderly twins (n = 190) and in the population-based Inter99 cohort (n = 5768). All participants underwent oral glucose tolerance tests, and the twin population was additionally examined with an iv glucose tolerance test...... and a hyperinsulinemic, euglycemic clamp. Basal and insulin-stimulated FOXO3A mRNA expression was assessed in skeletal muscle biopsies from the twin population. Results: In the twin sample, carriers of the minor G-allele of rs2802292 showed reduced fasting plasma insulin [per allele effect (ß) = -13% (-24; -1) (95......% confidence interval), P = 0.03] and lower incremental area under the curve 0–120 min for insulin after an oral glucose load [ß = -14% (-23; -5), P = 0.005]. The G-allele was associated with increased peripheral insulin action [glucose disposal rate clamp, ß = 0.85 mg · kgfat-free mass-1 · min-1 (0.049; 1...

  16. VCS-SSA Mainz Experiment. Measurement of the beam spin asymmetry in (e polarized p {yields} ep{gamma}) and (e polarized p {yields} ep{pi}{sup 0}). Final analysis - MEMO I

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fonvieille, H.; Bensafa, I. [LPC-Clermont-Fd, Universite Blaise Pascal, F-63170 Aubiere Cedex (France)

    2006-02-15

    This note gives details on the final analysis of the VCS-SSA experiment in terms of Beam Spin Asymmetry. It summarizes the changes between the first and second pass analysis. Then the measured asymmetry is presented for both channels e polarized p {yields} ep{gamma} and e polarized p {yields} ep{pi}{sup 0} including systematic studies. The final experimental result is briefly compared to some model predictions. (authors)

  17. Association of an INSIG2 obesity allele with cardiovascular phenotypes is gender and age dependent

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erdman Robert

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The INSIG2 gene has been implicated in cholesterol metabolism and a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP near INSIG2 has been shown to be associated with obesity. We sought to determine the relationship of the INSIG2 SNP to cardiovascular disease (CVD related phenotypes. Methods and Results Nine hundred forty six patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI in wave 5 of the multicenter NHLBI Dynamic Registry were genotyped using RT-PCR/TaqMan/allelic discrimination for the rs7566605 SNP near the INSIG2 gene. Clinical variables analyzed include demographics, medical history, and procedural details. The prevalence of peripheral vascular disease (PVD was significantly higher in older men (≥65 years who were either homozygous or carriers of the obesity/lipid risk allele ("C" compared to non-carriers (odds ratio 3.4, p = 0.013 using a logistic regression model incorporating history of hypercholesterolemia, history of hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, history of diabetes, and BMI. A similar relationship with cerebrovascular disease was found in older (>65 women (odds ratio 3.4, p = 0.013. The INSIG2 SNP was not associated with BMI, nor with other clinical variables. Conclusion Age and gender may influence the association of the INSIG2 obesity SNP with PVD and cerebrovascular disease in patients with pre-existing CVD.

  18. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) alleles in the Quechua, a high altitude South American native population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rupert, J L; Devine, D V; Monsalve, M V; Hochachka, P W

    1999-01-01

    Recently it was reported that an allelic variant of the gene encoding angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) was significantly over-represented in a cohort of elite British mountaineers. It was proposed that this may be evidence for a specific genetic factor influencing the human capacity for physical performance. The implication that this allele could enhance performance at high altitude prompted us to determine its frequency in Quechua speaking natives living at altitudes greater than 3000m on the Andean Altiplano in South America. We found that the frequency of the putative performance allele in the Quechuas, although significantly higher than in Caucasians, was not different from lowland Native American populations. This observation suggests that, although the higher frequency of the 'performance allele' may have facilitated the migration of the ancestral Quechua to the highlands, the ACE insertion allele has not been subsequently selected for in this high altitude population.

  19. Suspension Array for Multiplex Detection of Eight Fungicide-Resistance Related Alleles in Botrytis cinerea

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, Xin; Xie, Fei; Lv, Baobei; Zhao, Pengxiang; Ma, Xuemei

    2016-01-01

    A simple and high-throughput assay to detect fungicide resistance is required for large-scale monitoring of the emergence of resistant strains of Botrytis cinerea. Using suspension array technology performed on a Bio-Plex 200 System, we developed a single-tube allele-specific primer extension (ASPE) assay that can simultaneously detect eight alleles in one reaction. These eight alleles include E198 and 198A of the β-Tubulin gene (BenA), H272 and 272Y of the Succinate dehydrogenase iron–sulfur...

  20. A new mutation for Huntington disease following maternal transmission of an intermediate allele

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Semaka, Alicia; Kay, Chris; Belfroid, René D. M.; Bijlsma, Emilia K.; Losekoot, Monique; van Langen, Irene M.; van Maarle, Merel C.; Oosterloo, Mayke; Hayden, Michael R.; van Belzen, Martine J.

    2015-01-01

    New mutations for Huntington disease (HD) originate from CAG repeat expansion of intermediate alleles (27-35 CAG). Expansions of such alleles into the pathological range (≥ 36 CAG) have been exclusively observed in paternal transmission. We report the occurrence of a new mutation that defies the

  1. Discovery of a Novel er1 Allele Conferring Powdery Mildew Resistance in Chinese Pea (Pisum sativum L.) Landraces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Suli; Fu, Haining; Wang, Zhongyi; Duan, Canxing; Zong, Xuxiao; Zhu, Zhendong

    2016-01-01

    Pea powdery mildew, caused by Erysiphe pisi D.C., is an important disease worldwide. Deployment of resistant varieties is the main way to control this disease. This study aimed to screen Chinese pea (Pisum sativum L.) landraces resistant to E. pisi, and to characterize the resistance gene(s) at the er1 locus in the resistant landraces, and to develop functional marker(s) specific to the novel er1 allele. The 322 landraces showed different resistance levels. Among them, 12 (3.73%), 4 (1.24%) and 17 (5.28%) landraces showed immunity, high resistance and resistance to E. pisi, respectively. The other landraces appeared susceptible or highly susceptible to E. pisi. Most of the immune and highly resistant landraces were collected from Yunnan province. To characterize the resistance gene at the er1 locus, cDNA sequences of PsMLO1 gene were determined in 12 immune and four highly resistant accessions. The cDNAs of PsMLO1 from the immune landrace G0005576 produced three distinct transcripts, characterized by a 129-bp deletion, and 155-bp and 220-bp insertions, which were consistent with those of er1-2 allele. The PsMLO1 cDNAs in the other 15 resistant landraces produced identical transcripts, which had a new point mutation (T→C) at position 1121 of PsMLO1, indicating a novel er1 allele, designated as er1-6. This mutation caused a leucine to proline change in the amino acid sequence. Subsequently, the resistance allele er1-6 in landrace G0001778 was confirmed by resistance inheritance analysis and genetic mapping on the region of the er1 locus using populations derived from G0001778 × Bawan 6. Finally, a functional marker specific to er1-6, SNP1121, was developed using the high-resolution melting technique, which could be used in pea breeding via marker-assisted selection. The results described here provide valuable genetic information for Chinese pea landraces and a powerful tool for pea breeders. PMID:26809053

  2. Hypomorphic temperature-sensitive alleles of NSDHL cause CK syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLarren, Keith W; Severson, Tesa M; du Souich, Christèle; Stockton, David W; Kratz, Lisa E; Cunningham, David; Hendson, Glenda; Morin, Ryan D; Wu, Diane; Paul, Jessica E; An, Jianghong; Nelson, Tanya N; Chou, Athena; DeBarber, Andrea E; Merkens, Louise S; Michaud, Jacques L; Waters, Paula J; Yin, Jingyi; McGillivray, Barbara; Demos, Michelle; Rouleau, Guy A; Grzeschik, Karl-Heinz; Smith, Raffaella; Tarpey, Patrick S; Shears, Debbie; Schwartz, Charles E; Gecz, Jozef; Stratton, Michael R; Arbour, Laura; Hurlburt, Jane; Van Allen, Margot I; Herman, Gail E; Zhao, Yongjun; Moore, Richard; Kelley, Richard I; Jones, Steven J M; Steiner, Robert D; Raymond, F Lucy; Marra, Marco A; Boerkoel, Cornelius F

    2010-12-10

    CK syndrome (CKS) is an X-linked recessive intellectual disability syndrome characterized by dysmorphism, cortical brain malformations, and an asthenic build. Through an X chromosome single-nucleotide variant scan in the first reported family, we identified linkage to a 5 Mb region on Xq28. Sequencing of this region detected a segregating 3 bp deletion (c.696_698del [p.Lys232del]) in exon 7 of NAD(P) dependent steroid dehydrogenase-like (NSDHL), a gene that encodes an enzyme in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. We also found that males with intellectual disability in another reported family with an NSDHL mutation (c.1098 dup [p.Arg367SerfsX33]) have CKS. These two mutations, which alter protein folding, show temperature-sensitive protein stability and complementation in Erg26-deficient yeast. As described for the allelic disorder CHILD syndrome, cells and cerebrospinal fluid from CKS patients have increased methyl sterol levels. We hypothesize that methyl sterol accumulation, not only cholesterol deficiency, causes CKS, given that cerebrospinal fluid cholesterol, plasma cholesterol, and plasma 24S-hydroxycholesterol levels are normal in males with CKS. In summary, CKS expands the spectrum of cholesterol-related disorders and insight into the role of cholesterol in human development. Copyright © 2010 The American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Effects of Repetitive Shoulder Activity on the Subacromial Space in Manual Wheelchair Users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yen-Sheng Lin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated (1 the effect of repetitive weight-relief raises (WR and shoulder external rotation (ER on the acromiohumeral distance (AHD among manual wheelchair users (MWUs and (2 the relationship between shoulder pain, subject characteristics, and AHD changes. Twenty-three MWUs underwent ultrasound imaging of the nondominant shoulder in an unloaded baseline position and while holding a WR position before and after the WR/ER tasks. Paired t-tests and Spearman correlational analysis were used to assess differences in the AHD before and after each task and the relationships between pain, subject characteristics, and the AHD measures. A significant reduction in the subacromial space (P<0.01 occurred when subjects performed a WR position compared to baseline. Individuals with increased years of disability had greater AHD percentage narrowing after WR (P=0.008. Increased shoulder pain was associated with AHD percentage narrowing after ER (P≤0.007. The results support clinical practice guidelines that recommend MWUs limit WR to preserve shoulder function. The isolated repetitive shoulder activity did not contribute to the changes of subacromial space in MWUs. The ultrasonographic measurement of the AHD may be a target for identifying future interventions that prevent pain.

  4. The acylphosphatase (Acyp) alleles associate with male hybrid sterility in Drosophila.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michalak, Pawel; Ma, Daina

    2008-06-15

    Hybrid defects are believed to result from genetic incompatibilities between genes that have evolved in separate parental lineages. These genetic dysfunctions on the hybrid genomic background, also known as Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities, can be an incipient signature of speciation, and as such - a subject of active research. Here we present evidence that Acyp locus (CG16870) that encodes acylphosphatase, a small enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of acylphosphates and participates in ion transport across biological membranes, is involved in genetic incompatibilities leading to male sterility in hybrids between Drosophila simulans and D. mauritiana. There is a strong association between Acyp alleles (genotype) and the sterility/fertility pattern (phenotype), as well as between the phenotype, the genotype and its transcriptional activity. Allele-specific expression in hybrids heterozygous for Acyp suggests a cis-type regulation of this gene, where an allele from one of the parental species (D. simulans) is consistently overexpressed.

