Reliability of the use of fructose 1-phosphate to detect Hunter cells in fibroblast-cultures of obligate carriers of the Hunter syndrome

Pulse-chase experiments measuring 35S-sulphate incorporation into acid mucopolysaccharides were performed in the presence and absence of fructose 1-phosphate on fibroblasts obtained from one skin-biopsy of 25 obligate Hunter carriers. The presence of fructose 1-phosphate significantly increased the accumulation of 35S-labelled acid mucopolysaccharides in fibroblast cultures of 23 obligate Hunter carriers. In one carrier, the accumulation of labelled acid mucopolysaccharides was significantly increased prior to the addition of fructose 1-phosphate, and in one of the 25 obligate carriers the 35S-sulphate incorporation was normal in the presence as well as in the absence of fructose 1-phosphate. Similar experiments performed on mixtures of Hunter cells and normal cells revealed that 20% Hunter cells should be present to obtain a significantly increased difference in between the incorporation in the presence and in the absence of fructose 1-phosphate. Fructose 1-phosphate had no effect on the accumulation of labelled mucopolysaccharides in fibroblast-cultures of seven women with no family history of mucopolysaccharidosis. The present results show that pulse-chase experiments measuring 35S-sulphate incorporation into fibroblasts, cultured in the presence of fructose 1-phosphate, can identify Hunter carriership, provided that the accumulation is normal prior to the addition of fructose 1-phosphate. Furthermore, 35S-sulphate incorporation in the absence of fructose 1-phosphate, higher than mean +4SD of normal control-fibroblasts indicates carriership.     

Carrier detection of deletions in female relatives of X-linked disorders by non-isotopic in situ hybridisation.

Recent studies suggest that a non-isotopic in situ hybridisation (NISH) approach can be successfully employed to investigate the carrier status of female relatives in families of selected patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) or Hunter syndrome, whose diseases are due to a specific X chromosome deletion. Whilst the majority of metaphase spreads from normal females show specific hybridisation signals on both X chromosomes when tested with either dystrophin or Hunter gene-derived probes, only one X chromosome in each metaphase spread will show the relevant hybridisation complex in female carriers of deletions involving the dystrophin or Hunter gene. Thus, the NISH method can be a valuable diagnostic tool for the detection of the carrier status of female relatives of patients with X chromosome deletions.     

X-linked Hunter syndrome: the heterozygous phenotype in cell culture.

Fibroblast cultures derived from the skin of three Hunter heterozygotes have been examined for iduronate sulfatase deficiency primarily by measurement of [35S]-mucopolysaccharide accumulation in the presence and absence of Hunter corrective factor. For each heterozygote, two populations of clones were observed: normal and enzyme deficient, as predicted by the Lyon hypothesis. However, the phenotype of the uncloned cultures was usually normal, presumably because of cross-correction, even after storage in liquid N2. Mixing experiments indicate that the presence of a majority of cells with the Hunter phenotype may be obscured as the result of correction by the minority population of normal cells in the mixture. Variability in the ability to cross-correct was also demonstrated. The unpredictable behavior of uncloned cultures make them unsuitable for diagnosing the Hunter carrier state.     

Carrier testing of children for two X-linked diseases: a retrospective evaluation of experience and satisfaction of subjects and their mothers

Carrier testing of children for inherited disease that will not affect the health of the children themselves but of their future children is generally regarded as problematic. In this retrospective study, we determined how young women had experienced genetic carrier testing when they were children. The families of 66 young females who had been tested for carriership during childhood between 1984 and 1988, were approached. Of them, 23 young females in families affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and 23 young females in families affected by hemophilia A, and their mothers, participated in our study. We used a questionnaire including multiple-choice and open-ended questions. We recorded general attitudes to testing, satisfaction with testing, degree of trust in test results, making decisions regarding testing, privacy, and opinions about age at testing. Thirty-five out of 46 of the young women tested (76%) were satisfied with carrier testing in childhood. However, the young women in whom the test results had been uncertain were statistically more often unsatisfied with the testing than those who had been found or not found to be carriers (p = 0.002). In each group, the opinions of mothers were parallel to those of their daughters. Seventy-eight percent of daughters regarded carrier testing as a family matter in which parents can make a decision. About half of those tested recalled that they had been allowed to participate in decision-making in a satisfying way. Thirty-nine out of 46 (85%) of the young women tested, and 33/46 (72%) of the mothers, suggested that carrier testing should be performed in childhood or during teenage years.     

