diff --git "a/test_predictions.txt" "b/test_predictions.txt" new file mode 100644--- /dev/null +++ "b/test_predictions.txt" @@ -0,0 +1,25439 @@ +Clustering O +of O +missense O +mutations O +in O +the O +ataxia B +- I +telangiectasia I +gene O +in O +a O +sporadic B +T I +- I +cell I +leukaemia I +. O + +Ataxia B +- I +telangiectasia I +( O +A B +- I +T I +) O +is O +a O +recessive B +multi I +- I +system I +disorder I +caused O +by O +mutations O +in O +the O +ATM O +gene O +at O +11q22 O +- O +q23 O +( O +ref O +. O +3 O +) O +. O + +The O +risk O +of O +cancer B +, O +especially O +lymphoid B +neoplasias I +, O +is O +substantially O +elevated O +in O +A B +- I +T I +patients O +and O +has O +long O +been O +associated O +with O +chromosomal O +instability O +. O + +By O +analysing O +tumour B +DNA O +from O +patients O +with O +sporadic O +T I +- I +cell I +prolymphocytic I +leukaemia I +( O +T B +- I +PLL I +) O +, O +a O +rare O +clonal B +malignancy I +with O +similarities O +to O +a O +mature B +T I +- I +cell I +leukaemia I +seen O +in O +A B +- I +T I +, O +we O +demonstrate O +a O +high O +frequency O +of O +ATM O +mutations O +in O +T B +- I +PLL I +. O + +In O +marked O +contrast O +to O +the O +ATM O +mutation O +pattern O +in O +A B +- I +T I +, O +the O +most O +frequent O +nucleotide O +changes O +in O +this O +leukaemia B +were O +missense O +mutations O +. O + +These O +clustered O +in O +the O +region O +corresponding O +to O +the O +kinase O +domain O +, O +which O +is O +highly O +conserved O +in O +ATM O +- O +related O +proteins O +in O +mouse O +, O +yeast O +and O +Drosophila O +. O + +The O +resulting O +amino O +- O +acid O +substitutions O +are O +predicted O +to O +interfere O +with O +ATP O +binding O +or O +substrate O +recognition O +. O + +Two O +of O +seventeen O +mutated O +T O +- O +PLL O +samples O +had O +a O +previously O +reported O +A B +- I +T I +allele O +. O + +In O +contrast O +, O +no O +mutations O +were O +detected O +in O +the O +p53 O +gene O +, O +suggesting O +that O +this O +tumour B +suppressor O +is O +not O +frequently O +altered O +in O +this O +leukaemia B +. O + +Occasional O +missense O +mutations O +in O +ATM O +were O +also O +found O +in O +tumour B +DNA O +from O +patients O +with O +B B +- I +cell I +non I +- I +Hodgkins I +lymphomas I +( O +B B +- I +NHL I +) O +and O +a O +B O +- O +NHL O +cell O +line O +. O + +The O +evidence O +of O +a O +significant O +proportion O +of O +loss O +- O +of O +- O +function O +mutations O +and O +a O +complete O +absence O +of O +the O +normal O +copy O +of O +ATM O +in O +the O +majority O +of O +mutated O +tumours B +establishes O +somatic O +inactivation O +of O +this O +gene O +in O +the O +pathogenesis O +of O +sporadic O +T B +- I +PLL I +and O +suggests O +that O +ATM O +acts O +as O +a O +tumour B +suppressor O +. O + +As O +constitutional O +DNA O +was O +not O +available O +, O +a O +putative O +hereditary O +predisposition O +to O +T B +- I +PLL I +will O +require O +further O +investigation O +. O +. O + +Myotonic B +dystrophy I +protein O +kinase O +is O +involved O +in O +the O +modulation O +of O +the O +Ca2 O ++ O +homeostasis O +in O +skeletal O +muscle O +cells O +. O + +Myotonic B +dystrophy I +( O +DM B +) O +, O +the O +most O +prevalent O +muscular B +disorder I +in O +adults O +, O +is O +caused O +by O +( O +CTG O +) O +n O +- O +repeat O +expansion O +in O +a O +gene O +encoding O +a O +protein O +kinase O +( O +DM B +protein O +kinase O +; O +DMPK O +) O +and O +involves O +changes O +in O +cytoarchitecture O +and O +ion O +homeostasis O +. O + +To O +obtain O +clues O +to O +the O +normal O +biological O +role O +of O +DMPK O +in O +cellular O +ion O +homeostasis O +, O +we O +have O +compared O +the O +resting O +[ O +Ca2 O ++ O +] O +i O +, O +the O +amplitude O +and O +shape O +of O +depolarization O +- O +induced O +Ca2 O ++ O +transients O +, O +and O +the O +content O +of O +ATP O +- O +driven O +ion O +pumps O +in O +cultured O +skeletal O +muscle O +cells O +of O +wild O +- O +type O +and O +DMPK O +[ O +- O +/ O +- O +] O +knockout O +mice O +. O + +In O +vitro O +- O +differentiated O +DMPK O +[ O +- O +/ O +- O +] O +myotubes O +exhibit O +a O +higher O +resting O +[ O +Ca2 O ++ O +] O +i O +than O +do O +wild O +- O +type O +myotubes O +because O +of O +an O +altered O +open O +probability O +of O +voltage O +- O +dependent O +l O +- O +type O +Ca2 O ++ O +and O +Na O ++ O +channels O +. O + +The O +mutant O +myotubes O +exhibit O +smaller O +and O +slower O +Ca2 O ++ O +responses O +upon O +triggering O +by O +acetylcholine O +or O +high O +external O +K O ++ O +. O + +In O +addition O +, O +we O +observed O +that O +these O +Ca2 O ++ O +transients O +partially O +result O +from O +an O +influx O +of O +extracellular O +Ca2 O ++ O +through O +the O +l O +- O +type O +Ca2 O ++ O +channel O +. O + +Neither O +the O +content O +nor O +the O +activity O +of O +Na O ++ O +/ O +K O ++ O +ATPase O +and O +sarcoplasmic O +reticulum O +Ca2 O ++ O +- O +ATPase O +are O +affected O +by O +DMPK O +absence O +. O + +In O +conclusion O +, O +our O +data O +suggest O +that O +DMPK O +is O +involved O +in O +modulating O +the O +initial O +events O +of O +excitation O +- O +contraction O +coupling O +in O +skeletal O +muscle O +. O +. O + +Constitutional O +RB1 O +- O +gene O +mutations O +in O +patients O +with O +isolated B +unilateral I +retinoblastoma I +. O + +In O +most O +patients O +with O +isolated B +unilateral I +retinoblastoma I +, O +tumor B +development O +is O +initiated O +by O +somatic O +inactivation O +of O +both O +alleles O +of O +the O +RB1 O +gene O +. O + +However O +, O +some O +of O +these O +patients O +can O +transmit O +retinoblastoma B +predisposition O +to O +their O +offspring O +. O + +To O +determine O +the O +frequency O +and O +nature O +of O +constitutional O +RB1 O +- O +gene O +mutations O +in O +patients O +with O +isolated B +unilateral I +retinoblastoma I +, O +we O +analyzed O +DNA O +from O +peripheral O +blood O +and O +from O +tumor B +tissue O +. O + +The O +analysis O +of O +tumors B +from O +54 O +( O +71 O +% O +) O +of O +76 O +informative O +patients O +showed O +loss O +of O +constitutional O +heterozygosity O +( O +LOH O +) O +at O +intragenic O +loci O +. O + +Three O +of O +13 O +uninformative O +patients O +had O +constitutional O +deletions O +. O + +For O +39 O +randomly O +selected O +tumors B +, O +SSCP O +, O +hetero O +- O +duplex O +analysis O +, O +sequencing O +, O +and O +Southern O +blot O +analysis O +were O +used O +to O +identify O +mutations O +. O + +Mutations O +were O +detected O +in O +21 O +( O +91 O +% O +) O +of O +23 O +tumors B +with O +LOH B +. O + +In O +6 O +( O +38 O +% O +) O +of O +16 O +tumors B +without O +LOH O +, O +one O +mutation O +was O +detected O +, O +and O +in O +9 O +( O +56 O +% O +) O +of O +the O +tumors B +without O +LOH O +, O +both O +mutations O +were O +found O +. O + +Thus O +, O +a O +total O +of O +45 O +mutations O +were O +identified O +in O +tumors B +of O +36 O +patients O +. O + +Thirty O +- O +nine O +of O +the O +mutations O +- O +including O +34 O +small O +mutations O +, O +2 O +large O +structural O +alterations O +, O +and O +hypermethylation O +in O +3 O +tumors B +- O +were O +not O +detected O +in O +the O +corresponding O +peripheral O +blood O +DNA O +. O + +In O +6 O +( O +17 O +% O +) O +of O +the O +36 O +patients O +, O +a O +mutation O +was O +detected O +in O +constitutional O +DNA O +, O +and O +1 O +of O +these O +mutations O +is O +known O +to O +be O +associated O +with O +reduced O +expressivity O +. O + +The O +presence O +of O +a O +constitutional O +mutation O +was O +not O +associated O +with O +an O +early O +age O +at O +treatment O +. O + +In O +1 O +patient O +, O +somatic O +mosaicism O +was O +demonstrated O +by O +molecular O +analysis O +of O +DNA O +and O +RNA O +from O +peripheral O +blood O +. O + +In O +2 O +patients O +without O +a O +detectable O +mutation O +in O +peripheral O +blood O +, O +mosaicism O +was O +suggested O +because O +1 O +of O +the O +patients O +showed O +multifocal B +tumors I +and O +the O +other O +later O +developed O +bilateral B +retinoblastoma I +. O + +In O +conclusion O +, O +our O +results O +emphasize O +that O +the O +manifestation O +and O +transmissibility O +of O +retinoblastoma B +depend O +on O +the O +nature O +of O +the O +first O +mutation O +, O +its O +time O +in O +development O +, O +and O +the O +number O +and O +types O +of O +cells O +that O +are O +affected O +. O +. O + +Hereditary B +deficiency I +of I +the I +fifth I +component I +of I +complement I +in O +man O +. O + +I O +. O + +Clinical O +, O +immunochemical O +, O +and O +family O +studies O +. O + +The O +first O +recognized O +human O +kindred O +with O +hereditary B +deficiency I +of I +the I +fifth I +component I +of I +complement I +( O +C5 O +) O +is O +described O +. O + +The O +proband O +, O +a O +20 O +- O +year O +- O +old O +black O +female O +with O +systemic B +lupus I +erythematosus I +since O +age O +11 O +, O +lacked O +serum O +hemolytic O +complement O +activity O +, O +even O +during O +remission O +. O + +C5 O +was O +undetectable O +in O +her O +serum O +by O +both O +immunodiffusion O +and O +hemolytic O +assays O +. O + +Other O +complement O +components O +were O +normal O +during O +remission O +of O +lupus B +, O +but O +C1 O +, O +C4 O +, O +C2 O +, O +and O +C3 O +levels O +fell O +during O +exacerbations O +. O + +A O +younger O +half O +- O +sister O +, O +who O +had O +no O +underlying O +disease O +, O +was O +also O +found O +to O +lack O +immunochemically O +detectable O +C5 O +. O + +By O +hemolytic O +assay O +, O +she O +exhibited O +1 O +- O +2 O +% O +of O +the O +normal O +serum O +C5 O +level O +and O +normal O +concentrations O +of O +other O +complement O +components O +. O + +C5 O +levels O +of O +other O +family O +members O +were O +either O +normal O +or O +approximately O +half O +- O +normal O +, O +consistent O +with O +autosomal O +codominant O +inheritance O +of O +the O +gene O +determining O +C5 B +deficiency I +. O + +Normal O +hemolytic O +titers O +were O +restored O +to O +both O +homozygous O +C5 B +- I +deficient I +( O +C5D B +) O +sera O +by O +addition O +of O +highly O +purified O +human O +C5 O +. O + +In O +specific O +C5 O +titrations O +, O +however O +, O +it O +was O +noted O +that O +when O +limited O +amounts O +of O +C5 O +were O +assayed O +in O +the O +presence O +of O +low O +dilutions O +of O +either O +C5D B +serum O +, O +curving O +rather O +than O +linear O +dose O +- O +response O +plots O +were O +consistently O +obtained O +, O +suggesting O +some O +inhibitory O +effect O +. O + +Further O +studies O +suggested O +that O +low O +dilutions O +of O +C5D B +serum O +contain O +a O +factor O +( O +or O +factors O +) O +interfering O +at O +some O +step O +in O +the O +hemolytic O +assay O +of O +C5 O +, O +rather O +than O +a O +true O +C5 O +inhibitor O +or O +inactivator O +. O + +Of O +clinical O +interest O +are O +( O +a O +) O +the O +documentation O +of O +membranous B +glomerulonephritis I +, O +vasculitis B +, O +and O +arthritis B +in O +an O +individual O +lacking O +C5 O +( O +and O +its O +biologic O +functions O +) O +, O +and O +( O +b O +) O +a O +remarkable O +propensity O +to O +bacterial B +infections I +in O +the O +proband O +, O +even O +during O +periods O +of O +low O +- O +dose O +or O +alternate O +- O +day O +corticosteroid O +therapy O +. O + +Other O +observations O +indicate O +that O +the O +C5D B +state O +is O +compatible O +with O +normal O +coagulation O +function O +and O +the O +capacity O +to O +mount O +a O +neutrophilic B +leukocytosis I +during O +pyogenic B +infection I +. O +. O + +Susceptibility O +to O +ankylosing B +spondylitis I +in O +twins O +: O +the O +role O +of O +genes O +, O +HLA O +, O +and O +the O +environment O +. O + +OBJECTIVE O +To O +determine O +the O +relative O +effects O +of O +genetic O +and O +environmental O +factors O +in O +susceptibility O +to O +ankylosing B +spondylitis I +( O +AS B +) O +. O + +METHODS O +Twins O +with O +AS B +were O +identified O +from O +the O +Royal O +National O +Hospital O +for O +Rheumatic B +Diseases I +database O +. O + +Clinical O +and O +radiographic O +examinations O +were O +performed O +to O +establish O +diagnoses O +, O +and O +disease O +severity O +was O +assessed O +using O +a O +combination O +of O +validated O +scoring O +systems O +. O + +HLA O +typing O +for O +HLA O +- O +B27 O +, O +HLA O +- O +B60 O +, O +and O +HLA O +- O +DR1 O +was O +performed O +by O +polymerase O +chain O +reaction O +with O +sequence O +- O +specific O +primers O +, O +and O +zygosity O +was O +assessed O +using O +microsatellite O +markers O +. O + +Genetic O +and O +environmental O +variance O +components O +were O +assessed O +with O +the O +program O +Mx O +, O +using O +data O +from O +this O +and O +previous O +studies O +of O +twins O +with O +AS B +. O + +RESULTS O +Six O +of O +8 O +monozygotic O +( O +MZ O +) O +twin O +pairs O +were O +disease O +concordant O +, O +compared O +with O +4 O +of O +15 O +B27 O +- O +positive O +dizygotic O +( O +DZ O +) O +twin O +pairs O +( O +27 O +% O +) O +and O +4 O +of O +32 O +DZ O +twin O +pairs O +overall O +( O +12 O +. O +5 O +% O +) O +. O + +Nonsignificant O +increases O +in O +similarity O +with O +regard O +to O +age O +at O +disease O +onset O +and O +all O +of O +the O +disease O +severity O +scores O +assessed O +were O +noted O +in O +disease O +- O +concordant O +MZ O +twins O +compared O +with O +concordant O +DZ O +twins O +. O + +HLA O +- O +B27 O +and O +B60 O +were O +associated O +with O +the O +disease O +in O +probands O +, O +and O +the O +rate O +of O +disease O +concordance O +was O +significantly O +increased O +among O +DZ O +twin O +pairs O +in O +which O +the O +co O +- O +twin O +was O +positive O +for O +both O +B27 O +and O +DR1 O +. O + +Additive O +genetic O +effects O +were O +estimated O +to O +contribute O +97 O +% O +of O +the O +population O +variance O +. O + +CONCLUSION O +Susceptibility O +to O +AS B +is O +largely O +genetically O +determined O +, O +and O +the O +environmental O +trigger O +for O +the O +disease O +is O +probably O +ubiquitous O +. O + +HLA O +- O +B27 O +accounts O +for O +a O +minority O +of O +the O +overall O +genetic O +susceptibility O +to O +AS B +. O + +Cell O +cycle O +- O +dependent O +colocalization O +of O +BARD1 O +and O +BRCA1 O +proteins O +in O +discrete O +nuclear O +domains O +. O + +Germ O +- O +line O +mutations O +of O +the O +BRCA1 O +gene O +predispose O +women O +to O +early O +- O +onset O +breast B +and I +ovarian I +cancer I +by O +compromising O +the O +genes O +presumptive O +function O +as O +a O +tumor B +suppressor O +. O + +Although O +the O +biochemical O +properties O +of O +BRCA1 O +polypeptides O +are O +not O +understood O +, O +their O +expression O +pattern O +and O +subcellular O +localization O +suggest O +a O +role O +in O +cell O +- O +cycle O +regulation O +. O + +When O +resting O +cells O +are O +induced O +to O +proliferate O +, O +the O +steady O +- O +state O +levels O +of O +BRCA1 O +increase O +in O +late O +G1 O +and O +reach O +a O +maximum O +during O +S O +phase O +. O + +Moreover O +, O +in O +S O +phase O +cells O +, O +BRCA1 O +polypeptides O +are O +hyperphosphorylated O +and O +accumulate O +into O +discrete O +subnuclear O +foci O +termed O +" O +BRCA1 O +nuclear O +dots O +. O + +" O +BRCA1 O +associates O +in O +vivo O +with O +a O +structurally O +related O +protein O +termed O +BARD1 O +. O + +Here O +we O +show O +that O +the O +steady O +- O +state O +levels O +of O +BARD1 O +, O +unlike O +those O +of O +BRCA1 O +, O +remain O +relatively O +constant O +during O +cell O +cycle O +progression O +. O + +However O +, O +immunostaining O +revealed O +that O +BARD1 O +resides O +within O +BRCA1 O +nuclear O +dots O +during O +S O +phase O +of O +the O +cell O +cycle O +, O +but O +not O +during O +the O +G1 O +phase O +. O + +Nevertheless O +, O +BARD1 O +polypeptides O +are O +found O +exclusively O +in O +the O +nuclear O +fractions O +of O +both O +G1 O +- O +and O +S O +- O +phase O +cells O +. O + +Therefore O +, O +progression O +to O +S O +phase O +is O +accompanied O +by O +the O +aggregation O +of O +nuclear O +BARD1 O +polypeptides O +into O +BRCA1 O +nuclear O +dots O +. O + +This O +cell O +cycle O +- O +dependent O +colocalization O +of O +BARD1 O +and O +BRCA1 O +indicates O +a O +role O +for O +BARD1 O +in O +BRCA1 O +- O +mediated O +tumor B +suppression O +. O + +Ethnic O +differences O +in O +the O +HFE O +codon O +282 O +( O +Cys O +/ O +Tyr O +) O +polymorphism O +. O + +Recent O +studies O +have O +shown O +that O +hereditary B +hemochromatosis I +( O +HH B +) O +is O +likely O +to O +be O +caused O +by O +homozygosity O +for O +a O +Cys282Tyr O +mutation O +in O +the O +HFE O +gene O +located O +4 O +. O + +5 O +Mb O +telomeric O +to O +HLA O +- O +A O +. O + +Population O +studies O +of O +this O +polymorphism O +are O +facilitated O +by O +the O +fact O +that O +the O +Cys282Tyr O +mutation O +creates O +a O +Rsal O +restriction O +site O +. O + +We O +have O +studied O +the O +codon O +282 O +( O +Cys O +/ O +Tyr O +) O +polymorphism O +in O +different O +ethnic O +groups O +. O + +In O +agreement O +with O +previous O +observations O +the O +Tyr O +allele O +appeared O +to O +be O +rare O +or O +absent O +in O +Asiatic O +( O +Indian O +, O +Chinese O +) O +populations O +. O + +The O +highest O +allele O +frequency O +( O +7 O +. O +5 O +% O +) O +was O +found O +in O +Swedes O +. O + +Saamis O +( O +2 O +% O +) O +and O +Mordvinians O +( O +1 O +. O +8 O +% O +) O +had O +significantly O +lower O +frequencies O +of O +the O +Tyr O +allele O +. O + +Comparisons O +with O +allele O +frequencies O +based O +on O +prevalence O +estimates O +of O +HH B +showed O +some O +disagreements O +with O +the O +RFLP O +data O +, O +particularly O +in O +Finns O +. O + +The O +newly O +described O +HFE O +marker O +provides O +a O +new O +approach O +to O +the O +screening O +of O +HH B +as O +well O +as O +studies O +of O +the O +relationship O +between O +the O +HFE O +Tyr O +allele O +and O +different O +disorders O +including O +cancer B + +Autosomal B +dominant I +neurohypophyseal I +diabetes I +insipidus I +associated O +with O +a O +missense O +mutation O +encoding O +Gly23 O +- O +- O +> O +Val O +in O +neurophysin O +II O +. O + +Autosomal B +dominant I +neurohypophyseal I +diabetes I +insipidus I +( O +ADNDI B +) O +is O +an O +inherited B +disease I +caused O +by O +progressive O +degeneration B +of I +the I +magnocellular I +neurons I +of I +the I +hypothalamus I +leading O +to O +decreased O +ability O +to O +produce O +the O +hormone O +arginine O +vasopressin O +( O +AVP O +) O +. O + +Affected O +individuals O +are O +not O +symptomatic O +at O +birth O +, O +but O +usually O +develop O +diabetes B +insipidus I +at O +1 O +- O +6 O +yr O +of O +age O +. O + +The O +genetic O +locus O +of O +the O +disease O +is O +the O +AVP O +- O +neurophysin O +II O +( O +NPII O +) O +gene O +, O +and O +mutations O +that O +cause O +ADNDI B +have O +been O +found O +in O +both O +the O +signal O +peptide O +of O +the O +prepro O +- O +AVP O +- O +NPII O +precursor O +and O +within O +NPII O +itself O +. O + +An O +affected O +girl O +who O +presented O +at O +9 O +months O +of O +age O +and O +her O +similarly O +affected O +younger O +brother O +and O +father O +were O +all O +found O +to O +have O +a O +novel O +missense O +mutation O +( O +G1758 O +- O +- O +> O +T O +) O +encoding O +the O +amino O +acid O +substitution O +Gly23 O +- O +- O +> O +Val O +within O +NPII O +. O + +The O +mutation O +was O +confirmed O +by O +restriction O +endonuclease O +analysis O +. O + +A O +T1 O +- O +weighted O +magnetic O +resonance O +imaging O +of O +the O +fathers O +pituitary O +gland O +demonstrates O +an O +attenuated O +posterior O +pituitary O +bright O +spot O +. O + +This O +mutation O +may O +be O +valuable O +for O +developing O +models O +of O +dominantly O +inherited O +neurodegeneration I +, O +as O +the O +early O +age O +of O +onset O +of O +symptoms O +suggests O +that O +this O +mutation O +may O +be O +particularly O +deleterious O +to O +the O +magnocellular O +neuron O +. O +. O + +Frequent O +inactivation O +of O +PTEN O +/ O +MMAC1 O +in O +primary B +prostate I +cancer I +. O + +Sporadic B +prostate I +carcinoma I +is O +the O +most O +common O +male B +cancer I +in O +the O +Western O +world O +, O +yet O +many O +of O +the O +major O +genetic O +events O +involved O +in O +the O +progression O +of O +this O +often O +fatal O +cancer B +remain O +to O +be O +elucidated O +. O + +Numerous O +cytogenetic O +and O +allelotype O +studies O +have O +reported O +frequent O +loss O +of O +heterozygosity O +on O +chromosomal O +arm O +10q O +in O +sporadic B +prostate I +cancer I +. O + +Deletion O +mapping O +studies O +have O +unambiguously O +identified O +a O +region O +of O +chromosome O +10q23 O +to O +be O +the O +minimal O +area O +of O +loss O +. O + +A O +new O +tumor B +suppressor O +gene O +, O +PTEN O +/ O +MMAC1 O +, O +was O +isolated O +recently O +at O +this O +region O +of O +chromosome O +10q23 O +and O +found O +to O +be O +inactivated O +by O +mutation O +in O +three O +prostate B +cancer I +cell O +lines O +. O + +We O +screened O +80 O +prostate B +tumors I +by O +microsatellite O +analysis O +and O +found O +chromosome O +10q23 O +to O +be O +deleted O +in O +23 O +cases O +. O + +We O +then O +proceeded O +with O +sequence O +analysis O +of O +the O +entire O +PTEN O +/ O +MMAC1 O +coding O +region O +and O +tested O +for O +homozygous O +deletion O +with O +new O +intragenic O +markers O +in O +these O +23 O +cases O +with O +10q23 O +loss O +of O +heterozygosity O +. O + +The O +identification O +of O +the O +second O +mutational O +event O +in O +10 O +( O +43 O +% O +) O +tumors B +establishes O +PTEN O +/ O +MMAC1 O +as O +a O +main O +inactivation O +target O +of O +10q O +loss O +in O +sporadic B +prostate I +cancer I +. O +. O + +Risk O +reversals O +in O +predictive O +testing O +for O +Huntington B +disease I +. O + +The O +first O +predictive O +testing O +for O +Huntington B +disease I +( O +HD B +) O +was O +based O +on O +analysis O +of O +linked O +polymorphic O +DNA O +markers O +to O +estimate O +the O +likelihood O +of O +inheriting O +the O +mutation O +for O +HD B +. O + +Limits O +to O +accuracy O +included O +recombination O +between O +the O +DNA O +markers O +and O +the O +mutation O +, O +pedigree O +structure O +, O +and O +whether O +DNA O +samples O +were O +available O +from O +family O +members O +. O + +With O +direct O +tests O +for O +the O +HD B +mutation O +, O +we O +have O +assessed O +the O +accuracy O +of O +results O +obtained O +by O +linkage O +approaches O +when O +requested O +to O +do O +so O +by O +the O +test O +individuals O +. O + +For O +six O +such O +individuals O +, O +there O +was O +significant O +disparity O +between O +the O +tests O +. O + +Three O +went O +from O +a O +decreased O +risk O +to O +an O +increased O +risk O +, O +while O +in O +another O +three O +the O +risk O +was O +decreased O +. O + +Knowledge O +of O +the O +potential O +reasons O +for O +these O +changes O +in O +results O +and O +impact O +of O +these O +risk O +reversals O +on O +both O +patients O +and O +the O +counseling O +team O +can O +assist O +in O +the O +development O +of O +strategies O +for O +the O +prevention O +and O +, O +where O +necessary O +, O +management O +of O +a O +risk O +reversal O +in O +any O +predictive O +testing O +program O +. O +. O + +A O +novel O +common O +missense O +mutation O +G301C O +in O +the O +N O +- O +acetylgalactosamine O +- O +6 O +- O +sulfate O +sulfatase O +gene O +in O +mucopolysaccharidosis B +IVA I +. O + +Mucopolysaccharidosis B +IVA I +( O +MPS B +IVA I +) O +is O +an O +autosomal B +recessive I +lysosomal I +storage I +disorder I +caused O +by O +a O +genetic B +defect I +in O +N B +- I +acetylgalactosamine I +- I +6 I +- I +sulfate I +sulfatase I +( O +GALNS O +) O +. O + +In O +previous O +studies O +, O +we O +have O +found O +two O +common O +mutations O +in O +Caucasians O +and O +Japanese O +, O +respectively O +. O + +To O +characterize O +the O +mutational O +spectrum O +in O +various O +ethnic O +groups O +, O +mutations O +in O +the O +GALNS O +gene O +in O +Colombian O +MPS B +IVA I +patients O +were O +investigated O +, O +and O +genetic O +backgrounds O +were O +extensively O +analyzed O +to O +identify O +racial O +origin O +, O +based O +on O +mitochondrial O +DNA O +( O +mtDNA O +) O +lineages O +. O + +Three O +novel O +missense O +mutations O +never O +identified O +previously O +in O +other O +populations O +and O +found O +in O +16 O +out O +of O +19 O +Colombian O +MPS B +IVA I +unrelated O +alleles O +account O +for O +84 O +. O + +2 O +% O +of O +the O +alleles O +in O +this O +study O +. O + +The O +G301C O +and O +S162F O +mutations O +account O +for O +68 O +. O + +4 O +% O +and O +10 O +. O + +5 O +% O +of O +mutations O +, O +respectively O +, O +whereas O +the O +remaining O +F69V O +is O +limited O +to O +a O +single O +allele O +. O + +The O +skewed O +prevalence O +of O +G301C O +in O +only O +Colombian O +patients O +and O +haplotype O +analysis O +by O +restriction O +fragment O +length O +polymorphisms O +in O +the O +GALNS O +gene O +suggest O +that O +G301C O +originated O +from O +a O +common O +ancestor O +. O + +Investigation O +of O +the O +genetic O +background O +by O +means O +of O +mtDNA O +lineages O +indicate O +that O +all O +our O +patients O +are O +probably O +of O +native O +American O +descent O + +Low O +frequency O +of O +BRCA1 O +germline O +mutations O +in O +45 O +German O +breast B +/ I +ovarian