A pilot neonatal screening programme for haemoglobinopathies linked with screening for phenylketonuria and congenital hypothyroidism was reviewed. During 1978 to December 1986 137 000 neonates were tested. There were improvements in the detection rate and accuracy of diagnosis for homozygotes and mixed heterozygotes, mainly associated with the introduction of citrate agarose gel electrophoresis as a follow up procedure on all specimens showing any abnormality on the initial cellulose acetate electrophoresis.We recommend that the programme is continued on a service basis. 相似文献
Summary Scanning electron microscopy of corroded resin casts of the renal vasculature of Scyliorhinus caniculus has revealed a novel vascular pathway arising from the afferent arteriole and bypassing the glomerulus. This glomerulus bypass shunt occurred in 36% of the glomerular casts examined. The shunt ran to join a peritubular network of capillaries and thereby offers the potential to vary the degree of glomerular perfusion and control the proportion of active glomeruli. In 29% of glomeruli two efferent arterioles drained the capillary knot. Glomeruli were located close to the dorsal margin of the posterior mass of the kidney, and towards the lateral edge of the anterior lobes of the kidney of female dogfish. In male dogfish, glomeruli were evenly distributed through the posterior mass of kidney, while in female dogfish 89% of glomeruli occurred in the posterior mass and 11% of glomeruli were located within the small anterior lobes. 相似文献
Summary Although essential arterial hypertension is believed to have a strong genetic predisposition, the gene(s) responsible are unknown. The mechanisms underlying the regulation of blood pressure and experimental studies place the renin gene among the main candidate genes that need to be tested in humans. We tested the hypothesis of a linkage between the renin gene and essential hypertension using the affected sib pair method. Siblings (133 subjects, 52.1±10.9 years) from 57 families were selected for sustained hypertension (160.7 ± 22.9/99.5 ± 12.8 mmHg with 80% of patients under antihypertensive treatment), of early onset (40.7 ± 12.0 years), in the absence of obesity, diabetes mellitus, and secondary hypertension. Eight renin haplotypes were generated from three diallelic renin restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) (TaqI, Hinfi, HindIII) located throughout the renin gene. The allelic concordance between the sib pairs was analyzed by identity by state relationships for 98 sib pairs (41 for 41 couples, 39 for 13 trios, 18 for 3 quartets). Allelic frequencies in the 57 hypertensive probands were similar to those observed among 102 hypertensive subjects studied previously. Six of eight possible haplotypes were observed, the informativity of the marker corresponded to 70% of heterozygosity. Allelic concordance for all sib pairs according to sibship size was not significantly different from that expected under the hypothesis of no linkage (t = 0.52, P = 0.15) reflecting only a small excess of renin alleles shared by the hypertensive sibs (1.44 ± 0.6 vs 1.36 ± 0.6). Likewise the linkage hypothesis was unsupported by weighted estimates to correct for possible bias due to large sibship size. Thus, the sib pair analysis suggests that the renin gene does not have a frequent role in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension; further more powerful linkage studies or other approaches will be needed to detect contributions at the renin locus to the heritability of essential hypertension. 相似文献
Summary The EF5.44 locus is in close proximity to the chromosome 5 region to which the genetic defect responsible for familial adenomatous polyposis has been mapped. We have devised two oligonucleotides that promote the specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplificiation of a 365-bp sequence in this region. Analysis by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of the resulting fragment has unravelled individual differences that could be identified as a single base pair change in aMnlI restriction site. This PCR assayable polymorphism increases the informativeness at this locus, and should be useful in the presymptomatic diagnosis of familial adenomatous polyposis. 相似文献
Synopsis The effects of constant and diurnally fluctuating levels of dissolved oxygen on the growth of young-of-the-year winter flounder,Pseudopleuronectes americanus, were examined under controlled laboratory conditions. Fish were exposed for either 10 or 11 weeks to constant levels of 6.7 (high) and 2.2 (low) mg l–1, and a diurnal fluctuation, ranging from 2.5 to 6.4 mg 02l–1. Growth rates, calculated for both standard length and weight, for fish exposed to low and diurnally fluctuating levels were significantly reduced (p < 0.001) as compared to those for fish exposed to the high level. Growth rates of fish exposed to the high level were over twice those of fish held under low oxygen conditions. Under fluctuating conditions, fish grew at intermediate rates. Following these exposures, all fish were subsequently held at 7.2 mg Oz l–1 for five weeks. Growth rates increased over two and a half times for fish previously exposed to the low oxygen level and were significantly (p < 0.001) higher than for the other two groups. 相似文献
Summary The effects of 25-fold overproduction ofEscherichia coli signal peptidase I (SPase I) on the processing kinetics of various (hybrid) secretory proteins, comprising fusions between
signal sequence functions selected from theBacillus subtilis chromosome and the mature part of TEM-β-lactamase, were studied inE. coli. One precursor (pre[A2d]-β-lactamase) showed an enhanced processing rate, and consequently, a highly improved release of
the mature enzyme into the periplasm. A minor fraction of a second hybrid precursor (pre[Al3i]-β-lactamase), which was not
processed under standard conditions of SPase I synthesis, was shown to be processed under conditions of SPase I overproduction.
