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Biomedical subjects

H Abderrahim

Publications and source records attributed to H Abderrahim.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Mutation of the receptor tyrosine kinase gene Mertk in the retinal dystrophic RCS rat.

Vertebrate photoreceptor cells are the basic sensory apparatus of the retina, capable of converting the energy of absorbed photons into neuronal signals. The proximal portions of mammalian photoreceptor outer segments are synthesized daily by cell bodies, and outer segment tips are shed with a circadian rhythm, resulting in a complete turnover of outer segments about every 9 days. The shed outer segments are phagocytosed by adjacent retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, and metabolites are recycled to photoreceptors. The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rat is a widely studied, classic model of recessively inherited retinal degeneration in which the RPE fails to phagocytose shed outer segments, and photoreceptor cells subsequently die. We have used a positional cloning approach to study the rdy (retinal dystrophy) locus of the RCS rat. Within a 0.3 cM genetic inclusion interval, we have discovered a small deletion of RCS DNA that disrupts the gene encoding the receptor tyrosine kinase Mertk. The deletion includes the splice acceptor site upstream of the second coding exon of Mertk and results in a shortened transcript that lacks this exon. The aberrant transcript joins the first and third coding exons, leading to a frameshift and a translation termination signal 20 codons after the AUG. The concordance of these and other data indicate that Mertk is probably the gene for rdy. Our results provide genetic evidence for an essential role of a receptor tyrosine kinase in a specialized form of phagocytosis and suggest a molecular model for ingestion of outer segments by RPE cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Functional transplant of megabase human immunoglobulin loci recapitulates human antibody response in mice.

We constructed two megabase-sized YACs containing large contiguous fragments of the human heavy and kappa (kappa) light chain immunoglobulin (Ig) loci in nearly germline configuration, including approximately 66 VH and 32 V kappa genes. We introduced these YACs into Ig-inactivated mice and observed human antibody production which closely resembled that seen in humans in all respects, including gene rearrangement, assembly, and repertoire. Diverse Ig gene usage together with somatic hypermutation enables the mice to generate high affinity fully human antibodies to multiple antigens, including human proteins. Our results underscore the importance of the large Ig fragments with multiple V genes for restoration of a normal humoral immune response. These mice are likely to be a valuable tool for the generation of therapeutic antibodies.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Production of antigen-specific human antibodies from mice engineered with human heavy and light chain YACs.

Our paper describes the introduction of large fragments of both the human heavy and light chain Ig genes into the mouse germline to create a mouse strain capable of producing a broad repertoire of antigen-specific, fully human antibodies. The human immunoglobulin gene sequences were functional in the context of the mouse machinery for antibody recombination and expression, either in the presence or absence of functional endogenous genes. This was demonstrated by their ability to undergo diverse rearrangement, to be expressed at significant levels, and to exclude expression of mouse immunoglobulins irrespective of their copy number or site of integration. The decrease in susceptibility to influence by adjacent genomic sequences may reflect the greater size, variable gene content, or structural integrity of the human Ig YACs and/or the presence of unidentified but important regulatory elements needed for optimal expression of the human immunoglobulin genes and their correct regulation. Our results show that mouse B cells coexpressing human heavy and kappa chains, upon immunization, can produce antigen-specific, fully human antibodies. Furthermore, the human heavy and kappa chain YACs induced differentiation and maturation of the growth-arrested B-cell lineage in mice with inactivated endogenous Ig genes, leading to the production of a diverse repertoire of fully human antibodies at levels approaching those in normal serum. These results suggest the potential value of these mice as a source of fully human antibodies for human therapy. Furthermore, it is expected that such mice would lack immunological tolerance to and thus readily yield antibodies to human proteins, which may constitute an important class of targets for monoclonal antibody therapy. Our findings suggest that the introduction of even larger portions of the human heavy and light chain loci, which should be achievable with the ES cell-yeast spheroplast fusion technology described, will result in strains of mice ultimately capable of recapitulating the full antibody repertoire characteristic of the human humoral response to infection and immunization. The present and future mouse strains may prove to be valuable tools for studying the molecular mechanisms and regulatory sequences influencing the programmed assembly and expression of human antibodies in the normal immune response, as well as the abnormal response characteristic of autoimmune disease and other disorders. The strategy we have described for the introduction of large segments of the human genome into mice in conjunction with the inactivation of the corresponding mouse loci may also have broad applicability to the investigation of other complex or uncharacterized loci.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Analysis of the structural integrity of YACs comprising human immunoglobulin genes in yeast and in embryonic stem cells.