I +cancer I +families O +. O + +In O +this O +study O +we O +investigated O +45 O +German O +breast B +/ I +ovarian I +cancer I +families O +for O +germline O +mutations O +in O +the O +BRCA1 O +gene O +. O + +We O +identified O +four O +germline O +mutations O +in O +three O +breast B +cancer I +families O +and O +in O +one O +breast B +- I +ovarian I +cancer I +family O +. O +among O +these O +were O +one O +frameshift O +mutation O +, O +one O +nonsense O +mutation O +, O +one O +novel O +splice O +site O +mutation O +, O +and O +one O +missense O +mutation O +. O + +The O +missense O +mutation O +was O +also O +found O +in O +2 O +. O + +8 O +% O +of O +the O +general O +population O +, O +suggesting O +that O +it O +is O +not O +disease O +associated O +. O + +The O +average O +age O +of O +disease O +onset O +in O +those O +families O +harbouring O +causative O +mutations O +was O +between O +32 O +. O + +3 O +and O +37 O +. O + +4 O +years O +, O +whereas O +the O +family O +harbouring O +the O +missense O +mutation O +had O +an O +average O +age O +of O +onset O +of O +51 O +. O + +2 O +years O +. O + +These O +findings O +show O +that O +BRCA1 O +is O +implicated O +in O +a O +small O +fraction O +of O +breast B +/ I +ovarian I +cancer I +families O +suggesting O +the O +involvement O +of O +another O +susceptibility O +gene O +( O +s O +) O + +Paternal O +transmission O +of O +congenital B +myotonic I +dystrophy I +. O + +We O +report O +a O +rare O +case O +of O +paternally O +transmitted O +congenital B +myotonic I +dystrophy I +( O +DM B +) O +. O + +The O +proband O +is O +a O +23 O +year O +old O +, O +mentally B +retarded I +male O +who O +suffers O +severe O +muscular B +weakness I +. O + +He O +presented O +with O +respiratory O +and I +feeding O +difficulties O +at O +birth O +. O + +His O +two O +sibs O +suffer O +from O +childhood O +onset O +DM B +. O + +Their O +late O +father O +had O +the O +adult O +type O +of O +DM B +, O +with O +onset O +around O +30 O +years O +. O + +Only O +six O +other O +cases O +of O +paternal O +transmission O +of O +congenital O +DM B +have O +been O +reported O +recently O +. O + +We O +review O +the O +sex O +related O +effects O +on O +transmission O +of O +congenital O +DM B +. O + +Decreased O +fertility O +of O +males O +with O +adult O +onset O +DM B +and O +contraction O +of O +the O +repeat O +upon O +male O +transmission O +contribute O +to O +the O +almost O +absent O +occurrence O +of O +paternal O +transmission O +of O +congenital O +DM B +. O + +Also O +the O +fathers O +of O +the O +reported O +congenitally O +affected O +children O +showed O +, O +on O +average O +, O +shorter O +CTG O +repeat O +lengths O +and O +hence O +less O +severe O +clinical O +symptoms O +than O +the O +mothers O +of O +children O +with O +congenital O +DM B +. O + +We O +conclude O +that O +paternal O +transmission O +of O +congenital O +DM B +is O +rare O +and O +preferentially O +occurs O +with O +onset O +of O +DM B +past O +30 O +years O +in O +the O +father O +. O +. O + +The O +RB1 O +gene O +mutation O +in O +a O +child O +with O +ectopic B +intracranial I +retinoblastoma I +. O + +The O +RB1 O +gene O +mutation O +was O +investigated O +in O +a O +child O +with O +ectopic B +intracranial I +retinoblastoma I +using O +DNA O +obtained O +from O +both O +the O +pineal B +and I +retinal I +tumours I +of O +the O +patient O +. O + +A O +nonsense O +mutation O +in O +exon O +17 O +( O +codon O +556 O +) O +of O +the O +RB1 O +gene O +was O +found O +to O +be O +present O +homozygously O +in O +both O +the O +retinal B +and I +the I +pineal I +tumours I +. O + +The O +same O +mutation O +was O +present O +heterozygously O +in O +the O +DNA O +from O +the O +constitutional O +cells O +of O +the O +patient O +, O +proving O +it O +to O +be O +of O +germline O +origin O +. O + +The O +initial O +mutation O +was O +shown O +to O +have O +occurred O +in O +the O +paternally O +derived O +RB1 O +allele O +. O + +The O +mutation O +is O +in O +an O +area O +of O +the O +gene O +that O +encodes O +the O +protein O +- O +binding O +region O +known O +as O +the O +pocket O +region O +and O +has O +been O +detected O +in O +other O +cases O +of O +retinoblastoma B +. O +. O + +Low O +levels O +of O +beta O +hexosaminidase O +A O +in O +healthy O +individuals O +with O +apparent O +deficiency O +of O +this O +enzyme O +. O + +Appreciable O +beta O +hexosaminidase O +A I +( O +hex O +A O +) O +activity O +has O +been O +detected O +in O +cultured O +skin O +fibroblasts O +and O +melanoma B +tissue O +from O +healthy O +individuals O +previously O +reported O +as O +having O +deficiency B +of I +hex I +A I +activity O +indistinguishable O +from O +that O +of O +patients O +with O +Tay B +- I +Sachs I +disease I +( O +TSD B +) O +. O + +Identification O +and O +quantitation O +of O +hex O +A O +, O +amounting O +to O +3 O +. O + +5 O +% O +- O +6 O +. O + +9 O +% O +of O +total O +beta O +hexosaminidase O +activity O +, O +has O +been O +obtained O +by O +cellulose O +acetate O +gel O +electrophoresis O +, O +DEAE O +- O +cellulose O +ion O +- O +exchange O +chromatography O +, O +radial O +immunodiffusion O +, O +and O +radioimmunoassay O +. O + +Previous O +family O +studies O +suggested O +that O +these O +individuals O +may O +be O +compound O +heterozygotes O +for O +the O +common O +mutant O +TSD B +gene O +and O +a O +rare O +( O +allelic O +) O +mutant O +gene O +. O + +Thus O +, O +the O +postulated O +rate O +mutant O +gene O +appears O +to O +code O +for O +the O +expression O +of O +low O +amounts O +of O +hex O +A O +. O + +Heterozygotes O +for O +the O +rare O +mutant O +may O +be O +indistinguishable O +from O +heterozygotes O +for O +the O +common O +TSD B +mutant O +. O + +However O +, O +direct O +visualization O +and O +quantitation O +of O +hex O +A O +by O +the O +methods O +described O +may O +prevent O +false O +- O +positive O +prenatal O +diagnosis O +of O +TSD B +in O +fetuses O +having O +the O +incomplete O +hex B +A I +deficiency I +of O +the O +type O +described O +in O +the O +four O +healthy O +individuals O + +The O +tumor B +suppressor O +gene O +Smad4 O +/ O +Dpc4 O +is O +required O +for O +gastrulation O +and O +later O +for O +anterior O +development O +of O +the O +mouse O +embryo O +. O + +Mutations O +in O +the O +SMAD4 O +/ O +DPC4 O +tumor B +suppressor O +gene O +, O +a O +key O +signal O +transducer O +in O +most O +TGFbeta O +- O +related O +pathways O +, O +are O +involved O +in O +50 O +% O +of O +pancreatic B +cancers I +. O + +Homozygous O +Smad4 O +mutant O +mice O +die O +before O +day O +7 O +. O + +5 O +of O +embryogenesis O +. O + +Mutant O +embryos O +have O +reduced O +size O +, O +fail O +to O +gastrulate O +or O +express O +a O +mesodermal O +marker O +, O +and O +show O +abnormal O +visceral O +endoderm O +development O +. O + +Growth B +retardation I +of O +the O +Smad4 O +- O +deficient O +embryos O +results O +from O +reduced O +cell O +proliferation O +rather O +than O +increased O +apoptosis O +. O + +Aggregation O +of O +mutant O +Smad4 O +ES O +cells O +with O +wild O +- O +type O +tetraploid O +morulae O +rescues O +the O +gastrulation O +defect O +. O + +These O +results O +indicate O +that O +Smad4 O +is O +initially O +required O +for O +the O +differentiation O +of O +the O +visceral O +endoderm O +and O +that O +the O +gastrulation O +defect O +in O +the O +epiblast O +is O +secondary O +and O +non O +- O +cell O +autonomous O +. O + +Rescued O +embryos O +show O +severe O +anterior O +truncations O +, O +indicating O +a O +second O +important O +role O +for O +Smad4 O +in O +anterior O +patterning O +during O +embryogenesis O +. O + +Prevalence O +of O +p16 O +and O +CDK4 O +germline O +mutations O +in O +48 O +melanoma B +- O +prone O +families O +in O +France O +. O + +The O +French O +Familial B +Melanoma I +Study O +Group O +. O + +Germline O +mutations O +in O +the O +p16 O +and O +CDK4 O +genes O +have O +been O +reported O +in O +a O +subset O +of O +melanoma B +pedigrees O +, O +but O +their O +prevalence O +is O +not O +well O +known O +. O + +We O +searched O +for O +such O +germline O +mutations O +in O +48 O +French O +melanoma B +- O +prone O +families O +selected O +according O +to O +two O +major O +criteria O +families O +with O +at O +least O +three O +affected O +members O +( O +n O += O +20 O +) O +or O +families O +with O +two O +affected O +members O +, O +one O +of O +them O +affected O +before O +the O +age O +of O +50 O +( O +n O += O +28 O +) O +, O +and O +one O +additional O +minor O +criterion O +. O + +Sixteen O +different O +p16 O +germline O +mutations O +were O +found O +in O +21 O +families O +, O +while O +one O +germline O +mutation O +, O +Arg24His O +, O +was O +detected O +in O +the O +CDK4 O +gene O +. O + +The O +frequency O +of O +p16 O +gene O +mutation O +in O +our O +sample O +( O +44 O +% O +) O +is O +among O +the O +highest O +rates O +yet O +reported O +and O +the O +CDK4 O +mutation O +is O +the O +second O +mutation O +detected O +in O +this O +gene O +worldwide O +. O + +In O +summary O +, O +our O +results O +show O +frequent O +involvement O +of O +the O +p16 O +gene O +in O +familial B +melanoma I +and O +confirm O +the O +role O +of O +the O +CDK4 O +gene O +as O +a O +melanoma B +- O +predisposing O +gene O +. O +. O + +Progression O +of O +somatic O +CTG O +repeat O +length O +heterogeneity O +in O +the O +blood O +cells O +of O +myotonic B +dystrophy I +patients O +. O + +The O +genetic O +basis O +of O +myotonic B +dystrophy I +( O +DM B +) O +is O +the O +expansion O +of O +an O +unstable O +CTG O +repeat O +in O +the O +34 O +UTR O +of O +the O +DM B +protein O +kinase O +gene O +on O +chromosome O +19 O +. O + +One O +of O +the O +principal O +features O +of O +the O +DM B +mutation O +is O +an O +extraordinarily O +high O +level O +of O +somatic O +mosaicism O +, O +due O +to O +an O +extremely O +high O +degree O +of O +somatic O +instability O +both O +within O +and O +between O +different O +tissues O +. O + +This O +instability O +appears O +to O +be O +biased O +towards O +further O +expansion O +and O +continuous O +throughout O +the O +life O +of O +an O +individual O +, O +features O +that O +could O +be O +associated O +with O +the O +progressive O +nature O +of O +the O +disease O +. O + +Although O +increasing O +measured O +allele O +size O +between O +patients O +clearly O +correlates O +with O +an O +increased O +severity O +of O +symptoms O +and O +an O +earlier O +age O +of O +onset O +, O +this O +correlation O +is O +not O +precise O +and O +measured O +allele O +length O +cannot O +be O +used O +as O +an O +accurate O +predictor O +of O +age O +of O +onset O +. O + +In O +order O +to O +further O +characterize O +the O +dynamics O +of O +DM B +CTG O +repeat O +somatic O +instability O +, O +we O +have O +studied O +repeat O +length O +changes O +over O +time O +in O +111 O +myotonic B +dystrophy I +patients O +with O +varying O +clinical O +severity O +and O +CTG O +repeat O +size O +over O +time O +intervals O +of O +1 O +- O +7 O +years O +. O + +We O +have O +found O +a O +direct O +progression O +of O +the O +size O +heterogeneity O +over O +time O +related O +to O +initial O +CTG O +repeat O +size O +and O +the O +time O +interval O +and O +always O +biased O +towards O +further O +expansion O +. O + +Attempts O +to O +mathematically O +model O +the O +dynamics O +have O +proved O +only O +partially O +successful O +suggesting O +that O +individual O +specific O +genetic O +and O +/ O +or O +environmental O +factors O +also O +play O +a O +role O +in O +somatic O +mosaicism O +. O +. O + +Aspartylglucosaminuria B +among O +Palestinian O +Arabs O +. O + +Aspartylglucosaminuria B +( O +AGU B +) O +is O +a O +rare O +disorder B +of O +glycoprotein O +metabolism O +caused O +by O +the O +deficiency B +of I +the I +lysosomal I +enzyme I +aspartylglucosaminidase I +( O +AGA O +) O +. O + +AGU B +is O +inherited O +as O +an O +autosomal O +recessive O +trait O +and O +occurs O +with O +a O +high O +frequency O +in O +Finland O +because O +of O +a O +founder O +effect O +. O + +While O +very O +few O +patients O +with O +AGU B +have O +been O +reported O +from O +non O +- O +Finnish O +origin O +, O +we O +diagnosed O +the O +disorder O +in O +8 O +patients O +originating O +from O +3 O +unrelated O +families O +, O +all O +Palestinian O +Arabs O +from O +the O +region O +of O +Jerusalem O +. O + +The O +clinical O +diagnosis O +of O +AGU B +is O +often O +difficult O +, O +in O +particular O +early O +in O +the O +course O +of O +the O +disease O +, O +and O +most O +of O +the O +patients O +are O +diagnosed O +after O +the O +age O +of O +5 O +years O +. O + +However O +, O +since O +these O +patients O +excrete O +early O +large O +amounts O +of O +aspartylglucosamine O +in O +urine O +, O +biochemical O +screening O +is O +easy O +by O +urine O +chromatography O +. O +. O + +Detection O +of O +heterozygous O +carriers O +of O +the O +ataxia B +- I +telangiectasia I +( O +ATM O +) O +gene O +by O +G2 O +phase O +chromosomal O +radiosensitivity O +of O +peripheral O +blood O +lymphocytes O +. O + +In O +ataxia B +- I +telangiectasia I +( O +A B +- I +T I +) O +patients O +, O +mutations O +in O +a O +single O +gene O +, O +ATM O +, O +result O +in O +an O +autosomal B +recessive I +syndrome I +that O +embraces O +a O +variety O +of O +clinical O +features O +and O +manifests O +extreme O +radiosensitivity O +and O +a O +strong O +pre O +- O +disposition O +to O +malignancy B +. O + +Heterozygotes O +for O +the O +ATM O +gene O +have O +no O +clinical O +expression O +of O +A B +- I +T I +but O +may O +be O +cancer B +prone I +with O +a O +moderate O +increase O +in O +in O +vitro O +radiosensitivity O +. O + +We O +performed O +a O +blind O +chromosomal O +analysis O +on O +G2 O +- O +phase O +lymphocytes O +from O +7 O +unrelated O +A B +- I +T I +patients O +, O +13 O +obligate O +A B +- I +T I +heterozygotes O +( O +parents O +of O +the O +patients O +) O +, O +and O +14 O +normal O +controls O +following O +X O +- O +irradiation O +with O +1 O +Gy O +in O +order O +to O +evaluate O +this O +cytogenetic O +method O +as O +a O +tool O +for O +detection O +of O +ATM O +carriers O +. O + +Both O +A B +- I +T I +homozygotes O +and O +heterozygotes O +showed O +significantly O +increased O +levels O +of O +radiation O +- O +induced O +chromatid O +damage O +relative O +to O +that O +of O +normal O +controls O +. O + +These O +results O +show O +that O +the O +G2 O +- O +phase O +chromosomal O +radiosensitivity O +assay O +can O +be O +used O +for O +the O +detection O +of O +A B +- I +T I +heterozygotes O +. O + +In O +combination O +with O +molecular O +genetic O +analyses O +, O +this O +test O +may O +be O +of O +value O +in O +studies O +of O +familial B +and I +sporadic I +cancers I +aimed O +at O +determination O +of O +the O +potential O +involvement O +of O +ATM O +mutations O +in O +tumor B +risk O +or O +development O +. O +. O + +Ataxia B +- I +telangiectasia I +: O +identification O +and O +detection O +of O +founder O +- O +effect O +mutations O +in O +the O +ATM O +gene O +in O +ethnic O +populations O +. O + +To O +facilitate O +the O +evaluation O +of O +ATM O +heterozygotes O +for O +susceptibility O +to O +other O +diseases O +, O +such O +as O +breast B +cancer I +, O +we O +have O +attempted O +to O +define O +the O +most O +common O +mutations O +and O +their O +frequencies O +in O +ataxia B +- I +telangiectasia I +( O +A B +- I +T I +) O +homozygotes O +from O +10 O +ethnic O +populations O +. O + +Both O +genomic O +mutations O +and O +their O +effects O +on O +cDNA O +were O +characterized O +. O + +Protein O +- O +truncation O +testing O +of O +the O +entire O +ATM O +cDNA O +detected O +92 O +( O +66 O +% O +) O +truncating O +mutations O +in O +140 O +mutant O +alleles O +screened O +. O + +The O +haplotyping O +of O +patients O +with O +identical O +mutations O +indicates O +that O +almost O +all O +of O +these O +represent O +common O +ancestry O +and O +that O +very O +few O +spontaneously O +recurring O +ATM O +mutations O +exist O +. O + +Assays O +requiring O +minimal O +amounts O +of O +genomic O +DNA O +were O +designed O +to O +allow O +rapid O +screening O +for O +common O +ethnic O +mutations O +. O + +These O +rapid O +assays O +detected O +mutations O +in O +76 O +% O +of O +Costa O +Rican O +patients O +( O +3 O +) O +, O +50 O +% O +of O +Norwegian O +patients O +( O +1 O +) O +, O +25 O +% O +of O +Polish O +patients O +( O +4 O +) O +, O +and O +14 O +% O +of O +Italian O +patients O +( O +1 O +) O +, O +as O +well O +as O +in O +patients O +of O +Amish O +/ O +Mennonite O +and O +Irish O +English O +backgrounds O +. O + +Additional O +mutations O +were O +observed O +in O +Japanese O +, O +Utah O +Mormon O +, O +and O +African O +American O +patients O +. O + +These O +assays O +should O +facilitate O +screening O +for O +A B +- I +T I +heterozygotes O +in O +the O +populations O +studied O +. O +. O + +The O +von B +Hippel I +- I +Lindau I +tumor I +suppressor O +gene O +is O +required O +for O +cell O +cycle O +exit O +upon O +serum O +withdrawal O +. O + +The O +inactivation O +of O +the O +von B +Hippel I +- I +Lindau I +( I +VHL I +) I +tumor I +suppressor O +gene O +predisposes O +affected O +individuals O +to O +the O +human O +VHL B +cancer I +syndrome I +and O +is O +associated O +with O +sporadic B +renal I +cell I +carcinomas I +( O +RCC B +) O +and O +brain B +hemangioblastomas I +. O + +VHL O +- O +negative O +786 O +- O +0 O +RCC B +cells O +are O +tumorigenic O +in O +nude O +mice O +which O +is O +suppressed O +by O +the O +reintroduction O +of O +VHL O +. O + +Remarkably O +, O +this O +occurs O +without O +affecting O +the O +growth O +rate O +and O +cell O +cycle O +profile O +of O +these O +cells O +in O +culture O +. O + +The O +786 O +- O +0 O +cell O +line O +, O +like O +many O +cancer B +cells O +, O +fails O +to O +exit O +the O +cell O +cycle O +upon O +serum O +withdrawal O +. O + +Here O +, O +it O +is O +shown O +that O +reintroduction O +of O +the O +wild O +- O +type O +VHL B +gene O +restores O +the O +ability O +of O +VHL O +- O +negative O +RCC B +cancer I +cells O +to O +exit O +the O +cell O +cycle O +and O +enter O +G0 O +/ O +quiescence O +in O +low O +serum O +. O + +Both O +VHL O +- O +positive O +and O +VHL O +- O +negative O +RCC B +cells O +exit O +the O +cell O +cycle O +by O +contact O +inhibition O +. O + +The O +cyclin O +- O +dependent O +kinase O +inhibitor O +, O +p27 O +, O +accumulates O +upon O +serum O +withdrawal O +, O +only O +in O +the O +presence O +of O +VHL B +, O +as O +a O +result O +of O +the O +stabilization O +of O +the O +protein O +. O + +We O +propose O +that O +the O +loss O +of O +wild O +- O +type O +VHL B +gene O +results O +in O +a O +specific O +cellular O +defect O +in O +serum O +- O +dependent O +growth O +control O +, O +which O +may O +initiate O +tumor B +formation O +. O + +This O +is O +corrected O +by O +the O +reintroduction O +of O +wild O +- O +type O +VHL O +, O +implicating O +VHL O +as O +the O +first O +tumor B +suppressor O +involved O +in O +the O +regulation O +of O +cell O +cycle O +exit O +, O +which O +is O +consistent O +with O +its O +gatekeeper O +function O +in O +the O +kidney O +. O +. O + +Piebaldism B +with O +deafness B +: O +molecular O +evidence O +for O +an O +expanded O +syndrome O +. O + +In O +a O +South O +African O +girl O +of O +Xhosa O +stock O +with O +severe O +piebaldism B +and O +profound O +congenital B +sensorineural I +deafness I +we O +identified O +a O +novel O +missense O +substitution O +at O +a O +highly O +conserved O +residue O +in O +the O +intracellular O +kinase O +domain O +of O +the O +KIT O +proto O +- O +oncogene O +, O +R796G O +. O + +Though O +auditory B +anomalies I +have O +been O +observed O +in O +mice O +with O +dominant O +white O +spotting O +( O +W O +) O +due O +to O +KIT O +mutations O +, O +deafness B +is O +not O +typical O +in O +human O +piebaldism B +. O + +Thus O +, O +the O +occurrence O +of O +sensorineural B +deafness I +in O +this O +patient O +extends O +considerably O +the O +phenotypic O +range O +of O +piebaldism B +due O +to O +KIT O +gene O +mutation O +in O +humans O +and O +tightens O +the O +clinical O +similarity O +between O +piebaldism B +and O +the O +various O +forms O +of O +Waardenburg B +syndrome I +. O +. O + +Cycloheximide O +facilitates O +the O +identification O +of O +aberrant O +transcripts O +resulting O +from O +a O +novel O +splice O +- O +site O +mutation O +in O +COL17A1 O +in O +a O +patient O +with O +generalized O +atrophic B +benign I +epidermolysis I +bullosa I +. O + +Patients O +with O +generalized O +atrophic B +benign I +epidermolysis I +bullosa I +often O +show O +decreased O +expression O +of O +type O +XVII O +collagen O +, O +a O +transmembrane O +hemidesmosomal O +protein O +encoded O +by O +COL17A1 O +. O + +This O +report O +documents O +a O +novel O +splice O +- O +site O +mutation O +in O +COL17A1 O +in O +a O +patient O +with O +generalized O +atrophic B +benign I +epidermolysis I +bullosa I +, O +and O +applies O +a O +new O +methodology O +to O +define O +and O +characterize O +the O +resulting O +mRNA O +splice O +variants O +. O + +Mutational O +analysis O +of O +COL17A1 O +identified O +a O +maternally O +inherited O +G O +- O +to O +- O +T O +transversion O +at O +the O +- O +1 O +position O +of O +exon O +32 O +. O + +This O +acceptor O +splice O +- O +site O +mutation O +led O +to O +the O +formation O +of O +aberrant O +transcripts O +present O +at O +extremely O +low O +levels O +. O + +Based O +on O +our O +recent O +finding O +that O +cycloheximide O +stabilized O +mutant O +COL17A1 O +transcripts O +in O +keratinocytes O +homozygous O +for O +a O +frameshift O +mutation O +, O +the O +effects O +of O +the O +splice O +- O +site O +mutation O +on O +splicing O +of O +COL17A1 O +transcripts O +were O +determined O +using O +reverse O +transcriptase O +polymerase O +chain O +reaction O +of O +total O +RNA O +from O +keratinocytes O +incubated O +for O +2 O +. O + +5 O +h O +in O +the O +presence O +or O +absence O +of O +10 O +microg O +cycloheximide O +per O +ml O +. O + +Using O +this O +approach O +, O +an O +abnormally O +spliced O +transcript O +was O +identified O +that O +contains O +an O +extra O +264 O +bases O +upstream O +from O +exon O +32 O +, O +resulting O +in O +a O +premature O +termination O +codon O +27 O +bp O +downstream O +from O +the O +cryptic O +splice O +site O +. O + +Three O +other O +splice O +variants O +, O +including O +one O +derived O +from O +the O +skipping O +of O +exon O +32 O +, O +were O +also O +identified O +. O + +These O +results O +indicate O +the O +usefulness O +of O +cycloheximide O +treatment O +in O +evaluating O +the O +abnormal O +processing O +of O +mRNA O +due O +to O +splice O +- O +site O +mutations O +, O +because O +( O +i O +) O +aberrant O +splicing O +often O +generates O +a O +premature O +termination O +codon O +, O +( O +ii O +) O +transcripts O +with O +premature O +termination O +codons O +can O +occur O +at O +low O +or O +undetectable O +levels O +due O +to O +nonsense O +- O +mediated O +mRNA O +decay O +, O +and O +( O +iii O +) O +the O +levels O +of O +these O +transcripts O +can O +be O +increased O +by O +cycloheximide O +. O + +A O +deletion O +mutation O +in O +COL17A1 O +in O +five O +Austrian O +families O +with O +generalized O +atrophic B +benign I +epidermolysis I +bullosa I +represents O +propagation O +of O +an O +ancestral O +allele O +. O + +Patients O +with O +generalized O +atrophic B +benign I +epidermolysis I +bullosa I +, O +a O +usually O +nonlethal O +form O +of O +junctional B +epidermolysis I +bullosa I +, O +have O +generalized O +blistering B +, O +nail B +dystrophy I +, O +patchy O +alopecia B +, O +and O +dental B +abnormalities I +. O + +Skin B +fragility I +in O +most O +cases O +is O +due O +to O +mutations O +in O +the O +gene O +encoding O +type O +XVII O +collagen O +( O +COL17A1 O +) O +. O + +Recently O +, O +we O +reported O +five O +Austrian O +families O +with O +generalized O +atrophic B +benign I +epidermolysis I +bullosa I +who O +share O +the O +same O +COL17A1 O +mutation O +. O + +Affected O +individuals O +in O +three O +families O +are O +homozygous O +for O +4003delTC O +, O +whereas O +those O +in O +two O +others O +are O +compound O +heterozygotes O +. O + +To O +determine O +if O +the O +occurrence O +of O +4003delTC O +in O +these O +unrelated O +families O +signifies O +propagation O +of O +an O +ancestral O +allele O +or O +a O +mutational O +hot O +spot O +, O +haplotypes O +were O +determined O +for O +polymorphisms O +both O +within O +and O +flanking O +COL17A1 O +. O + +Five O +intragenic O +polymorphisms O +were O +chosen O +based O +on O +their O +informativeness O +. O + +One O +of O +these O +, O +not O +previously O +reported O +, O +was O +2988 O +A O +or O +C O +that O +introduces O +a O +new O +restriction O +site O +for O +Eco0109 O +I O +. O + +All O +the O +4003delTC O +alleles O +showed O +the O +same O +haplotype O +for O +these O +five O +polymorphic O +markers O +. O + +Fourteen O +microsatellite O +polymorphisms O +were O +selected O +based O +on O +their O +high O +heterozygosity O +and O +their O +location O +within O +10q23 O +- O +q25 O +near O +COL17A1 O +. O + +Three O +families O +shared O +microsatellite O +polymorphisms O +covering O +at O +most O +19 O +cM O +, O +whereas O +the O +others O +shared O +smaller O +regions O +consistent O +with O +cross O +- O +over O +events O +during O +passage O +of O +this O +mutation O +through O +several O +generations O +. O + +These O +results O +indicate O +that O +4003delTC O +occurs O +on O +a O +single O +ancestral O +allele O +. O +. O + +The O +haptoglobin O +- O +gene O +deletion O +responsible O +for O +anhaptoglobinemia B +. O + +We O +have O +found O +an O +allelic O +deletion O +of O +the O +haptoglobin O +( O +Hp O +) O +gene O +from O +an O +individual O +with O +anhaptoglobinemia B +. O + +The O +Hp B +gene O +cluster O +consists O +of O +coding O +regions O +of O +the O +alpha O +chain O +and O +beta O +chain O +of O +the O +haptoglobin O +gene O +( O +Hp O +) O +and O +of O +the O +alpha O +chain O +and O +beta O +chain O +of O +the O +haptoglobin O +- O +related O +gene O +( O +Hpr O +) O +, O +in O +tandem O +from O +the O +5 O +side O +. O + +Southern O +blot O +and O +PCR O +analyses O +have O +indicated O +that O +the O +individual O +with O +anhaptoglobinemia B +was O +homozygous O +for O +the O +gene O +deletion O +and O +that O +the O +gene O +deletion O +was O +included O +at O +least O +from O +the O +promoter O +region O +of O +Hp O +to O +Hpr O +alpha O +but O +not O +to O +Hpr O +beta O +( O +Hpdel O +) O +. O + +In O +addition O +, O +we O +found O +seven O +individuals O +with O +hypohaptoglobinemia B +in O +three O +families O +, O +and O +the O +genotypes O +of O +six O +of O +the O +seven O +individuals O +were O +found O +to O +be O +Hp2 O +/ O +Hpdel O +. O + +The O +phenotypes O +and O +genotypes O +in O +one O +of O +these O +three O +families O +showed O +the O +father O +to O +be O +hypohaptoglobinemic B +( O +Hp2 O +) O +and O +Hp2 O +/ O +Hpdel O +, O +the O +mother O +to O +be O +Hp2 O +- O +1 O +and O +Hp1 O +/ O +Hp2 O +, O +one O +of O +the O +two O +children O +to O +be O +hypohaptoglobinemic B +( O +Hp2 O +) O +and O +Hp2 O +/ O +Hpdel O +, O +and O +the O +other O +child O +to O +be O +Hp1 O +and O +Hp1 O +/ O +Hpdel O +, O +showing O +an O +anomalous O +inheritance O +of O +Hp B +phenotypes O +in O +the O +child O + +with O +Hp1 O +. O + +The O +Hp2 B +/ O +Hpdel B +individuals O +had O +an O +extremely O +low O +level O +of O +Hp O +( O +mean O ++ O +/ O +- O +SD O += O +0 O +. O +049 O ++ O +/ O +- O +0 O +. O +043 O +mg O +/ O +ml O +; O +n O += O +6 O +) O +, O +compared O +with O +the O +level O +( O +1 O +. O +64 O ++ O +/ O +- O +1 O +. O +07 O +mg O +/ O +ml O +) O +obtained O +from O +52 O +healthy O +volunteers O +having O +phenotype O +Hp2 O +, O +whereas O +the O +serum O +Hp O +level O +of O +an O +individual O +with O +Hp1 B +/ O +Hpdel B +was O +0 O +. O + +50 O +mg O +/ O +ml O +, O +which O +was O +approximately O +half O +the O +level O +of O +Hp O +in O +control O +sera O +from O +the O +Hp1 O +phenotype O +( O +1 O +. O +26 O ++ O +/ O +- O +0 O +. O +33 O +mg O +/ O +ml O +; O +n O += O +9 O +) O +, O +showing O +a O +gene O +- O +dosage O +effect O +. O + +The O +other O +allele O +( O +Hp2 O +) O +of O +individuals O +with O +Hp2 B +/ O +Hpdel B +was O +found O +to O +have O +, O +in O +all O +exons O +, O +no O +mutation O +, O +by O +DNA O +sequencing O +. O + +On O +the O +basis O +of O +the O +present O +study O +, O +the O +mechanism O +of O +anhaptoglobinemia B +and O +the O +mechanism O +of O +anomalous O +inheritance O +of O +Hp B +phenotypes O +were O +well O +explained O +. O + +However O +, O +the O +mechanism O +of O +hypohaptoglobinemia B +remains O +unknown O + +ATM O +mutations O +and O +phenotypes O +in O +ataxia B +- I +telangiectasia I +families O +in O +the O +British O +Isles O +: O +expression O +of O +mutant O +ATM O +and O +the O +risk O +of O +leukemia B +, O +lymphoma B +, O +and O +breast B +cancer I +. O + +We O +report O +the O +spectrum O +of O +59 O +ATM O +mutations O +observed O +in O +ataxia B +- I +telangiectasia I +( O +A B +- I +T I +) O +patients O +in O +the O +British O +Isles O +. O + +Of O +51 O +ATM O +mutations O +identified O +in O +families O +native O +to O +the O +British O +Isles O +, O +11 O +were O +founder O +mutations O +, O +and O +2 O +of O +these O +11 O +conferred O +a O +milder O +clinical O +phenotype O +with O +respect O +to O +both O +cerebellar B +degeneration I +and O +cellular O +features O +. O + +We O +report O +, O +in O +two O +A B +- I +T I +families O +, O +an O +ATM O +mutation O +( O +7271T O +- O +- O +> O +G O +) O +that O +may O +be O +associated O +with O +an O +increased O +risk O +of O +breast O +cancer O +in O +both O +homozygotes O +and O +heterozygotes O +( O +relative O +risk O +12 O +. O +7 O +; O +P O += O +. O +0025 O +) O +, O +although O +there O +is O +a O +less O +severe O +A B +- I +T I +phenotype O +in O +terms O +of O +the O +degree O +of O +cerebellar B +degeneration I +. O + +This O +mutation O +( O +7271T O +- O +- O +> O +G O +) O +also O +allows O +expression O +of O +full O +- O +length O +ATM O +protein O +at O +a O +level O +comparable O +with O +that O +in O +unaffected O +individuals O +. O + +In O +addition O +, O +we O +have O +studied O +18 O +A B +- I +T I +patients O +, O +in O +15 O +families O +, O +who O +developed O +leukemia B +, O +lymphoma B +, O +preleukemic O +T O +- O +cell O +proliferation O +, O +or O +Hodgkin B +lymphoma I +, O +mostly O +in O +childhood O +. O + +A O +wide O +variety O +of O +ATM O +mutation O +types O +, O +including O +missense O +mutations O +and O +in O +- O +frame O +deletions O +, O +were O +seen O +in O +these O +patients O +. O + +We O +also O +show O +that O +25 O +% O +of O +all O +A B +- I +T I +patients O +carried O +in O +- O +frame O +deletions O +or O +missense O +mutations O +, O +many O +of O +which O +were O +also O +associated O +with O +expression O +of O +mutant O +ATM O +protein O +. O + +The O +DMPK O +gene O +of O +severely O +affected O +myotonic B +dystrophy I +patients O +is O +hypermethylated O +proximal O +to O +the O +largely O +expanded O +CTG O +repeat O +. O + +Using O +methylation O +- O +sensitive O +restriction O +enzymes O +, O +we O +characterized O +the O +methylation O +pattern O +on O +the O +5 O +side O +of O +the O +CTG O +repeat O +in O +the O +DMPK O +gene O +of O +normal O +individuals O +and O +of O +patients O +affected O +with O +myotonic B +dystrophy I +, O +showing O +expansions O +of O +the O +repetitive O +sequence O +. O + +The O +gene O +segment O +analyzed O +corresponds O +to O +the O +genomic O +SacI O +- O +HindIII O +fragment O +carrying O +exons O +11 O +- O +15 O +. O + +There O +is O +constitutive O +methylation O +in O +intron O +12 O +at O +restriction O +sites O +of O +SacII O +and O +HhaI O +, O +localized O +1 O +, O +159 O +- O +1 O +, O +232 O +bp O +upstream O +of O +the O +CTG O +repeat O +, O +whereas O +most O +, O +if O +not O +all O +, O +of O +the O +other O +sites O +of O +SacII O +, O +HhaI O +, O +and O +HpaII O +in O +this O +region O +are O +unmethylated O +, O +in O +normal O +individuals O +and O +most O +of O +the O +patients O +. O + +In O +a O +number O +of O +young O +and O +severely O +affected O +patients O +, O +however O +, O +complete O +methylation O +of O +these O +restriction O +sites O +was O +found O +in O +the O +mutated O +allele O +. O + +In O +most O +of O +these O +patients O +, O +the O +onset O +of O +the O +disease O +was O +congenital O +. O + +Preliminary O +in O +vivo O +footprinting O +data O +gave O +evidence O +for O +protein O +- O +DNA O +contact O +in O +normal O +genes O +at O +an O +Sp1 O +consensus O +binding O +site O +upstream O +of O +the O +CTG O +repeat O +and O +for O +a O +significant O +reduction O +of O +this O +interaction O +in O +cells O +with O +a O +hypermethylated O +DMPK O +gene O +. O +. O + +The O +hemochromatosis B +gene O +product O +complexes O +with O +the O +transferrin O +receptor O +and O +lowers O +its O +affinity O +for O +ligand O +binding O +. O + +We O +recently O +reported O +the O +positional O +cloning O +of O +a O +candidate O +gene O +for O +hereditary B +hemochromatosis I +called O +HFE O +. O + +The O +gene O +product O +, O +a O +member O +of O +the O +major O +histocompatibility O +complex O +class O +I O +- O +like O +family O +, O +was O +found O +to O +have O +a O +mutation O +, O +Cys O +- O +282 O +- O +- O +> O +Tyr O +( O +C282Y O +) O +, O +in O +85 O +% O +of O +patient O +chromosomes O +. O + +This O +mutation O +eliminates O +the O +ability O +of O +HFE O +to O +associate O +with O +beta2 O +- O +microglobulin O +( O +beta2m O +) O +and O +prevents O +cell O +- O +surface O +expression O +. O + +A O +second O +mutation O +that O +has O +no O +effect O +on O +beta2m O +association O +, O +H63D O +, O +was O +found O +in O +eight O +out O +of O +nine O +patients O +heterozygous O +for O +the O +C282Y O +mutant O +. O + +In O +this O +report O +, O +we O +demonstrate O +in O +cultured O +293 O +cells O +overexpressing O +wild O +- O +type O +or O +mutant O +HFE O +proteins O +that O +both O +the O +wild O +- O +type O +and O +H63D O +HFE O +proteins O +form O +stable O +complexes O +with O +the O +transferrin O +receptor O +( O +TfR O +) O +. O + +The O +C282Y O +mutation O +nearly O +completely O +prevents O +the O +association O +of O +the O +mutant O +HFE O +protein O +with O +the O +TfR O +. O + +Studies O +on O +cell O +- O +associated O +transferrin O +at O +37 O +degrees O +C O +suggest O +that O +the O +overexpressed O +wild O +- O +type O +HFE O +protein O +decreases O +the O +affinity O +of O +the O +TfR O +for O +transferrin O +. O + +The O +overexpressed O +H63D O +protein O +does O +not O +have O +this O +effect O +, O +providing O +the O +first O +direct O +evidence O +for O +a O +functional O +consequence O +of O +the O +H63D O +mutation O +. O + +Addition O +of O +soluble O +wild O +- O +type O +HFE O +/ O +beta2m O +heterodimers O +to O +cultured O +cells O +also O +decreased O +the O +apparent O +affinity O +of O +the O +TfR O +for O +its O +ligand O +under O +steady O +- O +state O +conditions O +, O +both O +in O +293 O +cells O +and O +in O +HeLa O +cells O +. O + +Furthermore O +, O +at O +4 O +degrees O +C O +, O +the O +added O +soluble O +complex O +of O +HFE O +/ O +beta2m O +inhibited O +binding O +of O +transferrin O +to O +HeLa O +cell O +TfR O +in O +a O +concentration O +- O +dependent O +manner O +. O + +Scatchard O +plots O +of O +these O +data O +indicate O +that O +the O +added O +heterodimer O +substantially O +reduced O +the O +affinity O +of O +TfR O +for O +transferrin O +. O + +These O +results O +establish O +a O +molecular O +link O +between O +HFE O +and O +a O +key O +protein O +involved O +in O +iron O +transport O +, O +the O +TfR O +, O +and O +raise O +the O +possibility O +that O +alterations O +in O +this O +regulatory O +mechanism O +may O +play O +a O +role O +in O +the O +pathogenesis O +of O +hereditary B +hemochromatosis I +. O +. O + +Genomic O +organization O +of O +the O +UBE3A O +/ O +E6 O +- O +AP O +gene O +and O +related O +pseudogenes O +. O + +The O +UBE3A O +gene O +encodes O +the O +E6 O +- O +AP O +ubiquitin O +- O +protein O +ligase O +and O +has O +recently O +been O +shown O +to O +be O +mutated O +in O +Angelman B +syndrome I +patients O +who O +lack O +15q11 O +- O +q13 O +deletions O +or O +chromosome O +15 I +paternal B +uniparental I +disomy I +. O + +Previous O +UBE3A O +cDNA O +analysis O +has O +shown O +a O +coding O +region O +of O +approximately O +2 O +. O + +6 O +kb O +and O +a O +3 O +- O +untranslated O +region O +( O +UTR O +) O +of O +< O +50 O +bp O +, O +whereas O +Northern O +analysis O +has O +indicated O +mRNA O +sizes O +of O +5 O +- O +8 O +kb O +. O + +We O +have O +analyzed O +additional O +cDNA O +clones O +and O +provide O +evidence O +for O +an O +additional O +0 O +. O + +5 O +kb O +of O +5 O +- O +UTR O +and O +> O +2 O +kb O +of O +3 O +- O +UTR O +. O + +We O +have O +established O +the O +genomic O +organization O +of O +UBE3A O +and O +the O +sequence O +of O +intron O +- O +exon O +borders O +. O + +We O +have O +also O +mapped O +two O +highly O +homologous O +processed O +pseudogenes O +, O +UBE3AP1 O +and O +UBE3AP2 O +, O +to O +chromosomes O +2 O +and O +21 O +, O +respectively O +, O +and O +determined O +their O +genomic O +organization O +. O + +These O +results O +will O +form O +the O +basis O +for O +studies O +of O +mutation O +and O +imprinting O +of O +UBE3A O +. O + +Mutation O +spectrum O +and O +genotype O +- O +phenotype O +analyses O +in O +Cowden B +disease I +and O +Bannayan B +- I +Zonana I +syndrome I +, O +two O +hamartoma B +syndromes I +with O +germline O +PTEN O +mutation O +. O + +The O +tumour B +suppressor O +gene O +PTEN O +, O +which O +maps O +to O +10q23 O +. O + +3 O +and O +encodes O +a O +403 O +amino O +acid O +dual O +specificity O +phosphatase O +( O +protein O +tyrosine O +phosphatase O +; O +PTPase O +) O +, O +was O +shown O +recently O +to O +play O +a O +broad O +role O +in O +human O +malignancy B +. O + +Somatic O +PTEN O +deletions O +and O +mutations O +were O +observed O +in O +sporadic O +breast B +, I +brain I +, I +prostate I +and I +kidney I +cancer I +cell O +lines O +and O +in O +several O +primary B +tumours B +such O +as O +endometrial B +carcinomas I +, O +malignant B +melanoma I +and O +thyroid B +tumours I +. O + +In O +addition O +, O +PTEN O +was O +identified O +as O +the O +susceptibility O +gene O +for O +two O +hamartoma B +syndromes O +Cowden B +disease I +( O +CD B +; O +MIM O +158350 O +) O +and O +Bannayan B +- I +Zonana I +( O +BZS B +) O +or O +Ruvalcaba B +- I +Riley I +- I +Smith I +syndrome I +( O +MIM O +153480 O +) O +. O + +Constitutive O +DNA O +from O +37 O +CD B +families O +and O +seven O +BZS B +families O +was O +screened O +for O +germline O +PTEN O +mutations O +. O + +PTEN O +mutations O +were O +identified O +in O +30 O +of O +37 O +( O +81 O +% O +) O +CD B +families O +, O +including O +missense O +and O +nonsense O +point O +mutations O +, O +deletions O +, O +insertions O +, O +a O +deletion O +/ O +insertion O +and O +splice O +site O +mutations O +. O + +These O +mutations O +were O +scattered O +over O +the O +entire O +length O +of O +PTEN O +, O +with O +the O +exception O +of O +the O +first O +, O +fourth O +and O +last O +exons O +. O + +A O +hot O +spot O +for O +PTEN O +mutation O +in O +CD B +was O +identified O +in O +exon O +5 O +that O +contains O +the O +PTPase O +core O +motif O +, O +with O +13 O +of O +30 O +( O +43 O +% O +) O +CD B +mutations O +identified O +in O +this O +exon O +. O + +Seven O +of O +30 O +( O +23 O +% O +) O +were O +within O +the O +core O +motif O +, O +the O +majority O +( O +five O +of O +seven O +) O +of O +which O +were O +missense O +mutations O +, O +possibly O +pointing O +to O +the O +functional O +significance O +of O +this O +region O +. O + +Germline O +PTEN O +mutations O +were O +identified O +in O +four O +of O +seven O +( O +57 O +% O +) O +BZS B +families O +studied O +. O + +Interestingly O +, O +none O +of O +these O +mutations O +was O +observed O +in O +the O +PTPase O +core O +motif O +. O + +It O +is O +also O +worthy O +of O +note O +that O +a O +single O +nonsense O +point O +mutation O +, O +R233X O +, O +was O +observed O +in O +the O +germline O +DNA O +from O +two O +unrelated O +CD B +families O +and O +one O +BZS B +family O +. O + +Genotype O +- O +phenotype O +studies O +were O +not O +performed O +on O +this O +small O +group O +of O +BZS B +families O +. O + +However O +, O +genotype O +- O +phenotype O +analysis O +inthe O +group O +of O +CD B +families O +revealed O +two O +possible O +associations O +worthy O +of O +follow O +- O +up O +in O +independent O +analyses O +. O + +The O +first O +was O +an O +association O +noted O +in O +the O +group O +of O +CD B +families O +with O +breast B +disease I +. O + +A O +correlation O +was O +observed O +between O +the O +presence O +/ O +absence O +of O +a O +PTEN O +mutation O +and O +the O +type O +of O +breast O +involvement O +( O +unaffected O +versus O +benign O +versus O +malignant O +) O +. O + +Specifically O +and O +more O +directly O +, O +an O +association O +was O +also O +observed O +between O +the O +presence O +of O +a O +PTEN O +mutation O +and O +malignant B +breast I +disease I +. O + +Secondly O +, O +there O +appeared O +to O +be O +an O +interdependent O +association O +between O +mutations O +upstream O +and O +within O +the O +PTPase O +core O +motif O +, O +the O +core O +motif O +containing O +the O +majority O +of O +missense O +mutations O +, O +and O +the O +involvement O +of O +all O +major O +organ O +systems O +( O +central O +nervous O +system O +, O +thyroid O +, O +breast O +, O +skin O +and O +gastrointestinal O +tract O +) O +. O + +However O +, O +these O +observations O +would O +need O +to O +be O +confirmed O +by O +studying O +a O +larger O +number O +of O +CD B +families O +. O + +Molecular O +defects O +leading O +to O +human O +complement B +component I +C6 I +deficiency I +in O +an O +African O +- O +American O +family O +. O + +Complement B +component I +C6 I +deficiency I +( O +C6D B +) O +was O +diagnosed O +in O +a O +16 O +- O +year O +- O +old O +African O +- O +American O +male O +with O +meningococcal B +meningitis I +. O + +The O +patients O +father O +and O +two O +brothers O +also O +had O +C6D B +, O +but O +gave O +no O +history O +of O +meningitis B +or O +other O +neisserial B +infection I +. O + +By O +using O +exon O +- O +specific O +polymerase O +chain O +reaction O +( O +PCR O +) O +/ O +single O +- O +strand O +conformation O +polymorphism O +as O +a O +screening O +step O +and O +nucleotide O +sequencing O +of O +target O +exons O +, O +we O +determined O +that O +the O +proband O +was O +a O +compound O +heterozygote O +for O +two O +C6 O +gene O +mutations O +. O + +The O +first O +, O +1195delC O +located O +in O +exon O +7 O +, O +is O +a O +novel O +mutation O +, O +while O +the O +second O +, O +1936delG O +in O +exon O +12 O +, O +has O +been O +described O +before O +to O +cause O +C6D B +in O +an O +unrelated O +African O +- O +American O +individual O +. O + +Both O +mutations O +result O +in O +premature O +termination O +codons O +and O +C6 O +null O +alleles O +. O + +Allele O +- O +specific O +PCR O +indicated O +that O +the O +probands O +two O +brothers O +also O +inherited O +the O +1195delC O +mutation O +from O +their O +heterozygous O +mother O +and O +the O +1936delG O +mutation O +from O +their O +homozygous O +father O +. O +. O + +PAX6 O +mutations O +reviewed O +. O + +Mutations O +in O +PAX6 O +are O +responsible O +for O +human O +aniridia B +and O +have O +also O +been O +found O +in O +patients O +with O +Peters B +anomaly I +, O +with O +congenital B +cataracts I +, O +with O +autosomal B +dominant I +keratitis I +, O +and O +with O +isolated B +foveal I +hypoplasia I +. O + +No O +locus O +other O +than O +chromosome O +11p13 O +has O +been O +implicated O +in O +aniridia B +, O +and O +PAX6 O +is O +clearly O +the O +major O +, O +if O +not O +only O +, O +gene O +responsible O +. O + +Twenty O +- O +eight O +percent O +of O +identified O +PAX6 O +mutations O +are O +C O +- O +T O +changes O +at O +CpG O +dinucleotides O +, O +20 O +% O +are O +splicing O +errors O +, O +and O +more O +than O +30 O +% O +are O +deletion O +or O +insertion O +events O +. O + +There O +is O +a O +noticeably O +elevated O +level O +of O +mutation O +in O +the O +paired O +domain O +compared O +with O +the O +rest O +of O +the O +gene O +. O + +Increased O +mutation O +in O +the O +homeodomain O +is O +accounted O +for O +by O +the O +hypermutable O +CpG O +dinucleotide O +in O +codon O +240 O +. O + +Very O +nearly O +all O +mutations O +appear O +to O +cause O +loss O +of O +function O +of O +the O +mutant O +allele O +, O +and O +more O +than O +80 O +% O +of O +exonic O +substitutions O +result O +in O +nonsense O +codons O +. O + +In O +a O +gene O +with O +such O +extraordinarily O +high O +sequence O +conservation O +throughout O +evolution O +, O +there O +are O +presumed O +undiscovered O +missense O +mutations O +, O +these O +are O +hypothesized O +to O +exist O +in O +as O +- O +yet O +unidentified O +phenotypes O +. O +. O + +Genetic O +heterogeneity O +and O +penetrance O +analysis O +of O +the O +BRCA1 O +and O +BRCA2 O +genes O +in O +breast B +cancer I +families O +. O + +The O +Breast B +Cancer I +Linkage O +Consortium O +. O + +The O +contribution O +of O +BRCA1 O +and O +BRCA2 O +to O +inherited B +breast I +cancer I +was O +assessed O +by O +linkage O +and O +mutation O +analysis O +in O +237 O +families O +, O +each O +with O +at O +least O +four O +cases O +of O +breast B +cancer I +, O +collected O +by O +the O +Breast B +Cancer I +Linkage O +Consortium O +. O + +Families O +were O +included O +without O +regard O +to O +the O +occurrence O +of O +ovarian B +or I +other I +cancers I +. O + +Overall O +, O +disease O +was O +linked O +to O +BRCA1 O +in O +an O +estimated O +52 O +% O +of O +families O +, O +to O +BRCA2 O +in O +32 O +% O +of O +families O +, O +and O +to O +neither O +gene O +in O +16 O +% O +( O +95 O +% O +confidence O +interval O +[ O +CI O +] O +6 O +% O +- O +28 O +% O +) O +, O +suggesting O +other O +predisposition O +genes O +. O + +The O +majority O +( O +81 O +% O +) O +of O +the O +breast B +- I +ovarian I +cancer I +families O +were O +due O +to O +BRCA1 O +, O +with O +most O +others O +( O +14 O +% O +) O +due O +to O +BRCA2 O +. O + +Conversely O +, O +the O +majority O +of O +families O +with O +male B +and I +female I +breast I +cancer I +were O +due O +to O +BRCA2 O +( O +76 O +% O +) O +. O + +The O +largest O +proportion O +( O +67 O +% O +) O +of O +families O +due O +to O +other O +genes O +was O +found O +in O +families O +with O +four O +or O +five O +cases O +of O +female B +breast I +cancer I +only O +. O + +These O +estimates O +were O +not O +substantially O +affected O +either O +by O +changing O +the O +assumed O +penetrance O +model O +for O +BRCA1 O +or O +by O +including O +or O +excluding O +BRCA1 O +mutation O +data O +. O + +Among O +those O +families O +with O +disease O +due O +to O +BRCA1 O +that O +were O +tested O +by O +one O +of O +the O +standard O +screening O +methods O +, O +mutations O +were O +detected O +in O +the O +coding O +sequence O +or O +splice O +sites O +in O +an O +estimated O +63 O +% O +( O +95 O +% O +CI O +51 O +% O +- O +77 O +% O +) O +. O + +The O +estimated O +sensitivity O +was O +identical O +for O +direct O +sequencing O +and O +other O +techniques O +. O + +The O +penetrance O +of O +BRCA2 O +was O +estimated O +by O +maximizing O +the O +LOD O +score O +in O +BRCA2 O +- O +mutation O +families O +, O +over O +all O +possible O +penetrance O +functions O +. O + +The O +estimated O +cumulative O +risk O +of O +breast B +cancer I +reached O +28 O +% O +( O +95 O +% O +CI O +9 O +% O +- O +44 O +% O +) O +by O +age O +50 O +years O +and O +84 O +% O +( O +95 O +% O +CI O +43 O +% O +- O +95 O +% O +) O +by O +age O +70 O +years O +. O + +The O +corresponding O +ovarian B +cancer I +risks O +were O +0 O +. O + +4 O +% O +( O +95 O +% O +CI O +0 O +% O +- O +1 O +% O +) O +by O +age O +50 O +years O +and O +27 O +% O +( O +95 O +% O +CI O +0 O +% O +- O +47 O +% O +) O +by O +age O +70 O +years O +. O + +The O +lifetime O +risk O +of O +breast B +cancer I +appears O +similar O +to O +the O +risk O +in O +BRCA1 O +carriers O +, O +but O +there O +was O +some O +suggestion O +of O +a O +lower O +risk O +in O +BRCA2 O +carriers O +< O +50 O +years O +of O +age O +. O + +Eye B +movement I +abnormalities I +correlate O +with O +genotype O +in O +autosomal B +dominant I +cerebellar I +ataxia I +type I +I I +. O + +We O +compared O +horizontal O +eye O +movements O +( O +visually O +guided O +saccades O +, O +antisaccades O +, O +and O +smooth O +pursuit O +) O +in O +control O +subjects O +( O +n O += O +14 O +) O +and O +patients O +with O +three O +forms O +of O +autosomal B +dominant I +cerebellar I +ataxias I +type I +I I +spinocerebellar B +ataxias I +1 I +and I +2 I +( O +SCA1 B +, O +n O += O +11 O +; O +SCA2 B +, O +n O += O +10 O +) O +and O +SCA3 B +/ O +Machado B +- I +Joseph I +disease I +( O +MJD B +) O +( O +n O += O +16 O +) O +. O + +In O +SCA1 O +, O +saccade O +amplitude O +was O +significantly O +increased O +, O +resulting O +in O +hypermetria B +. O + +The O +smooth O +pursuit O +gain O +was O +decreased O +. O + +In O +SCA2 O +, O +saccade O +velocity O +was O +markedly O +decreased O +. O + +The O +percentage O +of O +errors O +in O +antisaccades O +was O +greatly O +increased O +and O +was O +significantly O +correlated O +with O +age O +at O +disease O +onset O +. O + +In O +addition O +, O +a O +correlation O +between O +smooth O +pursuit O +gain O +and O +the O +number O +of O +trinucleotide O +repeats O +was O +found O +. O + +In O +SCA3 O +, O +gaze O +- I +evoked I +nystagmus I +was O +often O +present O +as O +was O +saccade B +hypometria I +and O +smooth O +pursuit O +gain O +was O +markedly O +decreased O +. O + +Three O +major O +criteria O +, O +saccade O +amplitude O +, O +saccade O +velocity O +, O +and O +presence O +of O +gaze O +- O +evoked O +nystagmus I +, O +permitted O +the O +correct O +assignment O +of O +90 O +% O +of O +the O +SCA1 O +, O +90 O +% O +of O +the O +SCA2 O +, O +and O +93 O +% O +of O +the O +patients O +with O +SCA3 O +to O +their O +genetically O +confirmed O +patient O +group O +and O +, O +therefore O +, O +may O +help O +orient O +diagnoses O +of O +SCA1 O +, O +SCA2 O +, O +and O +SCA3 O +at O +early O +clinical O +stages O +of O +the O +diseases O +. O +. O + +Genetic O +basis O +and O +molecular O +mechanism O +for O +idiopathic B +ventricular I +fibrillation I +. O + +Ventricular B +fibrillation I +causes O +more O +than O +300 O +, O +000 O +sudden B +deaths I +each O +year O +in O +the O +USA O +alone O +. O + +In O +approximately O +5 O +- O +12 O +% O +of O +these O +cases O +, O +there O +are O +no O +demonstrable O +cardiac O +or O +non O +- O +cardiac O +causes O +to O +account O +for O +the O +episode O +, O +which O +is O +therefore O +classified O +as O +idiopathic B +ventricular I +fibrillation I +( O +IVF B +) O +. O + +A O +distinct O +group