  5. Effect of Acute Maximal Exercise on Circulating Levels of Interleukin-12 during Ramadan Fasting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abedelmalek, Salma; Souissi, Nizar; Takayuki, Akimoto; Hadouk, Sami; Tabka, Zouhair

    2011-09-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Ramadan fasting on circulating levels of interleukin-12 (IL-12) after a brief maximal exercise. NINE SUBJECTS PERFORMED A WINGATE TEST ON THREE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS: (i) the first week of Ramadan (1WR), (ii) the fourth week of Ramadan (4WR), and (iii) three weeks after Ramadan (AR). Blood samples were taken before, immediately and 60 min after the exercise. Plasma concentrations of IL-12 were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Variance analysis revealed no significant effect of Ramadan on P(peak) and P(mean) during the three testing periods. Considering the effect of Ramadan on plasma concentrations of IL-12, analysis of the variance revealed a significant Ramadan effect (F((2,) (16))=66.27; P effect (F((2,) (16))= 120.66; P Ramadan × time) of test interaction (F((4,) (32))=2.40; P>0.05). For all measures, IL-12 levels were lower during 1WR and 4WR in comparison with AR (P effects, IL-12 levels measured immediately after the exercise were significantly higher than those measured before and at 60 minutes after the exercise (P Ramadan.

  6. Diversity of Lactase Persistence Alleles in Ethiopia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jones, BL; Raga, TO; Liebert, Anke

    2013-01-01

    The persistent expression of lactase into adulthood in humans is a recent genetic adaptation that allows the consumption of milk from other mammals after weaning. In Europe, a single allele (−13910∗T, rs4988235) in an upstream region that acts as an enhancer to the expression of the lactase gene ...

  7. Metabolic and haemodynamic effects of oral glucose loading in young healthy men carrying the 825T-allele of the G protein β3 subunit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenzel Rene R

    2003-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A C825T polymorphism was recently identified in the gene encoding the β3 subunit of heterotrimeric G-proteins (GNB3. The T-allele is significantly associated with essential hypertension and obesity. In order to further explore a possible pathogenetic link between the T-allele and impaired glucose tolerance we studied metabolic and haemodynamic responses to oral glucose loading in young, healthy subjects with and without the 825T-allele. Methods Twelve subjects with and 10 without the 825T-allele were investigated at rest and following glucose ingestion (75 g. Blood glucose, serum insulin and haemodynamics were determined prior to and over 2 hours following glucose ingestion. We non-invasively measured stroke volume (SV, by impedance-cardiography, blood pressure (BP, heart rate (HR, and systolic-time-intervals. Cardiac output (CO was calculated from HR and SV. Total peripheral resistance was calculated from CO and BP. Metabolic and haemodynamic changes were quantified by maximal responses and by calculation of areas under the concentration time profile (AUC. Significances of differences between subjects with and without the T-allele were determined by unpaired two-tailed t-tests. A p Results Metabolic and haemodynamic parameters at baseline were very similar between both groups. The presence of the T-allele did not alter the response of any metabolic or haemodynamic parameter to glucose loading. Conclusions In conclusion, this study does not support the hypothesis that the C825T polymorphism may serve as a genetic marker of early impaired glucose tolerance.

  8. Effects of water restriction following feeding on nutrient digestibilities, milk yield and composition and blood hormones in lactating Holstein cows under heat stress conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jalil Ghassemi Nejad

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The effects of water restriction following feeding under heat stress conditions on nutrient digestibilities, milk yield and composition and some blood hormones in lactating Holstein cows were evaluated. The design was completely randomized with 30 high producing lactating Holstein cows (80.8±40.5 DIM which were assigned to two treatment groups (15 cows per treatment. Treatments were free access to water (FAW and 2 h water restriction (2hWR following feeding. Average temperature-humidity index (THI in the farm was over 80 throughout the experiment which defines heat stress conditions. Neutral detergent fibre, organic matter and ether extract digestibilities increased by water restriction (P0.05. Water intake was recorded daily during the digestibility period and was not different between FAW and 2hWR group (P>0.05. Fat corrected milk was higher in 2hWR group than FAW group (P0.05. Somatic cell counts were greater in 2hWR than FAW group (P0.05. Blood prolactin and growth hormone were higher in 2hWR group than the FAW group (P<0.05. It is concluded that water restriction for 2 hours following feeding improved nutrient digestibility of some dietary components and increased milk fat percentage in lactating Holstein cows under heat stress conditions.

  9. A pseudodeficiency allele common in non-Jewish Tay-Sachs carriers: Implications for carrier screening

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Triggs-Raine, B.L.; Akerman, B.R.; Gravel, R.A. (McGill Univ.-Montreal Children' s Hospital Research Institute, Montreal, Quebec (Canada)); Mules, E.H.; Thomas, G.H.; Dowling, C.E. (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (United States)); Kaback, M.M.; Lim-Steele, J.S.T. (Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)); Natowicz, M.R. (Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center for Mental Retardation, Waltham, MA (United States)); Grebner, E.E. (Thomas Jefferson Univ., Philadelphia, PA (United States)); Navon, R.R. (Tel-Aviv Univ., Kfar-Sava (Israel)); Welch, J.P. (Dalhousie Univ., Halifax, Nova, Scotia (Canada)); Greenberg, C.R. (Univ. of Manitoba, Winnipeg (Canada))

    1992-10-01

    Deficiency of [beta]-hexosaminidase A (Hex A) activity typically results in Tay-Sachs disease. However, healthy subjects found to be deficient in Hex A activity (i.e., pseudodeficient) by means of in vitro biochemical tests have been described. The authors analyzed the HEXA gene of one pseudodeficient subject and identified both a C[sub 739]-to-T substitution that changes Arg[sub 247][yields]Trp on one allele and a previously identified Tay-Sachs disease mutation of the second allele. Six additional pseudodeficient subjects were found to have the C[sub 739]-to-T but for none of 36 Jewish enzyme-defined carries who did not have one of three known mutations common to this group. The C[sub 739]-to-T allele, together with a [open quotes]true[close quotes] Tay-Sachs disease allele, causes Hex A pseudodeficiency. Given both the large proportion of non-Jewish carriers with this allele and that standard biochemical screening cannot differentiate between heterozygotes for the C[sub 739]-to-T mutations and Tay-Sachs disease carriers, DNA testing for this mutation in at-risk couples is essential. This could prevent unnecessary or incorrect prenatal diagnoses. 40 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs.

  10. Interlaboratory comparison of fig (Ficus carica L. microsatellite genotyping data and determination of reference alleles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matjaž HLADNIK

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Microsatellites have been identified as the marker of choice in plant genotyping projects. However, due to length discrepancies obtained between different laboratories for the same allele, interlaboratory comparison of fingerprinting results is often a difficult task. The objectives of this study were to compare genotyping results of two laboratories, to evaluate genetic parameters of microsatellite markers and to determine reference allele sizes for fig cultivars from the Istrian peninsula.Genotyping results of ninety fig (Ficus carica L. accessions were comparable between the laboratories despite differences observed when comparing electropherograms of different capillary electrophoresis systems. Differences in lengths of the same alleles were detected due to different PCR methods and laboratory equipment, but the distances between alleles of the same locus were preserved. However, locus FSYC01 exhibited one allele dropout which led to misidentification of 28 heterozygotes as homozygote individuals suggesting this locus as unreliable. Allele dropout was assigned to the tail PCR technology or to a touchdown PCR protocol.Genotypes of twenty-four reference cultivars from the Istrian peninsula were confirmed by both laboratories. These results will contribute to the usage of markers with greater reliability, discrimination power and consequently, to more reliable standardization with other fig genotyping projects.

  11. Composition and functional analysis of low-molecular-weight glutenin alleles with Aroona near-isogenic lines of bread wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Xiaofei

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Low-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (LMW-GS strongly influence the bread-making quality of bread wheat. These proteins are encoded by a multi-gene family located at the Glu-A3, Glu-B3 and Glu-D3 loci on the short arms of homoeologous group 1 chromosomes, and show high allelic variation. To characterize the genetic and protein compositions of LMW-GS alleles, we investigated 16 Aroona near-isogenic lines (NILs using SDS-PAGE, 2D-PAGE and the LMW-GS gene marker system. Moreover, the composition of glutenin macro-polymers, dough properties and pan bread quality parameters were determined for functional analysis of LMW-GS alleles in the NILs. Results Using the LMW-GS gene marker system, 14–20 LMW-GS genes were identified in individual NILs. At the Glu-A3 locus, two m-type and 2–4 i-type genes were identified and their allelic variants showed high polymorphisms in length and nucleotide sequences. The Glu-A3d allele possessed three active genes, the highest number among Glu-A3 alleles. At the Glu-B3 locus, 2–3 m-type and 1–3 s-type genes were identified from individual NILs. Based on the different compositions of s-type genes, Glu-B3 alleles were divided into two groups, one containing Glu-B3a, B3b, B3f and B3g, and the other comprising Glu-B3c, B3d, B3h and B3i. Eight conserved genes were identified among Glu-D3 alleles, except for Glu-D3f. The protein products of the unique active genes in each NIL were detected using protein electrophoresis. Among Glu-3 alleles, the Glu-A3e genotype without i-type LMW-GS performed worst in almost all quality properties. Glu-B3b, B3g and B3i showed better quality parameters than the other Glu-B3 alleles, whereas the Glu-B3c allele containing s-type genes with low expression levels had an inferior effect on bread-making quality. Due to the conserved genes at Glu-D3 locus, Glu-D3 alleles showed no significant differences in effects on all quality parameters. Conclusions This work

  12. Systematic Functional Interrogation of Rare Cancer Variants Identifies Oncogenic Alleles | Office of Cancer Genomics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cancer genome characterization efforts now provide an initial view of the somatic alterations in primary tumors. However, most point mutations occur at low frequency, and the function of these alleles remains undefined. We have developed a scalable systematic approach to interrogate the function of cancer-associated gene variants. We subjected 474 mutant alleles curated from 5,338 tumors to pooled in vivo tumor formation assays and gene expression profiling. We identified 12 transforming alleles, including two in genes (PIK3CB, POT1) that have not been shown to be tumorigenic.

  13. Identification and distribution of three serologically undetected alleles of HLA-DR by oligonucleotide x DNA typing analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tiercy, J.M.; Gorski, J.; Jeannet, M.; Mach, B.

