Inheritance of very low serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity.

Serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylas (DBH) activity was measured in blood samples obtained from 841 children ages 6-12, 277 adults subjects, and 114 relatives of children with serum DBH activity of less than 50 units. Approximately 4% of the children and 3% of the adult subjects tested had very low sweum DBH activity (50 units or less). Because these subjects appeared to make up a separate subgroup within the population and because of a striking familial aggregation of subjects with very low enzyme activity, serum DBH activity was measured in blood obtained from members of 22 families of probands with very low serum enzyme activity. The results of sibship and pedigree analyses of the data were compatible with autosomal recessive inheritance of very low serum DBH activity. Unaffected parents of probands had serum DBH activity intermediate between that found in affected individuals and in control population. No significant correlation of serum DBH activity with either systolic or diastolic blood pressure was found in this randomly selected population of children.     

Hereditary spherocytosis of man. Defective cytoskeletal interactions in the erythrocyte membrane.

Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is an inherited abnormality of red cell shape and results from defective interactions amongst the components of the cytoskeleton. It is known that spectrin/actin dissociates in low ionic strength media from ghosts and cytoskeletons at a rate which is slower for HS than normal preparations. Hybridization experiments have established that this behaviour is not due to a defective spectrin or actin but resides in a spectrin-binding component of the membrane [Hill, Sawyer, Howlett & Wiley (1981) Biochem. J. 201, 259-266]. In the present study erythrocyte shells have been examined in low ionic strength media and a similar difference in the rate of solubilization has been revealed. Since band 4.1 (but not band 2.1) is a common component of cytoskeletons and shells it is possible that 4.1 may be abnormal in the HS condition. The interaction of band 4.1 with spectrin/actin was examined by low shear falling ball viscometry. The addition of a mixture of band 2.1 and 4.1 to a solution of actin and spectrin tetramer increased the viscosity due to cross-linking of the cytoskeletal elements by band 4.1. When band 2.1/4.1 mixtures were derived from five HS families the viscosity was increased to a greater extent than in the normal controls. This difference was not a result of alterations in the calcium dependence of the spectrin/actin-band 4.1 interaction. The results imply that band 4.1 may be defective in the HS condition.     

Inheritance of total serum IgE (basal levels) in man.

Since allergic individuals with atopic allergy tend to have higher total serum IgE levels than do nonallergic subjects, family studies of total serum IgE levels are necessary in delineating the genetic and environmental factors involved in the expression of allergic disease. However, previous studies do not agree as to the genetic basis of total IgE production. To try to resolve this conflict, a total of 278 individuals from 42 nuclear families ascertained for large family size (at least four children) were studied. The families were not selected for the presence of allergic disease. Segregation analysis showed that the mixed model of recessive inheritance of high levels was most appropriate for these data--with approximately 36% of the total phenotypic variation in log[IgE] attributable to genetic factors, equally divided between a Mendelian component and a more general polygenic component. Thus, these data suggest some role for Mendelian control of basal IgE levels, but there is significant familial aggregation in IgE levels over and above that due to a Mendelian factor.     

Inheritance of harelip and cleft palate in man

Summary The observations ofBirkenfeld, Schröder and ofSanders on harelip and cleft palate in man can be arranged in such a way that they all support the hypothesis that the trait is inherited as a double recessive, one gene being autosomal and the other one sex-linked. This explains the fact that harelip is twice as common in the male sex as it is in the female.With 1 plate     

Chromosome abnormalities involving 11p13 and low erythrocyte catalase activity

Summary Two unrelated patients with clinical features of 11p13 deletion syndrome, 3 years old and 3 months old, are reported. The clinical features of the patients included mental retardation, aniridia, nystagmus, blepharophimosis, and genitourinary abnormalities. Both patients were apparently free from Wilms' tumor and gonadoblastoma. Prometaphase banding analyses revealed a 46,XY,del(11)(p 1300p 1500) karyotype in one patient and 46,XX,dir ins(11;2)(p13;q12q23) in the other. Catalase activities in the erythrocytes in the two patients were respectively 65% and 56% of those of normal controls, close to the expected values in hemizygosity of the catalase gene. These findings confirmed a close linkage of the gene for catalase and those for the aniridia-Wilms' tumor or gonadoblastoma complex.     

Inheritance of rDNA spacer length variants in man

Summary We studied the rDNA spacer length polymorphism in a sample of 121 individuals belonging to families of 2–3 generations. Our data, obtained by restriction pattern analysis of genomic DNA, confirmed the limited and discrete nature of this polymorphism. Using the pattern as a genetic marker, we analyzed the segregation of length variants in the different families and we investigated the possible occurrence of unequal crossing-over events among homologous and nonhomologous rDNA clusters. No direct evidence of recombination in the spacer region that we analyzed emeged from our study. All the differences in the restriction patterns observed among individuals from the same family could be explained as resulting from meiotic segregation. Family data showed a multichromosomal distribution of NTS length variants and demonstrated a direct correspondence between the frequency of a variant in the population and its degree of spreading on the different rDNA clusters.     

