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H K Jensen

Publications and source records attributed to H K Jensen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Patients' attitudes toward detection of heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.

BACKGROUND: Molecular biology has improved the diagnostic abilities of physicians and enabled them to identify apparently healthy persons with a high risk of genetic disease. OBJECTIVE: To examine the attitudes toward detection of disease and the present well-being in persons at risk of disease with a modifiable outcome, in this case heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and their hypercholesterolemic relatives. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire was developed that collected information on the impact on well-being at present and at the time of diagnosis of hypercholesterolemia and on attitudes toward screening family members for heterozygous FH. It was mailed to 62 index patients with heterozygous FH, which was defined by using clinical criteria, and 108 hypercholesterolemic relatives. The response rate was 88%. Results were related to demographic data, experience of psychological or physiologic reactions in relation to awareness of hypercholesterolemia, cardiovascular symptoms, lipid-lowering drug treatment, and information on the DNA-based diagnosis. RESULTS: Of the respondents, anxiety was expressed by 44%, fear of coronary heart disease by 37%, and diminished well-being by 13%. These findings were most pronounced in persons who had experienced physiologic or psychological reactions at the time of diagnosis of hypercholesterolemia or who already had heart disease. Six percent regretted that they were aware of their disease diagnosis, and 84% were in favor of screening for affected individuals in families with a history of heterozygous FH. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that a substantial proportion of persons with heterozygous FH had some degree of anxiety. A small minority regretted that they were informed of the diagnosis of heterozygous FH, however, and a majority were in favor of family screening for heterozygous FH.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Two mutations in the same low-density lipoprotein receptor allele act in synergy to reduce receptor function in heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.

Mutations in genes are not necessarily pathogenic. Expression of mutant genes in cells can therefore be required to demonstrate that mutations in fact disturb protein function. This applies especially to missense mutations, which cause an amino acid to be replaced by another amino acid. In the present study of two families with familial hypercholesterolemia in the heterozygous form, we found two mutations in the same allele of the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor gene: a missense Asn543. His mutation (N543H) in exon 11, and an in-frame 9-bp deletion (2393del9) in exon 17. The two mutations were identified in heterozygous FH index patients in whom no other pathogenic mutations were detected by SSCP analysis of the remaining 16 exons and the promoter region. Both mutations cosegregated with hypercholesterolemia within the families. Each of these mutations had little or no effect on receptor function in transfected COS cells, but when both mutations were present simultaneously, receptor function, as assessed by flow cytometric measurement of fluorescent LDL uptake in cells, was reduced by 75%. Immunostainable receptors on the cell surface were decreased by 80% as measured by flow cytometry. The two mutations therefore acted in synergy to affect receptor function, possibly during intracellular receptor transport, since Northern blot analysis suggested that mRNA levels were unaffected. Without screening of the entire coding regions of the gene, the synergistic action of these two LDL receptor mutations would not have been detected.

Alleles↗
PubMed1997

Recombinant uracil phosphoribosyltransferase from the thermophile Bacillus caldolyticus: expression, purification, and partial characterization.

The upp gene encoding the major uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (UPRT) of the thermophile Bacillus caldolyticus was cloned by complementation of an Escherichia coli upp mutation. The nucleotide sequence of the cloned DNA revealed an open reading frame of 630 bp encoding a polypeptide of 209 amino acids (M(r) 22,817) with 84% amino acid sequence identity to the deduced upp gene product of Bacillus subtilis. Primer extension analysis indicated that the transcriptional start site of the cloned gene was positioned 37 or 38 bp upstream of the coding region. When over-expressed in E. coli, the recombinant UPRT represented approximately 18% of the soluble cellular proteins. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity by two sequential precipitations with 50 mM Na-phosphate, pH 7.0. Gel filtration chromatography indicated that the native enzyme existed as a dimer at high protein concentrations but that it dissociated to a monomeric form on dilution. In dilute solutions the enzyme is highly unstable but can be stabilized by addition of bovine serum albumin. In concentrated solution (> 5 mg/ml) the enzyme is stable for months at 4 degrees C, even in the absence of bovine serum albumin. By comparing the UPRT activity of crude extracts of B. subtilis and B. caldolyticus it was found that the enzyme from B. caldolyticus was considerably more stable toward thermal inactivation than the homologous enzyme from B. subtilis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

A common W556S mutation in the LDL receptor gene of Danish patients with familial hypercholesterolemia encodes a transport-defective protein.

