| 1. |
- Djoussé, Luc, et al.
(författare)
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Evidence for a modifier of onset age in Huntington disease linked to the HD gene in 4p16.
- 2004
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Ingår i: Neurogenetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1364-6745 .- 1364-6753. ; 5:2, s. 109-14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Huntington disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the abnormal expansion of CAG repeats in the HD gene on chromosome 4p16.3. A recent genome scan for genetic modifiers of age at onset of motor symptoms (AO) in HD suggests that one modifier may reside in the region close to the HD gene itself. We used data from 535 HD participants of the New England Huntington cohort and the HD MAPS cohort to assess whether AO was influenced by any of the three markers in the 4p16 region: MSX1 (Drosophila homeo box homologue 1, formerly known as homeo box 7, HOX7), Delta2642 (within the HD coding sequence), and BJ56 ( D4S127). Suggestive evidence for an association was seen between MSX1 alleles and AO, after adjustment for normal CAG repeat, expanded repeat, and their product term (model P value 0.079). Of the variance of AO that was not accounted for by HD and normal CAG repeats, 0.8% could be attributed to the MSX1 genotype. Individuals with MSX1 genotype 3/3 tended to have younger AO. No association was found between Delta2642 (P=0.44) and BJ56 (P=0.73) and AO. This study supports previous studies suggesting that there may be a significant genetic modifier for AO in HD in the 4p16 region. Furthermore, the modifier may be present on both HD and normal chromosomes bearing the 3 allele of the MSX1 marker.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Li, Jian-Liang, et al.
(författare)
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A genome scan for modifiers of age at onset in Huntington disease : The HD MAPS study.
- 2003
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Ingår i: American Journal of Human Genetics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0002-9297 .- 1537-6605. ; 73:3, s. 682-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Huntington disease (HD) is caused by the expansion of a CAG repeat within the coding region of a novel gene on 4p16.3. Although the variation in age at onset is partly explained by the size of the expanded repeat, the unexplained variation in age at onset is strongly heritable (h2=0.56), which suggests that other genes modify the age at onset of HD. To identify these modifier loci, we performed a 10-cM density genomewide scan in 629 affected sibling pairs (295 pedigrees and 695 individuals), using ages at onset adjusted for the expanded and normal CAG repeat sizes. Because all those studied were HD affected, estimates of allele sharing identical by descent at and around the HD locus were adjusted by a positionally weighted method to correct for the increased allele sharing at 4p. Suggestive evidence for linkage was found at 4p16 (LOD=1.93), 6p21-23 (LOD=2.29), and 6q24-26 (LOD=2.28), which may be useful for investigation of genes that modify age at onset of HD.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Christlieb, N., et al.
(författare)
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The Hamburg/ESO R-process Enhanced Star survey (HERES). I. Project description, and discovery of two stars with strong enhancements of neutron-capture elements
- 2004
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Ingår i: Astronomy & Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 428:3, s. 1027-1037
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on a dedicated effort to identify and study metal-poor stars strongly enhanced in r-process elements ([r/Fe]>1 dex; hereafter r-IIstars), the Hamburg/ESO R-process Enhanced Star survey (HERES).Moderate-resolution (∼2 Å) follow-up spectroscopy has been obtained for metal-poor giant candidates selected from the Hamburg/ESO objective-prism survey (HES) as well as the HK survey to identify sharp-lined stars with [Fe/H]<-2.5 dex. For several hundred confirmed metal-poor giants brighter than B∼ 16.5 mag (most of them from theHES), ``snapshot'' spectra (R∼ 20 000; S/N ∼ 30 per pixel) are being obtained with VLT/UVES, with the main aim of finding the 2-3% r-II stars expected to be among them. These are studied in detail by means of higher resolution and higher S/N spectra. In this paper we describe a pilot study based on a set of 35 stars, including 23 from the HK survey,eight from the HES, and four comparison stars. We discovered two new r-II stars, CS 29497-004 ([Eu/Fe]=1.64± 0.22) and CS 29491-069([Eu/Fe]=1.08± 0.23). A first abundance analysis of CS 29497-004 yields that its abundances of Ba to Dy are on average enhanced by 1.5 dex with respect to iron and the Sun and match a scaled solar r-process pattern well, while Th is underabundant relative to that pattern by 0.3dex, which we attribute to radioactive decay. That is, CS 29497-004 seems not to belong to the class of r-process enhanced stars displaying an ``actinide boost'', like CS 31082-001 (Hill et al. 2002), or CS30306-132 (Honda et al. 2004b). The abundance pattern agrees well with predictions of the phenomenological model of Qian & Wasserburg.Based in large part on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Paranal, Chile (proposal number 68.B-0320).}
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| 6. |
- Fellini, Ryan, et al.
