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F Cucca

Publications and source records attributed to F Cucca.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Nutritional factors and worldwide incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Some dietary factors have been associated with the risk of type 1 diabetes in childhood. OBJECTIVE: We investigated relations between dietary energy from major food groups and incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes by using an ecologic study design. DESIGN: We conducted univariate and multivariate regression analysis with incidence rates of type 1 diabetes in the late 1980s and early 1990s among children aged <15 y in 40 countries as the dependent variable and average per capita daily intake of major food items and other socioeconomic, demographic, and geographic risk factors as the independent variables. RESULTS: In the univariate regression model, per capita total energy intake was nonsignificantly associated with type 1 diabetes incidence (r = 0.31, NS), whereas energy from animal sources was associated (r = 0.61, P < 0.01) and energy from vegetal sources was inversely associated (r = -0.35, P < 0.05) with diabetes incidence. Among dietary items of animal origin, meat (r = 0.55, P < 0.001) and dairy products (r = 0. 80, P < 0.0001) were predictors of elevated incidence rates, whereas among dietary items of vegetal origin, cereals (r = -0.64, P < 0. 001) were inverse predictors. In the multivariate analysis, the inverse relation of diabetes incidence with energy from vegetables and the direct correlation with energy from animal sources explained the positive associations of type 1 diabetes incidence with geographic and socioeconomic covariates. CONCLUSION: The incidence of type 1 diabetes varied worldwide according to dietary patterns. In-depth exploration of dietary risk factors during pregnancy and early neonatal life is warranted to confirm whether and to what extent diet cooperates with genetic susceptibility in the early onset of type 1 diabetes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Linkage analysis of multiple sclerosis with candidate region markers in Sardinian and Continental Italian families.

Previous genome screens in multiple sclerosis have shown some evidence of linkage in scattered chromosomal regions. Although in no case the evidence of each single study was compelling and although in general the linkage 'peaks' of the different studies did not coincide, some regions can be considered likely candidates for the presence of MS risk genes because of the clustering of MLS scores and homology with eae loci. We performed a linkage analysis of markers in these regions and of intragenic markers of some individual candidate genes (HLA-DRB1, CTLA-4, IL9, APOE, BCL2, TNFR2). For the first time, Southern European populations were targeted, namely Continental Italians and Sardinians. A total of 69 multiplex families were typed for 67 markers by a semi-automatic fluorescence-based assay. Results were analysed for linkage by two non-parametric tests: GENEHUNTER and SimIBD. In general, the linkage scores obtained were low, confirming the conclusion that no gene is playing a major role in the disease. However, some markers, in 2p11, 3q21.1, 7p15.2 and 22q13.1 stood out as promising since they showed higher scores with one or the other test. This stimulates further association analysis of a large number of simplex families from the same populations.

Genetic Linkage↗
PubMed1998

A search for type 1 diabetes susceptibility genes in families from the United Kingdom.

Genetic analysis of a mouse model of major histocompatability complex (MHC)-associated autoimmune type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus (IDDM) has shown that the disease is caused by a combination of a major effect at the MHC and at least ten other susceptibility loci elsewhere in the genome. A genome-wide scan of 93 affected sibpair families (ASP) from the UK (UK93) indicated a similar genetic basis for human type 1 diabetes, with the major genetic component at the MHC locus (IDDM1) explaining 34% of the familial clustering of the disease (lambda(s)=2.5; refs 3,4). In the present report, we have analysed a further 263 multiplex families from the same population (UK263) to provide a total UK data set of 356 ASP families (UK356). Only four regions of the genome outside IDDM1/MHC, which was still the only major locus detected, were not excluded at lambda(s)=3 and lod=-2, of which two showed evidence of linkage: chromosome 10p13-p11 (maximum lod score (MLS)=4.7, P=3x10(-6), lambda(s)=1.56) and chromosome 16q22-16q24 (MLS=3.4, P=6.5x10(-5), lambda(s)=1.6). These and other novel regions, including chromosome 14q12-q21 and chromosome 19p13-19q13, could potentially harbour disease loci but confirmation and fine mapping cannot be pursued effectively using conventional linkage analysis. Instead, more powerful linkage disequilibrium-based and haplotype mapping approaches must be used; such data is already emerging for several type 1 diabetes loci detected initially by linkage.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

A male-female bias in type 1 diabetes and linkage to chromosome Xp in MHC HLA-DR3-positive patients.