In a group of unrelated Danish patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) we recently reported two common low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor mutations, W23X and W66G, accounting for 30% of the cases. In this study, we describe another common LDL receptor mutation, a G to C transition at cDNA position 1730 in exon 12, causing a tryptophan to serine substitution in amino acid position 556 (W556S). In the Danish patients, the W556S mutation was present in 12% of 65 possible mutant alleles. The pathogenicity of the W556S mutation, which is located in one of the five conserved motifs Tyr-Trp-Thr-Asp in the epidermal growth factor homology region, was studied in transfected COS-7 cells expressing normal and mutant LDL receptor cDNAs. Results obtained by immunofluorescence flow cytometry and confocal microscopy, as well as by immunoprecipitation, were compatible with complete retention of the mutant protein in the endoplasmic reticulum. The transport-defective W556S mutation and the W23X and W66G mutations seem to account for about 40% of the LDL receptor defects in Danish families with FH.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

A sequence variation: 713-8delC in the transforming growth factor-beta 1 gene has higher prevalence in osteoporotic women than in normal women and is associated with very low bone mass in osteoporotic women and increased bone turnover in both osteoporotic and normal women.

Bone mass is partly genetically determined. The genes involved are, however, still largely unknown. Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) is considered a putative regulator of osteoclastic-osteoblastic interaction (coupling). The aim of the present study was therefore to examine whether possible variants of the TGF-beta 1 gene are related to bone mass and osteoporosis. We examined 161 osteoporotic women (at least one low energy spinal fracture) and 131 normal women. We investigated sequence variations in the TGF-beta 1 gene using the single-stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) technique combined with DNA sequencing. Seven patients were heterozygous for a cytosine to thymidine base substitution at position 76 in exon 5 (C788-T) (corresponding to position 788 in the TGF-beta 1 cDNA), resulting in a threonine to isoleucine amino acid shift at position 263 in the TGF-beta 1 propeptide (Thr263-Ile). Ten other patients had a one base deletion in the intron sequence 8 bases prior to exon 5 (713-8delC), which could influence splicing. Five normal women exhibited the C788-T sequence variant, and two the 713-8delC. The prevalence of 713-8delC was significantly higher in the osteoporotic group (chi 2 = 4.02, p < 0.05). Osteoporotic patients with the 713-8delC variant had increased levels of bone alkaline phosphatase (p < 0.05). If the osteoporotic patients with a z score of the lumbar spine below -1 were examined separately, we found increased serum levels of bone alkaline phosphatase (p < 0.05), increased urinary excretion of hydroxyproline (p < 0.05), and reduced bone mass of the lumbar spine (p < 0.05) in patients with 713-8delC. No correlation to bone mass was demonstrated in the normal women, but 713-8delC was associated with increased serum levels of bone alkaline phosphatase (p < 0.05). The sequence variation, 713-8delC, in the TGF-beta 1 gene is more frequent in patients with osteoporosis compared to normal controls. The 713-8delC variant seems to be associated with very low bone mass in osteoporotic women with low bone mass and increased bone turnover in both osteoporotic and normal women.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Phenotypic variation in patients heterozygous for familial defective apolipoprotein B (FDB) in three European countries.