    1988-01-01

    Recent progress in the molecular biology of human major histocompatibility complex class II genes (HLA-DP, -DQ, -DR) have shown that the genetic complexity and allelic polymorphism are greater than expected. In the case of HLA-DR, three DR β-chain loci have been identified and linked, two of which (DR βI and DR βIII, now assigned names HLA-DR1B and HLA-DR3B) are functional. The authors have shown that the HLA micropolymorphism detected at the DNA sequence level can easily be analyzed by hybridization with allele-specific oligonucleotides (HLA oligotyping). In the case of the HLA DRw52 supertypic specificity, which includes the DR3, DR5, DRw6, and DRw8 haplotypes, three alleles, referred to as DRw52a, DRw52b, and DRw52c, have recently been identified at the HLA-DR3B locus by DNA sequencing. Hybridization with locus- and allele-specific oligonucleotide probes (designated 52a, 52b, and 52c) has been performed on DNA from normal individuals forming a panel of 82 haplotypes to establish the distribution of these three alleles. Individuals of the DR3 haplotype had either the DRw52a or DRw52b allele, and individuals of extended haplotype HLA-A1,B8,DR3 had only the DRw52a allele. DR5 individuals all had the DRw52b allele, while individuals of DRw6 haplotype had the DRw52a, -52b, or -52c allele. None of these three alleles are found in DRw8 individuals. Analysis of this micropolymorphism, undetectable by common typing procedures, is therefore now operational for more accurate HLA matching for transplantation and for improving correlations between HLA and disease susceptibility

  14. Performance and value of CAD-deficient pine- Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bailian Li; Houmin Chang; Hasan Jameel

    2007-02-28

    x treatment interactions was found for any of the traits studied, in the fertilized plots, the effect of the cad-n1 allele on wood density was reduced. The study indicates that the cad-n1 allele could be a valuable gene to the pulp and paper industry for the purpose of enhancing pulp yields through increasing wood density. Stem growth and wood density associated with a mutant null (cad-n1) allele were examined in three 15-year-old loblolly pine diallel tests, established on two sites in the southern United States. In each diallel test, one or two cad-n1 heterozygous parents were crossed with five unrelated wild-type parents, to produce five or ten full-sib families. In all, 839 trees from 20 full-sib families in four genetic backgrounds (a cad-n1 heterozygote x 5 unrelated trees) were sampled, genotyped at the cad locus, and assessed for growth and wood density traits. In a combined analysis of all four genetic backgrounds, we found evidence for effects of increased wood density associated with the cad-n1 allele at age 15 (p=0.03) years and height growth at ages 6 (p=0.03) and 15 (p=0.005). There were large differences in the cad-n1 effects for the various growth and wood traits among the diallel tests. This variation may be due to either different genetic backgrounds among the parents of the different diallel tests, or for different growing environments at the field sites. Even though the cad-n1 effect on growth and wood density was significant across genetic backgrounds, the effect was variable among full-sib families within backgrounds. We speculate that certain wild-type alleles from second parents specifically interact with cad-n1 producing large positive effects. In addition, pleiotropic effects on growth and wood density appear to be associated with the cad-n1 allele. While substantial gains are possible through deployment of trees carrying cad-n1, these gains may be family-specific and should be verified for each cross through field testing.

  15. Heterogeneity of Human Neutrophil CD177 Expression Results from CD177P1 Pseudogene Conversion.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zuopeng Wu

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Most humans harbor both CD177neg and CD177pos neutrophils but 1-10% of people are CD177null, placing them at risk for formation of anti-neutrophil antibodies that can cause transfusion-related acute lung injury and neonatal alloimmune neutropenia. By deep sequencing the CD177 locus, we catalogued CD177 single nucleotide variants and identified a novel stop codon in CD177null individuals arising from a single base substitution in exon 7. This is not a mutation in CD177 itself, rather the CD177null phenotype arises when exon 7 of CD177 is supplied entirely by the CD177 pseudogene (CD177P1, which appears to have resulted from allelic gene conversion. In CD177 expressing individuals the CD177 locus contains both CD177P1 and CD177 sequences. The proportion of CD177hi neutrophils in the blood is a heritable trait. Abundance of CD177hi neutrophils correlates with homozygosity for CD177 reference allele, while heterozygosity for ectopic CD177P1 gene conversion correlates with increased CD177neg neutrophils, in which both CD177P1 partially incorporated allele and paired intact CD177 allele are transcribed. Human neutrophil heterogeneity for CD177 expression arises by ectopic allelic conversion. Resolution of the genetic basis of CD177null phenotype identifies a method for screening for individuals at risk of CD177 isoimmunisation.

  16. Allele-specific Gene Silencing of Mutant mRNA Restores Cellular Function in Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy Fibroblasts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satoru Noguchi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy (UCMD is an inherited muscle disorder characterized clinically by muscle weakness, distal joint hyperlaxity, and proximal joint contractures. Sporadic and recessive mutations in the three collagen VI genes, COL6A1, COL6A2, and COL6A3, are reported to be causative. In the sporadic forms, a heterozygous point mutation causing glycine substitution in the triple helical domain has been identified in higher rate. In this study, we examined the efficacy of siRNAs, which target point mutation site, on specific knockdown toward transcripts from mutant allele and evaluated consequent cellular phenotype of UCMD fibroblasts. We evaluated the effect of siRNAs targeted to silence-specific COL6A1 alleles in UCMD fibroblasts, where simultaneous expression of both wild-type and mutant collagen VI resulted in defective collagen localization. Addition of mutant-specific siRNAs allowed normal extracellular localization of collagen VI surrounding fibroblasts, suggesting selective inhibition of mutant collagen VI. Targeting the single-nucleotide COL6A1 c.850G>A (p.G284R mutation responsible a sporadic autosomal dominant form of UCMD can potently and selectively block expression of mutant collagen VI. These results suggest that allele-specific knockdown of the mutant mRNA can potentially be considered as a therapeutic procedure in UCMD due to COL6A1 point mutations.

  17. Diffractive and non-diffractive wounded nucleons and final states in pA collisions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bierlich, Christian; Gustafson, Gösta; Lönnblad, Leif [Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Physics,Sölvegatan 14A, S-223 62 Lund (Sweden)

    2016-10-25

    We review the state-of-the-art of Glauber-inspired models for estimating the distribution of the number of participating nucleons in pA and AA collisions. We argue that there is room for improvement in these model when it comes to the treatment of diffractive excitation processes, and present a new simple Glauber-like model where these processes are better taken into account. We also suggest a new way of using the number of participating, or wounded, nucleons to extrapolate event characteristics from pp collisions, and hence get an estimate of basic hadronic final-state properties in pA collisions, which may be used to extract possible nuclear effects. The new method is inspired by the Fritiof model, but based on the full, semi-hard multiparton interaction model of PYTHIA8.

  18. Allele Variants of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Heat-Labile Toxin Are Globally Transmitted and Associated with Colonization Factors

    KAUST Repository

    Joffré , Enrique; von Mentzer, Astrid; Abd El Ghany, Moataz; Oezguen, Numan; Savidge, Tor; Dougan, Gordon; Svennerholm, Ann-Mari; Sjö ling, Å sa

    2015-01-01

    Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the developing world. ETEC-mediated diarrhea is orchestrated by heat-labile toxin (LT) and heat-stable toxins (STp and STh), acting in concert with a repertoire of more than 25 colonization factors (CFs). LT, the major virulence factor, induces fluid secretion after delivery of a monomeric ADP-ribosylase (LTA) and its pentameric carrier B subunit (LTB). A study of ETEC isolates from humans in Brazil reported the existence of natural LT variants. In the present study, analysis of predicted amino acid sequences showed that the LT amino acid polymorphisms are associated with a geographically and temporally diverse set of 192 clinical ETEC strains and identified 12 novel LT variants. Twenty distinct LT amino acid variants were observed in the globally distributed strains, and phylogenetic analysis showed these to be associated with different CF profiles. Notably, the most prevalent LT1 allele variants were correlated with major ETEC lineages expressing CS1 + CS3 or CS2 + CS3, and the most prevalent LT2 allele variants were correlated with major ETEC lineages expressing CS5 + CS6 or CFA/I. LTB allele variants generally exhibited more-stringent amino acid sequence conservation (2 substitutions identified) than LTA allele variants (22 substitutions identified). The functional impact of LT1 and LT2 polymorphisms on virulence was investigated by measuring total-toxin production, secretion, and stability using GM1-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (GM1-ELISA) and in silico protein modeling. Our data show that LT2 strains produce 5-fold more toxin than LT1 strains (P < 0.001), which may suggest greater virulence potential for this genetic variant. Our data suggest that functionally distinct LT-CF variants with increased fitness have persisted during the evolution of ETEC and have spread globally.

  19. Allele Variants of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Heat-Labile Toxin Are Globally Transmitted and Associated with Colonization Factors

    KAUST Repository

    Joffré, Enrique

    2015-01-15

    Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the developing world. ETEC-mediated diarrhea is orchestrated by heat-labile toxin (LT) and heat-stable toxins (STp and STh), acting in concert with a repertoire of more than 25 colonization factors (CFs). LT, the major virulence factor, induces fluid secretion after delivery of a monomeric ADP-ribosylase (LTA) and its pentameric carrier B subunit (LTB). A study of ETEC isolates from humans in Brazil reported the existence of natural LT variants. In the present study, analysis of predicted amino acid sequences showed that the LT amino acid polymorphisms are associated with a geographically and temporally diverse set of 192 clinical ETEC strains and identified 12 novel LT variants. Twenty distinct LT amino acid variants were observed in the globally distributed strains, and phylogenetic analysis showed these to be associated with different CF profiles. Notably, the most prevalent LT1 allele variants were correlated with major ETEC lineages expressing CS1 + CS3 or CS2 + CS3, and the most prevalent LT2 allele variants were correlated with major ETEC lineages expressing CS5 + CS6 or CFA/I. LTB allele variants generally exhibited more-stringent amino acid sequence conservation (2 substitutions identified) than LTA allele variants (22 substitutions identified). The functional impact of LT1 and LT2 polymorphisms on virulence was investigated by measuring total-toxin production, secretion, and stability using GM1-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (GM1-ELISA) and in silico protein modeling. Our data show that LT2 strains produce 5-fold more toxin than LT1 strains (P < 0.001), which may suggest greater virulence potential for this genetic variant. Our data suggest that functionally distinct LT-CF variants with increased fitness have persisted during the evolution of ETEC and have spread globally.

  20. MBL, P2X7, and SLC11A1 gene polymorphisms in patients with oropharyngeal tularemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Somuk, Battal Tahsin; Koc, Sema; Ates, Omer; Göktas, Göksel; Soyalic, Harun; Uysal, Ismail Onder; Gurbuzler, Levent; Sapmaz, Emrah; Sezer, Saime; Eyibilen, Ahmet

    2016-11-01

    A significant association was found of oropharyngeal tularemia with SLC11A1 allele polymorphism (INT4 G/C) and MBL2 C + 4T (P/Q). These results indicate C allele and Q allele might be a risk factor for the development of oropharyngeal tularemia. This study aimed to investigate the relationship of SLC11A1, MBL, and P2X 7 gene polymorphism with oropharyngeal tularemia. The study included totally 120 patients who were diagnosed with oropharyngeal tularemia. Frequencies of polymorphisms in the following genes were analyzed both in the patient and control groups in the study: SLC11A1 (5'(GT) n Allele 2/3, Int4 G/C, 3' UTR, D543N G/A), MBL (MBL2 C + 4T (P/Q), and P2X 7 (-762 C/T and 1513 A/C). Among all polymorphisms that were investigated in this study, SLC11A1 gene showed a significance in the distriburtion of polymorphism allelle frequency at the INT4 region. Frequency of C allele was 54 (28%) in patients with oropharyngeal tularemia, and 31 (13%) in the control group (p = 0.006 and OR = 1.96 (1.21-3.20)). An association was detected between MBL2 C + 4T (P/Q) gene polymorphism and oropharyngeal tularemia (p tularemia in this study (p > 0.05).