It is generally assumed that the male:female (M:F) ratio in patients with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is 1. A recent survey, however, revealed that high incidence countries (mainly European) have a high M:F ratio and low incidence ones (Asian and African) have a low M:F ratio. We have now analysed the M:F ratio according to genotype at the major locus, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC; IDDM1). There are two main IDDM1 susceptibility haplotypes, HLA-DR3 and -DR4, which are present in 95% of Caucasian cases. We report here that in medium/high incidence Caucasian populations from the United States of America, United Kingdom and Sardinia (1307 cases), the bias in male incidence is largely restricted to the DR3/X category of patients (X not = DR4) with a M:F ratio of 1.7 (P=9.3x10(-7)), compared with a ratio of 1.0 in the DR4/Y category (Y;DR3). This is additional evidence for significant heterogeneity between the aetiology of 'DR4-associated' and 'DR3-associated' diabetes. We analysed linkage of type 1 diabetes to chromosome X, and as expected, most of the linkage to Xp13-p11 was in the DR3/X affected sibpair families (n=97; peak multipoint MLS at DXS1068=3.5, P=2.7x10(-4); single point MLS=4.5, P=2.7x10(-5)). This is evidence for aetiological heterogeneity at the IDDM1/MHC locus and, therefore, in the search for non-MHC loci in type 1 diabetes, conditioning of linkage data by HLA type is advised.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Evaluation of IgA deficiency in Sardinians indicates a susceptibility gene is encoded within the HLA class III region.

IgA deficiency (IgA-D) has been associated with the HLA region, in particular with the North European haplotype HLA-A1, -B8, -DR3, but the exact location of the susceptibility gene(s) is unknown. Some reports suggest that a susceptibility gene is encoded in the class II region, while others implicate the class III region. We exploited differences between the common Sardinian and North European HLA-DR3 haplotypes to help localize the IgA-D susceptibility gene(s). With the knowledge that approximately 13% of HLA-DR3 homozygous individuals of North European origin are IgA-D, we examined 43 HLA-DR3 homozygous Sardinians to find that all had normal serum IgA, IgG and IgM levels. A detailed analysis of their MHC haplotypes indicated a common Sardinian HLA-DR3 haplotype TAP1A, TAP2A, HLA-DQB1*0201, -DQA1*0501, -DRB1*0301, LH1-(Z + 2), D3A-(Z + 2), C4B-0, C4A-L, G11-15, Bf-0-4, C2-a, HSP70-7.5, 9N3-(Z + 10), 82I-(Z - 2), TNFalpha-9, 62-(Z - 20), HLA-B18, -Cw5, -A30 which diverges from the common North European HLA-DR3 haplotype telomeric to the HLA-DR region. In parallel studies of five Sardinians with IgA-D, two of the 10 HLA haplotypes (20%) contained HLA-DR3, a frequency similar to that observed in the background population. One of these was the HLA-DR3- B8 North European haplotype, which occurs rarely in Sardinia. Our data favour the hypothesis that a class III region allele, present on the common North European but not on the Sardinian HLA-DR3 haplotype, confers susceptibility to IgA-D.

Disease Susceptibility↗
PubMed1998

Fine mapping of the diabetes-susceptibility locus, IDDM4, on chromosome 11q13.