A glutamine-for-arginine substitution at amino acid position 3500 of apolipoprotein B (apo B) causes synthesis of LDL with reduced binding affinity to the LDL receptor (LDLR). The associated clinical syndrome has been named familial defective apolipoprotein B- 100 (FDB). In 205 FDB patients from Germany (n = 73). The Netherlands (n = 87), and Denmark (n = 45), we tried to assess determinants of variation in lipid concentrations. Besides age, sex, and geographic origin, variation in the LDLR gene was the most powerful determinant of variation in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels. Polymorphic variation in the LDLR gene (SfaNI, exon 2; Nco I, exon 18) was associated with total cholesterol (TC) and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) variation in women (SfaNI: P = .04 and .03 for TC and LDL-C, respectively; Nco I; P = .003 and .006, respectively), whereas the Ava II (exon 13) and the Pvu II (intron 15) polymorphisms were not. Combined information from all three LDLR exon polymorphisms showed that subjects with at least one S + A + N + allele had 13% to 20% higher TC than non-S + A + N + subjects (P = .02 [TC, men]; P = .01 [LDL-C, men]; P = .005 [TC, women]; and P = .004 [LDL-C, women]) and, together with age and geographic origin, accounted for 20% (women) and 19% (men) of the variation in LDL-C. The expected association of the apo E genotypes (e3e2, e3e3, and e3e4) with cholesterol concentrations was seen in S + A + N + but not in non-S + A + N + subjects and in P-P- but not in P + P + or P + P- subjects. With regard to clinical expression, FDB patients had lower TC and LDL-C levels and a lower prevalence of cardiovascular disease than 101 Danish patients with familial hypercholesterolemia.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Identification of a novel mutation in exon 13 of the LDL receptor gene causing familial hypercholesterolemia in two Spanish families.

DNA from 30 unrelated Spanish patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) was studied by single-strand conformation polymorphisms (SSCP)/heteroduplex analysis for mutation detection in exon 13 of low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor gene. Two patients were found to have an abnormal pattern by heteroduplex analysis, and direct sequencing revealed a C to G substitution at nucleotide position 1965, that results in a Phe to Leu change in codon 634, F634L. We have developed a PCR based assay to detect this mutation in family members. We found three additional F634L mutation carriers, and all of them had high cholesterol levels. Haplotype analysis revealed that all F634L mutation carriers had the same allele determined by TaqI -, StuI +, AvaII +, NcoI -, suggesting the presence of a common ancestor. We report a novel mutation located in exon 13 of the LDL receptor gene that causes FH. We also demonstrate the importance of combining SSCP and heteroduplex analysis to improve mutation detection.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Allele-specific measurement of low-density lipoprotein receptor transcript levels.

We have developed an assay for allele-specific determination of low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) mRNAs. Transcript levels are measured by reverse transcription (RT), PCR, and electrophoresis on an automatic DNA sequencer using fluorescence-labeled primers and direct quantitation of the allele-specific RT-PCR products. The discrimination between the allelic products is based on the use of DNA polymorphisms located in the coding regions of the gene as markers for the individual alleles. Using this method on LDLR mRNA from heterozygous patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) due to a defective LDLR protein, it is possible to relate the expression of the mutant allele directly to the expressed amounts of the normal allele, thus overcoming the problems of using artificial internal standards in the PCR. To validate the method we have measured (1) the range of normal LDLR allele transcript levels, and (2) the transcript levels in patients heterozygous for different types of mutant LDLR alleles associated with FH. The method is general in principle and can be applied in the allele-specific analysis of transcripts from all genes harbouring DNA polymorphisms in their coding regions.

Alleles↗
PubMed1996

The Trp23-Stop and Trp66-Gly mutations in the LDL receptor gene: common causes of familial hypercholesterolemia in Denmark.

Mutations in the gene for the low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor cause the autosomal dominant disease familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), the prevalence of which is about 0.2% in most populations. By PCR-SSCP analysis and direct sequencing, we identified the receptor-negative Trp23-Stop LDL receptor mutation (FH Cincinnati-5) in 10 of 63 FH probands and the receptor-defective Trp66-Gly LDL receptor mutation (FH French Canadian-4) in another 10 of the 63 FH probands. These two mutations thus account for 30% of diagnosed FH families in Denmark. Comparison of the mean lipid concentrations (unadjusted and adjusted for age), including serum total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol, showed no significant differences between the two groups of FH heterozygote probands (cholesterol: 10.7 mmol/l vs. 10.7 mmol/l) and between the probands and 16 and 22 non-proband family members with the Trp23-stop (cholesterol: 10.1 mmol/l) ad Trp66-Gly (cholesterol: 10.7 mmol/l) mutations, respectively.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Phenotypic characterization of a patient homozygous for the D558N LDL receptor gene mutation.