(författare)
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A sensitivity-based commonality strategy for family products of mild variation, with application to automotive body structures
- 2002
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Ingår i: A collection of technical papers. - Reston, Va. : American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, AIAA.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Identification of the product platform is n key step in designing a family of products. This article presents a methodology for selecting the product platform using information obtained from the individual optimization of the product variants. Under the assumption that the product variety requires only mild design changes, the authors derive a sharing penalty vector (SPV) by taking into consideration individual optimal designs and sensitivities of functional requirements. Commonality decisions are based on SPY values and the product family is designed optimally with respect to the chosen platform. An automotive body structure problem is used to demonstrate the proposed methodology. Variants are defined by changing the functional requirements they need to satisfy and/or the geometry of the associated finite element models
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Forséni, M., et al.
(författare)
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Detection and localization of interleukin-6 in the rat middle ear during experimental acute otitis media, using mRNA in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry
- 2001
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Ingår i: International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. - 0165-5876 .- 1872-8464. ; 57:2, s. 115-121
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Otitis media is one of the most common diseases among children. A well-known sequela of acute, chronic, and secretory otitis media is tympanosclerosis. With the exception of surgery, there is no causal treatment available for this condition, which may cause hearing disabilities. This study aimed to describe the localization of interleukin (IL)-6 mRNA and its gene product in the rat middle ear during pneumococcal otitis media. IL-6 is known to be involved in inflammatory and bone remodeling processes. METHODS: Using an experimental model of pneumococcal acute otitis media, the expression of interleukin IL-6, was analyzed. Sprague-Dawley rats were sacrificed at different time points varying from 1 h to 6 days intervals after inoculation. The middle ears were analyzed by messenger RNA in situ hybridization, and by immunohistochemistry with cell-type specific antibodies directed against IL-6. RESULTS: Transcripts of IL-6 were observed only on day 1 post-inoculation, whereas the final gene product was observed at all intervals after inoculation. IL-6 was localized in the bony part of the bulla nearest to the mucosa, around mucosal vessels, and in the ciliae of the mucosal epithelium. The results demonstrated that IL-6 was synthesized locally as early as 1 h after bacterial middle ear challenge, and that although transcription could not be detected after 24 h, the cytokine product persisted for at least 5 days after the infection was introduced. CONCLUSIONS: IL-6 was shown to be produced early in the inflammatory process during induced pneumococcal otitis media in the rat. No production was seen after 24 h although the protein remained in the tissue for at least 5 days. IL-6 could initiate a differentiation of macrophages to osteoclasts and thereby participate in a bone remodeling process leading to tympanosclerosis development.
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| 10. |
- Ram, Sanjay, et al.
(författare)
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Binding of C4b-binding protein: A molecular mechanism of serum resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae
- 2001
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Ingår i: Journal of Experimental Medicine. - : Rockefeller University Press. - 1540-9538 .- 0022-1007. ; 193:3, s. 281-295
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We screened 29 strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and found 16/21 strains that resisted killing by normal human serum and 0/8 serum sensitive strains that bound the complement regulator, C4b-binding protein (C4bp). Microbial surfacebound C4bp demonstrated cofactor activity. We constructed gonococcal strains with hybrid porin (Por) molecules derived from each of the major serogroups (Por1A and Por1B) of N. gonorrhoeae, and showed that the loop 1 of Por1A is required for C4bp binding. Por1B loops 5 and 7 of serum-resistant gonococci together formed a negatively charged C4bp-binding domain. C4bpPor1B interactions were ionic in nature (inhibited by high salt or by heparin), whereas the C4bpPor1A bond was hydrophobic. Only recombinant C4bp mutant molecules containing the NH2-terminal -chain short consensus repeat (SCR1) bound to both Por1A and Por1B gonococci, suggesting that SCR1 contained Por binding sites. C4bp -chain monomers did not bind gonococci, indicating that the polymeric form of C4bp was required for binding. Using fAb fragments against C4bp SCR1, C4bp binding to Por1A and Por1B strains was inhibited in a complement-dependent serum bactericidal assay. This resulted in complete killing of these otherwise fully serum resistant strains in only 10 normal serum, underscoring the importance of C4bp in mediating gonococcal serum resistance.
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