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Biomedical subjects

F M Pope

Publications and source records attributed to F M Pope.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Phenotypical features of an unique Irish family with severe autosomal recessive osteogenesis imperfecta.

Severe Sillence type II/III Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a lethal or severely crippling disease with either autosomal dominant or recessively inherited type I collagen mutations. Here we describe the detailed clinical features of a thin-ribbed OI variant with deformed limbs. The three consecutively affected children showed no genetic linkage with either of the two type I collagen genes, which implies that a novel mechanism causes this clinical phenotype. It can be prevented using ultrasound to diagnose affected foetuses.

Collagen↗

Substitution of cysteine for glycine within the carboxyl-terminal telopeptide of the alpha 1 chain of type I collagen produces mild osteogenesis imperfecta.

We have characterized a mutation that produces mild, dominantly inherited osteogenesis imperfecta. Half of the alpha 1 (I) chains of type I collagen synthesized by cells from an affected individual contain a cysteine residue in the 196-residue carboxyl-terminal cyanogen bromide peptide of the triple-helical domain (Steinmann, B., Nicholls, A., and Pope, F. M. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 8958-8964). Unexpectedly, sequence determined from a proteolytic fragment of the alpha 1 (I) chain derived from procollagen molecules synthesized in the presence of both [3H]proline and [35S]cysteine indicated that the cysteine is located at the third residue carboxyl-terminal to the triple-helical domain, normally a glycine. The nucleotide sequence of a fragment amplified from genomic DNA confirmed the location of the cysteine residue and showed that the mutation was a single nucleotide change in one COL1A1 allele. This represents a new class of mutations, point mutations outside the triple-helical domain of the chains of type I collagen, that produce the osteogenesis imperfecta phenotype.

Alleles↗

Linkage of a polymorphic marker for the type III collagen gene (COL3A1) to atypical autosomal dominant Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV in a large Belgian pedigree.

We have examined a large family in which eleven members have a form of autosomal dominant Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV. Analysis of fibroblast cultures from affected individuals showed a partial deficiency of type III collagen production. The protein produced was, however, normal in all aspects examined. Using a restriction site polymorphism associated with the structural gene for human type III collagen (COL3A1), we have found tight linkage between the low frequency polymorphic allele and the clinical expression of the disease (lod = 3.86 at 0 = 0), identifying the type III collagen gene as the disease locus.

Adult↗

Detection of type III collagen in skin fibroblasts from patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV by immunofluorescence.

Immunofluorescence showed that cultured skin fibroblasts from 15 out of 17 patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV retained abnormal amounts of type III collagen within the cytoplasm. This was not shown by fibroblasts from normal subjects or from patients with other inherited connective tissue diseases. The diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV may be facilitated by this finding.

Adult↗

Clinical presentations of Ehlers Danlos syndrome type IV.

Ehlers Danlos syndrome type IV is an often lethal disease caused by various mutations of type III collagen genes. It presents in infancy and childhood in several ways, and the symptoms and signs include low birth weight, prematurity, congenital dislocation of the hips, easy inappropriate bruising (sometimes suspected as child battering), and a diagnostic facial phenotype. These features predict a lethal adult disease often complicated by fatal arterial rupture in early or middle adult life. Most affected patients can be diagnosed from radiolabelled collagen protein profiles by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Prenatal diagnosis by specific type III collagen restriction fragment length polymorphisms is possible in some families, and will become increasingly important. Prenatal diagnosis and prevention of the disease in selected families is already possible and will be widely available in the future.

Adolescent↗

Spontaneous carotid cavernous fistula in Ehlers Danlos syndrome.

A patient is described with Ehlers Danlos syndrome presenting with spontaneous carotid cavernous fistula, in whom there was biochemical evidence for defective type III collagen synthesis. Despite the risks associated with arterial manipulation, the fistula was successfully closed by interventional neuroradiology and the patient has since remained well. This outcome is in contrast with the results in previous reports.

Adult↗

A cysteine for glycine substitution at position 1017 in an alpha 1(I) chain of type I collagen in a patient with mild dominantly inherited osteogenesis imperfecta.