O +of O +IVF B +patients O +has O +been O +found O +to O +present O +with O +a O +characteristic O +electrocardiographic O +pattern O +. O + +Because O +of O +the O +small O +size O +of O +most O +pedigrees O +and O +the O +high O +incidence O +of O +sudden B +death I +, O +however O +, O +molecular O +genetic O +studies O +of O +IVF B +have O +not O +yet O +been O +done O +. O + +Because O +IVF B +causes O +cardiac B +rhythm I +disturbance I +, O +we O +investigated O +whether O +malfunction O +of O +ion O +channels O +could O +cause O +the O +disorder O +by O +studying O +mutations O +in O +the O +cardiac O +sodium O +channel O +gene O +SCN5A O +. O + +We O +have O +now O +identified O +a O +missense O +mutation O +, O +a O +splice O +- O +donor O +mutation O +, O +and O +a O +frameshift O +mutation O +in O +the O +coding O +region O +of O +SCN5A O +in O +three O +IVF B +families O +. O + +We O +show O +that O +sodium O +channels O +with O +the O +missense O +mutation O +recover O +from O +inactivation O +more O +rapidly O +than O +normal O +and O +that O +the O +frameshift O +mutation O +causes O +the O +sodium O +channel O +to O +be O +non O +- O +functional O +. O + +Our O +results O +indicate O +that O +mutations O +in O +cardiac O +ion O +- O +channel O +genes O +contribute O +to O +the O +risk O +of O +developing O +IVF B +. O +. O + +Molecular O +heterogeneity O +in O +mucopolysaccharidosis B +IVA I +in O +Australia O +and O +Northern O +Ireland O +: O +nine O +novel O +mutations O +including O +T312S O +, O +a O +common O +allele O +that O +confers O +a O +mild O +phenotype O +. O + +Mucopolysaccharidosis B +IVA I +( O +MPS B +IVA I +) O +is O +an O +autosomal B +recessive I +lysosomal I +storage I +disorder I +caused O +by O +a O +genetic B +defect I +in O +N B +- I +acetylgalactosamine I +- I +6 I +- I +sulfate I +sulfatase I +( O +GALNS O +) O +. O + +Previous O +studies O +of O +patients O +from O +a O +British O +- O +Irish O +population O +showed O +that O +the O +I113F O +mutation O +is O +the O +most O +common O +single O +mutation O +among O +MPS B +IVA I +patients O +and O +produces O +a O +severe O +clinical O +phenotype O +. O + +We O +studied O +mutations O +in O +the O +GALNS O +gene O +from O +23 O +additional O +MPS B +IVA I +patients O +( O +15 O +from O +Australia O +, O +8 O +from O +Northern O +Ireland O +) O +, O +with O +various O +clinical O +phenotypes O +( O +severe O +, O +16 O +cases O +; O +intermediate O +, O +4 O +cases O +; O +mild O +, O +3 O +cases O +) O +. O + +We O +found O +two O +common O +mutations O +that O +together O +accounted O +for O +32 O +% O +of O +the O +44 O +unrelated O +alleles O +in O +these O +patients O +. O + +One O +is O +the O +T312S O +mutation O +, O +a O +novel O +mutation O +found O +exclusively O +in O +milder O +patients O +. O + +The O +other O +is O +the O +previously O +described O +I113F O +that O +produces O +a O +severe O +phenotype O +. O + +The O +I113F O +and O +T312S O +mutations O +accounted O +for O +8 O +( O +18 O +% O +) O +and O +6 O +( O +14 O +% O +) O +of O +44 O +unrelated O +alleles O +, O +respectively O +. O + +The O +relatively O +high O +residual O +GALNS O +activity O +seen O +when O +the O +T312S O +mutant O +cDNA O +is O +overexpressed O +in O +mutant O +cells O +provides O +an O +explanation O +for O +the O +mild O +phenotype O +in O +patients O +with O +this O +mutation O +. O + +The O +distribution O +and O +relative O +frequencies O +of O +the O +I113F O +and O +T312S O +mutations O +in O +Australia O +corresponded O +to O +those O +observed O +in O +Northern O +Ireland O +and O +are O +unique O +to O +these O +two O +populations O +, O +suggesting O +that O +both O +mutations O +were O +probably O +introduced O +to O +Australia O +by O +Irish O +migrants O +during O +the O +19th O +century O +. O + +Haplotype O +analysis O +using O +6 O +RFLPs O +provides O +additional O +data O +that O +the O +I113F O +mutation O +originated O +from O +a O +common O +ancestor O +. O + +The O +other O +9 O +novel O +mutations O +identified O +in O +these O +23 O +patients O +were O +each O +limited O +to O +a O +single O +family O +. O + +These O +data O +provide O +further O +evidence O +for O +extensive O +allelic O +heterogeneity O +in O +MPS B +IVA I +in O +British O +- O +Irish O +patients O +and O +provide O +evidence O +for O +their O +transmission O +to O +Australia O +by O +British O +- O +Irish O +migrants O +. O +. O + +Identification O +of O +constitutional O +WT1 O +mutations O +, O +in O +patients O +with O +isolated B +diffuse I +mesangial I +sclerosis I +, O +and O +analysis O +of O +genotype O +/ O +phenotype O +correlations O +by O +use O +of O +a O +computerized O +mutation O +database O +. O + +Constitutional O +mutations O +of O +the O +WT1 O +gene O +, O +encoding O +a O +zinc O +- O +finger O +transcription O +factor O +involved O +in O +renal O +and O +gonadal O +development O +, O +are O +found O +in O +most O +patients O +with O +Denys B +- I +Drash I +syndrome I +( O +DDS B +) O +, O +or O +diffuse B +mesangial I +sclerosis I +( O +DMS B +) O +associated O +with O +pseudohermaphroditism B +and O +/ O +or O +Wilms B +tumor I +( O +WT B +) O +. O + +Most O +mutations O +in O +DDS B +patients O +lie O +in O +exon O +8 O +or O +exon O +9 O +, O +encoding O +zinc O +finger O +2 O +or O +zinc O +finger O +3 O +, O +respectively O +, O +with O +a O +hot O +spot O +( O +R394W O +) O +in O +exon O +9 O +. O + +We O +analyzed O +a O +series O +of O +24 O +patients O +, O +10 O +with O +isolated B +DMS I +( O +IDMS B +) O +, O +10 O +with O +DDS B +, O +and O +4 O +with O +urogenital B +abnormalities I +and O +/ O +or O +WT B +. O + +We O +report O +WT1 O +heterozygous O +mutations O +in O +16 O +patients O +, O +4 O +of O +whom O +presented O +with O +IDMS B +. O + +One O +male O +and O +two O +female O +IDMS B +patients O +with O +WT1 O +mutations O +underwent O +normal O +puberty O +. O + +Two O +mutations O +associated O +with O +IDMS B +are O +different O +from O +those O +described O +in O +DDS B +patients O +. O + +No O +WT1 O +mutations O +were O +detected O +in O +the O +six O +other O +IDMS B +patients O +, O +suggesting O +genetic O +heterogeneity O +of O +this O +disease O +. O + +We O +analyzed O +genotype O +/ O +phenotype O +correlations O +, O +on O +the O +basis O +of O +the O +constitution O +of O +a O +WT1 O +mutation O +database O +of O +84 O +germ O +- O +line O +mutations O +, O +to O +compare O +the O +distribution O +and O +type O +of O +mutations O +, O +according O +to O +the O +different O +symptoms O +. O + +This O +demonstrated O +( O +1 O +) O +the O +association O +between O +mutations O +in O +exons O +8 O +and O +9 O +and O +DMS B +; O +( O +2 O +) O +among O +patients O +with O +DMS B +, O +a O +higher O +frequency O +of O +exon O +8 O +mutations O +among O +46 O +, O +XY O +patients O +with O +female O +phenotype O +than O +among O +46 O +, O +XY O +patients O +with O +sexual B +ambiguity I +or O +male O +phenotype O +; O +and O +( O +3 O +) O +statistically O +significant O +evidence O +that O +mutations O +in O +exons O +8 O +and O +9 O +preferentially O +affect O +amino O +acids O +with O +different O +functions O +. O +. O + +The O +185delAG O +BRCA1 O +mutation O +originated O +before O +the O +dispersion O +of O +Jews O +in O +the O +diaspora O +and O +is O +not O +limited O +to O +Ashkenazim O +. O + +The O +185delAG O +mutation O +in O +BRCA1 O +is O +detected O +in O +Ashkenazi O +Jews O +both O +in O +familial B +breast I +and I +ovarian I +cancer I +and O +in O +the O +general O +population O +. O + +All O +tested O +Ashkenazi O +mutation O +carriers O +share O +the O +same O +allelic O +pattern O +at O +the O +BRCA1 O +locus O +. O + +Our O +previous O +study O +showed O +that O +this O +Ashkenazi O +mutation O +also O +occurs O +in O +Iraqi O +Jews O +with O +a O +similar O +allelic O +pattern O +. O + +We O +extended O +our O +analysis O +to O +other O +non O +- O +Ashkenazi O +subsets O +354 O +of O +Moroccan O +origin O +, O +200 O +Yemenites O +and O +150 O +Iranian O +Jews O +. O + +Heteroduplex O +analysis O +complemented O +by O +direct O +DNA O +sequencing O +of O +abnormally O +migrating O +bands O +were O +employed O +. O + +Four O +of O +Moroccan O +origin O +( O +1 O +. O +1 O +% O +) O +and O +none O +of O +the O +Yemenites O +or O +Iranians O +was O +a O +carrier O +of O +the O +185delAG O +mutation O +. O + +BRCA1 O +allelic O +patterns O +were O +determined O +for O +four O +of O +these O +individuals O +and O +for O +12 O +additional O +non O +- O +Ashkenazi O +185delAG O +mutation O +carriers O +who O +had O +breast B +/ I +ovarian I +cancer I +. O + +Six O +non O +- O +Ashkenazi O +individuals O +shared O +the O +common O +Ashkenazi O +haplotype O +, O +four O +had O +a O +closely O +related O +pattern O +, O +and O +the O +rest O +( O +n O += O +6 O +) O +displayed O +a O +distinct O +BRCA1 O +allelic O +pattern O +. O + +We O +conclude O +that O +the O +185delAG O +BRCA1 O +mutation O +occurs O +in O +some O +non O +- O +Ashkenazi O +populations O +at O +rates O +comparable O +with O +that O +of O +Ashkenazim O +. O + +The O +majority O +of O +Jewish O +185delAG O +mutation O +carriers O +have O +a O +common O +allelic O +pattern O +, O +supporting O +the O +founder O +effect O +notion O +, O +but O +dating O +the O +mutations O +origin O +to O +an O +earlier O +date O +than O +currently O +estimated O +. O + +However O +, O +the O +different O +allelic O +pattern O +at O +the O +BRCA1 O +locus O +even O +in O +some O +Jewish O +mutation O +carriers O +, O +might O +suggest O +that O +the O +mutation O +arose O +independently O +. O +. O + +Crystal O +structure O +of O +the O +hemochromatosis B +protein O +HFE O +and O +characterization O +of O +its O +interaction O +with O +transferrin O +receptor O +. O + +HFE O +is O +an O +MHC O +- O +related O +protein O +that O +is O +mutated O +in O +the O +iron B +- I +overload I +disease I +hereditary B +hemochromatosis I +. O + +HFE O +binds O +to O +transferrin O +receptor O +( O +TfR O +) O +and O +reduces O +its O +affinity O +for O +iron O +- O +loaded O +transferrin O +, O +implicating O +HFE O +in O +iron O +metabolism O +. O + +The O +2 O +. O + +6 O +A O +crystal O +structure O +of O +HFE O +reveals O +the O +locations O +of O +hemochromatosis B +mutations O +and O +a O +patch O +of O +histidines O +that O +could O +be O +involved O +in O +pH O +- O +dependent O +interactions O +. O + +We O +also O +demonstrate O +that O +soluble O +TfR O +and O +HFE O +bind O +tightly O +at O +the O +basic O +pH O +of O +the O +cell O +surface O +, O +but O +not O +at O +the O +acidic O +pH O +of O +intracellular O +vesicles O +. O + +TfR O +HFE O +stoichiometry O +( O +2 O +1 O +) O +differs O +from O +TfR O +transferrin O +stoichiometry O +( O +2 O +2 O +) O +, O +implying O +a O +different O +mode O +of O +binding O +for O +HFE O +and O +transferrin O +to O +TfR O +, O +consistent O +with O +our O +demonstration O +that O +HFE O +, O +transferrin O +, O +and O +TfR O +form O +a O +ternary O +complex O +. O + +Identification O +of O +three O +novel O +mutations O +and O +a O +high O +frequency O +of O +the O +Arg778Leu O +mutation O +in O +Korean O +patients O +with O +Wilson B +disease I +. O + +Four O +mutations O +- O +- O +R778L O +, O +A874V O +, O +L1083F O +, O +and O +2304delC O +- O +- O +in O +the O +copper O +- O +transporting O +enzyme O +, O +P O +- O +type O +ATPase O +( O +ATP7B O +) O +, O +were O +identified O +in O +Korean O +Patients O +with O +Wilson B +disease I +. O + +Arg778Leu O +, O +the O +most O +frequently O +reported O +mutation O +of O +this O +enzyme O +, O +was O +found O +in O +six O +of O +eight O +unrelated O +patients O +studied O +, O +an O +allele O +frequency O +of O +37 O +. O + +5 O +% O +, O +which O +is O +considerably O +higher O +than O +those O +in O +other O +Asian O +populations O +. O + +The O +novel O +single O +nucleotide O +deletion O +, O +2304delC O +, O +was O +found O +in O +one O +patient O +. O + +Since O +a O +mutation O +at O +cDNA O +nucleotide O +2302 O +( O +2302insC O +) O +had O +been O +previously O +described O +, O +this O +region O +of O +the O +ATP7B O +gene O +may O +be O +susceptible O +to O +gene O +rearrangements O +causing O +Wilson B +disease I +. O + +Disruption O +of O +splicing O +regulated O +by O +a O +CUG O +- O +binding O +protein O +in O +myotonic B +dystrophy I +. O + +Myotonic B +dystrophy I +( O +DM B +) O +is O +caused O +by O +a O +CTG O +expansion O +in O +the O +3 O +untranslated O +region O +of O +the O +DM B +gene O +. O + +One O +model O +of O +DM B +pathogenesis O +suggests O +that O +RNAs O +from O +the O +expanded O +allele O +create O +a O +gain O +- O +of O +- O +function O +mutation O +by O +the O +inappropriate O +binding O +of O +proteins O +to O +the O +CUG O +repeats O +. O + +Data O +presented O +here O +indicate O +that O +the O +conserved O +heterogeneous O +nuclear O +ribonucleoprotein O +, O +CUG O +- O +binding O +protein O +( O +CUG O +- O +BP O +) O +, O +may O +mediate O +the O +trans O +- O +dominant O +effect O +of O +the O +RNA O +. O + +CUG O +- O +BP O +was O +found O +to O +bind O +to O +the O +human O +cardiac O +troponin O +T O +( O +cTNT O +) O +pre O +- O +messenger O +RNA O +and O +regulate O +its O +alternative O +splicing O +. O + +Splicing O +of O +cTNT O +was O +disrupted O +in O +DM B +striated O +muscle O +and O +in O +normal O +cells O +expressing O +transcripts O +that O +contain O +CUG O +repeats O +. O + +Altered O +expression O +of O +genes O +regulated O +posttranscriptionally O +by O +CUG O +- O +BP O +therefore O +may O +contribute O +to O +DM B +pathogenesis O +. O +. O + +Identification O +of O +a O +novel O +nonsense O +mutation O +and O +a O +missense O +substitution O +in O +the O +vasopressin O +- O +neurophysin O +II O +gene O +in O +two O +Spanish O +kindreds O +with O +familial B +neurohypophyseal I +diabetes I +insipidus I +. O + +Familial B +neurohypophyseal I +diabetes I +insipidus I +( O +FNDI B +) O +is O +an O +autosomal B +dominant I +disease I +caused O +by O +deficiency B +in I +the I +antidiuretic I +hormone I +arginine I +vasopressin I +( O +AVP O +) O +encoded O +by O +the O +AVP O +- O +neurophysin O +II O +( O +AVP O +- O +NPII O +) O +gene O +on O +chromosome O +20p13 O +. O + +In O +this O +study O +, O +we O +analyzed O +two O +families O +with O +FNDI B +using O +direct O +automated O +fluorescent O +, O +solid O +phase O +, O +single O +- O +stranded O +DNA O +sequencing O +of O +PCR O +- O +amplified O +AVP O +- O +NPII O +DNA O +. O + +In O +one O +of O +the O +families O +, O +affected O +individuals O +presented O +a O +novel O +nonsense O +mutation O +in O +exon O +3 O +of O +the O +gene O +, O +consisting O +in O +a O +G O +to O +T O +transition O +at O +nucleotide O +2101 O +, O +which O +produces O +a O +stop O +signal O +in O +codon O +82 O +( O +Glu O +) O +of O +NPII O +. O + +The O +premature O +termination O +eliminates O +part O +of O +the O +C O +- O +terminal O +domain O +of O +NPII O +, O +including O +a O +cysteine O +residue O +in O +position O +85 O +, O +which O +could O +be O +involved O +in O +the O +correct O +folding O +of O +the O +prohormone O +. O + +In O +the O +second O +family O +, O +a O +G279A O +substitution O +at O +position O +- O +1 O +of O +the O +signal O +peptide O +was O +observed O +in O +all O +affected O +individuals O +. O + +This O +missense O +mutation O +, O +which O +replaces O +Ala O +with O +Thr O +, O +is O +frequent O +among O +FNDI B +patients O +and O +is O +thought O +to O +reduce O +the O +efficiency O +of O +cleavage O +by O +signal O +peptidases O +. O +. O + +Genetic O +heterogeneity O +of O +Saethre B +- I +Chotzen I +syndrome I +, O +due O +to O +TWIST O +and O +FGFR O +mutations O +. 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O + +More O +than O +35 O +different O +TWIST O +mutations O +are O +now O +known O +in O +the O +literature O +. O + +The O +most O +common O +phenotypic O +features O +, O +present O +in O +more O +than O +a O +third O +of O +our O +patients O +with O +TWIST O +mutations O +, O +are O +coronal B +synostosis I +, O +brachycephaly B +, O +low B +frontal O +hairline I +, O +facial B +asymmetry I +, O +ptosis B +, O +hypertelorism B +, O +broad B +great I +toes I +, O +and O +clinodactyly B +. O + +Significant O +intra O +- O +and O +interfamilial O +phenotypic O +variability O +is O +present O +for O +either O +TWIST O +mutations O +or O +FGFR O +mutations O +. O + +The O +overlap O +in O +clinical O +features O +and O +the O +presence O +, O +in O +the O +same O +genes O +, O +of O +mutations O +for O +more O +than O +one O +craniosynostotic B +condition I +- O +such O +as O +Saethre B +- I +Chotzen I +, I +Crouzon B +, I +and I +Pfeiffer I +syndromes I +- O +support O +the O +hypothesis O +that O +TWIST O +and O +FGFRs O +are O +components O +of O +the O +same O +molecular O +pathway O +involved O +in O +the O +modulation O +of O +craniofacial O +and O +limb O +development O +in O +humans O +. O +. O + +Mutation O +analysis O +of O +UBE3A O +in O +Angelman B +syndrome I +patients O +. O + +Angelman B +syndrome I +( O +AS B +) O +is O +caused O +by O +chromosome O +15q11 O +- O +q13 O +deletions O +of O +maternal O +origin O +, O +by O +paternal B +uniparental I +disomy I +( O +UPD B +) O +15 O +, O +by O +imprinting O +defects O +, O +and O +by O +mutations O +in O +the O +UBE3A O +gene O +. 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O + +Eight O +of O +the O +cases O +were O +familial O +, O +and O +five O +were O +sporadic O +. O + +In O +two O +familial O +cases O +and O +one O +sporadic O +case O +, O +mosaicism O +for O +UBE3A O +mutations O +was O +detected O +in O +the O +mother O +of O +three O +AS B +sons O +, O +in O +the O +maternal O +grandfather O +of O +two O +AS B +first O +cousins O +, O +and O +in O +the O +mother O +of O +an O +AS B +daughter O +. O + +The O +frequencies O +with O +which O +we O +detected O +mutations O +were O +5 O +( O +14 O +% O +) O +of O +35 O +in O +sporadic O +cases O +and O +8 O +( O +80 O +% O +) O +of O +10 O +in O +familial O +cases O +. O +. O + +The O +hemochromatosis B +845 O +G O +- O +- O +> O +A O +and O +187 O +C O +- O +- O +> O +G O +mutations O +: O +prevalence O +in O +non O +- O +Caucasian O +populations O +. O + +Hemochromatosis B +, O +the O +inherited B +disorder I +of O +iron O +metabolism O +, O +leads O +, O +if O +untreated O +, O +to O +progressive O +iron B +overload I +and O +premature B +death I +. O + +The O +hemochromatosis B +gene O +, O +HFE O +, O +recently O +has O +been O +identified O +, O +and O +characterization O +of O +this O +gene O +has O +shown O +that O +it O +contains O +two O +mutations O +that O +result O +in O +amino O +acid O +substitutions O +- O +cDNA O +nucleotides O +845 O +G O +- O +- O +> O +A O +( O +C282Y O +) O +and O +187 O +C O +- O +- O +> O +G O +( O +H63D O +) O +. O + +Although O +hemochromatosis B +is O +common O +in O +Caucasians O +, O +affecting O +> O += O +1 O +/ O +300 O +individuals O +of O +northern O +European O +origin O +, O +it O +has O +not O +been O +recognized O +in O +other O +populations O +. O + +The O +present O +study O +used O +PCR O +and O +restriction O +- O +enzyme O +digestion O +to O +analyze O +the O +frequency O +of O +the O +845 O +G O +- O +- O +> O +A O +and O +187 O +C O +- O +- O +> O +G O +mutations O +in O +HLA O +- O +typed O +samples O +from O +non O +- O +Caucasian O +populations O +, O +comprising O +Australian O +Aboriginal O +, O +Chinese O +, O +and O +Pacific O +Islanders O +. O + +Results O +showed O +that O +the O +845 O +G O +- O +- O +> O +A O +mutation O +was O +present O +in O +these O +populations O +( O +allele O +frequency O +0 O +. O +32 O +% O +) O +, O +and O +, O +furthermore O +, O +it O +was O +always O +seen O +in O +conjunction O +with O +HLA O +haplotypes O +common O +in O +Caucasians O +, O +suggesting O +that O +845 O +G O +- O +- O +> O +A O +may O +have O +been O +introduced O +into O +these O +populations O +by O +Caucasian O +admixture O +. O + +187 O +C O +- O +- O +> O +G O +was O +present O +at O +an O +allele O +frequency O +of O +2 O +. O + +68 O +% O +in O +the O +two O +populations O +analyzed O +( O +Australian O +Aboriginal O +and O +Chinese O +) O +. O + +In O +the O +Australian O +Aboriginal O +samples O +, O +187 O +C O +- O +- O +> O +G O +was O +found O +to O +be O +associated O +with O +HLA O +haplotypes O +common O +in O +Caucasians O +, O +suggesting O +that O +it O +was O +introduced O +by O +recent O +admixture O +. O + +In O +the O +Chinese O +samples O +analyzed O +, O +187 O +C O +- O +- O +> O +G O +was O +present O +in O +association O +with O +a O +wide O +variety O +of O +HLA O +haplotypes O +, O +showing O +this O +mutation O +to O +be O +widespread O +and O +likely O +to O +predate O +the O +more O +genetically O +restricted O +845 O +G O +- O +- O +> O +A O +mutation O +. O + +Genotype O +- O +phenotype O +correlations O +in O +attenuated B +adenomatous I +polyposis I +coli I +. 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O + +Five O +novel O +germ O +- O +line O +APC B +mutations O +were O +identified O +in O +seven O +kindreds O +. O + +Mutations O +were O +located O +in O +three O +different O +regions O +of O +the O +APC B +gene O +( O +1 O +) O +at O +the O +5 O +end O +spanning O +exons O +4 O +and O +5 O +, O +( O +2 O +) O +within O +exon O +9 O +, O +and O +( O +3 O +) O +at O +the O +3 O +distal O +end O +of O +the O +gene O +. O + +Variability O +in O +the O +number O +of O +colorectal B +adenomas I +was O +most O +apparent O +in O +individuals O +with O +mutations O +in O +region O +1 O +, O +and O +upper B +- I +gastrointestinal I +manifestations I +were O +more O +severe O +in O +them O +. O + +In O +individuals O +with O +mutations O +in O +either O +region O +2 O +or O +region O +3 O +, O +the O +average O +number O +of O +adenomas B +tended O +to O +be O +lower O +than O +those O +in O +individuals O +with O +mutations O +in O +region O +1 O +, O +although O +age O +at O +diagnosis O +was O +similar O +. O + +In O +all O +AAPC B +kindreds O +, O +a O +predominance O +of O +right O +- O +sided O +colorectal B +adenomas I +and O +rectal B +polyp I +sparing O +was O +observed O +. O + +No O +desmoid B +tumors I +were O +found O +in O +these O +kindreds O +. O + +Our O +data O +suggest O +that O +, O +in O +AAPC B +families O +, O +the O +location O +of O +the O +APC B +mutation O +may O +partially O +predict O +specific O +phenotypic O +expression O +. O + +This O +should O +help O +in O +the O +design O +of O +tailored O +clinical O +- O +management O +protocols O +in O +this O +subset O +of O +FAP B +patients O +. O +. O + +Wilms B +' I +tumor I +1 O +and O +Dax O +- O +1 O +modulate O +the O +orphan O +nuclear O +receptor O +SF O +- O +1 O +in O +sex O +- O +specific O +gene O +expression O +. O + +Products O +of O +steroidogenic O +factor O +1 O +( O +SF O +- O +1 O +) O +and O +Wilms B +tumor I +1 O +( O +WT1 O +) O +genes O +are O +essential O +for O +mammalian O +gonadogenesis O +prior O +to O +sexual O +differentiation O +. O + +In O +males O +, O +SF O +- O +1 O +participates O +in O +sexual O +development O +by O +regulating O +expression O +of O +the O +polypeptide O +hormone O +Mullerian O +inhibiting O +substance O +( O +MIS O +) O +. O + +Here O +, O +we O +show O +that O +WT1 O +- O +KTS O +isoforms O +associate O +and O +synergize O +with O +SF O +- O +1 O +to O +promote O +MIS O +expression O +. 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O + +Mice O +with O +a O +larger O +deletion O +involving O +both O +Snrpn O +and O +the O +putative O +PWS B +- O +IC O +lack O +expression O +of O +the O +imprinted O +genes O +Zfp127 O +( O +mouse O +homologue O +of O +ZNF127 O +) O +, O +Ndn O +and O +Ipw O +, O +and O +manifest O +several O +phenotypes O +common O +to O +PWS B +infants O +. O + +These O +data O +demonstrate O +that O +both O +the O +position O +of O +the O +IC O +and O +its O +role O +in O +the O +coordinate O +expression O +of O +genes O +is O +conserved O +between O +mouse O +and O +human O +, O +and O +indicate O +that O +the O +mouse O +is O +a O +suitable O +model O +system O +in O +which O +to O +investigate O +the O +molecular O +mechanisms O +of O +imprinting O +in O +this O +region O +of O +the O +genome O +. O +. O + +Mutations O +of O +the O +ATM O +gene O +detected O +in O +Japanese O +ataxia B +- I +telangiectasia I +patients O +: O +possible O +preponderance O +of O +the O +two O +founder O +mutations O +4612del165 O +and O +7883del5 O +. O + +The O +ATM O +( O +A B +- I +T I +, O +mutated O +) O +gene O +on O +human O +chromosome O +11q22 O +. O + +3 O +has O +recently O +been O +identified O +as O +the O +gene O +responsible O +for O +the O +human O +recessive B +disease I +ataxia B +- I +telangiectasia I +( O +A B +- I +T I +) O +. 