Exploration of genetic factors resulting in abnormal disease in cattle experimentally challenged with bovine spongiform encephalopathy

ABSTRACT

Since the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), researchers have orally challenged cattle with infected brain material to study various aspects of disease pathogenesis. Unlike most other pathogens, oral BSE challenge does not always result in the expected clinical presentation and pathology. In a recent study, steers were challenged orally with BSE and all developed clinical signs and were sacrificed and tested. However, despite a similar incubation and clinical presentation, one of the steers did not have detectable PrP^Sc in its brain. Samples from this animal were analysed for genetic differences as well as for the presence of in vitro PrP^Sc seeding activity or infectivity to determine the BSE status of this animal and the potential reasons that it was different. Seeding activity was detected in the brainstem of the abnormal steer but it was approximately one million times less than that found in the normal BSE positive steers. Intra-cranial challenge of bovinized transgenic mice resulted in no transmission of disease. The abnormal steer had different genetic sequences in non-coding regions of the PRNP gene but detection of similar genotypes in Canadian BSE field cases, that showed the expected brain pathology, suggested these differences may not be the primary cause of the abnormal result. Breed composition analysis showed a higher Hereford content in the abnormal steer as well as in two Canadian atypical BSE field cases and several additional abnormal experimental animals. This study could point towards a possible impact of breed composition on BSE pathogenesis.     

Cytogenetic findings in 122 couples with recurrent abortions

Summary R-banded chromosome complements were analysed from 122 couples who had experienced three or more spontaneous abortions. Five women and one man were found to be carriers of translocations t(2;17), t(5;9), t(11;22), t(17;22), and t(13q14q). Two other karyotypes were abnormal: 46,XXq- and 47,XXX. Banded chromosome studies are recommended for couples with repeated abortions.     

Diagnosis of Hunter's syndrome carriers; Radioactive sulphate incorporation into fibroblasts in the presence of fructose 1-phosphate

Summary Mutual correction of co-cultivated fibroblasts from patients with Hunter's and Hurler's syndrome could be inhibited by either fructose 1-phosphate or mannose 6-phosphate. In the presence of fructose 1-phosphate a 50% mixture of fibroblasts from a patient with Hunter's syndrome and a normal homozygous individual showed an increased³⁵S-sulphate incorporation into acid mucopolysaccharides. When fibroblast cultures from one obligate and two possible carriers of Hunter's syndrome were tested for³⁵S-sulphate incorporation, the cultures showed either twice the normal³⁵S-sulphate incorporation into acid mucopolysaccharides in the presence of fructose 1-phosphate or an abnormally high incorporation in the presence as well as in the absence of the sugar phosphate.     

Genomic diagnosis of haemophilia A and B in the German Democratic Republic.

Since 1986 the genomic diagnosis of haemophilia A and B in the GDR is realized as a national programme. Until Aug. 1989 56 families at risk of haemophilia A are analysed using RFLPs of different intragenic and intergenic probes (BclI/F8e 16-19, KpnI-XbaI/int 22, TaqI/St 14.1). 117 out of 162 females at risk being heterozygous were identified as carriers, in 40 cases the carrier state was excluded, and in 5 females the data were not informative. Prenatal diagnosis was offered to 93 carriers in reproductive age. Six genomic prenatal diagnoses in haemophilia A were performed. In four patients different partial deletions of factor VIII:C gene were found. 10 families of haemophilia B were analysed using intragenic and intergenic probes (P 1; pX58dIIIc). 14 females were identified as carriers, 11 were excluded. The application of direct and indirect gene diagnosis in haemophilia is discussed.     