We describe the clinical, biochemical, and genetic features of a patient with true homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia due to the D558N low-density lipoprotein receptor gene mutation, previously designated FH Cincinnati-4. Functional flow-cytometric analysis of the LDL receptorR protein on upregulated EBV-transformed lymphocytes indicated reduction of the number of receptors on the cell surface by 87% and reduction of receptor activity by 89% compared to control cells. With drugs and a portacaval shunt operation, performed when the patient was 15 years old, serum cholesterol was reduced from about 28 to about 15 mmol/l. He died at the age of 32 of a myocardial infarction. The autopsy showed generalized atherosclerosis, especially in the coronary arteries, which were severely stenosed proximally. A rare finding was a large intracranial xanthoma that apparently had been asymptomatic.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

A G-1-to-A acceptor splice site LDLR mutant allele leads to reduced relative transcript levels in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.

A plethora of different mutations in the gene for the low density receptor (LDLR) are responsible for the autosomal dominant inherited disorder familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). However, only a few splice site mutations have been identified in this gene. We here report a defect presumably affecting the splicing of precursor mRNA, resulting from a novel mutation, a G to A transition at the terminal nucleotide of intron 12, of the LDLR gene detected in three unrelated families with heterozygous FH. This mutation markedly reduced the steady-state transcript level of the mutant LDLR allele as compared to the corresponding normal LDLR allele in heterozygous FH patients as measured by a fluorescence based, allele-specific quantitation technique. In the FH families, the acceptor splice site mutation cosegregates with hypercholesterolemia, and it is associated with onset of ischemic heart disease in the fifth and sixth decade of life.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Two novel mutations in the LDL receptor gene: common causes of familial hypercholesterolemia in a Spanish population.

In our investigation of the LDL receptor gene in 30 Spanish patients, who were clinically diagnosed as heterozygous FH and were unrelated, we have applied single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis and solid-phase sequencing. We identified two novel pathogenic mutations accounting for one third of the FH in this patient sample. Six patients were found to have a G to T substitution at nucleotide position 91 in exon 2 that results in a stop codon, E10X. Four patients were found to have a G deletion at nucleotide 518 in exon 4, causing a translational frameshift and a stop codon, 518delG. We have developed two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based assays to detect easily these two mutations in all the available family members. We found fourteen E10X mutation carriers and eighteen 518delG mutation carriers. There was no statistically significant difference in mean lipid levels between carriers of these two mutations. Furthermore, haplotype analysis revealed that all E10X mutation carriers had the allele determined by TaqI-, StuI+, AvaII+, NcoI- and all 518delG mutation carriers had the haplotype TaqI-, StuI+, AvaII-, NcoI+. This indicates that both mutations may have been inherited from common ancestors, respectively.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

An Iranian-Armenian LDLR frameshift mutation causing familial hypercholesterolemia.

We used polymerase chain reaction single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis to detect a mutation in the low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene in a family of Iranian-Armenian origin. The mutation, designated FH Yrmeih, deletes two nucleotides from exon 10 of the LDLR gene, which causes a translational frameshift, whereby a truncated LDLR protein of the first 471 residues of the LDLR with an additional 41 abnormal residues and a premature stop codon would be created. The deletion was detected in a father and son with clinical features of heterozygous FH. To our knowledge this is the first pathogenetic LDLR mutation identified in FH patients of Iranian-Armenian ancestry.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

High sensitivity of the single-strand conformation polymorphism method for detecting sequence variations in the low-density lipoprotein receptor gene validated by DNA sequencing.

We designed oligonucleotide primer pairs to amplify the promoter region, the translated exon sequences, and the flanking intron sequences of all 18 exons of the LDL receptor gene to compare the ability of the PCR single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) method with semiautomated solid-phase genomic DNA sequencing to detect sequence variations. In 20 apparently unrelated Danish patients with a clinical diagnosis of heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), we identified 13 different mutations in the LDL receptor gene: two silent (C331C, N494 N); five missense (W66G, E119K, T383P, W556S, T7051); one nonsense (W23X); three splice-site (313 + 1G-->A, 1061-8T-->C, 1846-1G-->A); and two frameshift (335del10, 1650delG) mutations. Four of these mutations, N494 N, T383P, 1061-8T-->C, and W556S, have not been reported earlier. The pathogenicity of the T383P, 1061-8T-->C, and W556S mutations remains to be established by in vitro mutagenesis and transfection studies. One patient had three mutations (335del10, 1061-8T-->C, and T705I) on the same allele. Further, nine well-known polymorphisms were detectable with this methodological setup. Direct DNA sequencing of the PCR products used for the SSCP analysis did not reveal any sequence variations not detected by the PCR-SSCP method. In two patients we did not detect any mutation by either method. We conclude that the PCR-SSCP analysis, performed as described here, is as sensitive and efficient as DNA sequencing in the ability to identify the sequence variations in the LDL receptor gene of the patients with heterozygous FH of this study.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Rapid characterization of disease-causing mutations in the low density lipoprotein receptor (LDL-R) gene by overexpression in COS cells.