However, this did not result in efficient release of the mature β-lactamase into the periplasm. In contrast, the processing
rates of wild-type pre-β-lactamase and pre(A2)-β-lactamase, already high under standard conditions, were not detectably altered
by SPase I overproduction. These results demonstrate that the availability of SPase I can be a limiting factor in protein
export inE. coli, in particular with respect to (hybrid) precursor proteins showing low (SPase I) processing efficiencies. 相似文献
Confidence in the measurement of positive effects determined by monitoring of environmentally or occupationally exposed individuals can be enhanced by a knowledge of the normal variability in these endpoints in the general population. Confounding effects can be determined and study interpretation improved by correlation of this variability with various lifestyle factors such as sex and age of donor, smoking and drinking habits, viral infections, exposure to diagnostic X-rays, etc.
8 blood samples were taken from each of 24 male and 24 female volunteers over a period of 2 years. Questionnaires pertaining to lifestyle were completed at the time of each sampling. Whole blood was cultured and slides prepared for CA or SCE analysis. Separated mononuclear cells were cultured with a range of phytohaemagglutinin concentrations and the maximum level of mitogen-induced blastogenesis was determined by measurement of [3H]thymidine uptake.
There was a significant effect of both year and season of sampling for all 3 endpoints. No significant effects in any of the 3 endpoints were found with respect to sex or age of donor nor any of the other lifestyle factors, although SCE frequency and mitogen-induced blastogenesis were nearly always higher in females than males. These results point to the need for concurrent sampling of controls with exposed populations. 相似文献
Tonoplast vesicles prepared from immature sugarcane ( Saccharum spp., hybrid cv. H65–7052) tissue and purified on a discontinuous dextran gradient take up sucrose. Uptake was stimulated by MgATP. Evidence that the mechanism is linked to proton transport is derived from "pH jump'data and from inhibition of ATP-stimulated sucrose transport by the protonophore carbonyl cyanide m -chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP) and by the proton-channel blocker of proton-linked ATPases. N. N '-dicyclo-hexylcarbodiimide (DCCD). A saturable phase of sucrose uptake was found at low substrate concentrations, and a linear phase characterized uptake at higher concentrations. Uptake was specific for sucrose, as demonstrated by competition experiments with various sugars. Sucrose uptake by the vesicle fraction was inhibited by KNO3, protonophores and protein modifying reagents, whereas sodium orthovanadate had no effect. Overall, the evidence suggests an ATP-hydrolysis-dependent tonoplasl antiport for sucrose transport, although a more direct influence of ATP on conformational changes in relevant tonoplast proteins cannot be ruled out. 相似文献
The major albumin, a polypeptide of 21 kilodaltons (kDa), from the seeds of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.), has been identified and partially purified by preparative gel electrophoresis. Some N-terminal sequence was obtained, permitting the construction of an oligonucleotide probe. This probe was used to isolate the corresponding copy DNA (cDNA) clone from a library made from poly(A)+ RNA from immature cocoa beans. The cDNA sequence has a single major open reading frame, that translates to give a 221-amino-acid polypeptide of Mr 24003. The existence of a precursor to the 21-kDa polypeptide of this size was confirmed by immunoprecipitation from total poly(A)+ RNA translation products. The polypeptide has a hydrophobic signal sequence of 26 amino acids before the mature start, and the mature polypeptide would have an Mr of 21223. The protein sequence is homologous with sequences of the Kunitz protease and -amylase inhibitor family, and the protein probably functions to defend the seed's protein reserves from the digestive enzymes of invading pests. However because the protein comprises 25–30% of the total seed protein it may itself also function as a storage protein. Electron micrographs of immunogold-labelled embryo sections show that the protein is located in membrane-enclosed organelles.Abbreviations cDNA
copy DNA
- IgG
immunoglobulin G
- kb
kilobase pairs
- kDa
kilodaltons
- Mr
relative molecular mass
- SDS-PAGE
sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacylamide gel electrophoresis
The authors are very grateful to Dr R. Jennings of the Virology Department, Sheffield University Medical School, for help in raising antibodies, and to Dr G. Cope, of the Biological Sciences Electron Microscopy Unit, Sheffield University, for taking the electron micrographs.To whom correspondence should be addressed. 相似文献