Intermittent stimulation and acceleration of puberty by urinary chemosignals in female mice (Mus musculus domesticus)

A sequence of 17 experiments was used to test the effects of intermittent stimulation with urinary chemosignals on the age of puberty in young female mice. The three chemosignals tested all accelerate the age of sexual maturation: urine from adult males, urine from females in estrus, and urine from females that are pregnant or lactating. The basic technique involved presenting the prepubertal females with 'Nestlets' on which the urine was placed. The 'Nestlets' were placed in the cages of the test females for a 15-min period, removed for a variable period, and then replaced in the cage for 15 min. In this manner it was possible to vary the number of exposures, the total length of exposure, and the total time period over which the exposures occurred. Control procedures, involving exposures of young females to cotton squares with water rather than urine placed upon them, resulted in no alterations in puberty relative to untreated females. For mice exposed to the urine-treated cotton squares, acceleration of puberty occurred with less total stimulus-exposure time when the stimulus was presented in short exposures over a number of hours than in previous investigations when the exposure to the urinary chemosignal occurred in a single block of time of one or two hours. For each of the three acceleratory chemosignals, there was a diminution of acceleratory effect when the ratio of total stimulus-exposure time to total exposure time grew smaller. This diminution was more pronounced for urine from pregnant or lactating females than for urine from males or from females in estrus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Evaluation of genetic diversity and uniformity of head cabbage DH lines by the use of RAPD markers

DH lines derived from cabbage cvs. Kamienna G?owa, S?awa z Enkhuizen and Langendijker, representing R1 generation, were analysed by the use of RAPD markers for their diversity and uniformity. For the evaluation of genetic diversity, eight primers yielding informative bands were used. Of the total of 83 RAPD bands scored in this study, 16.9% were polymorphic between a set of 13 DH lines. The similarity of the DH lines, estimated by Jaccard's coefficient, was depicted in the UPGMA dendrogram. Fourteen generated informative RAPD bands allowed the identification of DH lines developed from each cultivar. The evaluation of the uniformity for six closely related DH lines was possible by the use of three primers which generate one or two polymorphic bands. The lack of differences among ten plants of the five investigated DH lines manifested their uniformity. One line showed intraline polymorphism with two RAPD primers. The occurrence of the differences at the molecular level among ten plants indicated that their parental R0 plant was probably obtained from somatic cells, not by androgenesis.     

Transabdominal ultrasound screening for early ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE--To assess the value of ultrasonography in a screening procedure for early ovarian cancer. DESIGN--Prospective study of at least 5000 self referred women without symptoms of ovarian cancer. Each woman was scheduled to undergo three annual screenings (consisting of one or more scans) to detect grossly abnormal ovaries or non-regressing masses. SETTING--The ovarian screening clinic at King''s College Hospital, London. SUBJECTS--5479 Self referred women without symptoms (aged 18-78, mean age 52). INTERVENTIONS--Women with a positive result on screening were referred for laparoscopy or laparotomy, or both. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Findings at surgery and from histology of abnormal ovaries. RESULTS--A total of 14,594 screenings (15,977 scans) were performed. A positive result was obtained at 338 screens (2.3%) comprising 326 subjects (5.9%). Five patients with primary ovarian cancer (four stage Ia, one stage Ib; two at first screening three at second) were identified (prevalence 0.09%). An additional four patients had metastatic ovarian cancer (three at first screening, one at second). The apparent detection rate was 100%. It was not possible to differentiate between the ultrasonic appearance of early malignant and benign tumours. The rate of false positive results for primary ovarian cancer was 3.5% at the first screening, 1.8% at the second, and 1.2% at the third. Overall the rate of false positive results was 2.3%; the specificity was 97.7% and the predictive value of a positive result on screening was 1.5%. The odds that a positive result on screening indicated the presence of an ovarian tumour, any ovarian cancer, or primary ovarian cancer were about one to two, one to 37, and one to 67 respectively. CONCLUSION--Ultrasonography can be used to screen women without symptoms for persistent ovarian masses that will include early ovarian cancer.     