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a heterogeneous group of inherited diseases of connective tissue manifested primarily by excessive fracturing of bone but associated with other abnormalities such as blue sclera, thin skin, herniae, ligamentous laxity, reduced stature and hearing loss. We report here molecular studies on a patient with the mild, dominantly inherited, variety of OI (OI type I) previously shown (Nicholls et al., 1984) to be heterozygous for an abnormal alpha 1(I) chain of type I collagen which contained cysteine near the carboxyl terminus (Steinmann et al., 1986). The cognate alpha 1(I) mRNA region was selected for generation of cDNAs which were subsequently amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), cloned and sequenced. Two sequences were obtained, one of which corresponded to the normal allele, and the other of which harbored a G to T transversion and resulted in a cysteine for glycine substitution. This is the first single amino acid substitution found in type I OI. Surprisingly, the mutation occurs just outside the triple-helical region of the alpha 1(I) chain, a result that accounts for the strikingly different phenotypic and molecular consequences of this mutation as compared with similar cysteine for glycine substitutions within the same region. The PCR appears to be a useful approach for elucidation of structural mutations in collagen chains.

Adolescent↗

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type I: a clinical and ultrastructural study of a family with reduced amounts of collagen type III.

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) type I was diagnosed in an 18-year-old girl on the basis of marked skin hyperextensibility with generalized loose-jointedness, pigmented paper-tissue scars, and a pronounced tendency to bruising. Her father and one of her sisters showed a similar phenotype. Her mother was normal. Light microscopy of skin biopsies showed large, irregular collagen fibres in the father and daughter, with normal findings in the mother. Electron microscopy of the skin sections revealed a variation in diameter and shape of the collagen fibrils as well as slight dilatation of the rough endoplasmic reticulum of fibroblasts in father and daughter, but normal findings in the mother. Cultured fibroblasts did not show these changes. Measurements of collagen synthesis by fibroblast cultures showed that type III collagen levels were reduced to 50% of normal in the father and daughter, and were normal in the mother. The alpha I (III) proteins had a normal molecular weight, determined by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. The phenotypes and biochemical results in the family members tested were compatible with autosomal dominant transmission. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a type III collagen deficiency in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type I. The findings in this family, especially the pronounced bruising tendency, illustrate the heterogeneity within type I EDS.

Chromatography, Thin Layer↗

Heterogeneity of pseudoxanthoma elasticum: delineation of a new form?

Sixty-four patients with pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) were investigated in a nationwide study within South Africa and Zimbabwe. Thirty-nine individuals formed a distinct clinical subgroup. These persons were found exclusively among people of Afrikaner descent, whose origins are mainly derived from Dutch and French-Huguenot stock. This disorder was inherited as an autosomal recessive trait and presented mild to moderate cutaneous and cardiovascular manifestations. However, after the third decade of life severe visual impairment developed and culminated in blindness in 8 people by the age of 50. The cause of the visual defect was progressive extension of angioid streaks into the macula with neovascularization and haemorrhage. Laser therapy may have prevented further bleeding in 4 instances. The severity of ocular involvement contrasted with the mildness of the skin changes, and in this respect the condition seems to differ from previously delineated autosomal recessive forms of PXE.

Adolescent↗

Synthesis of cellular and extracellular glycoproteins by cultured human keratinocytes and their response to retinoids.

The glycoproteins synthesized by human keratinocytes cultured on 3T3 feeder layers were studied by metabolic labelling. Keratinocytes freed of feeder cells synthesized a complex pattern of cellular and extracellular glycoproteins that was distinct from that of 3T3 cells, dermal fibroblasts and epidermal melanocytes. The effect of low concentrations of all-trans-retinoic acid and arotinoid ethyl ester on glycoprotein synthesis was examined in keratinocyte cultures depleted of vitamin A. Treatment with either retinoid resulted in a 2-3-fold increase in the amount of D-[3H]glucosamine-labelled material in the culture medium. Gel electrophoresis revealed increased incorporation of D-[3H]glucosamine into extracellular glycoproteins of Mr 245,000, 170,000, 140,000, 130,000, 120,000 and 105,000 as well as into glycosaminoglycans in retinoid-treated cultures. The labelling of extracellular glycoproteins with L-[3H]leucine and L-[35S]methionine was also increased by retinoids suggesting increased synthesis of these components rather than an effect on their glycosylation. The Mr 245 000 glycoprotein was identified as keratinocyte-derived fibronectin by immunoblotting, immunoprecipitation and specific binding to gelatin. The results show that retinoids increase the synthesis of glycoprotein as well as glycosaminoglycan components of the extracellular matrix in human keratinocyte cultures. It is suggested that retinoids select for a population of cells that synthesize relatively large amounts of glycosaminoglycan, fibronectin and other as yet unidentified extracellular glycoproteins.

