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Dominic Kwiatkowski

Publications and source records attributed to Dominic Kwiatkowski.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

IFNGR1 gene promoter polymorphisms and susceptibility to cerebral malaria.

Interferon (IFN)-gamma is a critical mediator of immunity to malaria. This study explored the relationship between polymorphisms in the promoter region of the gene encoding IFN-gamma receptor 1 (IFNGR1) and susceptibility to malaria in African children. Four polymorphisms were found in the region between -1400 and +100 nt of the translational start site by sequencing, and analysis of 562 nuclear families revealed 6 haplotypes. Case-control analysis of 562 Gambian children with severe malaria and 569 umbilical cord blood samples (controls) showed that in Mandinka, the major Gambian ethnic group, heterozygotes for the IFNGR1-56 polymorphism were protected against cerebral malaria (odds ratio, 0.54; P=.016) and against death resulting from cerebral malaria (odds ratio, 0.22; P=.006). Analysis of a family study by transmission disequilibrium testing revealed a similar result. Further data are needed to validate this finding, but these results are reminiscent of those for other well-established heterozygote advantages, such as that associated with hemoglobin S.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Inflammatory bowel disease is associated with a TNF polymorphism that affects an interaction between the OCT1 and NF(-kappa)B transcription factors.

Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) expression is increased in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and TNF maps to the IBD3 susceptibility locus. Transmission disequilibrium and case-control analyses, in two independent Caucasian cohorts, showed a novel association of the TNF(-857C) promoter polymorphism with IBD (overall P=0.001 in 587 IBD families). Further genetic associations of TNF(-857C) with IBD sub-phenotypes were seen for ulcerative colitis and for Crohn's disease, but only in patients not carrying common NOD2 mutations. The genetic data suggest a recessive model of inheritance, and we observed ex vivo lipopolysaccharide-stimulated whole-blood TNF production to be higher in healthy TNF(-857C) homozygotes. We show the transcription factor OCT1 binds TNF(-857T) but not TNF(-857C), and interacts in vitro and in vivo with the pro-inflammatory NF(-kappa)B transcription factor p65 subunit at an adjacent binding site. Detailed functional analyses of these interactions in gut macrophages, in addition to further genetic mapping of this gene-dense region, will be critical to understand the significance of the observed association of TNF(-857C) with IBD.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Linkage and association studies of single-nucleotide polymorphism-tagged tumor necrosis factor haplotypes in juvenile oligoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: The presence of increased levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in serum and synovial fluid of patients and the encouraging outcome of anti-TNF therapy have implicated TNFalpha in the etiopathogenesis of juvenile oligoarthritis. Although the locus is polymorphic, no study has investigated all TNF single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with respect to disease. The aim of this study was to examine the association of multiple TNF SNPs with juvenile oligoarthritis and to construct and analyze SNP-tagged TNF haplotypes. METHODS: A total of 144 simplex families consisting of parent and affected child, as well as 88 healthy, unrelated control subjects were available for study. In these individuals, 9 polymorphic positions of TNF were typed by a high-throughput genotyping method based on the SNaPshot assay. The chi-square and extended transmission disequilibrium tests were used to test for association and linkage, respectively. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were also calculated. Haplotype-tagging SNPs (htSNPs) for the locus were identified by ordering the haplotypes according to their frequencies. RESULTS: The study detected association of several TNF SNPs and established linkage of the locus to juvenile oligoarthritis. The most significant association observed was between the intronic +851 TNF SNP and the persistent oligoarthritis subgroup (OR 3.86, 95% CI 1.6-9.2). Haplotype data mining showed that only 4 of the 9 SNPs need to be typed in order to capture the most frequent TNF haplotypes. CONCLUSION: The TNF locus is linked and associated with juvenile oligoarthritis. Information on the htSNPs can be useful in genetic studies of diseases in which TNF may be of relevance.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Evolution of a polymorphic regulatory element in interferon-gamma through transposition and mutation.

Mammalian transposable elements have intrinsic regulatory elements that can activate neighboring genes, and it is speculated that they can also carry extrinsic transactivating DNA sequences to new genomic locations. We have identified a polymorphic segment of the human interferon-gamma promoter region where two adjacent binding sites for NF-kappaB and NFAT originated from the insertion of an Alu element approximately 22-34 MYA. Both binding sites lie outside the Alu consensus sequence but within the boundaries of the insertion, suggesting that this segment of DNA was comobilized when the Alu element moved from another part of the genome. Sequence comparisons and examination of DNA-protein interactions across nine different primate species indicate that the inserted sequence contained the intact NFAT binding site, whereas the ability to bind NF-kappaB evolved through a series of mutations after the insertion. These observations are consistent with the notion that retropseudogenes can comobilize intact regulatory sequences to new locations and thereby influence the evolution of gene regulatory networks; however, the extent to which such events have shaped the evolution of gene regulation remains unknown.

Alu Elements↗
PubMed2002

Prevalence and boosting of antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum glycosylphosphatidylinositols and evaluation of their association with protection from mild and severe clinical malaria.

Glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPIs), the anchor molecules of some membrane proteins of Plasmodium species, have been implicated in the induction of immunopathology during malaria infections. Hence, neutralization of GPIs by antibodies may reduce the severity of clinical attacks of malaria. To test this hypothesis, we have assessed the levels of anti-GPI antibodies in plasma from children and adults living in areas of seasonal malaria transmission in The Gambia. In a prospective study of susceptibility to clinical or asymptomatic infection, the levels of anti-GPI antibodies were measured before and after the transmission season. Samples were also obtained from children recruited into a hospital-based study of severe malaria. We find that in malaria-exposed individuals both the prevalence and the concentration of anti-GPI antibodies increase with age and that antibody levels are significantly higher at the end of the malaria transmission season than at the start of the season. Antibody levels are also higher in children with asymptomatic infections (i.e., those with a degree of clinical immunity) than in children who developed clinical malaria and high parasitemia, although this difference is not statistically significant. Importantly, antibodies appear to be rapidly boosted by clinical malaria infection, but children under the age of two years are seronegative for anti-GPI antibodies, even during an acute infection. While GPIs may be involved in the pathogenesis of human malaria, the data from this study do not provide any strong evidence to support the notion that anti-GPI antibodies confer resistance to mild or severe malarial disease. Further case-control studies, ideally of a prospective nature, are required to elucidate the role of antiglycolipid antibodies in protection from severe malaria.

Adolescent↗