Genomewide linkage studies of type 1 diabetes (or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus [IDDM]) indicate that several unlinked susceptibility loci can explain the clustering of the disease in families. One such locus has been mapped to chromosome 11q13 (IDDM4). In the present report we have analyzed 707 affected sib pairs, obtaining a peak multipoint maximum LOD score (MLS) of 2.7 (lambda(s)=1.09) with linkage (MLS>=0.7) extending over a 15-cM region. The problem is, therefore, to fine map the locus to permit structural analysis of positional candidate genes. In a two-stage approach, we first scanned the 15-cM linked region for increased or decreased transmission, from heterozygous parents to affected siblings in 340 families, of the three most common alleles of each of 12 microsatellite loci. One of the 36 alleles showed decreased transmission (50% expected, 45.1% observed [P=.02, corrected P=.72]) at marker D11S1917. Analysis of an additional 1,702 families provided further support for negative transmission (48%) of D11S1917 allele 3 to affected offspring and positive transmission (55%) to unaffected siblings (test of heterogeneity P=3x10-4, corrected P=. 01]). A second polymorphic marker, H0570polyA, was isolated from a cosmid clone containing D11S1917, and genotyping of 2,042 families revealed strong linkage disequilibrium between the two markers (15 kb apart), with a specific haplotype, D11S1917*03-H0570polyA*02, showing decreased transmission (46.4%) to affected offspring and increased transmission (56.6%) to unaffected siblings (test of heterogeneity P=1.5x10-6, corrected P=4.3x10-4). These results not only provide sufficient justification for analysis of the gene content of the D11S1917 region for positional candidates but also show that, in the mapping of genes for common multifactorial diseases, analysis of both affected and unaffected siblings is of value and that both predisposing and nonpredisposing alleles should be anticipated.

Chromosome Mapping↗
PubMed1998

Transmission of haplotypes of microsatellite markers rather than single marker alleles in the mapping of a putative type 1 diabetes susceptibility gene (IDDM6).

Allelic association methods based on increased transmission of marker alleles will have to be employed for the mapping of complex disease susceptibility genes. However, because the extent of association of single marker alleles with disease is a function of the relative frequency of the allele on disease-associated chromosomes versus non disease-predisposing chromosomes, the most associated marker allele in a region will not necessarily be closest to the disease locus. To overcome this problem we describe a haplotype-based approach developed for mapping of the putative type 1 diabetes susceptibility gene IDDM6. Ten microsatellite markers spanning a 550 kb segment of chromosome 18q21 in the putative IDDM6 region were genotyped in 1708 type 1 diabetic Caucasian families from seven countries. The most likely ancestral diabetogenic chromosome was reconstructed in a stepwise fashion by analysing linkage disequilibrium between a previously defined haplotype of three adjacent markers and the next marker along the chromosome. A plot of transmission from heterozygous parents to affected offspring of single marker alleles present on the ancestral chromosome versus the physical distance between them, was compared with a plot of transmission of haplotypes of groups of three adjacent markers. Analysing transmission of haplotypes largely negated apparent decreases in transmission of single marker alleles. Peak support for association of the D18S487 region with IDDM6 is P = 0.0002 (corrected P = 0.01). The results also demonstrate the utility of polymorphic microsatellite markers to trace and delineate extended and presumably ancient haplotypes in the analysis of common disease and in the search for identical-by-descent chromosome regions that carry an aetiological variant.

Child↗
PubMed1998

DRB1-DQA1-DQB1 loci and multiple sclerosis predisposition in the Sardinian population.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common neurological disease caused by genetic and environmental factors. Previous genetic analyses have suggested that theMHC/HLA region on chromosome 6p21 contains an MS-predisposing component. Which of the many genes present in this region is primarily responsible for disease susceptibility is still an open issue. In this study, we evaluated, in a large cohort of MS families from the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, the role of allelic variation at the HLA-DRB1, DQA1 and DQB1 candidate loci in MS predisposition. Using the transmission disequilibrium test (TDT), we found significant evidence of association with MS in both the Sardinian-specific DRB1*0405(DR4)- DQA1*0501-DQB1*0301 haplotype and the DRB1* 0301(DR3)-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0201 haplotype. Detailed comparative analysis of the DRB1-DQA1- DQB1 haplotypes present in this data set did not identify an individual locus that could explain MS susceptibility. The predisposing effect is haplotype specific, in that it is confined to specific combinations of alleles at the DRB1, DQA1 and DQB1 loci. Cross-ethnic comparison between the two HLA haplotypes associated with MS in Sardinians and the DRB1*1501 (DR2)-DQA1*0102-DQB1* 0602 haplotype, associated with MS in other Caucasian populations, failed to identify any shared epitopes in the DR and DQ molecules that segregated with disease susceptibility. These results suggest that another MHC gene(s), in linkage disequilibrium with specific HLA-DRB1, DQA1, DQB1 haploypes, might be primarily responsible for genetic susceptibility to MS. Alternatively, the presence of complex interactions between different HLA haplotypes, other non-HLA predisposing genes and environmental factors may explain different associations in different populations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Insulin VNTR allele-specific effect in type 1 diabetes depends on identity of untransmitted paternal allele. The IMDIAB Group.