  1. The CFTR Met 470 allele is associated with lower birth rates in fertile men from a population isolate.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gülüm Kosova

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Although little is known about the role of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR gene in reproductive physiology, numerous variants in this gene have been implicated in etiology of male infertility due to congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD. Here, we studied the fertility effects of three CBAVD-associated CFTR polymorphisms, the (TGm and polyT repeat polymorphisms in intron 8 and Met470Val in exon 10, in healthy men of European descent. Homozygosity for the Met470 allele was associated with lower birth rates, defined as the number of births per year of marriage (P = 0.0029. The Met470Val locus explained 4.36% of the phenotypic variance in birth rate, and men homozygous for the Met470 allele had 0.56 fewer children on average compared to Val470 carrier men. The derived Val470 allele occurs at high frequencies in non-African populations (allele frequency = 0.51 in HapMap CEU, whereas it is very rare in African population (Fst = 0.43 between HapMap CEU and YRI. In addition, haplotypes bearing Val470 show a lack of genetic diversity and are thus longer than haplotypes bearing Met470 (measured by an integrated haplotype score [iHS] of -1.93 in HapMap CEU. The fraction of SNPs in the HapMap Phase2 data set with more extreme Fst and iHS measures is 0.003, consistent with a selective sweep outside of Africa. The fertility advantage conferred by Val470 relative to Met470 may provide a selective mechanism for these population genetic observations.

  2. Mutant power: using mutant allele collections for yeast functional genomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norman, Kaitlyn L; Kumar, Anuj

    2016-03-01

    The budding yeast has long served as a model eukaryote for the functional genomic analysis of highly conserved signaling pathways, cellular processes and mechanisms underlying human disease. The collection of reagents available for genomics in yeast is extensive, encompassing a growing diversity of mutant collections beyond gene deletion sets in the standard wild-type S288C genetic background. We review here three main types of mutant allele collections: transposon mutagen collections, essential gene collections and overexpression libraries. Each collection provides unique and identifiable alleles that can be utilized in genome-wide, high-throughput studies. These genomic reagents are particularly informative in identifying synthetic phenotypes and functions associated with essential genes, including those modeled most effectively in complex genetic backgrounds. Several examples of genomic studies in filamentous/pseudohyphal backgrounds are provided here to illustrate this point. Additionally, the limitations of each approach are examined. Collectively, these mutant allele collections in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the related pathogenic yeast Candida albicans promise insights toward an advanced understanding of eukaryotic molecular and cellular biology. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  3. Genotype distribution and allele frequencies of the genes associated with body composition and locomotion traits in Myanmar native horses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okuda, Yu; Moe, Hla Hla; Moe, Kyaw Kyaw; Shimizu, Yuki; Nishioka, Kenji; Shimogiri, Takeshi; Mannen, Hideyuki; Kanemaki, Misao; Kunieda, Tetsuo

    2017-08-01

    Myanmar native horses are small horses used mainly for drafting carts or carriages in rural areas and packing loads in mountainy areas. In the present study, we investigated genotype distributions and allele frequencies of the LCORL/NCAPG, MSTN and DMRT3 genes, which are associated with body composition and locomotion traits of horses, in seven local populations of Myanmar native horses. The genotyping result of LCORL/NCAPG showed that allele frequencies of C allele associated with higher withers height ranged from 0.08 to 0.27, and 0.13 in average. For MSTN, allele frequencies of C allele associated with higher proportion of Type 2B muscular fiber ranged from 0.05 to 0.23, and 0.09 in average. For DMRT3, allele frequencies of A allele associated with ambling gait ranged from 0 to 0.04, and 0.01 in average. The presences of the minor alleles of these genes at low frequencies suggest a possibility that these horse populations have not been under strong selection pressure for particular locomotion traits and body composition. Our findings of the presence of these minor alleles in Southeast Asian native horses are also informative for considering the origins of these minor alleles associated with body composition and locomotion traits in horse populations. © 2016 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

  4. Molecular analyses of the agouti allele in the Japanese house mouse identify a novel variant of the agouti gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwasa, Masahiro A; Kawamura, Sayaka; Myoshu, Hikari; Suzuki, Taichi A

    2018-03-01

    It has been thought that the Japanese house mouse carries the A w allele at the agouti locus causing light-colored bellies, but they do not always show this coloration. Thus, the presence of the A w allele seems to be doubtful in them. To ascertain whether the A w allele is present, a two-pronged approach was used. First, we compared lengths of DNA fragments obtained from three PCRs conducted on them to the known fragment sizes generated from mouse strains exhibiting homozygosities of either a/a, A/A, or A w /A w . PCR I, PCR II, and PCR III amplify only in the A and A w alleles, the a and A w alleles, and the a allele, respectively, and we detected amplifications in strains with A/A and A w /A w by PCR I, in those with a/a and the Japanese house mouse by PCR II, and in those with a/a by PCR III. Second, we sequenced the exon 1A region of the agouti gene and obtained sequences corresponding to the above strains and the Japanese house mouse, but their sequences were similar to those of the a allele. We concluded that their agouti allele is not identical to the A w allele and seems to be a novel type similar to the a allele.

  5. Two domain-disrupted hda6 alleles have opposite epigenetic effects on transgenes and some endogenous targets

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, ShouDong; Zhan, Xiangqiang; Xu, Xiaoming; Cui, Peng; Zhu, Jian-Kang; Xia, Yiji; Xiong, Liming

    2015-01-01

    HDA6 is a RPD3-like histone deacetylase. In Arabidopsis, it mediates transgene and some endogenous target transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) via histone deacetylation and DNA methylation. Here, we characterized two hda6 mutant alleles that were recovered as second-site suppressors of the DNA demethylation mutant ros1–1. Although both alleles derepressed 35S::NPTII and RD29A::LUC in the ros1–1 background, they had distinct effects on the expression of these two transgenes. In accordance to expression profiles of two transgenes, the alleles have distinct opposite methylation profiles on two reporter gene promoters. Furthermore, both alleles could interact in vitro and in vivo with the DNA methyltransferase1 with differential interactive strength and patterns. Although these alleles accumulated different levels of repressive/active histone marks, DNA methylation but not histone modifications in the two transgene promoters was found to correlate with the level of derepression of the reporter genes between the two had6 alleles. Our study reveals that mutations in different domains of HDA6 convey different epigenetic status that in turn controls the expression of the transgenes as well as some endogenous loci.

  6. Two domain-disrupted hda6 alleles have opposite epigenetic effects on transgenes and some endogenous targets

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, ShouDong

    2015-12-15

    HDA6 is a RPD3-like histone deacetylase. In Arabidopsis, it mediates transgene and some endogenous target transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) via histone deacetylation and DNA methylation. Here, we characterized two hda6 mutant alleles that were recovered as second-site suppressors of the DNA demethylation mutant ros1–1. Although both alleles derepressed 35S::NPTII and RD29A::LUC in the ros1–1 background, they had distinct effects on the expression of these two transgenes. In accordance to expression profiles of two transgenes, the alleles have distinct opposite methylation profiles on two reporter gene promoters. Furthermore, both alleles could interact in vitro and in vivo with the DNA methyltransferase1 with differential interactive strength and patterns. Although these alleles accumulated different levels of repressive/active histone marks, DNA methylation but not histone modifications in the two transgene promoters was found to correlate with the level of derepression of the reporter genes between the two had6 alleles. Our study reveals that mutations in different domains of HDA6 convey different epigenetic status that in turn controls the expression of the transgenes as well as some endogenous loci.

  7. A common allele on chromosome 9 associated with coronary heartdisease

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McPherson, Ruth; Pertsemlidis, Alexander; Kavaslar, Nihan; Stewart, Alexandre; Roberts, Robert; Cox, David R.; Hinds, David; Pennachio, Len; Tybjaerg-Hansen, Anne; Folsom, Aaron R.; Boerwinkle,Eric; Hobbs, Helen H.; Cohen, Jonathan C.

    2007-03-01

    Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a major cause of death in Western countries. Here we used genome-wide association scanning to identify a 58 kb interval on chromosome 9 that was consistently associated with CHD in six independent samples. The interval contains no annotated genes and is not associated with established CHD risk factors such as plasma lipoproteins, hypertension or diabetes. Homozygotes for the risk allele comprise 20-25% of Caucasians and have a {approx}30-40% increased risk of CHD. These data indicate that the susceptibility allele acts through a novel mechanism to increase CHD risk in a large fraction of the population.

  8. The T-allele of TCF7L2 rs7903146 associates with a reduced compensation of insulin secretion for insulin resistance induced by 9 days of bed rest

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alibegovic, Amra C; Sonne, Mette P; Højbjerre, Lise

    2010-01-01

    of FPIR in response to insulin resistance induced by bed rest was lower in carriers of the T-allele (P hepatic insulin resistance......OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether the type 2 diabetes-associated T-allele of transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) rs7903146 associates with impaired insulin secretion to compensate for insulin resistance induced by bed rest. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 38....... The genetic analyses were done assuming a dominant model of inheritance. RESULTS: The first-phase insulin response (FPIR) was significantly lower in carriers of the T-allele compared with carriers of the CC genotype before bed rest, with and without correction for insulin resistance. The incremental rise...

  9. Association of aplastic anemia and FoxP3 gene polymorphisms in Koreans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    In, Ji Won; Lee, Nuri; Roh, Eun Youn; Shin, Sue; Park, Kyoung Un; Song, Eun Young

    2017-04-01

    Aplastic anemia (AA) is characterized by pancytopenia and bone marrow failure, and most acquired AA is an immune-mediated disorder. Regulatory T cells (T regs ) suppressing autoreactive T cells were decreased in AA patients. FoxP3 is a major regulator for the development and function of T regs . Polymorphism in FoxP3 was shown to be associated with various autoimmune diseases, however, has not yet been studied in AA. In this study, we examined the association between FoxP3 polymorphisms and AA in Korean patients. The study population consisted of 94 patients diagnosed by bone marrow examination in Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) during 1997-2012 and 195 healthy controls. FoxP3 polymorphisms (rs5902434 del/ATT, rs3761548 C/A, rs3761549 C/T, rs2232365 A/G) were analyzed by PCR-sequencing method. We analyzed differences of genotype and allele frequencies between patients and controls. We also compared differences of genotype and allele frequencies between responder and non-responder in patients treated with immunosuppressive therapy (IST). For the statistical analysis, the chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were used and P < 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant. There was no significant difference in the genotype frequencies of FoxP3 polymorphisms between patients and controls. With regards to the allele frequencies, rs3761548 C allele was significantly higher in AA patients than in controls (87.4% vs. 79.7%, P = 0.047). In patients treated with IST, rs3761549 C allele was significantly higher in non-responder patients than in responders (89.6% vs. 66.7%, P = 0.036) and female rs3761549 C/C genotype carriers were associated with greater risk for non-response to IST (84.2% vs. 16.7%, P = 0.006). Polymorphisms in rs3761548 and rs3761549 of FoxP3 in our population were associated with disease susceptibility and response for IST, respectively. This study suggests an association between FoxP3 polymorphisms and AA in Korean patients

  10. Diploid male dynamics under different numbers of sexual alleles and male dispersal abilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faria, Luiz R R; Soares, Elaine Della Giustina; Carmo, Eduardo do; Oliveira, Paulo Murilo Castro de

    2016-09-01

    Insects in the order Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants) present an haplodiploid system of sexual determination in which fertilized eggs become females and unfertilized eggs males. Under single locus complementary sex-determination (sl-CSD) system, the sex of a specimen depends on the alleles at a single locus: when diploid, an individual will be a female if heterozygous and male if homozygous. Significant diploid male (DM) production may drive a population to an extinction scenario called "diploid male vortex". We aimed at studying the dynamics of populations of a sl-CSD organism under several combinations of two parameters: male flight abilities and number of sexual alleles. In these simulations, we evaluated the frequency of DM and a genetic diversity measure over 10,000 generations. The number of sexual alleles varied from 10 to 100 and, at each generation, a male offspring might fly to another random site within a varying radius R. Two main results emerge from our simulations: (i) the number of DM depends more on male flight radius than on the number of alleles; (ii) in large geographic regions, the effect of males flight radius on the allelic diversity turns out much less pronounced than in small regions. In other words, small regions where inbreeding normally appears recover genetic diversity due to large flight radii. These results may be particularly relevant when considering the population dynamics of species with increasingly limited dispersal ability (e.g., forest-dependent species of euglossine bees in fragmented landscapes).