Discrimination of three Typhlodromalus species (Acari: Phytoseiidae) using random amplified polymorphic DNA markers

We compared the random amplified polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) banding patterns obtained from four laboratory cultures representing three phytoseiid mite species (Typhlodromalus limonicus (Garman and McGregor), two cultures of Typhlodromalus manihoti (de Moraes) and Typhlodromalus tenuiscutus (McMurtry and de Moraes). The RAPD-PCR was conducted on the pooled DNA from five adult female mites. For each culture, three samples of five females were analysed with each of eight RAPD-PCR primers. Five of the eight primers could be used individually to distinguish the species. To quantify the within- and between-species variation, genetic distances were calculated based on the proportion of shared scorable bands. The within-species genetic distances (0.072-0.186) were much lower than the between-species genetic distances (0.407-0.656). We believe that this technique could be used effectively to identify other cryptic mite species.     

Incidence of staphylococcal carriage in pregnant women

In 1,494 pregnant women (on weeks 32-36) staphylococcal carriership was studied. One-third of the women under investigation were found to be carriers, their bacterial discharge increasing in spring and summer. The isolated strains proved to be polyresistant to antibiotics and belonged to epidemic strains. About a half of Staphylococcus aureus strains could not be identified with the use of the international set of phages.     

Acceptability of carrier screening for cystic fibrosis during pregnancy in a German population

A pilot project offering voluntary heterozygote screening for the F508 mutation causing cystic fibrosis (CF) to 638 pregnant women attending two antenatal clinics in the eastern part of Berlin was carried out from 1990–1993. Participation was invited using an information leaflet and inclusion in the study was conditional on written informed consent. Of those invited to participate, only one refused to be tested, on the grounds of non-acceptance of prenatal diagnosis. Eighteen pregnant women were identified as carriers of the F508 mutation. All of them and their male partners accepted counselling in which the genetics of CF, its prognosis and treatment were explained, with emphasis on the meaning of heterozygosity, the fact that carriers are healthy, and the risk of an affected fetus when only one parent is identified as a heterozygote. All partners agreed to be tested for the F508 R553X and G551D mutations and a second counselling session was carried out after this test result was available. No problems were observed during initial testing but, as in other studies, we found considerable anxiety on being given the result in all couples where the woman tested positive; this was reduced substantially by counselling and when the partner tested negative. All probands found to be carriers stated that they found screening acceptable. In contrast to the cautious statement by the German Berufsverband Medizinische Genetik and the hostile reaction from a representative of the CF self-support organisation towards community-based heterozygote screening for CF, this study shows that CF screening is generally acceptable in this German population and that it is actively taken up by most pregnant women when offered.     

Effects of caffeine on chromosomal loss and nondisjunction in Drosophila melanogaster

Three types of male larvae, normal X males and two types with structurally abnormal X chromosomes (ring X and short X sc ⁴ sc ³, y) were treated during the third instar with 0.5 per cent caffeine in nutrient medium. Upon eclosion, these males were mated to yellow and Oregon-R wild type females. The F₁ generation of each cross was scored for normal (XX and XY) and abnormal (XO and XXY) progeny. Statistical analyses of data demonstrate that caffeine increases chromosomal loss for all genotypes tested. The effect of caffeine on nondisjunction, however, is not clear. There are at least marginal increases in all cases when Oregon-R females are used. Slight increase and decreases noted for offspring of yellow females appear to be dependent upon the genotype of the inseminating male.     

Quantitation of estrogen receptors and relaxin binding in human anterior cruciate ligament fibroblasts

Summary The significantly higher incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in collegiate women compared with men may result from relative ligament laxity. Differences in estrogen and relaxin activity, similar to that seen in pregnancy, may account for this. We quantified estrogen receptors by flow cytometry and relaxin receptors by radioligand binding assay in human ACL cells and compared the presence of these receptors in males and females. ACL stumps were harvested from seven males and eight females with acute ACL injuries. The tissue was placed in M199 cell culture medium. Outgrowth cultures were obtained, and passage 2 cells were used for all studies. Estrogen receptor determination was performed using flow cytometry. Relaxin binding was performed in ACL cells derived from five female and male patients using I¹²⁵-labeled relaxin. Estrogen receptors were identified by flow cytometry in 4 to 10% of ACL cells. Mean fluorescence of cells expressing estrogen receptors was approximately twice that of controls, with no significant differences between males and females. Relaxin studies showed low-level binding of I¹²⁵-relaxin-labeled ACL cells. Relaxin binding was present in four out of five female ACL cells versus one out of five male ACL cells.     