The IDDM2 type 1 diabetes susceptibility locus was mapped to and identified as allelic variation at the insulin gene (INS) VNTR regulatory polymorphism. In Caucasians, INS VNTR alleles divide into two discrete size classes. Class I alleles (26 to 63 repeats) predispose in a recessive way to type 1 diabetes, while class III alleles (140 to more than 200 repeats) are dominantly protective. The protective effect may be explained by higher levels of class III VNTR-associated INS mRNA in thymus such that elevated levels of preproinsulin protein enhance immune tolerance to preproinsulin, a key autoantigen in type 1 diabetes pathogenesis. The mode of action of IDDM2 is complicated, however, by parent-of-origin effects and possible allelic heterogeneity within the two defined allele classes. We have now analysed transmission of specific VNTR alleles in 1,316 families and demonstrate that a particular class I allele does not predispose to disease when paternally inherited, suggestive of polymorphic imprinting. But this paternal effect is observed only when the father's untransmitted allele is a class III. This allelic interaction is reminiscent of epigenetic phenomena observed in plants (for example, paramutation; ref. 17) and in yeast (for example, trans-inactivation; ref. 18). If untransmitted chromosomes can have functional effects on the biological properties of transmitted chromosomes, the implications for human genetics and disease are potentially considerable.

Alleles↗
PubMed1997

Evidence by allelic association-dependent methods for a type 1 diabetes polygene (IDDM6) on chromosome 18q21.

Type 1 diabetes is a common polygenic disease. Fine mapping of polygenes by affected sibpair linkage analysis is not practical and allelic association or linkage disequilibrium mapping will have to be employed to attempt to detect founder chromosomes. Given prior evidence of linkage of the Jk-D18S64 region of chromosome 18q12-q21 to type 1 diabetes, we evaluated the 12 informative microsatellite markers in the region for linkage with disease by the transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) in a UK data set of type 1 diabetic families (n = 195). Increased transmission of allele 4 of marker D18S487 to affected children was detected (P = 0.02). Support for this was extended in a total of 1067 families from four different countries by isolating, and evaluating by the TDT, two novel microsatellites within 70 kb of D18S487. Evidence for linkage and association was P = 5 x 10(-5) and 3 x 10(-4), respectively. There was no evidence for increased transmission of associated alleles to nonaffected siblings. Analysis of an additional 390 families by the TDT did not extend the evidence further, and reduced support in the total 1457 families to P = 0.001 for linkage and P = 0.003 for association. However, evidence for linkage by affected sibpair allele sharing was strong (P = 3.2 x 10(-5)) in the second data set. Heterogeneity in TDT results between data sets was, in part, accounted for by the presence of more than one common disease-associated haplotype (allelic heterogeneity) which confounds the analysis of individual alleles by the TDT. Guidelines for strategies for the mapping of polygenes are suggested with the emphasis on collections of large numbers of families from multiple populations that should be as genetically homogeneous as possible.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Evidence for a type 1 diabetes susceptibility locus (IDDM10) on human chromosome 10p11-q11.

A region of linkage to type 1 diabetes has been defined on human chromosome 10p11-q11 (IDDM10; P = 0.0007) using 236 UK and 76 US affected sibpairs and a 1 cM resolution microsatellite marker map. Analysis by the transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) in 1159 families with at least one diabetic child, from the UK, the US, Norway, Sardinia and Italy provided additional support for linkage at D10S193 (P = 0.006, Pc = 0.17). Notably, 5.1 cM distal to D10S193, marker D10S588 also provided positive TDT results (P = 0.009, Pc = 0.25) but the allele under analysis was also preferentially transmitted to nonaffected siblings (P = 0.0008, Pc = 0.02). This allele was positively associated in an independent UK case control study and, importantly, was neutrally transmitted in control CEPH families. These results suggest a type 1 diabetes susceptibility locus on chromosome 10p11-q11 (provisionally designated IDDM10) and demonstrate the necessity of analysis of non affected siblings in disease families, as well as analysis of control families.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

HLA class II genes in chronic hepatitis C virus-infection and associated immunological disorders.