Benzoates↗

A lectin-binding glycoprotein of Mr 135,000 associated with basal keratinocytes in pig epidermis.

Pig epidermis separated by 1 M-CaCl2 treatment was homogenized and separated into three fractions by filtration through nylon mesh and high-speed centrifugation. Lectin-binding glycoproteins were isolated from urea/deoxycholate/mercaptoethanol extracts of the residue fraction that resisted filtration, from deoxycholate extracts of the particulate material in the filtrate and from the soluble fraction. Concanavalin A, Ricinus communis (castor bean) agglutinin 1, peanut (Arachis hypogaea) agglutinin and Ulex europaeus (gorse) agglutinin-binding glycoproteins in the three epidermal fractions were analysed by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. A major neuraminidase-sensitive glycoprotein component of the particulate fraction of Mr 135,000 was strongly bound by concanavalin A and Ricinus communis agglutinin 1, but only weakly by peanut and Ulex europaeus agglutinins. This glycoprotein was not detected in the residue or soluble fractions of the epidermis, indicating that it had only a limited distribution within the tissue. The 135,000-Mr glycoprotein was one of two major glycoprotein antigens in the particulate fraction. Rabbits immunized with total particulate glycoproteins produced antibodies directed mainly against 135,000- and 110,000-Mr components. Monospecific antibodies were obtained from guinea pigs immunized with the 135,000-Mr glycoprotein band excised from polyacrylamide gels. Indirect immunofluorescence with the use of affinity-purified antibodies showed that the 135,000-Mr glycoprotein was present at the surface of cells in the basal layer of the epidermis as well as at that of other stratified epithelia. It was not present on differentiating cells in the suprabasal layers of the epithelium, suggesting an important role in the attachment or proliferative functions of basal cells in stratified epithelia. Metabolic labelling studies with skin explants cultured in the presence of D-[3H]glucosamine showed that this basal-cell glycoprotein was synthesized by cultured tissue. The major D-[3H]glucosamine-labelled glycoprotein component in the residue and particulate fractions of cultured epidermis had an Mr of 135,000, was immunoprecipitated by rabbit antisera raised against particulate epidermal glycoproteins and was bound by concanavalin A. The labelling of this glycoprotein with D-[3H]glucosamine was sensitive to tunicamycin, indicating that the basal-cell glycoprotein contained N-glycosidically linked oligosaccharides.

Animals↗

Clinical variability of osteogenesis imperfecta reflecting molecular heterogeneity: cysteine substitutions in the alpha 1(I) collagen chain producing lethal and mild forms.

We have examined the collagenous proteins extracted from skin and produced by skin fibroblast cultures from the members of a family with mild dominant osteogenesis imperfecta (OI type I). The two affected patients, mother and son, produce two populations of alpha 1(I) chains of type I collagen, one chain being normal, the other containing a cysteine within the triple-helical domain. Both forms can be incorporated into triple-helical molecules with an alpha 2(I) chain. When two mutant alpha (I) chains are incorporated into the same molecule, a disulfide bonded dimer is produced. We have characterized these chains by sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis and CNBr-peptide mapping and by measuring a number of biosynthetic and physical variables. The cysteine was localized to the COOH-terminal peptide alpha (I) CB6. Molecules containing the mutant chains are stable, have a normal denaturation temperature, are secreted normally, and have normal levels of post-translational modification of lysyl residues and intracellular degradation. We have compared and contrasted these observations with those made in a patient with lethal osteogenesis imperfecta in which there was a cysteine substitution in alpha 1(I) CB6 (Steinmann, B., Rao, V. H., Vogel, A., Bruckner, P., Gitzelmann, R., and Byers, P. H. (1984) J. Biol. Chem 259, 11129-11138) and have concluded that the mutation in the present family occurs in the X or Y position of a Gly-X-Y repeating unit of collagen and not in the glycine position shown for the previous patient (Cohn, D. H., Byers, P. H., Steinmann, B, and Gelinas, R. E. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., in press.

Adolescent↗