With the goal of creating a strain of mice capable of producing human antibodies, we are cloning and reconstructing the human immunoglobulin germline repertoire in yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs). We describe the identification of YACs containing variable and constant region sequences from the human heavy chain (IgH) and kappa light chain (IgK) loci and the characterization of their integrity in yeast and in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. The IgH locus-derived YAC contains five variable (VH) genes, the major diversity (D) gene cluster, the joining (JH) genes, the intronic enhancer (EH), and the constant region genes, mu (C mu) and delta (C delta). Two IgK locus-derived YACs each contain three variable (V kappa) genes, the joining (J kappa) region, the intronic enhancer (E kappa), the constant gene (C kappa), and the kappa deleting element (kde). The IgH YAC was unstable in yeast, generating a variety of deletion derivatives, whereas both IgK YACs were stable. YACs encoding heavy chain and kappa light chain, retrofitted with the mammalian selectable marker, hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT), were each introduced into HPRT-deficient mouse ES cells. Analysis of YAC integrity in ES cell lines revealed that the majority of DNA inserts were integrated in substantially intact form.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Cloning the human major histocompatibility complex in YACs.

To clone the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC), 53 YACs, with an average size of 490 kb, were isolated and characterized from the CEPH YAC library. These YACs were organized in a single large contig covering more than 4000 kb. Furthermore, a complete physical map of the previously uncloned HLA class I region was established from partial and/or total digestions of 15 YACs spanning 2000 kb. This resulted in the establishment of the first YAC contig that spans the entire MHC region and constitutes an essential step in the isolation of all of the genes present in the region.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Antigen-specific human monoclonal antibodies from mice engineered with human Ig heavy and light chain YACs.

We describe a strategy for producing human monoclonal antibodies in mice by introducing large segments of the human heavy and kappa light chain loci contained on yeast artificial chromosomes into the mouse germline. Such mice produce a diverse repertoire of human heavy and light chains, and upon immunization with tetanus toxin have been used to derive antigen-specific, fully human monoclonal antibodies. Breeding such animals with mice engineered by gene targeting to be deficient in mouse immunoglobulin (Ig) production has led to a mouse strain in which high levels of antibodies are produced, mostly comprised of both human heavy and light chains. These strains should provide insight into the adoptive human antibody response and permit the development of fully human monoclonal antibodies with therapeutic potential.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

A 530kb YAC contig tightly linked to the Friedreich ataxia locus contains five CpG clusters and a new highly polymorphic microsatellite.

Friedreich ataxia (FA) is a severe autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease. The defective gene has been previously assigned to chromosome 9q13-q21 by demonstration of tight linkage to the two independent loci D9S15 and D9S5. Linkage data indicate that FRDA is at less than 1 cM from both markers. Previous physical mapping has shown that probes defining D9S15 (MCT112) and D9S5 (26P) are less than 260 kb apart and are surrounded by at least six CpG clusters within 450 kb, which might indicate the presence of "candidate" genes for FA. We isolated and characterized a 530 kb YAC (yeast artificial chromosome) contig that contains five of the CpG clusters. The YACs were used to search for new polymorphic markers needed to map FRDA precisely with respect to the cloned segment. In particular, we found a (CA)n microsatellite polymorphism, GS4, that detects 13 alleles with a PIC value of 0.83 and allows the definition of haplotypes extending over 310 kb when used in combination with polymorphic markers at D9S5 and D9S15.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

The CEPH YAC library.