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O + +The O +others O +were O +minute O +deletions O +, O +4649delA O +in O +exon O +33 O +and O +7883del5 O +in O +exon O +55 O +. O + +The O +mutations O +4612del165 O +and O +7883del5 O +were O +found O +in O +more O +than O +two O +unrelated O +families O +; O +44 O +% O +( O +7 O +of O +16 O +) O +of O +the O +mutant O +alleles O +had O +one O +of O +the O +two O +mutations O +. O + +The O +4612del165 O +mutations O +in O +three O +different O +families O +were O +all O +ascribed O +to O +the O +same O +T O +- O +- O +> O +A O +substitution O +at O +the O +splice O +donor O +site O +in O +intron O +33 O +. O + +Microsatellite O +genotyping O +around O +the O +ATM O +locus O +also O +indicated O +that O +a O +common O +haplotype O +was O +shared O +by O +the O +mutant O +alleles O +in O +both O +mutations O +. O + +This O +suggests O +that O +these O +two O +founder O +mutations O +may O +be O +predominant O +among O +Japanese O +ATM O +mutant O +alleles O +. O + +W474C O +amino O +acid O +substitution O +affects O +early O +processing O +of O +the O +alpha O +- O +subunit O +of O +beta O +- O +hexosaminidase O +A O +and O +is O +associated O +with O +subacute B +G I +( I +M2 I +) I +gangliosidosis I +. O + +Mutations O +in O +the O +HEXA O +gene O +, O +encoding O +the O +alpha O +- O +subunit O +of O +beta O +- O +hexosaminidase O +A O +( O +Hex O +A O +) O +, O +that O +abolish O +Hex O +A O +enzyme O +activity O +cause O +Tay B +- I +Sachs I +disease I +( O +TSD B +) O +, O +the O +fatal O +infantile O +form O +of O +G B +( I +M2 I +) I +gangliosidosis I +, I +Type I +1 I +. O + +Less O +severe O +, O +subacute O +( O +juvenile O +- O +onset O +) O +and O +chronic O +( O +adult O +- O +onset O +) O +variants O +are O +characterized O +by O +a O +broad O +spectrum O +of O +clinical O +manifestations O +and O +are O +associated O +with O +residual O +levels O +of O +Hex O +A O +enzyme O +activity O +. O + +We O +identified O +a O +1422 O +G O +- O +- O +> O +C O +( O +amino O +acid O +W474C O +) O +substitution O +in O +the O +first O +position O +of O +exon O +13 O +of O +HEXA O +of O +a O +non O +- O +Jewish O +proband O +who O +manifested O +a O +subacute O +variant O +of O +G B +( I +M2 I +) I +gangliosidosis I +. O + +On O +the O +second O +maternally O +inherited O +allele O +, O +we O +identified O +the O +common O +infantile O +disease O +- O +causing O +4 O +- O +bp O +insertion O +, O ++ O +TATC O +1278 O +, O +in O +exon O +11 O +. O + +Pulse O +- O +chase O +analysis O +using O +proband O +fibroblasts O +revealed O +that O +the O +W474C O +- O +containing O +alpha O +- O +subunit O +precursor O +was O +normally O +synthesized O +, O +but O +not O +phosphorylated O +or O +secreted O +, O +and O +the O +mature O +lysosomal O +alpha O +- O +subunit O +was O +not O +detected O +. O + +When O +the O +W474C O +- O +containing O +alpha O +- O +subunit O +was O +transiently O +co O +- O +expressed O +with O +the O +beta O +- O +subunit O +to O +produce O +Hex O +A O +( O +alphabeta O +) O +in O +COS O +- O +7 O +cells O +, O +the O +mature O +alpha O +- O +subunit O +was O +present O +, O +but O +its O +level O +was O +much O +lower O +than O +that O +from O +normal O +alpha O +- O +subunit O +transfections O +, O +although O +higher O +than O +in O +those O +cells O +transfected O +with O +an O +alpha O +- O +subunit O +associated O +with O +infantile O +TSD B +. O + +Furthermore O +, O +the O +precursor O +level O +of O +the O +W474C O +alpha O +- O +subunit O +was O +found O +to O +accumulate O +in O +comparison O +to O +the O +normal O +alpha O +- O +subunit O +precursor O +levels O +. O + +We O +conclude O +that O +the O +1422 O +G O +- O +- O +> O +C O +mutation O +is O +the O +cause O +of O +Hex B +A I +enzyme I +deficiency I +in O +the O +proband O +. O + +The O +resulting O +W474C O +substitution O +clearly O +interferes O +with O +alpha O +- O +subunit O +processing O +, O +but O +because O +the O +base O +substitution O +falls O +at O +the O +first O +position O +of O +exon O +13 O +, O +aberrant O +splicing O +may O +also O +contribute O +to O +Hex B +A I +deficiency I +in O +this O +proband O +. O +. O + +Two O +frequent O +missense O +mutations O +in O +Pendred B +syndrome I +. O + +Pendred B +syndrome I +is O +an O +autosomal B +recessive I +disorder I +characterized O +by O +early O +childhood O +deafness B +and O +goiter B +. O + +A O +century O +after O +its O +recognition O +as O +a O +syndrome O +by O +Vaughan O +Pendred O +, O +the O +disease O +gene O +( O +PDS B +) O +was O +mapped O +to O +chromosome O +7q22 O +- O +q31 O +. O + +1 O +and O +, O +recently O +, O +found O +to O +encode O +a O +putative O +sulfate O +transporter O +. O + +We O +performed O +mutation O +analysis O +of O +the O +PDS B +gene O +in O +patients O +from O +14 O +Pendred O +families O +originating O +from O +seven O +countries O +and O +identified O +all O +mutations O +. O + +The O +mutations O +include O +three O +single O +base O +deletions O +, O +one O +splice O +site O +mutation O +and O +10 O +missense O +mutations O +. O + +One O +missense O +mutation O +( O +L236P O +) O +was O +found O +in O +a O +homozygous O +state O +in O +two O +consanguineous O +families O +and O +in O +a O +heterozygous O +state O +in O +five O +additional O +non O +- O +consanguineous O +families O +. O + +Another O +missense O +mutation O +( O +T416P O +) O +was O +found O +in O +a O +homozygous O +state O +in O +one O +family O +and O +in O +a O +heterozygous O +state O +in O +four O +families O +. O + +Pendred B +patients O +in O +three O +non O +- O +consanguineous O +families O +were O +shown O +to O +be O +compound O +heterozygotes O +for O +L236P O +and O +T416P O +. O + +In O +total O +, O +one O +or O +both O +of O +these O +mutations O +were O +found O +in O +nine O +of O +the O +14 O +families O +analyzed O +. O + +The O +identification O +of O +two O +frequent O +PDS B +mutations O +will O +facilitate O +the O +molecular O +diagnosis O +of O +Pendred B +syndrome I +. O + +Insertional O +mutation O +by O +transposable O +element O +, O +L1 O +, O +in O +the O +DMD B +gene O +results O +in O +X B +- I +linked I +dilated I +cardiomyopathy I +. O + +X B +- I +linked I +dilated I +cardiomyopathy I +( O +XLDCM B +) O +is O +a O +clinical O +phenotype O +of O +dystrophinopathy B +which O +is O +characterized O +by O +preferential O +myocardial O +involvement O +without O +any O +overt O +clinical O +signs O +of O +skeletal B +myopathy I +. O + +To O +date O +, O +several O +mutations O +in O +the O +Duchenne B +muscular I +dystrophy I +gene O +, O +DMD B +, O +have O +been O +identified O +in O +patients O +with O +XLDCM B +, O +but O +a O +pathogenic O +correlation O +of O +these O +cardiospecific O +mutations O +in O +DMD B +with O +the O +XLDCM B +phenotype O +has O +remained O +to O +be O +elucidated O +. O + +We O +report O +here O +the O +identification O +of O +a O +unique O +de O +novo O +L1 O +insertion O +in O +the O +muscle O +exon O +1 O +in O +DMD B +in O +three O +XLDCM B +patients O +from O +two O +unrelated O +Japanese O +families O +. O + +The O +insertion O +was O +a O +5 O +- O +truncated O +form O +of O +human O +L1 O +inversely O +integrated O +in O +the O +5 O +- O +untranslated O +region O +in O +the O +muscle O +exon O +1 O +, O +which O +affected O +the O +transcription O +or O +the O +stability O +of O +the O +muscle O +form O +of O +dystrophin O +transcripts O +but O +not O +that O +of O +the O +brain O +or O +Purkinje O +cell O +form O +, O +probably O +due O +to O +its O +unique O +site O +of O +integration O +. O + +We O +speculate O +that O +this O +insertion O +of O +an O +L1 O +sequence O +in O +DMD B +is O +responsible O +for O +some O +of O +the O +population O +of O +Japanese O +patients O +with O +XLDCM B +. O +. O + +Severe O +early O +- O +onset O +obesity B +, O +adrenal B +insufficiency I +and O +red B +hair I +pigmentation I +caused O +by O +POMC O +mutations O +in O +humans O +. O + +Sequential O +cleavage O +of O +the O +precursor O +protein O +pre O +- O +pro O +- O +opiomelanocortin O +( O +POMC O +) O +generates O +the O +melanocortin O +peptides O +adrenocorticotrophin O +( O +ACTH O +) O +, O +melanocyte O +- O +stimulating O +hormones O +( O +MSH O +) O +alpha O +, O +beta O +and O +gamma O +as O +well O +as O +the O +opioid O +- O +receptor O +ligand O +beta O +- O +endorphin O +. O + +While O +a O +few O +cases O +of O +isolated O +ACTH B +deficiency I +have O +been O +reported O +( O +OMIM O +201400 O +) O +, O +an O +inherited O +POMC B +defect I +has O +not O +been O +described O +so O +far O +. O + +Recent O +studies O +in O +animal O +models O +elucidated O +a O +central O +role O +of O +alpha O +- O +MSH O +in O +the O +regulation O +of O +food O +intake O +by O +activation O +of O +the O +brain O +melanocortin O +- O +4 O +- O +receptor O +( O +MC4 O +- O +R O +; O +refs O +3 O +- O +5 O +) O +and O +the O +linkage O +of O +human O +obesity B +to O +chromosome O +2 O +in O +close O +proximity O +to O +the O +POMC B +locus O +, O +led O +to O +the O +proposal O +of O +an O +association O +of O +POMC O +with O +human O +obesity B +. O + +The O +dual O +role O +of O +alpha O +- O +MSH O +in O +regulating O +food O +intake O +and O +influencing O +hair B +pigmentation O +predicts O +that O +the O +phenotype O +associated O +with O +a O +defect O +in O +POMC I +function O +would O +include O +obesity B +, O +alteration B +in I +pigmentation I +and O +ACTH B +deficiency I +. O + +The O +observation O +of O +these O +symptoms O +in O +two O +probands O +prompted O +us O +to O +search O +for O +mutations O +within O +their O +POMC O +genes O +. O + +Patient O +1 O +was O +found O +to O +be O +a O +compound O +heterozygote O +for O +two O +mutations O +in O +exon O +3 O +( O +G7013T O +, O +C7133delta O +) O +which O +interfere O +with O +appropriate O +synthesis O +of O +ACTH O +and O +alpha O +- O +MSH O +. O + +Patient O +2 O +was O +homozygous O +for O +a O +mutation O +in O +exon O +2 O +( O +C3804A O +) O +which O +abolishes O +POMC O +translation O +. O + +These O +findings O +represent O +the O +first O +examples O +of O +a O +genetic B +defect I +within O +the O +POMC O +gene O +and O +define O +a O +new O +monogenic B +endocrine I +disorder I +resulting O +in O +early O +- O +onset O +obesity B +, O +adrenal B +insufficiency I +and O +red B +hair I +pigmentation I +. O +. O + +A O +European O +multicenter O +study O +of O +phenylalanine B +hydroxylase I +deficiency I +: O +classification O +of O +105 O +mutations O +and O +a O +general O +system O +for O +genotype O +- O +based O +prediction O +of O +metabolic O +phenotype O +. O + +Phenylketonuria B +( O +PKU B +) O +and O +mild B +hyperphenylalaninemia I +( O +MHP B +) O +are O +allelic B +disorders I +caused O +by O +mutations O +in O +the O +gene O +encoding O +phenylalanine O +hydroxylase O +( O +PAH O +) O +. O + +Previous O +studies O +have O +suggested O +that O +the O +highly O +variable O +metabolic O +phenotypes O +of O +PAH B +deficiency I +correlate O +with O +PAH O +genotypes O +. O + +We O +identified O +both O +causative O +mutations O +in O +686 O +patients O +from O +seven O +European O +centers O +. O + +On O +the O +basis O +of O +the O +phenotypic O +characteristics O +of O +297 O +functionally O +hemizygous O +patients O +, O +105 O +of O +the O +mutations O +were O +assigned O +to O +one O +of O +four O +arbitrary O +phenotype O +categories O +. O + +We O +proposed O +and O +tested O +a O +simple O +model O +for O +correlation O +between O +genotype O +and O +phenotypic O +outcome O +. O + +The O +observed O +phenotype O +matched O +the O +predicted O +phenotype O +in O +79 O +% O +of O +the O +cases O +, O +and O +in O +only O +5 O +of O +184 O +patients O +was O +the O +observed O +phenotype O +more O +than O +one O +category O +away O +from O +that O +expected O +. O + +Among O +the O +seven O +contributing O +centers O +, O +the O +proportion O +of O +patients O +for O +whom O +the O +observed O +phenotype O +did O +not O +match O +the O +predicted O +phenotype O +was O +4 O +% O +- O +23 O +% O +( O +P O +< O +. O +0001 O +) O +, O +suggesting O +that O +differences O +in O +methods O +used O +for O +mutation O +detection O +or O +phenotype O +classification O +may O +account O +for O +a O +considerable O +proportion O +of O +genotype O +- O +phenotype O +inconsistencies O +. O + +Our O +data O +indicate O +that O +the O +PAH O +- O +mutation O +genotype O +is O +the O +main O +determinant O +of O +metabolic O +phenotype O +in O +most O +patients O +with O +PAH B +deficiency I +. O + +In O +the O +present O +study O +, O +the O +classification O +of O +105 O +PAH O +mutations O +may O +allow O +the O +prediction O +of O +the O +biochemical O +phenotype O +in O +> O +10 O +, O +000 O +genotypes O +, O +which O +may O +be O +useful O +for O +the O +management O +of O +hyperphenylalaninemia B +in O +newborns O +. O + +Somatic O +instability O +of O +the O +CTG O +repeat O +in O +mice O +transgenic O +for O +the O +myotonic B +dystrophy I +region O +is O +age O +dependent O +but O +not O +correlated O +to O +the O +relative O +intertissue O +transcription O +levels O +and O +proliferative O +capacities O +. O + +A O +( O +CTG O +) O +nexpansion O +in O +the O +3 O +- O +untranslated O +region O +( O +UTR O +) O +of O +the O +DM B +protein O +kinase O +gene O +( O +DMPK O +) O +is O +responsible O +for O +causing O +myotonic B +dystrophy I +( O +DM B +) O +. O + +Major O +instability O +, O +with O +very O +large O +expansions O +between O +generations O +and O +high O +levels O +of O +somatic O +mosaicism O +, O +is O +observed O +in O +patients O +. O + +There O +is O +a O +good O +correlation O +between O +repeat O +size O +( O +at O +least O +in O +leucocytes O +) O +, O +clinical O +severity O +and O +age O +of O +onset O +. O + +The O +trinucleotide O +repeat O +instability O +mechanisms O +involved O +in O +DM B +and O +other O +human O +genetic B +diseases I +are O +unknown O +. O + +We O +studied O +somatic O +instability O +by O +measuring O +the O +CTG O +repeat O +length O +at O +several O +ages O +in O +various O +tissues O +of O +transgenic O +mice O +carrying O +a O +( O +CTG O +) O +55expansion O +surrounded O +by O +45 O +kb O +of O +the O +human O +DM B +region O +, O +using O +small O +- O +pool O +PCR O +. O + +These O +mice O +have O +been O +shown O +to O +reproduce O +the O +intergenerational O +and O +somatic O +instability O +of O +the O +55 O +CTG O +repeat O +suggesting O +that O +surrounding O +sequences O +and O +the O +chromatin O +environment O +are O +involved O +in O +instability O +mechanisms O +. O + +As O +observed O +in O +some O +of O +the O +tissues O +of O +DM B +patients O +, O +there O +is O +a O +tendency O +for O +repeat O +length O +and O +somatic O +mosaicism O +to O +increase O +with O +the O +age O +of O +the O +mouse O +. O + +Furthermore O +, O +we O +observed O +no O +correlation O +between O +the O +somatic O +mutation O +rate O +and O +tissue O +proliferation O +capacity O +. O + +The O +somatic O +mutation O +rates O +in O +different O +tissues O +were O +also O +not O +correlated O +to O +the O +relative O +inter O +- O +tissue O +difference O +in O +transcriptional O +levels O +of O +the O +three O +genes O +( O +DMAHP O +, O +DMPK O +and O +59 O +) O +surrounding O +the O +repeat O +. O +. O + +A O +novel O +missense O +mutation O +in O +patients O +from O +a O +retinoblastoma B +pedigree O +showing O +only O +mild O +expression O +of O +the O +tumor B +phenotype O +. O + +We O +have O +used O +single O +strand O +conformation O +polymorphism O +analysis O +to O +study O +the O +27 O +exons O +of O +the O +RB1 O +gene O +in O +individuals O +from O +a O +family O +showing O +mild O +expression O +of O +the O +retinoblastoma B +phenotype O +. O + +In O +this O +family O +affected O +individuals O +developed O +unilateral B +tumors I +and O +, O +as O +a O +result O +of O +linkage O +analysis O +, O +unaffected O +mutation O +carriers O +were O +also O +identified O +within O +the O +pedigree O +. O + +A O +single O +band O +shift O +using O +SSCP O +was O +identified O +in O +exon O +21 O +which O +resulted O +in O +a O +missense O +mutation O +converting O +a O +cys O +- O +- O +> O +arg O +at O +nucleotide O +position O +28 O +in O +the O +exon O +. O + +The O +mutation O +destroyed O +an O +NdeI O +restriction O +enzyme O +site O +. O + +Analysis O +of O +all O +family O +members O +demonstrated O +that O +the O +missense O +mutation O +co O +- O +segregated O +with O +patients O +with O +tumors B +or O +who O +, O +as O +a O +result O +of O +linkage O +analysis O +had O +been O +predicted O +to O +carry O +the O +predisposing O +mutation O +. O + +These O +observations O +point O +to O +another O +region O +of O +the O +RB1 O +gene O +where O +mutations O +only O +modify O +the O +function O +of O +the O +gene O +and O +raise O +important O +questions O +for O +genetic O +counseling O +in O +families O +with O +these O +distinctive O +phenotypes O +. O +. O + +Maternal B +disomy I +and O +Prader B +- I +Willi I +syndrome I +consistent O +with O +gamete O +complementation O +in O +a O +case O +of O +familial O +translocation O +( O +3 O +; O +15 O +) O +( O +p25 O +; O +q11 O +. O +2 O +) O +. O + +Maternal B +uniparental I +disomy I +( O +UPD B +) O +for I +chromosome I +15 I +is O +responsible O +for O +an O +estimated O +30 O +% O +of O +cases O +of O +Prader B +- I +Willi I +syndrome I +( O +PWS B +) O +. O + +We O +report O +on O +an O +unusual O +case O +of O +maternal B +disomy I +15 I +in O +PWS B +that O +is O +most O +consistent O +with O +adjacent O +- O +1 O +segregation O +of O +a O +paternal O +t O +( O +3 O +; O +15 O +) O +( O +p25 O +; O +q11 O +. O +2 O +) O +with O +simultaneous O +maternal O +meiotic O +nondisjunction O +for O +chromosome O +15 O +. O + +The O +patient O +( O +J O +. O +B O +. O +) O +, O +a O +17 O +- O +year O +- O +old O +white O +male O +with O +PWS B +, O +was O +found O +to O +have O +47 O +chromosomes O +with O +a O +supernumerary O +, O +paternal O +der O +( O +15 O +) O +consisting O +of O +the O +short O +arm O +and O +the O +proximal O +long O +arm O +of O +chromosome O +15 O +, O +and O +distal O +chromosome O +arm O +3p O +. O + +The O +t O +( O +3 O +; O +15 O +) O +was O +present O +in O +the O +balanced O +state O +in O +the O +patients O +father O +and O +a O +sister O +. O + +Fluorescent O +in O +situ O +hybridization O +analysis O +demonstrated O +that O +the O +PWS B +critical O +region O +resided O +on O +the O +derivative O +chromosome O +3 O +and O +that O +there O +was O +no O +deletion O +of O +the O +PWS B +region O +on O +the O +normal O +pair O +of O +15s O +present O +in O +J O +. O + +B O +. O + +Methylation O +analysis O +at O +exon O +alpha O +of O +the O +small O +nuclear O +ribonucleoprotein O +- O +associated O +polypeptide O +N O +( O +SNRPN O +) O +gene O +showed O +a O +pattern O +characteristic O +of O +only O +the O +maternal O +chromosome O +15 O +in O +J O +. O + +B O +. O + +Maternal B +disomy I +was O +confirmed O +by O +polymerase O +chain O +reaction O +analysis O +of O +microsatellite O +repeats O +at O +the O +gamma O +- O +aminobutyric O +acid O +receptor O +beta3 O +subunit O +( O +GABRB3 O +) O +locus O +. O + +A O +niece O +( O +B O +. O +B O +. O +) O +with O +45 O +chromosomes O +and O +the O +derivative O +3 O +but O +without O +the O +der O +( O +15 O +) O +demonstrated O +a O +phenotype O +consistent O +with O +that O +reported O +for O +haploinsufficiency B +of I +distal I +3 I +p I +. O + +Uniparental B +disomy I +associated O +with O +unbalanced O +segregation O +of O +non O +- O +Robertsonian O +translocations O +has O +been O +reported O +previously O +but O +has O +not O +, O +to O +our O +knowledge O +, O +been O +observed O +in O +a O +case O +of O +PWS B +. O + +Furthermore O +, O +our O +findings O +are O +best O +interpreted O +as O +true O +gamete O +complementation O +resulting O +in O +maternal O +UPD B +15 I +and O +PWS B + +Schwartz B +- I +Jampel I +syndrome I +type I +2 I +and O +Stuve B +- I +Wiedemann I +syndrome I +: O +a O +case O +for O +" O +lumping O +" O +. O + +Recent O +studies O +demonstrated O +the O +existence O +of O +a O +genetically O +distinct O +, O +usually O +lethal O +form O +of O +the O +Schwartz B +- I +Jampel I +syndrome I +( O +SJS B +) O +of O +myotonia B +and O +skeletal B +dysplasia I +, O +which O +we O +called O +SJS B +type I +2 I +. O + +This O +disorder O +is O +reminiscent O +of O +another O +rare O +condition O +, O +the O +Stuve B +- I +Wiedemann I +syndrome I +( O +SWS B +) O +, O +which O +comprises O +campomelia B +at O +birth O +with O +skeletal B +dysplasia I +, O +contractures B +, O +and O +early O +death O +. O + +To O +test O +for O +possible O +nosologic O +identity O +between O +these O +disorders O +, O +we O +reviewed O +the O +literature O +and O +obtained O +a O +follow O +- O +up O +of O +the O +only O +two O +surviving O +patients O +, O +one O +with O +SJS B +type I +2 I +at O +age O +10 O +years O +and O +another O +with O +SWS B +at O +age O +7 O +years O +. O + +Patients O +reported O +as O +having O +either O +neonatal O +SJS B +or O +SWS B +presented O +a O +combination O +of O +a O +severe O +, O +prenatal O +- O +onset O +neuromuscular B +disorder I +( O +with O +congenital B +joint I +contractures I +, O +respiratory O +and O +feeding O +difficulties O +, O +tendency O +to O +hyperthermia B +, O +and O +frequent O +death O +in O +infancy O +) O +with O +a O +distinct O +campomelic B +- I +metaphyseal I +skeletal I +dysplasia I +. O + +The O +similarity O +of O +the O +clinical O +and O +radiographic O +findings O +is O +so O +extensive O +that O +these O +disorders O +appear O +to O +be O +a O +single O +entity O +. O + +The O +follow O +- O +up O +observation O +of O +an O +identical O +and O +unique O +pattern O +of O +progressive O +bone B +dysplasia I +in O +the O +two O +patients O +( O +one O +with O +SJS B +type I +2 I +, O +one O +with O +SWS B +) O +surviving O +beyond O +infancy O +adds O +to O +the O +evidence O +in O +favor O +of O +identity O +. O + +The O +hypothesis O +that O +SWS B +and O +SJS B +type I +2 I +are O +the O +same O +disorder O +should O +be O +testable O +by O +molecular O +methods O +. O +. O + +A O +mouse O +model O +of O +severe B +von I +Willebrand I +disease I +: O +defects O +in O +hemostasis B +and O +thrombosis B +. O + +von B +Willebrand I +factor I +( I +vWf I +) I +deficiency I +causes O +severe B +von I +Willebrand I +disease I +in O +humans O +. O + +We O +generated O +a O +mouse O +model O +for O +this O +disease O +by O +using O +gene O +targeting O +. O + +vWf B +- I +deficient I +mice O +appeared O +normal O +at O +birth O +; O +they O +were O +viable O +and O +fertile O +. O + +Neither O +vWf O +nor O +vWf O +propolypeptide O +( O +von B +Willebrand I +antigen O +II O +) O +were O +detectable O +in O +plasma O +, O +platelets O +, O +or O +endothelial O +cells O +of O +the O +homozygous O +mutant O +mice O +. O + +The O +mutant O +mice O +exhibited O +defects O +in O +hemostasis O +with O +a O +highly O +prolonged O +bleeding O +time O +and O +spontaneous O +bleeding O +events O +in O +approximately O +10 O +% O +of O +neonates O +. O + +As O +in O +the O +human O +disease O +, O +the O +factor O +VIII O +level O +in O +these O +mice O +was O +reduced O +strongly O +as O +a O +result O +of O +the O +lack O +of O +protection O +provided O +by O +vWf O +. O + +Defective B +thrombosis I +in O +mutant O +mice O +was O +also O +evident O +in O +an O +in O +vivo O +model O +of O +vascular B +injury I +. O + +In O +this O +model O +, O +the O +exteriorized O +mesentery O +was O +superfused O +with O +ferric O +chloride O +and O +the O +accumulation O +of O +fluorescently O +labeled O +platelets O +was O +observed O +by O +intravital O +microscopy O +. O + +We O +conclude O +that O +these O +mice O +very O +closely O +mimic O +severe B +human I +von I +Willebrand I +disease I +and O +will O +be O +very O +useful O +for O +investigating O +the O +role O +of O +vWf O +in O +normal O +physiology O +and O +in O +disease O +models O +. O +. O + +Oral O +contraceptives O +and O +the O +risk O +of O +hereditary B +ovarian I +cancer I +. O + +Hereditary B +Ovarian I +Cancer I +Clinical O +Study O +Group O +. O + +BACKGROUND O +Women O +with O +mutations O +in O +either O +the O +BRCA1 O +or O +the O +BRCA2 O +gene O +have O +a O +high O +lifetime O +risk O +of O +ovarian B +cancer I +. O + +Oral O +contraceptives O +protect O +against O +ovarian B +cancer I +in O +general O +, O +but O +it O +is O +not O +known O +whether O +they O +also O +protect O +against O +hereditary O +forms O +of O +ovarian B +cancer I +. O + +METHODS O +We O +enrolled O +207 O +women O +with O +hereditary B +ovarian I +cancer I +and O +161 O +of O +their O +sisters O +as O +controls O +in O +a O +case O +- O +control O +study O +. O + +All O +the O +patients O +carried O +a O +pathogenic O +mutation O +in O +either O +BRCA1 O +( O +179 O +women O +) O +or O +BRCA2 O +( O +28 O +women O +) O +. O + +The O +control O +women O +were O +enrolled O +regardless O +of O +whether O +or O +not O +they O +had O +either O +mutation O +. O + +Lifetime O +histories O +of O +oral O +- O +contraceptive O +use O +were O +obtained O +by O +interview O +or O +by O +written O +questionnaire O +and O +were O +compared O +between O +patients O +and O +control O +women O +, O +after O +adjustment O +for O +year O +of O +birth O +and O +parity O +. O + +RESULTS O +The O +adjusted O +odds O +ratio O +for O +ovarian B +cancer I +associated O +with O +any O +past O +use O +of O +oral O +contraceptives O +was O +0 O +. O + +5 O +( O +95 O +percent O +confidence O +interval O +, O +0 O +. O +3 O +to O +0 O +. O +8 O +) O +. O + +The O +risk O +decreased O +with O +increasing O +duration O +of O +use O +( O +P O +for O +trend O +, O +< O +0 O +. O +001 O +) O +; O +use O +for O +six O +or O +more O +years O +was O +associated O +with O +a O +60 O +percent O +reduction O +in O +risk O +. O + +Oral O +- O +contraceptive O +use O +protected O +against O +ovarian B +cancer I +both O +for O +carriers O +of O +the O +BRCA1 O +mutation O +( O +odds O +ratio O +, O +0 O +. O +5 O +; O +95 O +percent O +confidence O +interval O +, O +0 O +. O +3 O +to O +0 O +. O +9 O +) O +and O +for O +carriers O +of O +the O +BRCA2 O +mutation O +( O +odds O +ratio O +, O +0 O +. O +4 O +; O +95 O +percent O +confidence O +interval O +, O +0 O +. O +2 O +to O +1 O +. O +1 O +) O +. O + +CONCLUSIONS O +Oral O +- O +contraceptive O +use O +may O +reduce O +the O +risk O +of O +ovarian B +cancer I +in O +women O +with O +pathogenic O +mutations O +in O +the O +BRCA1 O +or O +BRCA2 O +gene O + +A O +Japanese O +family O +with O +adrenoleukodystrophy B +with O +a O +codon O +291 O +deletion O +: O +a O +clinical O +, O +biochemical O +, O +pathological O +, O +and O +genetic O +report O +. O + +We O +report O +a O +Japanese O +family O +with O +adrenoleukodystrophy B +( O +ALD B +) O +with O +a O +three O +base O +pair O +deletion O +( O +delGAG O +291 O +) O +in O +the O +ALD B +gene O +. O + +A O +variety O +of O +phenotypes O +were O +observed O +within O +this O +family O +. O + +While O +the O +proband O +( O +patient O +1 O +) O +was O +classified O +as O +having O +a O +rare O +intermediate O +type O +of O +adult O +cerebral O +and O +cerebello O +- O +brain O +stem O +forms O +, O +his O +younger O +brother O +( O +patient O +2 O +) O +and O +nephew O +( O +patient O +3 O +) O +had O +a O +childhood O +ALD B +type O +. O + +Another O +nephew O +( O +patient O +4 O +) O +of O +patient O +1 O +was O +classified O +as O +having O +an O +adolescent O +form O +. O + +The O +tau O +level O +in O +the O +cerebrospinal O +fluid O +( O +CSF O +) O +in O +patient O +1 O +was O +as O +high O +as O +that O +of O +patients O +with O +Alzheimers B +disease I +( O +AD B +) O +. O + +His O +brain O +magnetic O +resonance O +image O +( O +MRI O +) O +showed O +abnormalities O +in O +the O +bilateral O +cerebellar O +hemispheres O +and O +brain O +stem O +, O +but O +not O +in O +the O +cerebral O +white O +matter O +, O +where O +marked O +reductions O +of O +the O +cerebral O +blood O +flow O +and O +oxygen O +metabolism O +were O +clearly O +demonstrated O +by O +positron O +emission O +tomography O +( O +PET O +) O +. O + +In O +patients O +2 O +and O +3 O +, O +the O +autopsy O +findings O +showed O +massive O +demyelination B +of I +the I +cerebral I +white I +matter I +with O +sparing O +of O +the O +U O +- O +fibers O +, O +compatible O +with O +the O +findings O +of O +childhood O +ALD B +. O + +Oleic O +and O +erucic O +acids O +( O +Lorenzos O +Oil O +) O +were O +administered O +to O +patients O +1 O +and O +4 O +, O +but O +sufficient O +effectiveness O +was O +not O +obtained O +. O + +The O +findings O +in O +this O +family O +suggest O +that O +delGAG291 O +is O +part O +of O +the O +cause O +of O +Japanese O +ALD B +with O +phenotypic O +variations O +. O + +Moreover O +, O +although O +the O +scale O +of O +the O +study O +is O +limited O +, O +there O +is O +a O +possibility O +that O +PET O +can O +detect O +an O +insidious O +lesion O +which O +is O +undetectable O +by O +computed O +tomogram O +( O +CT O +) O +or O +MRI O +analysis O +, O +and O +that O +the O +higher O +level O +of O +tau O +reflects O +the O +process O +of O +neuronal B +degeneration I +in O +ALD B +. O + +Lorenzos O +Oil O +should O +be O +given O +in O +the O +early O +stage O +. O +. O + +Nonsense O +mutation O +in O +exon O +4 O +of O +human O +complement O +C9 O +gene O +is O +the O +major O +cause O +of O +Japanese O +complement B +C9 I +deficiency I +. O + +Deficiency B +of I +the I +ninth I +component I +of I +human I +complement I +( O +C9 O +) O +is O +the O +most O +common O +complement B +deficiency I +in O +Japan O +but O +is O +rare O +in O +other O +countries O +. O + +We O +studied O +the O +molecular O +basis O +of O +C9 B +deficiency I +in O +four O +Japanese O +C9 B +- I +deficient I +patients O +who O +had O +suffered O +from O +meningococcal B +meningitis I +. O + +Direct O +sequencing O +of O +amplified O +C9 O +cDNA O +and O +DNA O +revealed O +a O +nonsense O +substitution O +( O +CGA O +- O +- O +> O +TGA O +) O +at O +codon O +95 O +in O +exon O +4 O +in O +the O +four O +C9 B +- I +deficient I +individuals O +. O + +An O +allele O +- O +specific O +polymerase O +chain O +reaction O +system O +designed O +to O +detect O +exclusively O +only O +one O +of O +the O +normal O +and O +mutant O +alleles O +indicated O +that O +all O +the O +four O +patients O +were O +homozygous O +for O +the O +mutation O +in O +exon O +4 O +and O +that O +the O +parents O +of O +patient O +2 O +were O +heterozygous O +. O + +The O +common O +mutation O +at O +codon O +95 O +in O +exon O +4 O +might O +be O +responsible O +for O +most O +Japanese O +C9 B +deficiency I +. O +. O + +BRCA1 O +required O +for O +transcription O +- O +coupled O +repair O +of O +oxidative O +DNA O +damage O +. O + +The O +breast B +and I +ovarian I +cancer I +susceptibility O +gene O +BRCA1 O +encodes O +a O +zinc O +finger O +protein O +of O +unknown O +function O +. O + +Association O +of O +the O +BRCA1 O +protein O +with O +the O +DNA O +repair O +protein O +Rad51 O +and O +changes O +in O +the O +phosphorylation O +and O +cellular O +localization O +of O +the O +protein O +after O +exposure O +to O +DNA O +- O +damaging O +agents O +are O +consistent O +with O +a O +role O +for O +BRCA1 O +in O +DNA O +repair O +. O + +Here O +, O +it O +is O +shown O +that O +mouse O +embryonic O +stem O +cells O +deficient B +in I +BRCA1 I +are O +defective O +in O +the O +ability O +to O +carry O +out O +transcription O +- O +coupled O +repair O +of O +oxidative O +DNA O +damage O +, O +and O +are O +hypersensitive O +to O +ionizing O +radiation O +and O +hydrogen O +peroxide O +. O + +These O +results O +suggest O +that O +BRCA1 O +participates O +, O +directly O +or O +indirectly O +, O +in O +transcription O +- O +coupled O +repair O +of O +oxidative O +DNA O +damage O +. O +. O + +Truncation O +mutations O +in O +the O +transactivation O +region O +of O +PAX6 O +result O +in O +dominant O +- O +negative O +mutants O +. O + +PAX6 O +is O +a O +transcription O +factor O +with O +two O +DNA O +- O +binding O +domains O +( O +paired O +box O +and O +homeobox O +) O +and O +a O +proline O +- O +serine O +- O +threonine O +( O +PST O +) O +- O +rich O +transactivation O +domain O +. O + +PAX6 O +regulates O +eye O +development O +in O +animals O +ranging O +from O +jellyfish O +to O +Drosophila O +to O +humans O +. O + +Heterozygous O +mutations O +in O +the O +human O +PAX6 O +gene O +result O +in O +various O +phenotypes O +, O +including O +aniridia B +, O +Peters B +anomaly I +, O +autosomal B +dominant I +keratitis I +, O +and O +familial B +foveal I +dysplasia I +. O + +It O +is O +believed O +that O +the O +mutated O +allele O +of O +PAX6 O +produces O +an O +inactive O +protein O +and O +aniridia B +is O +caused O +due O +to O +genetic B +haploinsufficiency I +. O + +However O +, O +several O +truncation O +mutations O +have O +been O +found O +to O +occur O +in O +the O +C O +- O +terminal O +half O +of O +PAX6 O +in O +patients O +with O +Aniridia B +resulting O +in O +mutant O +proteins O +that O +retain O +the O +DNA O +- O +binding O +domains O +but O +have O +lost O +most O +of O +the O +transactivation O +domain O +. O + +It O +is O +not O +clear O +whether O +such O +mutants O +really O +behave O +as O +loss O +- O +of O +- O +function O +mutants O +as O +predicted O +by O +haploinsufficiency B +. O + +Contrary O +to O +this O +theory O +, O +our O +data O +showed O +that O +these O +mutants O +are O +dominant O +- O +negative O +in O +transient O +transfection O +assays O +when O +they O +are O +coexpressed O +with O +wild O +- O +type O +PAX6 O +. O + +We O +found O +that O +the O +dominant O +- O +negative O +effects O +result O +from O +the O +enhanced O +DNA O +binding O +ability O +of O +these O +mutants O +. O + +Kinetic O +studies O +of O +binding O +and O +dissociation O +revealed O +that O +various O +truncation O +mutants O +have O +3 O +- O +5 O +- O +fold O +higher O +affinity O +to O +various O +DNA O +- O +binding O +sites O +when O +compared O +with O +the O +wild O +- O +type O +PAX6 O +. O + +These O +results O +provide O +a O +new O +insight O +into O +the O +role O +of O +mutant O +PAX6 O +in O +causing O +aniridia B +. O +. O + +Reversal O +of O +severe O +hypertrophic B +cardiomyopathy I +and O +excellent O +neuropsychologic O +outcome O +in O +very B +- I +long I +- I +chain I +acyl I +- I +coenzyme I +A I +dehydrogenase I +deficiency I +. O + +Very B +- I +long I +- I +chain I +acyl I +- I +coenzyme I +A I +dehydrogenase I +( I +VLCAD I +) I +deficiency I +is O +a O +disorder O +of O +fatty O +acid O +beta O +oxidation O +that O +reportedly O +has O +high O +rates O +of O +morbidity O +and O +mortality O +. O + +We O +describe O +the O +outcome O +of O +a O +5 O +- O +year O +- O +old O +girl O +with O +VLCAD B +deficiency I +who O +was O +first O +seen O +at O +5 O +months O +of O +age O +with O +severe O +hypertrophic B +cardiomyopathy I +, O +hepatomegaly B +, O +encephalopathy B +, O +and O +hypotonia B +. O + +Biochemical O +studies O +indicated O +VLCAD B +deficiency I +caused O +by O +a O +stable O +yet O +inactive O +enzyme O +. O + +Molecular O +genetic O +analysis O +of O +her O +VLCAD O +gene O +revealed O +a O +T1372C O +( O +F458L O +) O +missense O +mutation O +and O +a O +1668 O +ACAG O +1669 O +splice O +site O +mutation O +. O + +After O +initial O +treatment O +with O +intravenous O +glucose O +and O +carnitine O +, O +the O +patient O +has O +thrived O +on O +a O +low O +- O +fat O +diet O +supplemented O +with O +medium O +- O +chain O +triglyceride O +oil O +and O +carnitine O +and O +avoidance O +of O +fasting O +. O + +Her O +ventricular B +hypertrophy I +resolved O +significantly O +over O +1 O +year O +, O +and O +cognitively O +, O +she O +is O +in O +the O +superior O +range O +for O +age O +. O + +Clinical O +recognition O +of O +VLCAD B +deficiency I +is O +important O +because O +it O +is O +one O +of O +the O +few O +directly O +treatable O +causes O +of O +cardiomyopathy B +in O +children O +. O +. O + +Cloning O +of O +a O +novel O +member O +of O +the O +low O +- O +density O +lipoprotein O +receptor O +family O +. O + +A O +gene O +encoding O +a O +novel O +transmembrane O +protein O +was O +identified O +by O +DNA O +sequence O +analysis O +within O +the O +insulin B +- I +dependent I +diabetes I +mellitus I +( O +IDDM B +) O +locus O +IDDM4 O +on O +chromosome O +11q13 O +. O + +Based O +on O +its O +chromosomal O +position O +, O +this O +gene O +is O +a O +candidate O +for O +conferring O +susceptibility O +to O +diabetes B +. O + +The O +gene O +, O +termed O +low O +- O +density O +lipoprotein O +receptor O +related O +protein O +5 O +( O +LRP5 O +) O +, O +encodes O +a O +protein O +of O +1615 O +amino O +acids O +that O +contains O +conserved O +modules O +which O +are O +characteristic O +of O +the O +low O +- O +density O +lipoprotein O +( O +LDL O +) O +receptor O +family O +. O + +These O +modules O +include O +a O +putative O +signal O +peptide O +for O +protein O +export O +, O +four O +epidermal O +growth O +factor O +( O +EGF O +) O +repeats O +with O +associated O +spacer O +domains O +, O +three O +LDL O +- O +receptor O +( O +LDLR O +) O +repeats O +, O +a O +single O +transmembrane O +spanning O +domain O +, O +and O +a O +cytoplasmic O +domain O +. O + +The O +encoded O +protein O +has O +a O +unique O +organization O +of O +EGF O +and O +LDLR O +repeats O +; O +therefore O +, O +LRP5 O +likely O +represents O +a O +new O +category O +of O +the O +LDLR O +family O +. O + +Both O +human O +and O +mouse O +LRP5 O +cDNAs O +have O +been O +isolated O +and O +the O +encoded O +mature O +proteins O +are O +95 O +% O +identical O +, O +indicating O +a O +high O +degree O +of O +evolutionary O +conservation O +. O +. O + +The O +APC B +variants O +I1307K O +and O +E1317Q O +are O +associated O +with O +colorectal B +tumors I +, O +but O +not O +always O +with O +a O +family O +history O +. O + +Classical B +familial I +adenomatous I +polyposis I +( O +FAP B +) O +is O +a O +high O +- O +penetrance O +autosomal B +dominant I +disease I +that O +predisposes O +to O +hundreds O +or O +thousands O +of O +colorectal B +adenomas I +and O +carcinoma B +and O +that O +results O +from O +truncating O +mutations O +in O +the O +APC B +gene O +. O + +A O +variant O +of O +FAP O +is O +attenuated B +adenomatous I +polyposis I +coli I +, O +which O +results O +from O +germ O +- O +line O +mutations O +in O +the O +5 O +and O +3 O +regions O +of O +the O +APC B +gene O +. O + +Attenuated B +adenomatous I +polyposis I +coli I +patients O +have O +" O +multiple O +" O +colorectal B +adenomas I +( O +typically O +fewer O +than O +100 O +) O +without O +the O +florid O +phenotype O +of O +classical O +FAP B +. O + +Another O +group O +of O +patients O +with O +multiple O +adenomas B +has O +no O +mutations O +in O +the O +APC B +gene O +, O +and O +their O +phenotype O +probably O +results O +from O +variation O +at O +a O +locus O +, O +or O +loci O +, O +elsewhere O +in O +the O +genome O +. O + +Recently O +, O +however O +, O +a O +missense O +variant O +of O +APC O +( O +I1307K O +) O +was O +described O +that O +confers O +an O +increased O +risk O +of O +colorectal B +tumors I +, O +including O +multiple O +adenomas B +, O +in O +Ashkenazim O +. O + +We O +have O +studied O +a O +set O +of O +164 O +patients O +with O +multiple O +colorectal B +adenomas I +and O +/ O +or O +carcinoma B +and O +analyzed O +codons O +1263 O +- O +1377 O +( O +exon O +15G O +) O +of O +the O +APC B +gene O +for O +germ O +- O +line O +variants O +. O + +Three O +patients O +with O +the O +I1307K O +allele O +were O +detected O +, O +each O +of O +Ashkenazi O +descent O +. O + +Four O +patients O +had O +a O +germ O +- O +line O +E1317Q O +missense O +variant O +of O +APC O +that O +was O +not O +present O +in O +controls O +; O +one O +of O +these O +individuals O +had O +an O +unusually O +large O +number O +of O +metaplastic B +polyps I +of I +the I +colorectum I +. O + +There O +is O +increasing O +evidence O +that O +there O +exist O +germ O +- O +line O +variants O +of O +the O +APC B +gene O +that O +predispose O +to O +the O +development O +of O +multiple O +colorectal B +adenomas I +and O +carcinoma B +, O +but O +without O +the O +florid O +phenotype O +of O +classical O +FAP B +, O +and O +possibly O +with O +importance O +for O +colorectal B +cancer I +risk O +in O +the O +general O +population O +. O +. O + +Genomic O +structure O +of O +the O +human O +congenital B +chloride I +diarrhea I +( O +CLD B +) O +gene O +. O + +Congenital B +chloride I +diarrhea I +( O +CLD B +) O +is O +caused O +by O +mutations O +in O +a O +gene O +which O +encodes O +an O +intestinal O +anion O +transporter O +. O + +We O +report O +here O +the O +complete O +genomic O +organization O +of O +the O +human O +CLD B +gene O +which O +spans O +approximately O +39kb O +, O +and O +comprises O +21 O +exons O +. O + +All O +exon O +/ O +intron O +boundaries O +conform O +to O +the O +GT O +/ O +AG O +rule O +. O + +An O +analysis O +of O +the O +putative O +promoter O +region O +sequence O +shows O +a O +putative O +TATA O +box O +and O +predicts O +multiple O +transcription O +factor O +binding O +sites O +. O + +The O +genomic O +structure O +was O +determined O +using O +DNA O +from O +several O +sources O +including O +multiple O +large O +- O +insert O +libaries O +and O +genomic O +DNA O +from O +Finnish O +CLD B +patients O +and O +controls O +. O + +Exon O +- O +specific O +primers O +developed O +in O +this O +study O +will O +facilitate O +mutation O +screening O +studies O +of O +patients O +with O +the O +disease O +. O + +Genomic O +sequencing O +of O +a O +BAC O +clone O +H O +_ O +RG364P16 O +revealed O +the O +presence O +of O +another O +, O +highly O +homologous O +gene O +3 O +of O +the O +CLD B +gene O +, O +with O +a O +similar O +genomic O +structure O +, O +recently O +identified O +as O +the O +Pendred B +syndrome I +gene O +( O +PDS B +) O +. O +. O + +The O +APCI1307K O +allele O +and O +cancer B +risk O +in O +a O +community O +- O +based O +study O +of O +Ashkenazi O +Jews O +. O + +Mutations O +in O +APC O +are O +classically O +associated O +with O +familial B +adenomatous I +polyposis I +( O +FAP B +) O +, O +a O +highly O +penetrant O +autosomal B +dominant I +disorder I +characterized O +by O +multiple O +intestinal B +polyps I +and O +, O +without O +surgical O +intervention O +, O +the O +development O +of O +colorectal B +cancer I +( O +CRC B +) O +. O + +APC O +is O +a O +tumour B +- O +suppressor O +gene O +, O +and O +somatic O +loss O +occurs O +in O +tumours B +. O + +The O +germline O +T O +- O +to O +- O +A O +transversion O +responsible O +for O +the O +APC B +I1307K O +allele O +converts O +the O +wild O +- O +type O +sequence O +to O +a O +homopolymer O +tract O +( O +A8 O +) O +that O +is O +genetically O +unstable O +and O +prone O +to O +somatic O +mutation O +. O + +The O +I1307K O +allele O +was O +found O +in O +6 O +. O + +1 O +% O +of O +unselected O +Ashkenazi O +Jews O +and O +higher O +proportions O +of O +Ashkenazim O +with O +family O +or O +personal O +histories O +of O +CRC B +( O +ref O +. O +2 O +) O +. O + +To O +evaluate O +the O +role O +of O +I1307K O +in O +cancer B +, O +we O +genotyped O +5 O +, O +081 O +Ashkenazi O +volunteers O +in O +a O +community O +survey O +. O + +Risk O +of O +developing O +colorectal B +, I +breast I +and I +other I +cancers I +were O +compared O +between O +genotyped O +I1307K O +carriers O +and O +non O +- O +carriers O +and O +their O +first O +- O +degree O +relatives O +. O + +Sperm O +DNA O +analysis O +in O +a O +Friedreich B +ataxia I +premutation O +carrier O +suggests O +both O +meiotic O +and O +mitotic O +expansion O +in O +the O +FRDA B +gene O +. O + +Friedreich B +ataxia I +is O +usually O +caused O +by O +an O +expansion O +of O +a O +GAA O +trinucleotide O +repeat O +in O +intron O +1 O +of O +the O +FRDA B +gene O +. O + +Occasionally O +, O +a O +fully O +expanded O +allele O +has O +been O +found O +to O +arise O +from O +a O +premutation O +of O +100 O +or O +less O +triplet O +repeats O +. O + +We O +have O +examined O +the O +sperm O +DNA O +of O +a O +premutation O +carrier O +. O + +This O +mans O +leucocyte O +DNA O +showed O +one O +normal O +allele O +and O +one O +allele O +of O +approximately O +100 O +repeats O +. O + +His O +sperm O +showed O +an O +expanded O +allele O +in O +a O +tight O +range O +centering O +on O +a O +size O +of O +approximately O +320 O +trinucleotide O +repeats O +. O + +His O +affected O +son O +has O +repeat O +sizes O +of O +1040 O +and O +540 O +. O + +These O +data O +suggest O +that O +expansion O +occurs O +in O +two O +stages O +, O +the O +first O +during O +meiosis O +followed O +by O +a O +second O +mitotic O +expansion O +. O + +We O +also O +show O +that O +in O +all O +informative O +carrier O +father O +to O +affected O +child O +transmissions O +, O +with O +the O +notable O +exception O +of O +the O +premutation O +carrier O +, O +the O +expansion O +size O +decreases O +. O +. O + +The O +R496H O +mutation O +of O +arylsulfatase O +A O +does O +not O +cause O +metachromatic B +leukodystrophy I +. O + +Deficiency B +of I +arylsulfatase I +A I +( O +ARSA O +) O +enzyme O +activity O +causes O +metachromatic B +leukodystrophy I +( O +MLD B +) O +. O + +A O +number O +of O +ARSA O +gene O +mutations O +responsible O +for O +MLD B +have O +been O +identified O +. O + +Recently O +, O +the O +R496H O +mutation O +of O +ARSA O +was O +proposed O +to O +be O +a O +cause O +of O +MLD B +( O +Draghia O +et O +al O +. O +, O +1997 O +) O +. O + +We O +have O +investigated O +the O +R496H O +mutation O +and O +found O +this O +mutation O +at O +a O +relatively O +high O +frequency O +in O +an O +African O +American O +population O +( O +f O += O +0 O +. O +09 O +, O +n O += O +61 O +subjects O +) O +. O + +The O +ARSA O +enzyme O +activity O +in O +subjects O +with O +and O +without O +the O +R496H O +mutation O +was O +determined O +and O +found O +to O +be O +normal O +. O + +It O +is O +therefore O +concluded O +that O +the O +R496H O +mutation O +of O +ARSA O +does O +not O +negatively O +influence O +the O +activity O +of O +ARSA O +and O +is O +not O +a O +cause O +of O +MLD B + +Down O +- O +regulation O +of O +transmembrane O +carbonic O +anhydrases O +in O +renal B +cell I +carcinoma I +cell O +lines O +by O +wild O +- O +type O +von B +Hippel I +- I +Lindau I +transgenes O +. O + +To O +discover O +genes O +involved O +in O +von B +Hippel I +- I +Lindau I +( O +VHL B +) O +- O +mediated O +carcinogenesis O +, O +we O +used O +renal B +cell I +carcinoma I +cell O +lines O +stably O +transfected O +with O +wild O +- O +type O +VHL O +- O +expressing O +transgenes O +. O + +Large O +- O +scale O +RNA O +differential O +display O +technology O +applied O +to O +these O +cell O +lines O +identified O +several O +differentially O +expressed O +genes O +, O +including O +an O +alpha O +carbonic O +anhydrase O +gene O +, O +termed O +CA12 O +. O + +The O +deduced O +protein O +sequence O +was O +classified O +as O +a O +one O +- O +pass O +transmembrane O +CA O +possessing O +an O +apparently O +intact O +catalytic O +domain O +in O +the O +extracellular O +CA O +module O +. O + +Reintroduced O +wild O +- O +type O +VHL O +strongly O +inhibited O +the O +overexpression O +of O +the O +CA12 O +gene O +in O +the O +parental O +renal B +cell I +carcinoma I +cell O +lines O +. O + +Similar O +results O +were O +obtained O +with O +CA9 O +, O +encoding O +another O +transmembrane O +CA O +with O +an O +intact O +catalytic O +domain O +. O + +Although O +both O +domains O +of O +the O +VHL B +protein O +contribute O +to O +regulation O +of O +CA12 O +expression O +, O +the O +elongin O +binding O +domain O +alone O +could O +effectively O +regulate O +CA9 O +expression O +. O + +We O +mapped O +CA12 O +and O +CA9 O +loci O +to O +chromosome O +bands O +15q22 O +and O +17q21 O +. O + +2 O +respectively O +, O +regions O +prone O +to O +amplification O +in O +some O +human O +cancers B +. O + +Additional O +experiments O +are O +needed O +to O +define O +the O +role O +of O +CA O +IX O +and O +CA O +XII O +enzymes O +in O +the O +regulation O +of O +pH O +in O +the O +extracellular O +microenvironment O +and O +its O +potential O +impact O +on O +cancer B +cell O +growth O +. O + +A O +gene O +encoding O +a O +transmembrane O +protein O +is O +mutated O +in O +patients O +with O +diabetes B +mellitus I +and O +optic B +atrophy I +( O +Wolfram B +syndrome I +) O +. O + +Wolfram B +syndrome I +( O +WFS B +; O +OMIM O +222300 O +) O +is O +an O +autosomal B +recessive I +neurodegenerative I +disorder I +defined O +by O +young O +- O +onset O +non B +- I +immune I +insulin I +- I +dependent I +diabetes I +mellitus I +and O +progressive O +optic B +atrophy I +. O + +Linkage O +to O +markers O +on O +chromosome O +4p O +was O +confirmed O +in O +five O +families O +. O + +On O +the O +basis O +of O +meiotic O +recombinants O +and O +disease O +- O +associated O +haplotypes O +, O +the O +WFS B +gene O +was O +localized O +to O +a O +BAC O +/ O +P1 O +contig O +of O +less O +than O +250 O +kb O +. O + +Mutations O +in O +a O +novel O +gene O +( O +WFS1 O +) O +encoding O +a O +putative O +transmembrane O +protein O +were O +found O +in O +all O +affected O +individuals O +in O +six O +WFS B +families O +, O +and O +these O +mutations O +were O +associated O +with O +the O +disease O +phenotype O +. O + +WFS1 O +appears O +to O +function O +in O +survival O +of O +islet O +beta O +- O +cells O +and O +neurons O +. O +. O + +Stable O +interaction O +between O +the O +products O +of O +the O +BRCA1 O +and O +BRCA2 O +tumor B +suppressor O +genes O +in O +mitotic O +and O +meiotic O +cells O +. O + +BRCA1 O +and O +BRCA2 O +account O +for O +most O +cases O +of O +familial O +, O +early O +onset O +breast B +and I +/ I +or I +ovarian I +cancer I +and O +encode O +products O +that O +each O +interact O +with O +hRAD51 O +. O + +Results O +presented O +here O +show O +that O +BRCA1 O +and O +BRCA2 O +coexist O +in O +a O +biochemical O +complex O +and O +colocalize O +in O +subnuclear O +foci O +in O +somatic O +cells O +and O +on O +the O +axial O +elements O +of O +developing O +synaptonemal O +complexes O +. O + +Like O +BRCA1 O +and O +RAD51 O +, O +BRCA2 O +relocates O +to O +PCNA O ++ O +replication O +sites O +following O +exposure O +of O +S O +phase O +cells O +to O +hydroxyurea O +or O +UV O +irradiation O +. O + +Thus O +, O +BRCA1 O +and O +BRCA2 O +participate O +, O +together O +, O +in O +a O +pathway O +( O +s O +) O +associated O +with O +the O +activation O +of O +double O +- O +strand O +break O +repair O +and O +/ O +or O +homologous O +recombination O +. O + +Dysfunction O +of O +this O +pathway O +may O +be O +a O +general O +phenomenon O +in O +the O +majority O +of O +cases O +of O +hereditary B +breast I +and I +/ I +or I +ovarian I +cancer I +. O +. O + +A O +novel O +Arg362Ser O +mutation O +in O +the O +sterol O +27 O +- O +hydroxylase O +gene O +( O +CYP27 O +) O +: O +its O +effects O +on O +pre O +- O +mRNA O +splicing O +and O +enzyme O +activity O +. O + +A O +novel O +C O +to O +A O +mutation O +in O +the O +sterol O +27 O +- O +hydroxylase O +gene O +( O +CYP27 O +) O +was O +identified O +by O +sequencing O +amplified O +CYP27 O +gene O +products O +from O +a O +patient O +with O +cerebrotendinous B +xanthomatosis I +( O +CTX B +) O +. O + +The O +mutation O +changed O +the O +adrenodoxin O +cofactor O +binding O +residue O +362Arg O +to O +362Ser O +( O +CGT O +362Arg O +to O +AGT O +362Ser O +) O +, O +and O +was O +responsible O +for O +deficiency B +in I +the I +sterol I +27 I +- I +hydroxylase I +activity I +, O +as O +confirmed O +by O +expression O +of O +mutant O +cDNA O +into O +COS O +- O +1 O +cells O +. O + +Quantitative O +analysis O +showed O +that O +the O +expression O +of O +CYP27 O +gene O +mRNA O +in O +the O +patient O +represented O +52 O +. O + +5 O +% O +of O +the O +normal O +level O +. O + +As O +the O +mutation O +occurred O +at O +the O +penultimate O +nucleotide O +of O +exon O +6 O +( O +- O +2 O +position O +of O +exon O +6 O +- O +intron O +6 O +splice O +site O +) O +of O +the O +gene O +, O +we