  11. Alleles versus genotypes: Genetic interactions and the dynamics of selection in sexual populations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neher, Richard

    2010-03-01

    Physical interactions between amino-acids are essential for protein structure and activity, while protein-protein interactions and regulatory interactions are central to cellular function. As a consequence of these interactions, the combined effect of two mutations can differ from the sum of the individual effects of the mutations. This phenomenon of genetic interaction is known as epistasis. However, the importance of epistasis and its effects on evolutionary dynamics are poorly understood, especially in sexual populations where recombination breaks up existing combinations of alleles to produce new ones. Here, we present a computational model of selection dynamics involving many epistatic loci in a recombining population. We demonstrate that a large number of polymorphic interacting loci can, despite frequent recombination, exhibit cooperative behavior that locks alleles into favorable genotypes leading to a population consisting of a set of competing clones. As the recombination rate exceeds a certain critical value this ``genotype selection'' phase disappears in an abrupt transition giving way to ``allele selection'' - the phase where different loci are only weakly correlated as expected in sexually reproducing populations. Clustering of interacting sets of genes on a chromosome leads to the emergence of an intermediate regime, where localized blocks of cooperating alleles lock into genetic modules. Large populations attain highest fitness at a recombination rate just below critical, suggesting that natural selection might tune recombination rates to balance the beneficial aspect of exploration of genotype space with the breaking up of synergistic allele combinations.

  12. Allele frequency analysis of Chinese chestnut ( Castanea mollissima ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The aim of this study was to establish a method for allele frequency detection in bulk samples. The abundance of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products in bulk leaf samples was detected using fluorescent labeled Simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers and an Applied biosystems (AB) automatic DNA analyzer.

  13. Killer Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor Allele Determination Using Next-Generation Sequencing Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bercelin Maniangou

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The impact of natural killer (NK cell alloreactivity on hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT outcome is still debated due to the complexity of graft parameters, HLA class I environment, the nature of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR/KIR ligand genetic combinations studied, and KIR+ NK cell repertoire size. KIR genes are known to be polymorphic in terms of gene content, copy number variation, and number of alleles. These allelic polymorphisms may impact both the phenotype and function of KIR+ NK cells. We, therefore, speculate that polymorphisms may alter donor KIR+ NK cell phenotype/function thus modulating post-HSCT KIR+ NK cell alloreactivity. To investigate KIR allele polymorphisms of all KIR genes, we developed a next-generation sequencing (NGS technology on a MiSeq platform. To ensure the reliability and specificity of our method, genomic DNA from well-characterized cell lines were used; high-resolution KIR typing results obtained were then compared to those previously reported. Two different bioinformatic pipelines were used allowing the attribution of sequencing reads to specific KIR genes and the assignment of KIR alleles for each KIR gene. Our results demonstrated successful long-range KIR gene amplifications of all reference samples using intergenic KIR primers. The alignment of reads to the human genome reference (hg19 using BiRD pipeline or visualization of data using Profiler software demonstrated that all KIR genes were completely sequenced with a sufficient read depth (mean 317× for all loci and a high percentage of mapping (mean 93% for all loci. Comparison of high-resolution KIR typing obtained to those published data using exome capture resulted in a reported concordance rate of 95% for centromeric and telomeric KIR genes. Overall, our results suggest that NGS can be used to investigate the broad KIR allelic polymorphism. Hence, these data improve our knowledge, not only on KIR+ NK cell alloreactivity in

  14. Using a preclinical mouse model of high-grade astrocytoma to optimize p53 restoration therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shchors, Ksenya; Persson, Anders I; Rostker, Fanya; Tihan, Tarik; Lyubynska, Natalya; Li, Nan; Swigart, Lamorna Brown; Berger, Mitchel S; Hanahan, Douglas; Weiss, William A; Evan, Gerard I

    2013-04-16

    Based on clinical presentation, glioblastoma (GBM) is stratified into primary and secondary types. The protein 53 (p53) pathway is functionally incapacitated in most GBMs by distinctive type-specific mechanisms. To model human gliomagenesis, we used a GFAP-HRas(V12) mouse model crossed into the p53ER(TAM) background, such that either one or both copies of endogenous p53 is replaced by a conditional p53ER(TAM) allele. The p53ER(TAM) protein can be toggled reversibly in vivo between wild-type and inactive conformations by administration or withdrawal of 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-OHT), respectively. Surprisingly, gliomas that develop in GFAP-HRas(V12);p53(+/KI) mice abrogate the p53 pathway by mutating p19(ARF)/MDM2 while retaining wild-type p53 allele. Consequently, such tumors are unaffected by restoration of their p53ER(TAM) allele. By contrast, gliomas arising in GFAP-HRas(V12);p53(KI/KI) mice develop in the absence of functional p53. Such tumors retain a functional p19(ARF)/MDM2-signaling pathway, and restoration of p53ER(TAM) allele triggers p53-tumor-suppressor activity. Congruently, growth inhibition upon normalization of mutant p53 by a small molecule, Prima-1, in human GBM cultures also requires p14(ARF)/MDM2 functionality. Notably, the antitumoral efficacy of p53 restoration in tumor-bearing GFAP-HRas(V12);p53(KI/KI) animals depends on the duration and frequency of p53 restoration. Thus, intermittent exposure to p53ER(TAM) activity mitigated the selective pressure to inactivate the p19(ARF)/MDM2/p53 pathway as a means of resistance, extending progression-free survival. Our results suggest that intermittent dosing regimes of drugs that restore wild-type tumor-suppressor function onto mutant, inactive p53 proteins will prove to be more efficacious than traditional chronic dosing by similarly reducing adaptive resistance.

  15. PS-15: a potent, orally active antimalarial from a new class of folic acid antagonists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canfield, C J; Milhous, W K; Ager, A L; Rossan, R N; Sweeney, T R; Lewis, N J; Jacobus, D P

    1993-07-01

    A new, orally-active inhibitor of dihydrofolic acid reductase (DHFR), PS-15 (N-(3-(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)propyloxy)-N'-(1-methylethyl)- imidocarbonimidic diamide hydrochloride), has significant activity against drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum. It is not cross-resistant with other inhibitors of DHFR (e.g., pyrimethamine and cycloguanil). Although it bears similarities to proguanil, PS-15 represents a new antifolate class of drugs that we have named oxyguanils or hydroxylamine-derived biguanides. This compound displays intrinsic antimalarial activity and also is metabolized in vivo to WR99210, an extremely active triazine inhibitor of DHFR. When tested in vitro against drug-resistant clones of P. falciparum, PS-15 was more active than proguanil, and the putative metabolite, WR99210, was more active than the proguanil metabolite cycloguanil. The drug is also more active as well as less toxic than proguanil when administered orally to mice infected with P. berghei. When administered orally to Aotus monkeys infected with multidrug-resistant P. falciparum, PS-15 was more active than either proguanil or WR99210. In 1973, WR99210 underwent clinical trials for safety and tolerance in volunteers. The trials showed gastrointestinal intolerance and limited bioavailability; further development of the drug was abandoned. Because PS-15 has intrinsic antimalarial activity, is not cross-resistant with other DHFR inhibitors, and can be metabolized to WR99210 in vivo, oral administration of this new drug should circumvent the shortcomings and retain the advantages found with both proguanil and WR99210.

  16. Characterization of a New Pink-Fruited Tomato Mutant Results in the Identification of a Null Allele of the SlMYB12 Transcription Factor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez-Moreno, Josefina-Patricia; Tzfadia, Oren; Forment, Javier; Presa, Silvia; Rogachev, Ilana; Meir, Sagit; Orzaez, Diego; Aharoni, Aspah; Granell, Antonio

    2016-07-01

    The identification and characterization of new tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) mutants affected in fruit pigmentation and nutritional content can provide valuable insights into the underlying biology, as well as a source of new alleles for breeding programs. To date, all characterized pink-pigmented tomato fruit mutants appear to result from low SlMYB12 transcript levels in the fruit skin. Two new mutant lines displaying a pink fruit phenotype (pf1 and pf2) were characterized in this study. In the pf mutants, SlMYB12 transcripts accumulated to wild-type levels but exhibited the same truncation, which resulted in the absence of the essential MYB activation domain coding region. Allelism and complementation tests revealed that both pf mutants were allelic to the y locus and showed the same recessive null allele in homozygosis: Δy A set of molecular and metabolic effects, reminiscent of those observed in the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) myb11 myb12 myb111 triple mutant, were found in the tomato Δy mutants. To our knowledge, these have not been described previously, and our data support the idea of their being null mutants, in contrast to previously described transcriptional hypomorphic pink fruit lines. We detected a reduction in the expression of several flavonol glycosides and some associated glycosyl transferases. Transcriptome analysis further revealed that the effects of the pf mutations extended beyond the flavonoid pathway into the interface between primary and secondary metabolism. Finally, screening for Myb-binding sites in the candidate gene promoter sequences revealed that 141 of the 152 co-down-regulated genes may be direct targets of SlMYB12 regulation. © 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

  17. Association between alleles of the transforming growth factor alpha locus and cleft lip and palate in the Chilean population

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jara, L.; Blanco, R.; Chiffelle, I. [Univ. of Chile, Santiago (Chile)] [and others

    1995-07-17

    Two RFLPs at the TGFA locus were studied in 39 unrelated Chilean (Caucasoid-Mongoloid) patients with non-syndromic cleft lip/palate [CL(P)] and 51 control individuals. A highly significant association between BamHI A2 allele and CL(P) was detected ({chi}{sub 2} = 6.00; P = 0.014), while no association was found between TaqI RFLPs and clefting. No significant differences were found when comparing genotypes by type of cleft and a positive or negative family history of clefting. Our results seem to support rather definitively the association between TGFA and clefting but not support the hypothesis that TGFA is a major causal gene of CL(P). 29 refs., 5 tabs.