Impact of dissolved hydrogen partial pressure on mixed culture fermentations

Mixed culture fermentations are of interest for the low-cost production of organic acids from complex agricultural waste streams. Models are developed for these processes in order to predict the product spectrum as a function of the environmental process conditions. An important assumption in many existing models for anaerobic mixed culture fermentations is that the NADH/NAD⁺ ratio is directly coupled to the dissolved hydrogen partial pressure (pH_{2, liquid}). In this study, this assumption was tested experimentally with mixed culture chemostats operated at dilution rates of 0.05 and 0.125 h^?1 for a wide range of calculated dissolved hydrogen partial pressures (0.04–6.8 atm). No correlation was found between pH_{2, liquid} and the NADH/NAD⁺ ratio. This result, together with thermodynamic calculations, suggests that additional electron carriers such as ferredoxin and formate should be included in models predicting product formation by mixed cultures.     

Dosage des facteurs antihémophiliques: Corrélation biologique et génétique portant sur 55 sujets

On the basis of the genetic laws of transmission of the hemophilic gene, it was determined in 55 persons of both sexes from four hemophilic families that there were 14 non-hemophilics, six hemophilics, four possible hemophilics, six true carriers and 25 possible carriers of the hemophilic gene. Two methods were simultaneously used to assess the plasma content of antihemophilic factor. Excluding the known hemophilics, two of the four possible hemophilics had a low plasma content of factor VIII. Of the nine true or possible carriers, only one had an abnormal plasma level of factor VIII. Among the other carriers, three of four true carriers had a low level, as did six of 18 possible carriers. Using these methods, a satisfactory correlation was obtained between the genetic and biological findings.     

Water Availability Affects Female Remating in the Seed Beetle,Callosobruchus chinensis

Benefits of multiple mating to females may come from the acquisition of water in male ejaculates. This hypothesis seems plausible in species in which males provide females with large ejaculates and has been tested with the prediction that females mate more frequently when an external source of water is unavailable. My study observed that females deprived of water were more likely to remate than females given water in the adzuki bean beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis. This result suggests that females may absorb the water in male ejaculates and thus change their remating receptivity according to the need for additional water. However, compared with related species, the ejaculate size is smaller, so ejaculatory hydration benefits are expected to be small in this species. There were no significant differences in lifetime fecundity and longevity between females that were allowed to receive one ejaculate from remating and females that were not allowed to do so when water was unavailable. This provides no evidence that receiving an additional ejaculate enhances female fitness. Thus, obtaining water from male ejaculates may partly compensate the costs of remating to females, although it alone would be insufficient to explain polyandry in C. chinensis. Increased mating frequency in water‐deprived females would not necessarily support the hypothesis that females remate for ejaculatory hydration benefits.     

Cytogenetic studies of chromosome replication in Zea mays L.: Regulation of homologue synchrony

Maize stocks with or without additional heterochromatin (a B chromosome or abnormal chromosome 10), and a stock heteromorphic for a reciprocal translocation, were used in a study of homologue synchrony of replication. Batches of attached primary roots were pulse labelled with ³H-TdR and sampled at hourly intervals during the S period (at 18° C). Silver grain counts over each chromosome arm from 25 cells at each collection period were submitted to analyses. Qualitative synchrony (concordance) was tested between chromosome arms using a χ² test. Quantitative synchrony was tested with an I-divergence test. Results from these tests in the control experiments were consistent with the hypothesis of meta-synchrony of homologue replication. The addition of heterochromatin in the form of a B chromosome or an abnormal 10 chromosome increased asynchrony two-fold. The insertion of a heteromorphic translocation into the genome produced a similar though less pronounced effect.