O +hypothesized O +that O +the O +mutation O +may O +partially O +affect O +the O +normal O +splicing O +efficiency O +in O +exon O +6 O +and O +cause O +alternative O +splicing O +elsewhere O +, O +which O +resulted O +in O +decreased O +transcript O +in O +the O +patient O +. O + +Transfection O +of O +constructed O +minigenes O +, O +with O +or O +without O +the O +mutation O +, O +into O +COS O +- O +1 O +cells O +confirmed O +that O +the O +mutant O +minigene O +was O +responsible O +for O +a O +mRNA O +species O +alternatively O +spliced O +at O +an O +activated O +cryptic O +5 O +splice O +site O +88 O +bp O +upstream O +from O +the O +3 O +end O +of O +exon O +6 O +. O + +Our O +data O +suggest O +that O +the O +C O +to O +A O +mutation O +at O +the O +penultimate O +nucleotide O +of O +exon O +6 O +of O +the O +CYP27 O +gene O +not O +only O +causes O +the O +deficiency B +in I +the I +sterol I +27 I +- I +hydroxylase I +activity I +, O +but O +also O +partially O +leads O +to O +alternative O +pre O +- O +mRNA O +splicing O +of O +the O +gene O +. O + +To O +our O +knowledge O +, O +this O +is O +the O +first O +report O +regarding O +effects O +on O +pre O +- O +mRNA O +splicing O +of O +a O +mutation O +at O +the O +- O +2 O +position O +of O +a O +5 O +splice O +site O +. O + +ATM O +germline O +mutations O +in O +classical O +ataxia B +- I +telangiectasia I +patients O +in O +the O +Dutch O +population O +. O + +Germline O +mutations O +in O +the O +ATM O +gene O +are O +responsible O +for O +the O +autosomal B +recessive I +disorder I +ataxia B +- I +telangiectasia I +( O +A B +- I +T I +) O +. O + +In O +our O +study O +, O +we O +have O +determined O +the O +ATM O +mutation O +spectrum O +in O +19 O +classical O +A B +- I +T I +patients O +, O +including O +some O +immigrant O +populations O +, O +as O +well O +as O +12 O +of O +Dutch O +ethnic O +origin O +. O + +Both O +the O +protein O +truncation O +test O +( O +PTT O +) O +and O +the O +restriction O +endonuclease O +fingerprinting O +( O +REF O +) O +method O +were O +used O +and O +compared O +for O +their O +detection O +efficiency O +, O +identifying O +76 O +% O +and O +60 O +% O +of O +the O +mutations O +, O +respectively O +. O + +Most O +patients O +were O +found O +to O +be O +compound O +heterozygote O +. O + +Seventeen O +mutations O +were O +distinct O +, O +of O +which O +10 O +were O +not O +reported O +previously O +. O + +Mutations O +are O +small O +deletions O +or O +point O +mutations O +frequently O +affecting O +splice O +sites O +. O + +Moreover O +, O +a O +16 O +. O + +7 O +- O +kb O +genomic O +deletion O +of O +the O +3 O +end O +of O +the O +gene O +, O +most O +likely O +a O +result O +of O +recombination O +between O +two O +LINE O +elements O +, O +was O +identified O +. O + +The O +most O +frequently O +found O +mutation O +, O +identified O +in O +three O +unrelated O +Turkish O +A B +- I +T I +individuals O +, O +was O +previously O +described O +to O +be O +a O +Turkish O +A B +- I +T I +founder O +mutation O +. O + +The O +presence O +of O +a O +founder O +mutation O +among O +relatively O +small O +ethnic O +population O +groups O +in O +Western O +Europe O +could O +indicate O +a O +high O +carrier O +frequency O +in O +such O +communities O +. O + +In O +patients O +of O +Dutch O +ethnic O +origin O +, O +however O +, O +no O +significant O +founder O +effect O +could O +be O +identified O +. O + +The O +observed O +genetic O +heterogeneity O +including O +the O +relative O +high O +percentage O +of O +splice O +- O +site O +mutations O +had O +no O +reflection O +on O +the O +phenotype O +. O + +All O +patients O +manifested O +classical O +A B +- I +T I +and O +increased O +cellular O +radioresistant O +DNA O +synthesis O +. O + +Determination O +of O +the O +genomic O +structure O +of O +the O +COL4A4 O +gene O +and O +of O +novel O +mutations O +causing O +autosomal B +recessive I +Alport I +syndrome I +. O + +Autosomal B +recessive I +Alport I +syndrome I +is O +a O +progressive O +hematuric B +glomerulonephritis I +characterized O +by O +glomerular B +basement I +membrane I +abnormalities I +and O +associated O +with O +mutations O +in O +either O +the O +COL4A3 O +or O +the O +COL4A4 O +gene O +, O +which O +encode O +the O +alpha3 O +and O +alpha4 O +type O +IV O +collagen O +chains O +, O +respectively O +. O + +To O +date O +, O +mutation O +screening O +in O +the O +two O +genes O +has O +been O +hampered O +by O +the O +lack O +of O +genomic O +structure O +information O +. O + +We O +report O +here O +the O +complete O +characterization O +of O +the O +48 O +exons O +of O +the O +COL4A4 O +gene O +, O +a O +comprehensive O +gene O +screen O +, O +and O +the O +subsequent O +detection O +of O +10 O +novel O +mutations O +in O +eight O +patients O +diagnosed O +with O +autosomal B +recessive I +Alport I +syndrome I +. O + +Furthermore O +, O +we O +identified O +a O +glycine O +to O +alanine O +substitution O +in O +the O +collagenous O +domain O +that O +is O +apparently O +silent O +in O +the O +heterozygous O +carriers O +, O +in O +11 O +. O + +5 O +% O +of O +all O +control O +individuals O +, O +and O +in O +one O +control O +individual O +homozygous O +for O +this O +glycine O +substitution O +. O + +There O +has O +been O +no O +previous O +finding O +of O +a O +glycine O +substitution O +that O +is O +not O +associated O +with O +any O +obvious O +phenotype O +in O +homozygous O +individuals O +. O + +Founder O +BRCA1 O +and O +BRCA2 O +mutations O +in O +French O +Canadian O +breast B +and I +ovarian I +cancer I +families O +. O + +We O +have O +identified O +four O +mutations O +in O +each O +of O +the O +breast B +cancer I +- O +susceptibility O +genes O +, O +BRCA1 O +and O +BRCA2 O +, O +in O +French O +Canadian O +breast B +cancer I +and O +breast B +/ I +ovarian I +cancer I +families O +from O +Quebec O +. O + +To O +identify O +founder O +effects O +, O +we O +examined O +independently O +ascertained O +French O +Canadian O +cancer B +families O +for O +the O +distribution O +of O +these O +eight O +mutations O +. O + +Mutations O +were O +found O +in O +41 O +of O +97 O +families O +. O + +Six O +of O +eight O +mutations O +were O +observed O +at O +least O +twice O +. O + +The O +BRCA1 O +C4446T O +mutation O +was O +the O +most O +common O +mutation O +found O +, O +followed O +by O +the O +BRCA2 O +8765delAG O +mutation O +. O + +Together O +, O +these O +mutations O +were O +found O +in O +28 O +of O +41 O +families O +identified O +to O +have O +a O +mutation O +. O + +The O +odds O +of O +detection O +of O +any O +of O +the O +four O +BRCA1 O +mutations O +was O +18 O +. O + +7x O +greater O +if O +one O +or O +more O +cases O +of O +ovarian B +cancer I +were O +also O +present O +in O +the O +family O +. O + +The O +odds O +of O +detection O +of O +any O +of O +the O +four O +BRCA2 O +mutations O +was O +5 O +. O + +3x O +greater O +if O +there O +were O +at O +least O +five O +cases O +of O +breast B +cancer I +in O +the O +family O +. O + +Interestingly O +, O +the O +presence O +of O +a O +breast B +cancer I +case O +< O +36 O +years O +of O +age O +was O +strongly O +predictive O +of O +the O +presence O +of O +any O +of O +the O +eight O +mutations O +screened O +. O + +Carriers O +of O +the O +same O +mutation O +, O +from O +different O +families O +, O +shared O +similar O +haplotypes O +, O +indicating O +that O +the O +mutant O +alleles O +were O +likely O +to O +be O +identical O +by O +descent O +for O +a O +mutation O +in O +the O +founder O +population O +. O + +The O +identification O +of O +common O +BRCA1 O +and O +BRCA2 O +mutations O +will O +facilitate O +carrier O +detection O +in O +French O +Canadian O +breast B +cancer I +and O +breast B +/ I +ovarian I +cancer I +families O +. O + +Are O +Dp71 O +and O +Dp140 O +brain O +dystrophin O +isoforms O +related O +to O +cognitive B +impairment I +in O +Duchenne B +muscular I +dystrophy I +? O + +Molecular O +study O +and O +neuropsychological O +analysis O +were O +performed O +concurrently O +on O +49 O +patients O +with O +Duchenne B +muscular I +dystrophy I +( O +DMD B +) O +in O +order O +to O +find O +a O +molecular O +explanation O +for O +the O +cognitive B +impairment I +observed O +in O +most O +DMD B +patients O +. O + +Complete O +analysis O +of O +the O +dystrophin O +gene O +was O +performed O +to O +define O +the O +localization O +of O +deletions O +and O +duplications O +in O +relation O +to O +the O +different O +DMD B +promoters O +. O + +Qualitative O +analysis O +of O +the O +Dp71 O +transcript O +and O +testing O +for O +the O +specific O +first O +exon O +of O +Dp140 O +were O +also O +carried O +out O +. O + +Neuropsychological O +analysis O +assessed O +verbal O +and O +visuospatial O +intelligence O +, O +verbal O +memory O +, O +and O +reading O +skills O +. O + +Comparison O +of O +molecular O +and O +psychometric O +findings O +demonstrated O +that O +deletions O +and O +duplications O +that O +were O +localized O +in O +the O +distal O +part O +of O +the O +gene O +seemed O +to O +be O +preferentially O +associated O +with O +cognitive B +impairment I +. O + +Two O +altered O +Dp71 O +transcripts O +and O +two O +deleted O +Dp140 O +DNA O +sequences O +were O +found O +in O +four O +patients O +with O +severe O +cerebral B +dysfunction I +. O + +These O +findings O +suggest O +that O +some O +sequences O +located O +in O +the O +distal O +part O +of O +the O +gene O +and O +, O +in O +particular O +, O +some O +DMD B +isoforms O +expressed O +in O +the O +brain O +may O +be O +related O +to O +the O +cognitive B +impairment I +associated O +with O +DMD B +. O +. O + +I1307K O +APC B +and O +hMLH1 O +mutations O +in O +a O +non O +- O +Jewish O +family O +with O +hereditary B +non I +- I +polyposis I +colorectal I +cancer I +. O + +We O +describe O +a O +French O +Canadian O +hereditary B +non I +- I +polyposis I +colorectal I +cancer I +( O +HNPCC B +) O +kindred O +which O +carries O +a O +novel O +truncating O +mutation O +in O +hMLH1 O +. O + +Interestingly O +, O +the O +I1307K O +APC B +polymorphism O +, O +associated O +with O +an O +increased O +risk O +of O +colorectal B +cancer I +, O +is O +also O +present O +in O +this O +family O +. O + +The O +I1307K O +polymorphism O +has O +previously O +only O +been O +identified O +in O +individuals O +of O +self O +- O +reported O +Ashkenazi O +Jewish O +origins O +. O + +In O +addition O +, O +in O +this O +family O +, O +there O +appears O +to O +be O +no O +relationship O +between O +the O +I1307K O +polymorphism O +and O +the O +presence O +or O +absence O +of O +cancer B +. O +. O + +Identification O +of O +a O +novel O +mutation O +of O +the O +CPO O +gene O +in O +a O +Japanese O +hereditary O +coproporphyria B +family O +. O + +Hereditary B +coproporphyria I +( O +HCP B +) O +is O +an O +autosomal B +dominant I +disease I +characterized O +by O +a O +deficiency B +of I +coproporphyrinogen I +oxidase I +( O +CPO O +) O +caused O +by O +a O +mutation O +in O +the O +CPO O +gene O +. O + +Only O +11 O +mutations O +of O +the O +gene O +have O +been O +reported O +in O +HCP B +patients O +. O + +We O +report O +another O +mutation O +in O +a O +Japanese O +family O +. O + +Polymerase O +chain O +reaction O +- O +single O +strand O +conformational O +polymorphism O +and O +direct O +sequence O +analyses O +demonstrated O +a O +C O +to O +T O +substitution O +in O +exon O +1 O +of O +the O +CPO O +gene O +at O +nucleotide O +position O +85 O +, O +which O +lies O +in O +the O +putative O +presequence O +for O +targeting O +to O +mitochondria O +. O + +This O +mutation O +changes O +the O +codon O +for O +glutamine O +to O +a O +termination O +codon O +at O +amino O +acid O +position O +29 O +. O + +MaeI O +restriction O +analysis O +showed O +two O +other O +carriers O +in O +the O +family O +. O + +The O +C O +- O +T O +mutation O +is O +located O +within O +a O +recently O +proposed O +putative O +alternative O +translation O +initiation O +codon O +( O +TIC O +- O +1 O +) O +, O +supporting O +that O +TIC O +- O +1 O +is O +the O +real O +TIC O +rather O +than O +TIC O +- O +2 O +. O +. O + +Human O +complement B +factor I +H I +deficiency I +associated O +with O +hemolytic B +uremic I +syndrome I +. O + +This O +study O +reports O +on O +six O +cases O +of O +deficiency B +in I +the I +human I +complement I +regulatory I +protein I +Factor I +H I +( O +FH O +) O +in O +the O +context O +of O +an O +acute B +renal I +disease I +. O + +Five O +of O +the O +cases O +were O +observed O +in O +children O +presenting O +with O +idiopathic O +hemolytic B +uremic I +syndrome I +( O +HUS B +) O +. O + +Two O +of O +the O +children O +exhibited O +a O +homozygous O +deficiency O +characterized O +by O +the O +absence O +of O +the O +150 O +- O +kD O +form O +of O +Factor O +H O +and O +the O +presence O +, O +upon O +immunoblotting O +, O +of O +the O +42 O +- O +kD O +Factor O +H O +- O +like O +protein O +1 O +( O +FHL O +- O +1 O +) O +and O +other O +FH O +- O +related O +protein O +( O +FHR O +) O +bands O +. O + +Southern O +blot O +and O +PCR O +analysis O +of O +DNA O +of O +one O +patient O +with O +homozygous O +deficiency O +ruled O +out O +the O +presence O +of O +a O +large O +deletion O +of O +the O +FH B +gene O +as O +the O +underlying O +defect O +for O +the O +deficiency O +. O + +The O +other O +four O +children O +presented O +with O +heterozygous O +deficiency O +and O +exhibited O +a O +normal O +immunoblotting O +pattern O +of O +proteins O +of O +the O +FH B +family O +. O + +Factor B +H I +deficiency I +is O +the O +only O +complement B +deficiency I +associated O +with O +HUS B +. O + +These O +observations O +suggest O +a O +role O +for O +FH O +and O +/ O +or O +FH O +receptors O +in O +the O +pathogenesis O +of O +idiopathic B +HUS I +. O +. O + +Further O +evidence O +for O +a O +major O +ancient O +mutation O +underlying O +myotonic B +dystrophy I +from O +linkage O +disequilibrium O +studies O +in O +the O +Japanese O +population O +. O + +The O +myotonic B +dystrophy I +( O +DM B +) O +mutation O +is O +an O +unstable O +( O +CTG O +) O +n O +repeat O +, O +present O +at O +a O +copy O +number O +of O +5 O +- O +37 O +repeats O +on O +normal O +chromosomes O +but O +amplified O +to O +50 O +- O +3000 O +copies O +on O +DM B +chromosomes O +. O + +Previous O +findings O +in O +Caucasian O +populations O +of O +a O +DM B +founder O +chromosome O +raise O +a O +question O +about O +the O +molecular O +events O +involved O +in O +the O +expansion O +mutation O +. O + +To O +investigate O +whether O +a O +founder O +chromosome O +for O +the O +DM B +mutation O +exists O +in O +the O +Japanese O +population O +, O +we O +genotyped O +families O +using O +polymorphic O +markers O +near O +the O +( O +CTG O +) O +n O +repeat O +region O +and O +constructed O +haplotypes O +. O + +Six O +different O +haplotypes O +were O +found O +and O +DM B +alleles O +were O +always O +haplotype O +A O +. O + +To O +find O +an O +origin O +of O +the O +( O +CTG O +) O +n O +repeat O +mutation O +and O +to O +investigate O +the O +mechanism O +of O +the O +expansion O +mutation O +in O +the O +Japanese O +population O +we O +have O +studied O +90 O +Japanese O +DM B +families O +comprising O +190 O +affected O +and O +130 O +unaffected O +members O +. O + +The O +results O +suggest O +that O +a O +few O +common O +ancestral O +mutations O +in O +both O +Caucasian O +and O +Japanese O +populations O +have O +originated O +by O +expansion O +of O +an O +ancestral O +n O += O +5 O +repeat O +to O +n O += O +19 O +- O +37 O +copies O +. O + +These O +data O +support O +multistep O +models O +of O +triplet O +repeat O +expansion O +that O +have O +been O +proposed O +for O +both O +DM B +and O +Friedreichs B +ataxia I +. O +. O + +The O +molecular O +basis O +of O +C6 B +deficiency I +in O +the O +western O +Cape O +, O +South O +Africa O +. O + +Deficiency B +of I +the I +sixth I +component I +of I +human I +complement I +( O +C6 O +) O +has O +been O +reported O +in O +a O +number O +of O +families O +from O +the O +western O +Cape O +, O +South O +Africa O +. O + +Meningococcal B +disease I +is O +endemic O +in O +the O +Cape O +and O +almost O +all O +pedigrees O +of O +total B +C6 I +deficiency I +( O +C6Q0 O +) O +have O +been O +ascertained O +because O +of O +recurrent O +disease O +. O + +We O +have O +sequenced O +the O +expressed O +exons O +of O +the O +C6 O +gene O +from O +selected O +cases O +and O +have O +found O +three O +molecular O +defects O +leading O +to O +total B +deficiency I +879delG I +, O +which O +is O +the O +common O +defect O +in O +the O +Cape O +and O +hitherto O +unreported O +, O +and O +1195delC O +and O +1936delG O +, O +which O +have O +been O +previously O +reported O +in O +African O +- O +Americans O +. O + +We O +also O +show O +that O +the O +879delG O +and O +1195delC O +defects O +are O +associated O +with O +characteristic O +C6 O +/ O +C7 O +region O +DNA O +marker O +haplotypes O +, O +although O +small O +variations O +were O +observed O +. O + +The O +1936delG O +defect O +was O +observed O +only O +once O +in O +the O +Cape O +, O +but O +its O +associated O +haplotype O +could O +be O +deduced O +. O + +The O +data O +from O +the O +haplotypes O +indicate O +that O +these O +three O +molecular O +defects O +account O +for O +the O +defects O +in O +all O +the O +38 O +unrelated O +C6Q0 O +individuals O +we O +have O +studied O +from O +the O +Cape O +. O + +We O +have O +also O +observed O +the O +879delG O +defect O +in O +two O +Dutch O +C6 B +- I +deficient I +kindreds O +, O +but O +the O +879delG O +defect O +in O +the O +Cape O +probably O +did O +not O +come O +from O +The O +Netherlands O +. O +. O + +Complement B +C7 I +deficiency I +: O +seven O +further O +molecular O +defects O +and O +their O +associated O +marker O +haplotypes O +. O + +Seven O +further O +molecular O +bases O +of O +C7 B +deficiency I +are O +described O +. O + +All O +these O +new O +molecular O +defects O +involve O +single O +- O +nucleotide O +events O +, O +deletions O +and O +substitutions O +, O +some O +of O +which O +alter O +splice O +sites O +, O +and O +others O +codons O +. O + +They O +are O +distributed O +along O +the O +C7 O +gene O +, O +but O +predominantly O +towards O +the O +3 O +end O +. O + +All O +were O +found O +in O +compound O +heterozygous O +individuals O +. O + +The O +C6 O +/ O +C7 O +marker O +haplotypes O +associated O +with O +most O +C7 B +defects I +are O +tabulated O +. O +. O + +A O +genome O +- O +wide O +search O +for O +chromosomal O +loci O +linked O +to O +mental O +health O +wellness O +in O +relatives O +at O +high O +risk O +for O +bipolar B +affective I +disorder I +among O +the O +Old O +Order O +Amish O +. O + +Bipolar B +affective I +disorder I +( O +BPAD B +; O +manic B +- I +depressive I +illness I +) O +is O +characterized O +by O +episodes O +of O +mania B +and O +/ O +or O +hypomania B +interspersed O +with O +periods O +of O +depression B +. O + +Compelling O +evidence O +supports O +a O +significant O +genetic O +component O +in O +the O +susceptibility O +to O +develop O +BPAD B +. O + +To O +date O +, O +however O +, O +linkage O +studies O +have O +attempted O +only O +to O +identify O +chromosomal O +loci O +that O +cause O +or O +increase O +the O +risk O +of O +developing O +BPAD B +. O + +To O +determine O +whether O +there O +could O +be O +protective O +alleles O +that O +prevent O +or O +reduce O +the O +risk O +of O +developing O +BPAD B +, O +similar O +to O +what O +is O +observed O +in O +other O +genetic B +disorders I +, O +we O +used O +mental B +health O +wellness O +( O +absence O +of O +any O +psychiatric B +disorder I +) O +as O +the O +phenotype O +in O +our O +genome O +- O +wide O +linkage O +scan O +of O +several O +large O +multigeneration O +Old O +Order O +Amish B +pedigrees O +exhibiting O +an O +extremely O +high O +incidence O +of O +BPAD B +. O + +We O +have O +found O +strong O +evidence O +for O +a O +locus O +on O +chromosome O +4p O +at O +D4S2949 O +( O +maximum O +GENEHUNTER O +- O +PLUS O +nonparametric O +linkage O +score O += O +4 O +. O +05 O +, O +P O += O +5 O +. O +22 O +x O +10 O +( O +- O +4 O +) O +; O +SIBPAL O +Pempirical O +value O +< O +3 O +x O +10 O +( O +- O +5 O +) O +) O +and O +suggestive O +evidence O +for O +a O +locus O +on O +chromosome O +4q O +at O +D4S397 O +( O +maximum O +GENEHUNTER O +- O +PLUS O +nonparametric O +linkage O +score O += O +3 O +. O +29 O +, O +P O += O +2 O +. O +57 O +x O +10 O +( O +- O +3 O + +) O +; O +SIBPAL O +Pempirical O +value O +< O +1 O +x O +10 O +( O +- O +3 O +) O +) O +that O +are O +linked O +to O +mental O +health O +wellness O +. O + +These O +findings O +are O +consistent O +with O +the O +hypothesis O +that O +certain O +alleles O +could O +prevent O +or O +modify O +the O +clinical O +manifestations O +of O +BPAD B +and O +perhaps O +other O +related O +affective B +disorders I +. O + +Segregation O +distortion O +in O +myotonic B +dystrophy I +. O + +Myotonic B +dystrophy I +( O +DM B +) O +is O +an O +autosomal B +dominant I +disease I +which O +, O +in O +the O +typical O +pedigree O +, O +shows O +a O +three O +generation O +anticipation O +cascade O +. O + +This O +results O +in O +infertility B +and O +congenital B +myotonic I +dystrophy I +( O +CDM B +) O +with O +the O +disappearance O +of O +DM B +in O +that O +pedigree O +. O + +The O +concept O +of O +segregation O +distortion O +, O +where O +there O +is O +preferential O +transmission O +of O +the O +larger O +allele O +at O +the O +DM B +locus O +, O +has O +been O +put O +forward O +to O +explain O +partially O +the O +maintenance O +of O +DM B +in O +the O +population O +. O + +In O +a O +survey O +of O +DM B +in O +Northern O +Ireland O +, O +59 O +pedigrees O +were O +ascertained O +. O + +Sibships O +where O +the O +status O +of O +all O +the O +members O +had O +been O +identified O +were O +examined O +to O +determine O +the O +transmission O +of O +the O +DM B +expansion O +from O +affected O +parents O +to O +their O +offspring O +. O + +Where O +the O +transmitting O +parent O +was O +male O +, O +58 O +. O + +3 O +% O +of O +the O +offspring O +were O +affected O +, O +and O +in O +the O +case O +of O +a O +female O +transmitting O +parent O +, O +68 O +. O + +7 O +% O +were O +affected O +. O + +Studies O +on O +meiotic O +drive O +in O +DM B +have O +shown O +increased O +transmission O +of O +the O +larger O +allele O +at O +the O +DM B +locus O +in O +non O +- O +DM O +heterozygotes O +for O +CTGn O +. O + +This O +study O +provides O +further O +evidence O +that O +the O +DM B +expansion O +tends O +to O +be O +transmitted O +preferentially O +. O + +Diagnosis O +of O +hemochromatosis B +. O + +If O +untreated O +, O +hemochromatosis B +can O +cause O +serious O +illness O +and O +early O +death O +, O +but O +the O +disease O +is O +still O +substantially O +under O +- O +diagnosed O +. O + +The O +cornerstone O +of O +screening O +and O +case O +detection O +is O +the O +measurement O +of O +serum O +transferrin O +saturation O +and O +the O +serum O +ferritin O +level O +. O + +Once O +the O +diagnosis O +is O +suspected O +, O +physicians O +must O +use O +serum O +ferritin O +levels O +and O +hepatic O +iron O +stores O +on O +liver O +biopsy O +specimens O +to O +assess O +patients O +for O +the O +presence O +of O +iron O +overload O +. O + +Liver O +biopsy O +is O +also O +used O +to O +establish O +the O +presence O +or O +absence O +of O +cirrhosis B +, O +which O +can O +affect O +prognosis O +and O +management O +. O + +A O +DNA O +- O +based O +test O +for O +the O +HFE O +gene O +is O +commercially O +available O +, O +but O +its O +place O +in O +the O +diagnosis O +of O +hemochromatosis B +is O +still O +being O +evaluated O +. O + +Currently O +, O +the O +most O +useful O +role O +for O +this O +test O +is O +in O +the O +detection O +of O +hemochromatosis B +in O +the O +family O +members O +of O +patients O +with O +a O +proven O +case O +of O +the O +disease O +. O + +It O +is O +crucial O +to O +diagnose O +hemochromatosis B +before O +hepatic B +cirrhosis I +develops O +because O +phlebotomy O +therapy O +can O +avert O +serious O +chronic B +disease I +and O +can O +even O +lead O +to O +normal O +life O +expectancy O +. O +. O + +Prevalence O +of O +the O +I1307K O +APC B +gene O +variant O +in O +Israeli O +Jews O +of O +differing O +ethnic O +origin O +and O +risk O +for O +colorectal B +cancer I +. O + +BACKGROUND O +& O +AIMS O +Israeli O +Jews O +of O +European O +birth O +, O +i O +. O +e O +. O +, O +Ashkenazim O +, O +have O +the O +highest O +colorectal B +cancer I +incidence O +of O +any O +Israeli O +ethnic O +group O +. O + +The O +I1307K O +APC B +gene O +variant O +was O +found O +in O +6 O +. O + +1 O +% O +of O +American O +Jews O +, O +28 O +% O +of O +their O +familial B +colorectal I +cancer I +cases O +, O +but O +not O +in O +non O +- O +Jews O +. O + +We O +assessed O +the O +I1307K O +prevalence O +in O +Israeli O +Jews O +of O +differing O +ethnic O +origin O +and O +risk O +for O +colorectal B +cancer I +. O + +METHODS O +DNA O +samples O +from O +500 O +unrelated O +Jews O +of O +European O +or O +non O +- O +European O +origin O +, O +with O +or O +without O +a O +personal O +and O +/ O +or O +family O +history O +of O +neoplasia B +, O +were O +examined O +for O +the O +I1307K O +variant O +by O +the O +allele O +- O +specific O +oligonucleotide O +( O +ASO O +) O +method O +. O + +RESULTS O +In O +persons O +at O +average O +risk O +for O +colorectal B +cancer I +, O +I1307K O +was O +found O +in O +5 O +. O + +0 O +% O +of O +120 O +European O +and O +1 O +. O + +6 O +% O +of O +188 O +non O +- O +European O +Jews O +( O +P O += O +0 O +. O +08 O +) O +. O + +It O +occurred O +in O +15 O +. O + +4 O +% O +of O +52 O +Ashkenazi O +Israelis O +with O +familial B +cancer I +( O +P O += O +0 O +. O +02 O +) O +and O +was O +not O +detected O +in O +51 O +non O +- O +European O +Jews O +at O +increased O +cancer B +risk O +. O + +Colorectal B +neoplasia I +occurred O +personally O +or O +in O +the O +families O +of O +13 O +of O +20 O +Ashkenazi O +I1307K O +carriers O +, O +8 O +of O +whom O +also O +had O +a O +personal O +or O +family O +history O +of O +noncolonic B +neoplasia I +. O + +CONCLUSIONS O +The O +I1307K O +APC B +variant O +may O +represent O +a O +susceptibility O +gene O +for O +colorectal B +, I +or I +other I +, I +cancers I +in O +Ashkenazi O +Jews O +, O +and O +partially O +explains O +the O +higher O +incidence O +of O +colorectal B +cancer I +in O +European O +Israelis O +. O + +Systematic O +analysis O +of O +coproporphyrinogen O +oxidase O +gene O +defects O +in O +hereditary B +coproporphyria I +and O +mutation O +update O +. O + +Hereditary B +coproporphyria I +( O +HC B +) O +is O +an O +acute B +hepatic I +porphyria I +with O +autosomal O +dominant O +inheritance O +caused O +by O +deficient O +activity O +of O +coproporphyrinogen O +III O +oxidase O +( O +CPO O +) O +. O + +Clinical O +manifestations O +of O +the O +disease O +are O +characterized O +by O +acute O +attacks O +of O +neurological B +dysfunction I +often O +precipitated O +by O +drugs O +, O +fasting O +, O +cyclical O +hormonal O +changes O +, O +or O +infectious B +diseases I +. O + +Skin B +photosensitivity I +may O +also O +be O +present O +. O + +The O +seven O +exons O +, O +the O +exon O +/ O +intron O +boundaries O +and O +part O +of O +3 O +noncoding O +sequence O +of O +the O +CPO O +gene O +were O +systematically O +analyzed O +by O +an O +exon O +- O +by O +- O +exon O +denaturing O +gradient O +gel O +electrophoresis O +( O +DGGE O +) O +strategy O +followed O +by O +direct O +sequencing O +in O +seven O +unrelated O +heterozygous O +HC B +patients O +from O +France O +, O +Holland O +, O +and O +Czech O +Republic O +. O + +Seven O +novel O +mutations O +and O +two O +new O +polymorphisms O +were O +detected O +. O + +Among O +these O +mutations O +two O +are O +missense O +( O +G197W O +, O +W427R O +) O +, O +two O +are O +nonsense O +( O +Q306X O +, O +Q385X O +) O +, O +two O +are O +small O +deletions O +( O +662de14bp O +; O +1168del3bp O +removing O +a O +glycine O +at O +position O +390 O +) O +, O +and O +one O +is O +a O +splicing O +mutation O +( O +IVS1 O +- O +15c O +- O +- O +> O +g O +) O +which O +creates O +a O +new O +acceptor O +splice O +site O +. O + +The O +pathological O +significance O +of O +the O +point O +mutations O +G197W O +, O +W427R O +, O +and O +the O +in O +- O +frame O +deletion O +390delGly O +were O +assessed O +by O +their O +respective O +expression O +in O +a O +prokaryotic O +system O +using O +site O +- O +directed O +mutagenesis O +. O + +These O +mutations O +resulted O +in O +the O +absence O +or O +a O +dramatic O +decrease O +of O +CPO O +activity O +. O + +The O +two O +polymorphisms O +were O +localized O +in O +noncoding O +part O +of O +the O +gene O +1 O +) O +a O +C O +/ O +G O +polymorphism O +in O +the O +promotor O +region O +, O +142 O +bp O +upstream O +from O +the O +transcriptional O +initiation O +site O +( O +- O +142C O +/ O +G O +) O +, O +and O +2 O +) O +a O +6 O +bp O +deletion O +polymorphism O +in O +the O +3 O +noncoding O +part O +of O +the O +CPO O +gene O +, O +574 O +bp O +downstream O +of O +the O +last O +base O +of O +the O +normal O +termination O +codon O +( O ++ O +574 O +delATTCTT O +) O +. O + +Five O +intragenic O +dimorphisms O +are O +now O +well O +characterized O +and O +the O +high O +degree O +of O +allelic O +heterogeneity O +in O +HC B +is O +demonstrated O +with O +seven O +new O +different O +mutations O +making O +a O +total O +of O +nineteen O +CPO B +gene I +defects I +reported O +so O +far O +. O +. O + +Coincidence O +of O +two O +novel O +arylsulfatase O +A O +alleles O +and O +mutation O +459 O ++ O +1G O +> O +A O +within O +a O +family O +with O +metachromatic B +leukodystrophy I +: O +molecular O +basis O +of O +phenotypic O +heterogeneity O +. O + +In O +a O +family O +with O +three O +siblings O +, O +one O +developed O +classical O +late O +infantile O +metachromatic B +leukodystrophy I +( O +MLD B +) O +, O +fatal O +at O +age O +5 O +years O +, O +with O +deficient O +arylsulfatase O +A O +( O +ARSA O +) O +activity O +and O +increased O +galactosylsulfatide O +( O +GS O +) O +excretion O +. O + +The O +two O +other O +siblings O +, O +apparently O +healthy O +at O +12 O +( O +1 O +/ O +2 O +) O +and O +15 O +years O +, O +respectively O +, O +and O +their O +father O +, O +apparently O +healthy O +as O +well O +, O +presented O +ARSA O +and O +GS O +values O +within O +the O +range O +of O +MLD B +patients O +. O + +Mutation O +screening O +and O +sequence O +analysis O +disclosed O +the O +involvement O +of O +three O +different O +ARSA O +mutations O +being O +the O +molecular O +basis O +of O +intrafamilial O +phenotypic O +heterogeneity O +. O + +The O +late O +infantile O +patient O +inherited O +from O +his O +mother O +the O +frequent O +0 O +- O +type O +mutation O +459 O ++ O +1G O +> O +A O +, O +and O +from O +his O +father O +a O +novel O +, O +single O +basepair O +microdeletion O +of O +guanine O +at O +nucleotide O +7 O +in O +exon O +1 O +( O +7delG O +) O +. O + +The O +two O +clinically O +unaffected O +siblings O +carried O +the O +maternal O +mutation O +459 O ++ O +1G O +> O +A O +and O +, O +on O +their O +paternal O +allele O +, O +a O +novel O +cytosine O +to O +thymidine O +transition O +at O +nucleotide O +2435 O +in O +exon O +8 O +, O +resulting O +in O +substitution O +of O +alanine O +464 O +by O +valine O +( O +A464V O +) O +. O + +The O +fathers O +genotype O +thus O +was O +7delG O +/ O +A464V O +. O + +Mutation O +A464V O +was O +not O +found O +in O +18 O +unrelated O +MLD B +patients O +and O +50 O +controls O +. O + +A464V O +, O +although O +clearly O +modifying O +ARSA O +and O +GS O +levels O +, O +apparently O +bears O +little O +significance O +for O +clinical O +manifestation O +of O +MLD B +, O +mimicking O +the O +frequent O +ARSA O +pseudodeficiency O +allele O +. O + +Our O +results O +demonstrate O +that O +in O +certain O +genetic B +conditions O +MLD O +- O +like O +ARSA O +and O +GS O +values O +need O +not O +be O +paralleled O +by O +clinical O +disease O +, O +a O +finding O +with O +serious O +diagnostic O +and O +prognostic O +implications O +. O + +Moreover O +, O +further O +ARSA O +alleles O +functionally O +similar O +to O +A464V O +might O +exist O +which O +, O +together O +with O +0 O +- O +type O +mutations O +, O +may O +cause O +pathological O +ARSA O +and O +GS O +levels O +, O +but O +not O +clinical O +outbreak O +of O +the O +disease O +. O +. O + +Human O +MLH1 B +deficiency I +predisposes O +to O +hematological B +malignancy I +and O +neurofibromatosis B +type I +1 I +. O + +Heterozygous O +germ O +- O +line O +mutations O +in O +the O +DNA O +mismatch O +repair O +genes O +lead O +to O +hereditary B +nonpolyposis I +colorectal I +cancer I +. O + +The O +disease O +susceptibility O +of O +individuals O +who O +constitutionally O +lack O +both O +wild O +- O +type O +alleles O +is O +unknown O +. O + +We O +have O +identified O +three O +offspring O +in O +a O +hereditary B +nonpolyposis I +colorectal I +cancer I +family O +who O +developed O +hematological B +malignancy I +at O +a O +very O +early O +age O +, O +and O +at O +least O +two O +of O +them O +displayed O +signs O +of O +neurofibromatosis B +type I +1 I +( O +NF1 B +) O +. O + +DNA O +sequence O +analysis O +and O +allele O +- O +specific O +amplification O +in O +two O +siblings O +revealed O +a O +homozygous O +MLH1 O +mutation O +( O +C676T O +- O +- O +> O +Arg226Stop O +) O +. O + +Thus O +, O +a O +homozygous O +germ O +- O +line O +MLH1 O +mutation O +and O +consequent O +mismatch B +repair I +deficiency I +results O +in O +a O +mutator O +phenotype O +characterized O +by O +leukemia B +and O +/ O +or O +lymphoma B +associated O +with O +neurofibromatosis B +type I +1 I +. O +. O + +Missense O +mutations O +in O +the O +most O +ancient O +residues O +of O +the O +PAX6 O +paired O +domain O +underlie O +a O +spectrum O +of O +human O +congenital B +eye I +malformations I +. O + +Mutations O +of O +the O +human O +PAX6 O +gene O +underlie O +aniridia B +( O +congenital B +absence I +of I +the I +iris I +) O +, O +a O +rare O +dominant O +malformation B +of I +the I +eye I +. O + +The O +spectrum O +of O +PAX6 O +mutations O +in O +aniridia B +patients O +is O +highly O +biased O +, O +with O +92 O +% O +of O +all O +reported O +mutations O +leading O +to O +premature O +truncation O +of O +the O +protein O +( O +nonsense O +, O +splicing O +, O +insertions O +and O +deletions O +) O +and O +just O +2 O +% O +leading O +to O +substitution O +of O +one O +amino O +acid O +by O +another O +( O +missense O +) O +. O + +The O +extraordinary O +conservation O +of O +the O +PAX6 O +protein O +at O +the O +amino O +acid O +level O +amongst O +vertebrates O +predicts O +that O +pathological O +missense O +mutations O +should O +in O +fact O +be O +common O +even O +though O +they O +are O +hardly O +ever O +seen O +in O +aniridia B +patients O +. O + +This O +indicates O +that O +there O +is O +a O +heavy O +ascertainment O +bias O +in O +the O +selection O +of O +patients O +for O +PAX6 O +mutation O +analysis O +and O +that O +the O +missing O +PAX6 O +missense O +mutations O +frequently O +may O +underlie O +phenotypes O +distinct O +from O +textbook O +aniridia B +. O + +Here O +we O +present O +four O +novel O +PAX6 O +missense O +mutations O +, O +two O +in O +association O +with O +atypical O +phenotypes O +ectopia B +pupillae I +( O +displaced O +pupils O +) O +and O +congenital B +nystagmus I +( O +searching O +gaze O +) O +, O +and O +two O +in O +association O +with O +more O +recognizable O +aniridia B +phenotypes O +. O + +Strikingly O +, O +all O +four O +mutations O +are O +located O +within O +the O +PAX6 O +paired O +domain O +and O +affect O +amino O +acids O +which O +are O +highly O +conserved O +in O +all O +known O +paired O +domain O +proteins O +. O + +Our O +results O +support O +the O +hypothesis O +that O +the O +under O +- O +representation O +of O +missense O +mutations O +is O +caused O +by O +ascertainment O +bias O +and O +suggest O +that O +a O +substantial O +burden O +of O +PAX6 B +- I +related I +disease I +remains O +to O +be O +uncovered O +. O +. O + +The O +chromosomal O +order O +of O +genes O +controlling O +the O +major O +histocompatibility O +complex O +, O +properdin O +factor O +B O +, O +and O +deficiency B +of I +the I +second I +component I +of I +complement I +. O + +The O +relationship O +of O +the O +genes O +coding O +for O +HLA O +to O +those O +coding O +for O +properdin O +Factor O +B O +allotypes O +and O +for O +deficiency B +of I +the I +second I +component I +of I +complement I +( O +C2 O +) O +was O +studied O +in O +families O +of O +patients O +with O +connective B +tissue I +disorders I +. O + +Patients O +were O +selected O +because O +they O +were O +heterozygous O +or O +homozygous O +for O +C2 B +deficiency I +. O + +12 O +families O +with O +15 O +matings O +informative O +for O +C2 B +deficiency I +were O +found O +. O + +Of O +57 O +informative O +meioses O +, O +two O +crossovers O +were O +noted O +between O +the O +C2 B +deficiency I +gene O +and O +the O +HLA O +- O +B O +gene O +, O +with O +a O +recombinant O +fraction O +of O +0 O +. O + +035 O +. O + +A O +lod O +score O +of O +13 O +was O +calculated O +for O +linkage O +between O +C2 B +deficiency I +and O +HLA O +- O +B O +at O +a O +maximum O +likelihood O +value O +of O +the O +recombinant O +fraction O +of O +0 O +. O + +04 O +. O + +18 O +families O +with O +21 O +informative O +matings O +for O +both O +properdin O +Factor O +B O +allotype O +and O +HLA O +- O +B O +were O +found O +. O + +Of O +72 O +informative O +meioses O +, O +three O +recombinants O +were O +found O +, O +giving O +a O +recombinant O +fraction O +of O +0 O +. O + +042 O +. O + +A O +lod O +score O +of O +16 O +between O +HLA O +- O +B O +and O +Factor O +B O +allotypes O +was O +calculated O +at O +a O +maximum O +likelihood O +value O +of O +the O +recombinant O +fraction O +of O +0 O +. O + +04 O +. O + +A O +crossover O +was O +shown O +to O +have O +occurred O +between O +genes O +for O +Factor O +B O +and O +HLA O +- O +D O +, O +in O +which O +HLA O +- O +D O +segregared O +with O +HLA O +- O +A O +and O +B O +. O + +These O +studies O +suggest O +that O +the O +genes O +for O +Factor B +B O +and O +C2 I +deficiency I +are O +located O +outside O +those O +for O +HLA O +, O +that O +the O +order O +of O +genese O +is O +HLA O +- O +A O +, O +- O +B O +, O +- O +D O +, O +Factor O +B O +allotype O +, O +C2 B +deficiency I +, O +that O +the O +genes O +coding O +for O +C2 B +deficiency I +and O +Factor O +B O +allotypes O +are O +approximately O +3 O +- O +- O +5 O +centimorgans O +from O +the O +HLA O +- O +A O +and O +HLA O +- O +B O +loci O +, O +and O +that O +the O +apparent O +lack O +of O +recombinants O +between O +the O +Factor O +B O +gene O +and O +C2 B +deficiency I +gene O +suggests O +that O +these O +two O +genes O +lie O +in O +close O +proximity O +to O +one O +another O +. O + +Distribution O +of O +emerin O +and O +lamins O +in O +the O +heart O +and O +implications O +for O +Emery B +- I +Dreifuss I +muscular I +dystrophy I +. O + +Emerin O +is O +a O +nuclear O +membrane O +protein O +which O +is O +missing O +or O +defective O +in O +Emery B +- I +Dreifuss I +muscular I +dystrophy I +( O +EDMD B +) O +. O + +It O +is O +one O +member O +of O +a O +family O +of O +lamina O +- O +associated O +proteins O +which O +includes O +LAP1 O +, O +LAP2 O +and O +lamin O +B O +receptor O +( O +LBR O +) O +. O + +A O +panel O +of O +16 O +monoclonal O +antibodies O +( O +mAbs O +) O +has O +been O +mapped O +to O +six O +specific O +sites O +throughout O +the O +emerin O +molecule O +using O +phage O +- O +displayed O +peptide O +libraries O +and O +has O +been O +used O +to O +localize O +emerin O +in O +human O +and O +rabbit O +heart O +. O + +Several O +mAbs O +against O +different O +emerin O +epitopes O +did O +not O +recognize O +intercalated O +discs O +in O +the O +heart O +, O +though O +they O +recognized O +cardiomyocyte O +nuclei O +strongly O +, O +both O +at O +the O +rim O +and O +in O +intranuclear O +spots O +or O +channels O +. O + +A O +polyclonal O +rabbit O +antiserum O +against O +emerin O +did O +recognize O +both O +nuclear O +membrane O +and O +intercalated O +discs O +but O +, O +after O +affinity O +purification O +against O +a O +pure O +- O +emerin O +band O +on O +a O +western O +blot O +, O +it O +stained O +only O +the O +nuclear O +membrane O +. O + +These O +results O +would O +not O +be O +expected O +if O +immunostaining O +at O +intercalated O +discs O +were O +due O +to O +a O +product O +of O +the O +emerin O +gene O +and O +, O +therefore O +, O +cast O +some O +doubt O +upon O +the O +hypothesis O +that O +cardiac B +defects I +in O +EDMD B +are O +caused O +by O +absence O +of O +emerin O +from O +intercalated O +discs O +. O + +Although O +emerin O +was O +abundant O +in O +the O +membranes O +of O +cardiomyocyte O +nuclei O +, O +it O +was O +absent O +from O +many O +non O +- O +myocyte O +cells O +in O +the O +heart O +. O + +This O +distribution O +of O +emerin O +was O +similar O +to O +that O +of O +lamin O +A O +, O +a O +candidate O +gene O +for O +an O +autosomal O +form O +of O +EDMD B +. O + +In O +contrast O +, O +lamin O +B1 O +was O +absent O +from O +cardiomyocyte O +nuclei O +, O +showing O +that O +lamin O +B1 O +is O +not O +essential O +for O +localization O +of O +emerin O +to O +the O +nuclear O +lamina O +. O + +Lamin O +B1 O +is O +also O +almost O +completely O +absent O +from O +skeletal O +muscle O +nuclei O +. O + +In O +EDMD B +, O +the O +additional O +absence O +of O +lamin O +B1 O +from O +heart O +and O +skeletal O +muscle O +nuclei O +which O +already O +lack O +emerin O +may O +offer O +an O +alternative O +explanation O +of O +why O +these O +tissues O +are O +particularly O +affected O +. O +. O + +Genetic O +mapping O +of O +the O +copper B +toxicosis I +locus O +in O +Bedlington O +terriers O +to O +dog O +chromosome O +10 O +, O +in O +a O +region O +syntenic O +to O +human O +chromosome O +region O +2p13 O +- O +p16 O +. O + +Abnormal B +hepatic I +copper I +accumulation I +is O +recognized O +as O +an O +inherited B +disorder I +in O +man O +, O +mouse O +, O +rat O +and O +dog O +. O + +The O +major O +cause O +of O +hepatic B +copper I +accumulation I +in O +man O +is O +a O +dysfunctional O +ATP7B O +gene O +, O +causing O +Wilson B +disease I +( O +WD B +) O +. O + +Mutations O +in O +the O +ATP7B O +genes O +have O +also O +been O +demonstrated O +in O +mouse O +and O +rat O +. O + +The O +ATP7B O +gene O +has O +been O +excluded O +in O +the O +much O +rarer O +human O +copper B +overload I +disease I +non O +- O +Indian O +childhood O +cirrhosis B +, O +indicating O +genetic O +heterogeneity O +. O + +By O +investigating O +the O +common O +autosomal B +recessive I +copper I +toxicosis I +( O +CT B +) O +in O +Bedlington O +terriers O +, O +we O +have O +identified O +a O +new O +locus O +involved O +in O +progressive B +liver I +disease I +. O + +We O +examined O +whether O +the O +WD B +gene O +ATP7B O +was O +also O +causative O +for O +CT B +by O +investigating O +the O +chromosomal O +co O +- O +localization O +of O +ATP7B O +and O +C04107 O +, O +using O +fluorescence O +in O +situ O +hybridization O +( O +FISH O +) O +. O + +C04107 O +is O +an O +anonymous O +microsatellite O +marker O +closely O +linked O +to O +CT O +. O + +However O +, O +BAC O +clones O +containing O +ATP7B O +and O +C04107 O +mapped O +to O +the O +canine O +chromosome O +regions O +CFA22q11 O +and O +CFA10q26 O +, O +respectively O +, O +demonstrating O +that O +WD B +cannot O +be O +homologous O +to O +CT O +. O + +The O +copper O +transport O +genes O +CTR1 O +and O +CTR2 O +were O +also O +excluded O +as O +candidate O +genes O +for O +CT B +since O +they O +both O +mapped O +to O +canine O +chromosome O +region O +CFA11q22 O +. O + +2 O +- O +22 O +. O + +5 O +. O + +A O +transcribed O +sequence O +identified O +from O +the O +C04107 O +- O +containing O +BAC O +was O +found O +to O +be O +homologous O +to O +a O +gene O +expressed O +from O +human O +chromosome O +2p13 O +- O +p16 O +, O +a O +region O +devoid O +of O +any O +positional O +candidate O +genes O +. O + +Molecular O +analysis O +of O +the O +APC B +gene O +in O +205 O +families O +: O +extended O +genotype O +- O +phenotype O +correlations O +in O +FAP B +and O +evidence O +for O +the O +role O +of O +APC B +amino O +acid O +changes O +in O +colorectal B +cancer I +predisposition O +. O + +BACKGROUND O +/ O +AIMS O +The O +development O +of O +colorectal B +cancer I +and O +a O +variable O +range O +of O +extracolonic O +manifestations O +in O +familial B +adenomatous I +polyposis I +( O +FAP B +) O +is O +the O +result O +of O +the O +dominant O +inheritance O +of O +adenomatous B +polyposis I +coli I +( O +APC B +) O +gene O +mutations O +. O + +In O +this O +study O +, O +direct O +mutation O +analysis O +of O +the O +APC B +gene O +was O +performed O +to O +determine O +genotype O +- O +phenotype O +correlations O +for O +nine O +extracolonic O +manifestations O +and O +to O +investigate O +the O +incidence O +of O +APC B +mutations O +in O +non B +- I +FAP I +colorectal I +cancer I +. O + +METHODS O +The O +APC B +gene O +was O +analysed O +in O +190 O +unrelated O +FAP B +and O +15 O +non B +- I +FAP I +colorectal B +cancer I +patients O +using O +denaturing O +gradient O +gel O +electrophoresis O +, O +the O +protein O +truncation O +test O +, O +and O +direct O +sequencing O +. O + +RESULTS O +Chain O +terminating O +signals O +were O +only O +identified O +in O +patients O +belonging O +to O +the O +FAP B +group O +( O +105 O +patients O +) O +. O + +Amino O +acid O +changes O +were O +identified O +in O +four O +patients O +, O +three O +of O +whom O +belonged O +to O +the O +non O +- O +FAP O +group O +of O +colorectal B +cancer I +patients O +. O + +Genotype O +- O +phenotype O +correlations O +identified O +significant O +differences O +in O +the O +nature O +of O +certain O +extracolonic O +manifestations O +in O +FAP B +patients O +belonging O +to O +three O +mutation O +subgroups O +. O + +CONCLUSIONS O +Extended O +genotype O +- O +phenotype O +correlations O +made O +in O +this O +study O +may O +have O +the O +potential O +to O +determine O +the O +most O +appropriate O +surveillance O +and O +prophylactic O +treatment O +regimens O +for O +those O +patients O +with O +mutations O +associated O +with O +life O +threatening O +conditions O +. O + +This O +study O +also O +provided O +evidence O +for O +the O +pathological O +nature O +of O +amino O +acid O +changes O +in O +APC O +associated O +with O +both O +FAP B +and O +non I +- I +FAP I +colorectal B +cancer I +patients O +. O +. O + +Inherited O +colorectal B +polyposis I +and O +cancer B +risk O +of O +the O +APC B +I1307K O +polymorphism O +. O + +Germ O +- O +line O +and O +somatic O +truncating O +mutations O +of O +the O +APC B +gene O +are O +thought O +to O +initiate O +colorectal B +tumor I +formation O +in O +familial B +adenomatous I +polyposis I +syndrome I +and O +sporadic O +colorectal O +carcinogenesis O +, O +respectively O +. O + +Recently O +, O +an O +isoleucine O +- O +- O +> O +lysine O +polymorphism O +at O +codon O +1307 O +( O +I1307K O +) O +of O +the O +APC B +gene O +has O +been O +identified O +in O +6 O +% O +- O +7 O +% O +of O +the O +Ashkenazi O +Jewish O +population O +. O + +To O +assess O +the O +risk O +of O +this O +common O +APC B +allelic O +variant O +in O +colorectal O +carcinogenesis O +, O +we O +have O +analyzed O +a O +large O +cohort O +of O +unselected O +Ashkenazi O +Jewish O +subjects O +with O +adenomatous B +polyps I +and O +. O +or O +colorectal B +cancer I +, O +for O +the O +APC B +I1307K O +polymorphism O +. O + +The O +APC B +I1307K O +allele O +was O +identified O +in O +48 O +( O +10 O +. O +1 O +% O +) O +of O +476 O +patients O +. O + +Compared O +with O +the O +frequency O +in O +two O +separate O +population O +control O +groups O +, O +the O +APC B +I1307K O +allele O +is O +associated O +with O +an O +estimated O +relative O +risk O +of O +1 O +. O + +5 O +- O +1 O +. O + +7 O +for O +colorectal B +neoplasia I +( O +both O +P O += O +. O +01 O +) O +. O + +Furthermore O +, O +compared O +with O +noncarriers O +, O +APC O +I1307K O +carriers O +had O +increased O +numbers O +of O +adenomas B +and O +colorectal B +cancers I +per O +patient O +( O +P O += O +. O +03 O +) O +, O +as O +well O +as O +a O +younger O +age O +at O +diagnosis O +. O + +We O +conclude O +that O +the O +APC B +I1307K O +variant O +leads O +to O +increased O +adenoma B +formation O +and O +directly O +contributes O +to O +3 O +% O +- O +4 O +% O +of O +all O +Ashkenazi O +Jewish O +colorectal B +cancer I +. O + +The O +estimated O +relative O +risk O +for O +carriers O +may O +justify O +specific O +clinical O +screening O +for O +the O +360 O +, O +000 O +Americans O +expected O +to O +harbor O +this O +allele O +, O +and O +genetic O +testing O +in O +the O +setting O +of O +long O +- O +term O +- O +outcome O +studies O +may O +impact O +significantly O +on O +colorectal B +cancer I +prevention O +in O +this O +population O +. O + +Localization O +of O +human O +BRCA1 O +and O +its O +loss O +in O +high B +- I +grade I +, I +non I +- I +inherited I +breast I +carcinomas I +. O + +Although O +the O +link O +between O +the O +BRCA1 O +tumour B +- O +suppressor O +gene O +and O +hereditary B +breast I +and I +ovarian I +cancer I +is O +established O +, O +the O +role O +, O +if O +any O +, O +of O +BRCA1 O +in O +non B +- I +familial I +cancers I +is O +unclear O +. O + +BRCA1 O +mutations O +are O +rare O +in O +sporadic B +cancers I +, O +but O +loss O +of O +BRCA1 O +resulting O +from O +reduced O +expression O +or O +incorrect O +subcellular O +localization O +is O +postulated O +to O +be O +important O +in O +non B +- I +familial I +breast I +and I +ovarian I +cancers I +. O + +Epigenetic O +loss O +, O +however O +, O +has O +not O +received O +general O +acceptance O +due O +to O +controversy O +regarding O +the O +subcellular O +localization O +of O +BRCA1 O +proteins O +, O +reports O +of O +which O +have O +ranged O +from O +exclusively O +nuclear O +, O +to O +conditionally O +nuclear O +, O +to O +the O +ER O +/ O +golgi O +, O +to O +cytoplasmic O +invaginations O +into O +the O +nucleus O +. O + +In O +an O +attempt O +to O +resolve O +this O +issue O +, O +we O +have O +comprehensively O +characterized O +19 O +anti O +- O +BRCA1 O +antibodies O +. O + +These O +reagents O +detect O +a O +220 O +- O +kD O +protein O +localized O +in O +discrete O +nuclear O +foci O +in O +all O +epithelial O +cell O +lines O +, O +including O +those O +derived O +from O +breast B +malignancies I +. O + +Immunohistochemical O +staining O +of O +human O +breast O +specimens O +also O +revealed O +BRCA1 O +nuclear O +foci O +in O +benign B +breast I +, I +invasive I +lobular I +cancers I +and O +low O +- O +grade O +ductal B +carcinomas I +. O + +Conversely O +, O +BRCA1 O +expression O +was O +reduced O +or O +undetectable O +in O +the O +majority O +of O +high O +- O +grade O +, O +ductal B +carcinomas I +, O +suggesting O +that O +absence O +of O +BRCA1 O +may O +contribute O +to O +the O +pathogenesis O +of O +a O +significant O +percentage O +of O +sporadic B +breast I +cancers I +. O +. O +