To investigate the factors that may confer susceptibility or protection to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and to HCV-associated immunological disorders, we designed two studies on 420 Sardinian transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients followed in our department in Cagliari since 1974. The first one was an epidemiological survey aimed to evaluate the prevalence of HCV infection and HCV-associated immunological disorders. In the second study, the distribution of different HLA class II genes was examined by DNA analysis in 116 HCV positive patients, 30 HCV negative patients, and 606 healthy controls. Three hundred fourteen patients became infected with HCV (74.7%) after 5.6 +/- 2.8 years of regular transfusion program. Mixed cryoglobulinemia, purpura, arthritis, proteinuria, decreased complement levels, rheumatoid factor and anti-GOR, smooth muscle antibody (SMA), anti-nuclear antibody (ANA), and liver, kidney microsome (LKM) autoantibodies were significantly more represented in HCV positive patients than in negative ones (P < .05). A significant increase of HLA class II DR2 subtype (DRB1*1601,DQB1*0502) was observed in a group of 30 HCV negative patients who despite 10.3 +/- 2.2 years in a regular blood transfusion program did not show any evidence of HCV infection (Pc < .0092). Our results represent clear evidence for a relationship between HCV infection and immune extrahepatic abnormalities. A gene(s) located in the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region may play an important role in conferring protection against HCV infection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

IDDM2-VNTR-encoded susceptibility to type 1 diabetes: dominant protection and parental transmission of alleles of the insulin gene-linked minisatellite locus.

IDDM2-encoded predisposition to type 1 diabetes has recently been mapped to the minisatellite or variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) locus upstream of the insulin and insulin-like growth factor II genes on human chromosome 11p15.5. In a UK case-control study (n = 228 sporadic diabetics; n = 441 healthy controls), we show here that the genotype homozygous for VNTR class I alleles is predisposing to disease (RR = 2.68), and VNTR class III alleles are dominantly protective (RR = 0.37). In 722 diabetic families from the UK (n = 356), USA (n = 173), Denmark (n = 55) and Sardinia (n = 138), we have analysed the transmission of class I alleles to diabetic offspring from class I/III heterozygous parents. We confirm that in families from the USA, class I alleles are transmitted preferentially from fathers. However, in family data sets from the UK, Denmark and Sardinia, the reverse is true and maternal transmission is stronger. Furthermore, in the UK family data set, the difference between maternal and paternal transmissions is significant (P < 0.05). It is therefore unlikely that 'maternal imprinting' alone explains the parent-of-origin effects in IDDM2-encoded predisposition to type 1 diabetes, at least not in the UK. There is a relationship between VNTR class (allele length) and insulin gene expression, though some results from different studies are conflicting. In the human adult cadaveric pancreas, we confirm our preliminary results that class III alleles are associated with lower levels of insulin mRNA in vivo. Similar results have been obtained independently in human foetal pancreas samples. It is difficult to explain how these marginally lower levels of insulin expression could account for the observed VNTR class III-encoded protective effect. Perhaps the site of action of IDDM2, mediated by VNTR allelic variation, is not the pancreas but some other organ such as the thymus.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Saturation multipoint linkage mapping of chromosome 6q in type 1 diabetes.

Linkage analysis of type 1 diabetes sib pair families (n = 334) has suggested two separate regions of human chromosome 6q are linked to disease (designated IDDM5 and IDDM8). To test if these are false positive results, all available sib pair families (n = 429) were typed using a 92% informative map of chromosome 6q and multipoint analysis. The two regions still showed positive evidence of linkage, most notably the proterminal region, 6q27, corresponding to IDDM8 (MLS = 2.57, p = 0.0006; lambda s = 1.17). In addition, some evidence of transmission disequilibrium was seen with marker a046xa9 (IDDM5).

Chromosome Mapping↗