Catecholamine-stimulated GTPase activity in turkey erythrocyte membranes.

Determination of specific GTPase (EC 3.6.1.--) activity in turkey erythrocyte membranes was achieved using low concentration of GTP (0.25 muM), inhibition of nonspecific nucleoside triphosphatases by adenosine 5'(beta,gamma-imino-triphosphate (App(NH)p) and suppression of the transfer of gamma-32P from GTP to ADP with an ATP regeneration system. Under these conditions catacholamines caused a 30--70% increase in GTP hydrolysis. The stimulation of GTPase activity by catecholamines required the presence of Mg2+ or Mn2+. DIfferent batches of membranes revealed the following specific activities (pmol 32Pi/mg protein min): basal GTPase (determined in the absence of catecholamine), 6-- 11; catecholamine-stimulated TTPase, 3--7; and residual non-specific NTPase 3--5. The stimulation of GTPase activity by catecholamines fulfilled the stereospecific requirements of the beta-adrenergic receptor, and was inhibited by propranolol. The concentrations of DL-isoproterenol which half-maximally activated the GTPase and adenylate cyclase were 1 and 1.2 muM, respectively. The following findings indicate that the catecholamine-stimulated GTPase is independent of the catalytic production of cyclic AMP by the adenylate cyclase. Addition of cyclic AMP to the GTPase assay did not change the rate of GTP hydrolysis. Furthermore, treatment of the membrane with N-ethylmaleimide (MalNEt) at 0 degrees C which caused 98% inhibition of the adenylate cyclase, had no effect on the catecholamine-stimulated GTPase. The affinity and specificity for GTP in the GTPase reactions are similar to those previously reported for the stimulation of the adenylate cyclase. The apparent Km for GTP in the basal and the catecholamine-stimulated GTPase reaction was 0.1 muM. These GTPase activities were inhibited by ITP but not by CTP and UTP. It is proposed that a catecholamine-stimulated GTPase is a component of the turkey erythrocyte adenylate cyclase system.     

Comparative activity of erythrocyte 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in man and the rat: effect of plasma

Human erythrocytes, which contain an active 17 beta-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase, transform dehydroepiandrosterone, delta 4-androstenedione and estrone, more rapidly in buffered medium than when kept into plasma. The rat has a peculiar behaviour: the conversion of substrates is very high above the man's one, whether in buffered medium or in blood: the plasma influence is negligible. Plasma permutation reveals that the rat's one, which does not slow down the erythrocyte activity of the rat, slakens the man's one; the human plasma which slows up the human erythrocyte, has only a light action on the rat's one.     

Proteolytic activity associated with human erythrocyte membranes. Self-digestion of isolated human erythrocyte membranes.

At least two kinds of enzymes are active in the proteolytic self-digestion of erythrocyte membranes. The specific activities of these enzymes do not decrease with repeated washings of purified stroma. The effects of a variety of inhibitors on the membrane preparation's capacity to digest 125-I-labelled casein, covalently linked to latex beads, have been examined. Pepstatin-inhibitable enzyme, active at low pH, digests the membrane extensively to small polypeptide fragments. Spectrin, located at the internal part of the membrane, is readily degraded. Diisopropylfluorophosphate-inhibitable enzyme, active at pH 8-9, has only limited digestive capacity. Some of the membrane components, such as the small molecular weight glycoproteins, are resistant to digestion. The restricted capacity of digestion is due to the membrane molecular arrangement; increased disaggregation removes the restriction and increases the activity. Spectrin is not digested unless the membrane topography is disrupted by NP-40 neutral detergent. These observations suggest that the enzymes active at basic pH are located external to the cell. Intact cells do possess a limited capacity to degrade 125-I-labelled casein when their surfaces are brought into contact with substrate-coated beads.     

Proteolytic activity associated with human erythrocyte membranes. Self-digestion of isolated human erythrocyte membranes

At least two kinds of enzymes are active in the proteolytic self-digestion of erythrocyte membranes. The specific activities of these enzymes do not decrease with repeated washings of purified stroma. The effects of a variety of inhibitors on the membrane preparation's capacity to digest ¹²⁵I-labelled casein, covalently linked to latex beads, have been examined.Pepstatin-inhibitable enzyme, active at low pH, digests the membrane extensively to small polypeptide fragments. Spectrin, located at the internal part of the membrane, is readily degraded. Diisopropylfluorophosphate-inhibitable enzyme, active at pH 8–9, has only limited digestive capacity. Some of the membrane components, such as the small molecular weight glycoproteins, are resistant to digestion. The restricted capacity of digestion is due to the membrane molecular arrangement; increased disaggregation removes the restriction and increases the activity. Spectrin is not digested unless the membrane topography is disrupted by NP-40 neutral detergent. These observations suggest that the enzymes active at basic pH are located external to the cell. Intact cells do possess a limited capacity to degrade ¹²⁵I-labelled casein when their surfaces are brought into contact with substrate-coated beads.