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A-C Syvänen

Publications and source records attributed to A-C Syvänen.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

A microarray system for genotyping 150 single nucleotide polymorphisms in the coding region of human mitochondrial DNA.

We established a genotyping system for a panel of 150 SNPs in the coding regions of mitochondrial DNA based on multiplex tag-array minisequencing. We show the feasibility of this system for simultaneous identification of individuals and prediction of the geographical origin of the mitochondrial DNA population lineage of the sample donors by genotyping the panel of SNPs in 265 samples representing nine different populations from Africa, Europe, and Asia. Nearly 40,000 genotypes were produced in the study, with an overall genotyping success rate of 95% and accuracy close to 100%. The gene diversity value of the panel of 150 SNPs was 0.991, compared to 0.995 for sequencing 500 nucleotides of the hypervariable regions I and II of mtDNA. For 17 individuals with identical sequences in the hypervariable regions of mtDNA, our panel of SNPs increased the power of discrimination. We observed 144 haplotypes that correspond to previously determined mitochondrial "haplogroups," and they allowed prediction of the origin of the maternal population lineage of 97% of the analyzed samples.

Asian People↗

Vascular endothelial growth factor gene expression in middle cerebral artery occlusion in the rat.

BACKGROUND: Focal cerebral ischemia induces up-regulation of angiogenic growth factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which may have both beneficial and harmful effects to the ischemic brain. Vascular endothelial growth factor is up-regulated in models of brain ischemia, but the underlying mechanisms in vivo remain unclear. In the present report we have investigated the concomitant changes in VEGF and glyceraldehyde dehydrogenase (GAPDH) mRNA expression in a model of permanent and transient cerebral ischemia. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to permanent or transient (2 h) middle cerebral artery occlusion (PMCAO, TMCAO). Brain samples were collected at survival times ranging from 6 h to 1 week, and the levels of VEGF164 and GAPDH mRNA were determined using reverse-transcriptase real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: The VEGF mRNA levels decreased gradually over the observation period in a similar manner in both PMCAO and TMCAO. Maximum levels, seen at early observation time points, did not significantly deviate from sham controls. No statistically significant changes in GAPDH mRNA levels were observed, but there was a tendency towards a postischemic decrease with subsequent return to control levels over time. The VEGF/GAPDH ratio followed a pattern of decrease similar to VEGF mRNA alone. CONCLUSION: The VEGF mRNA levels at 6 h after MCAO remain near baseline and thereafter decline, regardless of whether the occlusion is permanent or transient (2 h). The findings raise the question of other than transcriptional regulation of VEGF in cerebral ischemia.

Animals↗

Amount of introgression in flycatcher hybrid zones reflects regional differences in pre and post-zygotic barriers to gene exchange.

Introgression is the incorporation of alleles from one species or semispecies into the gene pool of another through hybridization and backcrossing. The rate at which this occurs depends on the frequency of hybridization and the fitness of hybrids and backcrosses compared to 'pure' individuals. The collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) and the pied flycatcher (F. hypoleuca) co-exist and hybridize at low to moderate frequencies in a clinal hybrid zone in Central Europe and on the islands of Gotland and Oland off the Swedish east coast. Data on hatching success suggest that hybrids are less fertile in Central Europe compared to on the islands. Direct fitness estimates using molecular markers to infer paternity are consistent with the demographic data. Applying a tag-array-based minisequencing assay to genotype interspecific substitutions and single nucleotide polymorphisms we demonstrate that the amount of introgression from the pied to the collared flycatcher is higher in the two island populations (Gotland and Oland) than in two geographically distinct areas from the Central European hybrid zone (Czech Republic and Hungary). In all areas the amount of introgression from collared to pied flycatchers is very low or seemingly absent. The different patterns of introgression are consistent with regional differences in rates of hybridization and fitness of hybrids. We suggest that barriers to gene exchange may have been partly broken down on the islands due to asymmetric gene flow from allopatry. Alternatively, or in addition, more pronounced reinforcement of prezygotic isolation in Central Europe might have increased post-zygotic isolation through hitchhiking, since genes affecting pre and post-zygotic isolation are both sex-linked in these birds. One of our genetic markers appears to introgress from pied to collared flycatchers at a much higher rate than the other markers. We discuss the possibility that the introgressed marker may be linked to a gene which is under positive selection in the novel genetic background.

Animals↗

Assessing hematopoietic chimerism after allogeneic stem cell transplantation by multiplexed SNP genotyping using microarrays and quantitative analysis of SNP alleles.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have the potential to be particularly useful as markers for monitoring of chimerism after stem cell transplantation (SCT) because they can be analyzed by accurate and robust methods. We used a two-phased minisequencing strategy for monitoring chimerism after SCT. First, informative SNPs with alleles differing between donor and recipient were identified using a multiplex microarray-based minisequencing system screening 51 SNPs to ensure that multiple informative SNPs were detected in each donor-recipient pair. Secondly, the development of chimerism was followed up after SCT by sensitive, quantitative analysis of individual informative SNPs by applying the minisequencing method in a microtiter plate format. Using this panel of SNPs, we identified multiple informative SNPs in nine unrelated and in 16 related donor-recipient pairs. Samples from nine of the donor-recipient pairs taken at time points ranging from 1 month to 8 years after transplantation were available for analysis. In these samples, we monitored the allelic ratios of two or three informative SNPs in individual minisequencing reactions. The results agreed well with the data obtained by microsatellite analysis. Thus, we conclude that the two-phased minisequencing strategy is a useful approach in the following up of patients after SCT.

Alleles↗