Deletion mapping of the medulloblastoma locus on chromosome 17p

Isochromosome 17q has previously been observed consistently in cytogenetic studies of medulloblastoma, the most common posterior fossa neoplasm in children. We performed a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) investigation of medulloblastoma which showed a loss of chromosome 17p sequences in 45% of these tumors. This finding was predictive of a poor clinical response to treatment. A contiguous panel of markers permitted mapping of the deletion to 17p12-p13.1, the same chromosomal region for which loss of alleles has been shown in tumor specimens from patients with colon cancer, and the same region to which the p53 gene has been mapped. This suggests that medulloblastoma is associated with a recessive oncogene on chromosome 17p that may be involved in the genesis of several embryologically unrelated neoplasms and that the absence of this gene in tumor tissue has prognostic significance.     

Genetic analysis of cystic fibrosis: linkage of DNA and classical markers in multiplex families

Linkage of cystic fibrosis (CF) to DNA and classical markers was studied in 36 families of two or three generations with at least two living affected children. Among the 79 affected children, no recombinants were detected between the disease and the markers MET and pJ3.11, previously shown to be linked to CF. No linkage between the human trypsin gene family (which appears to include at least 10 members) and CF was found, although not all genes of the trypsin family have been screened yet. In one of the CF families, recombination between MET and pJ3.11 was detected in an unaffected sib. Data from our families suggest that the gene order of markers among chromosome 7q is: (7cen;p8.33)collagen(COL1A2);DOCR1-917;paraoxonase+ ++(PON);(MET-cf-J3.11);T-cell receptor beta chain (TCRB);qter. There was no evidence for (or against) either postzygotic selection or meiotic drive to explain the high frequency of CF in Caucasian populations.     

Expression of novel lhmlt fusion protein using plant viral vector and study of its anticancer effect

Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC) - Melittin peptide is the main component of honey bee venom with the cytotoxic and anti-cancer effect which can affect healthy and cancerous cells...     

Association between serum cell adhesion molecules with hs-CRP,uric acid and VEGF genetic polymorphisms in subjects with metabolic syndrome

Molecular Biology Reports - Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with a pro-inflammatory state and endothelial dysfunction that places subjects with MetS at a higher risk of atherosclerosis....     

Association Between Hypertension in Healthy Participants and Zinc and Copper Status: a Population-Based Study

Biological Trace Element Research - The prevalence of hypertension (HTN) is increasing globally. It has been shown that there is an association between micronutrient deficiency and HTN. In the...     

Phylogenetic and cophylogenetic relationships of entomopathogenic nematodes (Heterorhabditis: Rhabditida) and their symbiotic bacteria (Photorhabdus: Enterobacteriaceae)

Mutualistic association between entomopathogenic Photorhabdus bacteria and Heterorhabditis nematodes represents one of the emerging model systems in symbiosis studies, yet little is known about this partnership from a coevolutionary perspective. Herein, we investigated phylogenetic and cophylogenetic relationships of Heterorhabditis and Photorhabdus strains using molecular markers Internal Transcribed Spacer and gyrase B gene sequences, respectively. The phylogenies presented consistent, well supported, monophyletic groups in the parsimonious and likelihood analyses for both the nematode and bacterial strains and supported the placement of currently recognized taxa, from which a potentially new Heterorhabditis species represented by a Thailand strain MP68 was identified. While the nematode strains with distant geographic distributions showed no detectable phylogenetic divergence within H. bacteriophora or H. georgiana monophyletic groups, their respective symbiotic bacteria speciated into two Photorhabdus species: P. luminescens and P. temperata, indicating the occurrence of duplication. Although such evolutionary process reduces the phylogenetic congruence between Heterorhabditis nematodes and Photorhabdus bacteria, global cophylogenetic tests using ParaFit detected a highly significant correlation between the two phylogenies (ParaFitGlobal = 0.001). Further, the associations between H. zealandica, H. indica and H. megidis strains and their symbiotic bacteria exhibited significant contribution to the overall cophylogenetic structure. Overall, this study reveals evidence of coevolution between Photorhabdus bacteria and Heterorhabditis nematodes and provides a framework for further examination of the evolution of these associations.     

Mice with mutations in Fas and Fas ligand demonstrate increased herpetic stromal keratitis following corneal infection with HSV-1

HSV-1 infection of the cornea leads to a potentially blinding immunoinflammatory lesion of the cornea, termed herpetic stromal keratitis. It has also been shown that one of the factors limiting inflammation of the cornea is the presence of Fas ligand (FasL) on corneal epithelium and endothelium. In this study, the role played by FasL expression in the cornea following acute infection with HSV-1 was determined. Both BALB/c and C57BL/6 (B6) mice with HSV-1 infection were compared with their lpr and gld counterparts. Results indicated that mice bearing mutations in the Fas Ag (lpr) displayed the most severe disease, whereas the FasL-defective gld mouse displayed an intermediate phenotype. It was further demonstrated that increased disease was due to lack of Fas expression on bone marrow-derived cells. Of interest, although virus persisted slightly longer in the corneas of mice bearing lpr and gld mutations, the persistence of infectious virus in the trigeminal ganglia was the same for all strains infected. Further, B6 mice bearing lpr and gld mutations were also more resistant to virus-induced mortality than were wild-type B6 mice. Thus, neither disease nor mortality correlated with viral replication in these mice. Collectively, the findings indicate that the presence of FasL on the cornea restricts the entry of Fas(+) bone marrow-derived inflammatory cells and thus reduces the severity of HSK.