To characterize disease-causing mutations in the low density lipoprotein receptor (LDL-R) gene, COS cells are transfected with the mutant gene in an EBV-based expression vector and characterized by flow cytometry. Using antibodies against the LDL-receptor the amount of receptor protein on the cell surface is quantitated. The receptor activity is measured by incubating the cells with fluorescence labeled LDL (Dil-labelled LDL) at 37 degrees C and 4 degrees C. The transfected cells stained with anti-LDL-R antibodies can also be analysed by immunofluorescence microscopy allowing the study of the intracellular location of variants of the receptor. To evaluate these methods, we are analyzing four previously well-characterized LDL-R mutations, belonging to each of the classes 2 to 5. Preliminary data show that mutant genes belonging to class 3 and 4A give rise to receptor protein on the cell surface, but impaired LDL uptake, while mutant receptors belonging to class 2A and 5 can only be detected intracellularly. Expression of the class 2A mutation results in an ER staining pattern, whereas the class 5 mutation gives rise to an intracellular staining compatible with localization in the endosomal/lysosomal compartments. We conclude that this system is useful for a rapid functional analysis of newly discovered mutations in the LDL-R gene.

Cell Line↗
PubMed1995

Human thymidine kinase 1. Regulation in normal and malignant cells.

In mammalian cells, salvage pathway phosphorylation of thymidine is catalyzed by two thymidine kinases: the cell-cycle regulated cytoplasmic TK1 and the constitutively expressed mitochondrial TK2. Since TK1 is virtually absent in non-dividing cells, TK2 is probably the only thymidine kinase present in these cells. In cellular metabolism, TK1 and TK2 presumably serve to maintain sufficient dTTP for DNA replication and repair. TK1 purified from phytohemagglutinin-stimulated human lymphocytes is a dimer in the absence and a tetramer in the presence of ATP. In addition to the molecular weight transition, incubation with ATP at 4 degrees C or storage with ATP induces a reversible, enzyme concentration-dependent, kinetically slow transition from a low to a high affinity form of TK1, with Km values of 14 microM and 0.5 microM, respectively. This affinity difference implies that at cellular thymidine concentrations, the difference in catalytic activity between the two TK1 forms will be 3-5-fold. Calculations of cellular TK1 concentration suggested that the low affinity dimer form was dominant in G0/G1 cells and the high affinity tetramer form in S-phase cells. Hence, the transition may serve to fine-tune the cell-cycle regulation of thymidine kinase activity on the post-translational level. To study the ATP effect on the molecular level, an IPTG inducible T7 RNA polymerase-dependent expression system for the entire human TK1 polypeptide in E. coli was established. The recombinant TK1 has the same subunit mass and specific activity as the native enzyme. However, the recombinant TK1 solely displayed the kinetics of the high affinity form, with Km values of 0.3-0.4 microM regardless of pre-exposure to ATP, indicating that the ATP effect may be dependent on post-translational modifications absent in E. coli. Surprisingly, we did not observe any effect of ATP on TK1 purified from bone-marrow cells from a patient with acute monocytic leukemia (AMOL). Furthermore, the Km values of TK1 from these cells were 45 microM for the ATP-free enzyme and 65 microM for the ATP-incubated enzyme. With TK1 purified from HL-60 cells, we obtained the same pattern and kinetic values as for TK1 from lymphocytes. In the light of the results with the recombinant TK1, we presume that the lack of ATP effect and very high Km values observed for the AMOL TK1 may be due to changes in post-translational regulatory mechanisms in acute monocytic cells.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