  18. The loss-of-allele assay for ES cell screening and mouse genotyping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frendewey, David; Chernomorsky, Rostislav; Esau, Lakeisha; Om, Jinsop; Xue, Yingzi; Murphy, Andrew J; Yancopoulos, George D; Valenzuela, David M

    2010-01-01

    Targeting vectors used to create directed mutations in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells consist, in their simplest form, of a gene for drug selection flanked by mouse genomic sequences, the so-called homology arms that promote site-directed homologous recombination between the vector and the target gene. The VelociGene method for the creation of targeted mutations in ES cells employs targeting vectors, called BACVecs, that are based on bacterial artificial chromosomes. Compared with conventional short targeting vectors, BacVecs provide two major advantages: (1) their much larger homology arms promote high targeting efficiencies without the need for isogenicity or negative selection strategies; and (2) they enable deletions and insertions of up to 100kb in a single targeting event, making possible gene-ablating definitive null alleles and other large-scale genomic modifications. Because of their large arm sizes, however, BACVecs do not permit screening by conventional assays, such as long-range PCR or Southern blotting, that link the inserted targeting vector to the targeted locus. To exploit the advantages of BACVecs for gene targeting, we inverted the conventional screening logic in developing the loss-of-allele (LOA) assay, which quantifies the number of copies of the native locus to which the mutation was directed. In a correctly targeted ES cell clone, the LOA assay detects one of the two native alleles (for genes not on the X or Y chromosome), the other allele being disrupted by the targeted modification. We apply the same principle in reverse as a gain-of-allele assay to quantify the copy number of the inserted targeting vector. The LOA assay reveals a correctly targeted clone as having lost one copy of the native target gene and gained one copy of the drug resistance gene or other inserted marker. The combination of these quantitative assays makes LOA genotyping unequivocal and amenable to automated scoring. We use the quantitative polymerase chain reaction

  19. Association between Glutathione S-Transferase GSTM1-T1 and P1 Polymorphisms with Metabolic Syndrome in Zoroastrians in Yazd, Iran

    Science.gov (United States)

    AFRAND, Mohammadhosain; BASHARDOOST, Nasrollah; SHEIKHHA, Mohammad Hasan; AFKHAMI-ARDEKANI, Mohammad

    2015-01-01

    Background: The aim of this study was to assess the possible association between genetic polymorphisms of the glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene family and the risk of the development of metabolic syndrome (MS) in Zoroastrian females in Yazd, Iran. Methods: In this case-control study, GSTM1, T1, and P1 polymorphisms were genotyped in 51 randomly selected MS patients and 50 randomly selected healthy controls on February 2014 among Zoroastrian females whose ages ranged from 40 to 70 yr. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 17. Results: We observed a significant association of GSTP1-I/V (Isoleucine/Valine) allele and GSTP1-V/V (Valine / Valine) allele with MS (P = 0.047 and P = 0.044, respectively). The combined analysis of the two genotypes, the present genotype of GSTT1, I/V and V/V alleles of GSTP1 genotype demonstrated a decrease in the risk of acquiring MS (OR = 0.246, P = 0.031). The null genotype of GSTM1, I/V, and V/V alleles of the GSTP1 genotype showed a lower risk in double combinations (OR = 0.15, P = 0.028 and OR = 0.13, P = 0.013, respectively). The combinations of the GSTM1 null genotypes and GSTT1 present genotypes and the GSTP1 I/V and V/V alleles together were associated with decreased risk of having MS in triple combinations (OR = 0.071, P = 0.039 and OR = 0.065, P = 0.022, respectively). Conclusion: GSTP1-I/V and V/V alleles, alone or in association with GSTM1 null and GSTT1 present genotypes, are related with decreased susceptibility to the development of MS in Zoroastrian females. PMID:26284209

  20. Effect of N fertilisation, year and prolamin alleles on gluten quality in durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. ssp. turgidum) landraces from Spain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aguiriano, E.; Ruiz, M.; Fite, R.; Carrillo, J. M.

    2009-07-01

    A subset of durum wheat Spanish land races, previously evaluated for yield at low and high nitrogen (N) levels, was analysed for quality, protein content (P) and sodium dodecyl sulphate sedimentation (SDSS) test. The evaluation was carried out at the two N rates and in two years. The influence of prolamine alleles at the Glu-1, Glu-3, Glu-B2 and Gli- 1 loci on quality parameters was also studied. The non significant Variety-by-Year or Variety-by-N interactions suggested that year and N affected all the varieties in a similar manner. Year and N effects were larger than variety effect for P, which increased with N. In contrast, variety genotype exhibited a stronger influence on SDSS test, which was not affected by year and fertilizer. Variety effects on P did not reflect the variety differences for SDSS test. A high positive influence of some prolamin alleles on quality parameters was detected, mainly for SDSS values. No correlation between yield and P was detected in the landraces adapted to low N. Based on the results of yield and quality evaluations, four landraces with high yield and high gluten strength were pre-selected for low N production. (Author)

  1. A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH FOR COROTATING INTERACTION REGIONS IN APPARENTLY SINGLE GALACTIC WOLF-RAYET STARS. II. A GLOBAL VIEW OF THE WIND VARIABILITY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chene, A.-N.; St-Louis, N.

    2011-01-01

    This study is the second part of a survey searching for large-scale spectroscopic variability in apparently single Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars. In a previous paper (Paper I), we described and characterized the spectroscopic variability level of 25 WR stars observable from the northern hemisphere and found 3 new candidates presenting large-scale wind variability, potentially originating from large-scale structures named corotating interaction regions (CIRs). In this second paper, we discuss an additional 39 stars observable from the southern hemisphere. For each star in our sample, we obtained 4-5 high-resolution spectra with a signal-to-noise ratio of ∼100 and determined its variability level using the approach described in Paper I. In total, 10 new stars are found to show large-scale spectral variability of which 7 present CIR-type changes (WR 8, WR 44, WR55, WR 58, WR 61, WR 63, WR 100). Of the remaining stars, 20 were found to show small-amplitude changes and 9 were found to show no spectral variability as far as can be concluded from the data on hand. Also, we discuss the spectroscopic variability level of all single galactic WR stars that are brighter than v ∼ 12.5, and some WR stars with 12.5 < v ≤ 13.5, i.e., all the stars presented in our two papers and four more stars for which spectra have already been published in the literature. We find that 23/68 stars (33.8%) present large-scale variability, but only 12/54 stars (∼22.1%) are potentially of CIR type. Also, we find that 31/68 stars (45.6%) only show small-scale variability, most likely due to clumping in the wind. Finally, no spectral variability is detected based on the data on hand for 14/68 (20.6%) stars. Interestingly, the variability with the highest amplitude also has the widest mean velocity dispersion.

  2. Effects of ZNF804A on auditory P300 response in schizophrenia.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    O'Donoghue, T

    2014-01-01

    The common variant rs1344706 within the zinc-finger protein gene ZNF804A has been strongly implicated in schizophrenia (SZ) susceptibility by a series of recent genetic association studies. Although associated with a pattern of altered neural connectivity, evidence that increased risk is mediated by an effect on cognitive deficits associated with the disorder has been equivocal. This study investigated whether the same ZNF804A risk allele was associated with variation in the P300 auditory-evoked response, a cognitively relevant putative endophenotype for SZ. We compared P300 responses in carriers and noncarriers of the ZNF804A risk allele genotype groups in Irish patients and controls (n=97). P300 response was observed to vary according to genotype in this sample, such that risk allele carriers showed relatively higher P300 response compared with noncarriers. This finding accords with behavioural data reported by our group and others. It is also consistent with the idea that ZNF804A may have an impact on cortical efficiency, reflected in the higher levels of activations required to achieve comparable behavioural accuracy on the task used.

  3. A genome-wide scan for common alleles affecting risk for autism.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Anney, Richard

    2010-10-15

    Although autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have a substantial genetic basis, most of the known genetic risk has been traced to rare variants, principally copy number variants (CNVs). To identify common risk variation, the Autism Genome Project (AGP) Consortium genotyped 1558 rigorously defined ASD families for 1 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and analyzed these SNP genotypes for association with ASD. In one of four primary association analyses, the association signal for marker rs4141463, located within MACROD2, crossed the genome-wide association significance threshold of P < 5 × 10(-8). When a smaller replication sample was analyzed, the risk allele at rs4141463 was again over-transmitted; yet, consistent with the winner\\'s curse, its effect size in the replication sample was much smaller; and, for the combined samples, the association signal barely fell below the P < 5 × 10(-8) threshold. Exploratory analyses of phenotypic subtypes yielded no significant associations after correction for multiple testing. They did, however, yield strong signals within several genes, KIAA0564, PLD5, POU6F2, ST8SIA2 and TAF1C.

  4. A genome-wide scan for common alleles affecting risk for autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anney, Richard; Klei, Lambertus; Pinto, Dalila; Regan, Regina; Conroy, Judith; Magalhaes, Tiago R; Correia, Catarina; Abrahams, Brett S; Sykes, Nuala; Pagnamenta, Alistair T; Almeida, Joana; Bacchelli, Elena; Bailey, Anthony J; Baird, Gillian; Battaglia, Agatino; Berney, Tom; Bolshakova, Nadia; Bölte, Sven; Bolton, Patrick F; Bourgeron, Thomas; Brennan, Sean; Brian, Jessica; Carson, Andrew R; Casallo, Guillermo; Casey, Jillian; Chu, Su H; Cochrane, Lynne; Corsello, Christina; Crawford, Emily L; Crossett, Andrew; Dawson, Geraldine; de Jonge, Maretha; Delorme, Richard; Drmic, Irene; Duketis, Eftichia; Duque, Frederico; Estes, Annette; Farrar, Penny; Fernandez, Bridget A; Folstein, Susan E; Fombonne, Eric; Freitag, Christine M; Gilbert, John; Gillberg, Christopher; Glessner, Joseph T; Goldberg, Jeremy; Green, Jonathan; Guter, Stephen J; Hakonarson, Hakon; Heron, Elizabeth A; Hill, Matthew; Holt, Richard; Howe, Jennifer L; Hughes, Gillian; Hus, Vanessa; Igliozzi, Roberta; Kim, Cecilia; Klauck, Sabine M; Kolevzon, Alexander; Korvatska, Olena; Kustanovich, Vlad; Lajonchere, Clara M; Lamb, Janine A; Laskawiec, Magdalena; Leboyer, Marion; Le Couteur, Ann; Leventhal, Bennett L; Lionel, Anath C; Liu, Xiao-Qing; Lord, Catherine; Lotspeich, Linda; Lund, Sabata C; Maestrini, Elena; Mahoney, William; Mantoulan, Carine; Marshall, Christian R; McConachie, Helen; McDougle, Christopher J; McGrath, Jane; McMahon, William M; Melhem, Nadine M; Merikangas, Alison; Migita, Ohsuke; Minshew, Nancy J; Mirza, Ghazala K; Munson, Jeff; Nelson, Stanley F; Noakes, Carolyn; Noor, Abdul; Nygren, Gudrun; Oliveira, Guiomar; Papanikolaou, Katerina; Parr, Jeremy R; Parrini, Barbara; Paton, Tara; Pickles, Andrew; Piven, Joseph; Posey, David J; Poustka, Annemarie; Poustka, Fritz; Prasad, Aparna; Ragoussis, Jiannis; Renshaw, Katy; Rickaby, Jessica; Roberts, Wendy; Roeder, Kathryn; Roge, Bernadette; Rutter, Michael L; Bierut, Laura J; Rice, John P; Salt, Jeff; Sansom, Katherine; Sato, Daisuke; Segurado, Ricardo; Senman, Lili; Shah, Naisha; Sheffield, Val C; Soorya, Latha; Sousa, Inês; Stoppioni, Vera; Strawbridge, Christina; Tancredi, Raffaella; Tansey, Katherine; Thiruvahindrapduram, Bhooma; Thompson, Ann P; Thomson, Susanne; Tryfon, Ana; Tsiantis, John; Van Engeland, Herman; Vincent, John B; Volkmar, Fred; Wallace, Simon; Wang, Kai; Wang, Zhouzhi; Wassink, Thomas H; Wing, Kirsty; Wittemeyer, Kerstin; Wood, Shawn; Yaspan, Brian L; Zurawiecki, Danielle; Zwaigenbaum, Lonnie; Betancur, Catalina; Buxbaum, Joseph D; Cantor, Rita M; Cook, Edwin H; Coon, Hilary; Cuccaro, Michael L; Gallagher, Louise; Geschwind, Daniel H; Gill, Michael; Haines, Jonathan L; Miller, Judith; Monaco, Anthony P; Nurnberger, John I; Paterson, Andrew D; Pericak-Vance, Margaret A; Schellenberg, Gerard D; Scherer, Stephen W; Sutcliffe, James S; Szatmari, Peter; Vicente, Astrid M; Vieland, Veronica J; Wijsman, Ellen M; Devlin, Bernie; Ennis, Sean; Hallmayer, Joachim