Because of their large size, YACs provide is a powerful tool for physical mapping studies of complex genomes. As it will be advantageous to have genomic libraries of clones with large inserts for analyzing megabase sized regions of the human genome, we have investigated a number of parameters in order to increase the insert size of the YACs. We constructed a genomic library currently containing more than 85,000 YAC clones. Mean sizes of YACs produced at several stages of construction of the library range from 430 kb to 1,200 kb, representing 13 haploid equivalents of the human genome. This library was organized in order to allow rapid screen of YACs for large scale physical mapping of the human genome.

Chromosome Walking↗
PubMed1991

Isolation of sequences that span the fragile X and identification of a fragile X-related CpG island.

Yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) were obtained from a 550-kilobase region that contains three probes previously mapped as very close to the locus of the fragile X syndrome. These YACs spanned the fragile site in Xq27.3 as shown by fluorescent in situ hybridization. An internal 200-kilobase segment contained four chromosomal breakpoints generated by induction of fragile X expression. A single CpG island was identified in the cloned region between markers DXS463 and DXS465 that appears methylated in mentally retarded fragile X males, but not in nonexpressing male carriers of the mutation nor in normal males. This CpG island may indicate the presence of a gene involved in the clinical phenotype of the syndrome.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Construction and characterization of a yeast artificial chromosome library containing seven haploid human genome equivalents.

Prior to constructing a library of yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) containing very large human DNA fragments, we performed a series of preliminary experiments aimed at developing a suitable protocol. We found an inverse relationship between YAC insert size and transformation efficiency. Evidence of occasional rearrangement within YAC inserts was found resulting in clonally stable internal deletions or clonally unstable size variations. A protocol was developed for preparative electrophoretic enrichment of high molecular mass human DNA fragments from partial restriction digests and ligation with the YAC vector in agarose. A YAC library has been constructed from large fragments of DNA from an Epstein-Barr virus-transformed human lymphoblastoid cell line. The library presently contains 50,000 clones, 95% of which are greater than 250 kilobase pairs in size. The mean YAC size of the library, calculated from 132 randomly isolated clones, is 430 kilobase pairs. The library thus contains the equivalent of approximately seven haploid human genomes.

Cloning, Molecular↗
PubMed1988

Two distinct HLA-DR3 haplotypes are associated with age related heterogeneity in type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes.

Heterogeneity between two haplotypes in linkage disequilibrium with DR3: B8, C4AQOB1,BfS,DR3 and B18,C4A3BQO,BfF1,DR3, with regard to age at onset of Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus, was investigated in 325 unrelated French patients (146 males and 179 females, age at onset 1 month to 29 years) who were genotyped for HLA-A, B, C, DR and Bf and 225 of whom were typed for the C4A, B complement components. A subgroup of 82 patients and 75 control subjects were tested for DR beta and DQ beta DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism. The distribution according to age at onset and the mean ages at onset were compared between patients bearing B8, DR3 (n = 58), B18,DR3 (n = 62) or other DR3 haplotypes (Bx, DR3, n = 70), the haplotype segments C4AQOB1,DR3 (n = 41) or C4A3BQO,DR3 (n = 52) and the C4 null alleles C4AQO (N = 48) or C4BQO (n = 112) alone. The B8,DR3 haplotype, its smaller segment C4AQOB1,DR3 or C4AQO alone were associated with age at onset after 6 years (p less than 0.01, less than 0.08 and less than 0.02 respectively); on the other hand, the B18,DR3 haplotype, its segment C4A3BQO,DR3 or C4BQO alone were significantly more frequent in patients aged less than 6 years at onset (p less than 0.02, less than 0.01 and less than 0.01 respectively). Accordingly, the mean age of onset was significantly lower in the latter compared with the former patients (p less than 0.02, less than 0.02 and less than 0.01 respectively). No age-related variation was observed in BX,DR3 patients and their mean age of onset was intermediate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