    2010-10-15

    Although autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have a substantial genetic basis, most of the known genetic risk has been traced to rare variants, principally copy number variants (CNVs). To identify common risk variation, the Autism Genome Project (AGP) Consortium genotyped 1558 rigorously defined ASD families for 1 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and analyzed these SNP genotypes for association with ASD. In one of four primary association analyses, the association signal for marker rs4141463, located within MACROD2, crossed the genome-wide association significance threshold of P < 5 × 10(-8). When a smaller replication sample was analyzed, the risk allele at rs4141463 was again over-transmitted; yet, consistent with the winner's curse, its effect size in the replication sample was much smaller; and, for the combined samples, the association signal barely fell below the P < 5 × 10(-8) threshold. Exploratory analyses of phenotypic subtypes yielded no significant associations after correction for multiple testing. They did, however, yield strong signals within several genes, KIAA0564, PLD5, POU6F2, ST8SIA2 and TAF1C.

  5. A deep near-infrared spectroscopic survey of the Scutum-Crux arm for Wolf-Rayet stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosslowe, C. K.; Crowther, Paul A.

    2018-01-01

    We present a New Technology Telescope/Son-of-Isaac spectroscopic survey of infrared selected Wolf-Rayet (WR) candidates in the Scutum-Crux spiral arm (298° ≤ l ≤ 340°, |b| ≤ 0.5°. We obtained near-IR spectra of 127 candidates, revealing 17 WR stars - a ∼13 per cent success rate - of which 16 are newly identified here. The majority of the new WR stars are classified as narrow-lined WN5-7 stars, with two broad-lined WN4-6 stars and three WC6-8 stars. The new stars, with distances estimated from previous absolute magnitude calibrations, have no obvious association with the Scutum-Crux arm. Refined near-infrared (YHJK) classification criteria based on over a hundred Galactic and Magellanic Cloud WR stars, providing diagnostics for hydrogen in WN stars, plus the identification of WO stars and intermediate WN/C stars. Finally, we find that only a quarter of WR stars in the survey region are associated with star clusters and/or H II regions, with similar statistics found for luminous blue variables (LBVs) in the Milky Way. The relative isolation of evolved massive stars is discussed, together with the significance of the co-location of LBVs and WR stars in young star clusters.

  6. Haptoglobin genotyping of Vietnamese: global distribution of HP del, complete deletion allele of the HP gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soejima, Mikiko; Agusa, Tetsuro; Iwata, Hisato; Fujihara, Junko; Kunito, Takashi; Takeshita, Haruo; Lan, Vi Thi Mai; Minh, Tu Binh; Takahashi, Shin; Trang, Pham Thi Kim; Viet, Pham Hung; Tanabe, Shinsuke; Koda, Yoshiro

    2015-01-01

    The haptoglobin (HP) gene deletion allele (HP(del)) is responsible for anhaptoglobinemia and a genetic risk factor for anaphylaxis reaction after transfusion due to production of the anti-HP antibody. The distribution of this allele has been explored by several groups including ours. Here, we studied the frequency of HP(del) in addition to the distribution of common HP genotypes in 293 Vietnamese. The HP(del) was encountered with the frequency of 0.020. The present result suggested that this deletion allele is restricted to East and Southeast Asians. Thus, this allele seems to be a potential ancestry informative marker for these populations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Plasminogen alleles influence susceptibility to invasive aspergillosis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aimee K Zaas

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Invasive aspergillosis (IA is a common and life-threatening infection in immunocompromised individuals. A number of environmental and epidemiologic risk factors for developing IA have been identified. However, genetic factors that affect risk for developing IA have not been clearly identified. We report that host genetic differences influence outcome following establishment of pulmonary aspergillosis in an exogenously immune suppressed mouse model. Computational haplotype-based genetic analysis indicated that genetic variation within the biologically plausible positional candidate gene plasminogen (Plg; Gene ID 18855 correlated with murine outcome. There was a single nonsynonymous coding change (Gly110Ser where the minor allele was found in all of the susceptible strains, but not in the resistant strains. A nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (Asp472Asn was also identified in the human homolog (PLG; Gene ID 5340. An association study within a cohort of 236 allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT recipients revealed that alleles at this SNP significantly affected the risk of developing IA after HSCT. Furthermore, we demonstrated that plasminogen directly binds to Aspergillus fumigatus. We propose that genetic variation within the plasminogen pathway influences the pathogenesis of this invasive fungal infection.

  8. Characterization of new allele influencing flowering time in bread wheat introgressed from Triticum militinae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivaničová, Zuzana; Jakobson, Irena; Reis, Diana; Šafář, Jan; Milec, Zbyněk; Abrouk, Michael; Doležel, Jaroslav; Järve, Kadri; Valárik, Miroslav

    2016-09-25

    Flowering time variation was identified within a mapping population of doubled haploid lines developed from a cross between the introgressive line 8.1 and spring bread wheat cv. Tähti. The line 8.1 carried introgressions from tetraploid Triticum militinae in the cv. Tähti genetic background on chromosomes 1A, 2A, 4A, 5A, 7A, 1B and 5B. The most significant QTL for the flowering time variation was identified within the introgressed region on chromosome 5A and its largest effect was associated with the VRN-A1 locus, accounting for up to 70% of phenotypic variance. The allele of T. militinae origin was designated as VRN-A1f-like. The effect of the VRN-A1f-like allele was verified in two other mapping populations. QTL analysis identified that in cv. Tähti and cv. Mooni genetic background, VRN-A1f-like allele incurred a delay of 1.9-18.6 days in flowering time, depending on growing conditions. Sequence comparison of the VRN-A1f-like and VRN-A1a alleles from the parental lines of the mapping populations revealed major mutations in the promoter region as well as in the first intron, including insertion of a MITE element and a large deletion. The sequence variation allowed construction of specific diagnostic PCR markers for VRN-A1f-like allele determination. Identification and quantification of the effect of the VRN-A1f-like allele offers a useful tool for wheat breeding and for studying fine-scale regulation of flowering pathways in wheat. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. High-specificity detection of rare alleles with Paired-End Low Error Sequencing (PELE-Seq).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Preston, Jessica L; Royall, Ariel E; Randel, Melissa A; Sikkink, Kristin L; Phillips, Patrick C; Johnson, Eric A

    2016-06-14

    Polymorphic loci exist throughout the genomes of a population and provide the raw genetic material needed for a species to adapt to changes in the environment. The minor allele frequencies of rare Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) within a population have been difficult to track with Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS), due to the high error rate of standard methods such as Illumina sequencing. We have developed a wet-lab protocol and variant-calling method that identifies both sequencing and PCR errors, called Paired-End Low Error Sequencing (PELE-Seq). To test the specificity and sensitivity of the PELE-Seq method, we sequenced control E. coli DNA libraries containing known rare alleles present at frequencies ranging from 0.2-0.4 % of the total reads. PELE-Seq had higher specificity and sensitivity than standard libraries. We then used PELE-Seq to characterize rare alleles in a Caenorhabditis remanei nematode worm population before and after laboratory adaptation, and found that minor and rare alleles can undergo large changes in frequency during lab-adaptation. We have developed a method of rare allele detection that mitigates both sequencing and PCR errors, called PELE-Seq. PELE-Seq was evaluated using control E. coli populations and was then used to compare a wild C. remanei population to a lab-adapted population. The PELE-Seq method is ideal for investigating the dynamics of rare alleles in a broad range of reduced-representation sequencing methods, including targeted amplicon sequencing, RAD-Seq, ddRAD, and GBS. PELE-Seq is also well-suited for whole genome sequencing of mitochondria and viruses, and for high-throughput rare mutation screens.

  10. JAK2V617F mutation is associated with special alleles in essential thrombocythemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsiao, Hui-Hua; Liu, Yi-Chang; Tsai, Hui-Jen; Lee, Ching-Ping; Hsu, Jui-Feng; Lin, Sheng-Fung

    2011-03-01

    Janus kinase 2 mutation (JAK2V617F) has been identified in myeloproliferative neoplasms. Furthermore, special single nucleoside polymorphisms (SNPs) have been found to be associated with the JAK2V617F mutation. Therefore, the associations among JAK2V617F and special SNPs and the allelic location between them were investigated in patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET). A total of 61 patients with ET and 106 healthy individuals were enrolled. The PCR-RFLP method was applied to investigate the pattern of three SNPs, rs10974944, rs12343867, and rs12340895. Allele-specific PCR was used to examine the allelic location between rs10974944 and JAK2V617F. Among the patients with ET, 34 (55.7%, 34/61) were JAK2V617F positive (heterozygous) while the other 27 (44.3%, 27/61) were negative, and there were no MPLW515L/K mutations noted. The pattern of special SNPs in JAK2V617F(+) was significantly different from that in normal individuals (p <0.05), while there was no difference between JAK2V617F(-) patients and normal individuals. Allele-specific PCR showed high association of a cis-location between the special G-allele of rs10974944 and JAK2V617F(+). Based on this small numbered study, the results show the association between special SNPs and JAK2V617F mutation and a cis-location between the special G-allelic form of rs10974944 and the JAK2V617F mutation. These data highlight a close relationship between them in patients with ET.

  11. Genetic mapping, marker assisted selection and allelic relationships for the Pu 6 gene conferring rust resistance in sunflower.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulos, Mariano; Vergani, Pablo Nicolas; Altieri, Emiliano

    2014-09-01

    Rust resistance in the sunflower line P386 is controlled by Pu 6 , a gene which was reported to segregate independently from other rust resistant genes, such as R 4 . The objectives of this work were to map Pu 6 , to provide and validate molecular tools for its identification, and to determine the linkage relationship of Pu 6 and R 4 . Genetic mapping of Pu 6 with six markers covered 24.8 cM of genetic distance on the lower end of linkage Group 13 of the sunflower consensus map. The marker most closely linked to Pu 6 was ORS316 at 2.5 cM in the distal position. ORS316 presented five alleles when was assayed with a representative set of resistant and susceptible lines. Allelism test between Pu 6 and R 4 indicated that both genes are linked at a genetic distance of 6.25 cM. This is the first confirmation based on an allelism test that at least two members of the R adv /R 4 /R 11 / R 13a /R 13b /Pu 6 cluster of genes are at different loci. A fine elucidation of the architecture of this complex locus will allow designing and constructing completely new genomic regions combining genes from different resistant sources and the elimination of the linkage drag around each resistant gene.

  12. Association of gliadin antibodies, HLA alleles, and schizophrenia in Cuban population patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José A. Galván

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Several lines of evidence have suggested an interesting link between gluten ingestion and schizophrenia. For example, increased levels of gliadin and transglutaminase antibodies have been observed in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: To verify these observations we compared the prevalence of gliadin and transglutaminse antibodies, as well as the presence of the HLA alleles, HLA DQA1*0501-DQB1*02 (DQ2 and HLA-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0302 (DQ8, among patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. A total of 108 patients with schizophrenia and 60 healthy controls were evaluated. Gliadin antibodies were determined by a visual semiquantitative assay and tissue transglutaminase antibodies were determined both by one-step immunochromatografic assay and ELISA. HLA typing was performed by PCR amplification using sequence-specific primers for each allele. Results: We found a strong association between the presence of gliadin antibodies and schizophrenia (OR 3.488; 95% CI, 1.43-8.44. However, tissue transglutaminase antibodies were not detected in either group neither by immunochromatograpic or ELISA. No significant association was found for the DQ2 or DQ8 heterodimer and the disease, but a significant positive association between schizophrenia and HLA alleles DQA1*0301 and DQB1*02 was present (OR = 2.80; 95% CI, 1.27-6.17, and OR = 2.37, 95% CI, 1.24-4.53, respectively. Conclusions: The present study showed that the presence of gliadin antibodies was not correlated with the presence of HLA DQA1*0301 or DQB1*02 alleles within the group of patients with schizophrenia. Our study replicates the findings that anti-gliadin antibodies are associated with schizophrenia but also suggests that the presence of these antibodies and the HLA alleles DQB1*02 and DQA1*0301 are independently associated with susceptibility to schizophrenia.

  13. Population estimators or progeny tests: what is the best method to assess null allele frequencies at SSR loci?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oddou-Muratorio, S.; Vendramin, G.G.; Buiteveld, J.; Fady, B.

    2009-01-01

    Nuclear SSRs are notorious for having relatively high frequencies of null alleles, i.e. alleles that fail to amplify and are thus recessive and undetected in heterozygotes. In this paper, we compare two kinds of approaches for estimating null allele frequencies at seven nuclear microsatellite

  14. Addition to chapter VI b (p. 2011)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    NN,

    1972-01-01

    Botanic Garden at the University of Malaya. A plan was submitted by Professor W.R. Stanton, head of the Botany Division, University of Malaya, K.L., to establish a new botanic garden of some 100 acres as a teaching facility and for the benefit of biological education institutes and the general

  15. Cytochrome P2A13 and P1A1 gene polymorphisms are associated with the occurrence of uterine leiomyoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herr, D; Bettendorf, H; Denschlag, D; Keck, C; Pietrowski, D

    2006-10-01

    To investigate the association between the occurrence of uterine leiomyoma and two SNPs of the CYP 2A13 and CYP 1A1 genes. Prospective case control study with 132 women with clinically and surgically diagnosed uterine leiomyoma and 260 controls. Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based amplification of CYP 2A13 and CYP 1A1 genes, and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Comparing women with uterine leiomyoma and controls, we demonstrate statistical significant differences of allele frequency and genotype distribution for the CYP 1A1 polymorphism (P = 0.025 and P = 0.046, respectively). Furthermore, for the CYP 2A13 polymorphism we found a significant difference concerning allele frequency (P = 0.033). However, for the genotype distribution, only borderline significance was observed (P = 0.064). The CYP 2A13 and CYP 1A1 SNPs are associated with uterine leiomyoma in a Caucasian population and may contribute to the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of uterine leiomyoma.

  16. Correlation in chicken between the marker LEI0258 alleles and Major Histocompatibility Complex sequences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chazara, Olympe; Juul-Madsen, Helle Risdahl; Chang, Chi-Seng

    Background The LEI0258 marker is located within the B region of the chicken Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), and is surprisingly well associated with serology. Therefore, the correlation between the LEI0258 alleles and the MHC class I and the class II alleles at the level of sequences is w...

  17. Detection of ancestry informative HLA alleles confirms the admixed origins of Japanese population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakaoka, Hirofumi; Mitsunaga, Shigeki; Hosomichi, Kazuyoshi; Shyh-Yuh, Liou; Sawamoto, Taiji; Fujiwara, Tsutomu; Tsutsui, Naohisa; Suematsu, Koji; Shinagawa, Akira; Inoko, Hidetoshi; Inoue, Ituro

    2013-01-01

    The polymorphisms in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region are powerful tool for studying human evolutionary processes. We investigated genetic structure of Japanese by using five-locus HLA genotypes (HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DPB1) of 2,005 individuals from 10 regions of Japan. We found a significant level of population substructure in Japanese; particularly the differentiation between Okinawa Island and mainland Japanese. By using a plot of the principal component scores, we identified ancestry informative alleles associated with the underlying population substructure. We examined extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD) between pairs of HLA alleles on the haplotypes that were differentiated among regions. The LDs were strong and weak for pairs of HLA alleles characterized by low and high frequencies in Okinawa Island, respectively. The five-locus haplotypes whose alleles exhibit strong LD were unique to Japanese and South Korean, suggesting that these haplotypes had been recently derived from the Korean Peninsula. The alleles characterized by high frequency in Japanese compared to South Korean formed segmented three-locus haplotype that was commonly found in Aleuts, Eskimos, and North- and Meso-Americans but not observed in Korean and Chinese. The serologically equivalent haplotype was found in Orchid Island in Taiwan, Mongol, Siberia, and Arctic regions. It suggests that early Japanese who existed prior to the migration wave from the Korean Peninsula shared ancestry with northern Asian who moved to the New World via the Bering Strait land bridge. These results may support the admixture model for peopling of Japanese Archipelago.

  18. A novel Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease mutation defines a precursor for amyloidogenic 8 kDa PrP fragments and reveals N-terminal structural changes shared by other GSS alleles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercer, Robert C. C.; Fu, Ze-Lin; Mays, Charles E.; Gapeshina, Hristina; Wohlgemuth, Serene L.; Acevedo-Morantes, Claudia Y.; Cashman, Neil R.; Coulthart, Michael B.; Jansen, Gerard H.; Stepanova, Maria

    2018-01-01

    To explore pathogenesis in a young Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker Disease (GSS) patient, the corresponding mutation, an eight-residue duplication in the hydrophobic region (HR), was inserted into the wild type mouse PrP gene. Transgenic (Tg) mouse lines expressing this mutation (Tg.HRdup) developed spontaneous neurologic syndromes and brain extracts hastened disease in low-expressor Tg.HRdup mice, suggesting de novo formation of prions. While Tg.HRdup mice exhibited spongiform change, PrP aggregates and the anticipated GSS hallmark of a proteinase K (PK)-resistant 8 kDa fragment deriving from the center of PrP, the LGGLGGYV insertion also imparted alterations in PrP's unstructured N-terminus, resulting in a 16 kDa species following thermolysin exposure. This species comprises a plausible precursor to the 8 kDa PK-resistant fragment and its detection in adolescent Tg.HRdup mice suggests that an early start to accumulation could account for early disease of the index case. A 16 kDa thermolysin-resistant signature was also found in GSS patients with P102L, A117V, H187R and F198S alleles and has coordinates similar to GSS stop codon mutations. Our data suggest a novel shared pathway of GSS pathogenesis that is fundamentally distinct from that producing structural alterations in the C-terminus of PrP, as observed in other prion diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and scrapie. PMID:29338055

  19. Allele-specific physical interactions regulate the heterotic traits in hybrids of Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Babita Singh

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Heterosis is an important phenomenon for the breeding in agricultural crops as it influences yield related traits such as biomass yield, seed number and weight, adaptive and reproductive traits. However, the level of heterosis greatly varies for different traits and different genotypes. The present study focuses on identification of physical interactions between alleles and their role in transcriptional regulation in heterotic plants. Here, we used two Arabidopsis ecotypes; Col-0 and C24 as parent for crosses. We performed crossing between these ecotypes and screened the F1 hybrids on the basis of different SSR markers. Further, we used Hi-C to capture intra- and inter-chromosomal physical interactions between alleles on genome-wide level. Then, we identified allele-specific chromatin interactions and constructed genome-wide allele-specific contact maps at different resolutions for the entire chromosome. We also performed RNA-seq of hybrids and their parents. RNA-seq analysis identified several differentially expressed genes and non-additively expressed genes in hybrids with respect to their parents. Further, to understand the biological significance of these chromatin interactions, we annotated these interactions and correlated with the transcriptome data. Thus, our study provides alleles-specific chromatin interactions in genome-wide fashion which play a crucial role in regulation of different genes that may be important for heterosis.

  20. Ovine progressive pneumonia provirus levels are unaffected by the prion 171R allele in an Idaho sheep flock.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrington, Robert D; Herrmann-Hoesing, Lynn M; White, Stephen N; O'Rourke, Katherine I; Knowles, Donald P

    2009-01-22

    Selective breeding of sheep for arginine (R) at prion gene (PRNP) codon 171 confers resistance to classical scrapie. However, other effects of 171R selection are uncertain. Ovine progressive pneumonia/Maedi-Visna virus (OPPV) may infect up to 66% of a flock thus any affect of 171R selection on OPPV susceptibility or disease progression could have major impact on the sheep industry. Hypotheses that the PRNP 171R allele is 1) associated with the presence of OPPV provirus and 2) associated with higher provirus levels were tested in an Idaho ewe flock. OPPV provirus was found in 226 of 358 ewes by quantitative PCR. The frequency of ewes with detectable provirus did not differ significantly among the 171QQ, 171QR, and 171RR genotypes (p > 0.05). Also, OPPV provirus levels in infected ewes were not significantly different among codon 171 genotypes (p > 0.05). These results show that, in the flock examined, the presence of OPPV provirus and provirus levels are not related to the PRNP 171R allele. Therefore, a genetic approach to scrapie control is not expected to increase or decrease the number of OPPV infected sheep or the progression of disease. This study provides further support to the adoption of PRNP 171R selection as a scrapie control measure.