An RsaI polymorphism in the human serotonin receptor gene (HTR1A): detection by DGGE and RFLP analysis.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Base Sequence↗
Biomedical subjects
J K Fink
Publications and source records attributed to J K Fink.
Ophthalmologic manifestations of type B Niemann-Pick diseases.
Type B Niemann-Pick Disease (NPB) is a rare lysosomal storage disease resulting from diminished activity or deficiency of sphingomyelinase and is characterized by multi-system involvement with visceromegaly. Rare ocular involvement (the Macula Halo Syndrome) has been reported. Eight patients (ages 4-36) with NPB underwent complete ophthalmologic evaluations. All patients had periorbital fullness, a hitherto unreported clinical feature. Two patients had a classic Macula Halo Syndrome. One patient developed peri-macular granular deposits forming an incomplete Macula Halo over 5 years. Another patient had macular granular deposits and developed deterioration of central vision and abnormal visual evoked potentials. Ophthalmologic involvement in NPB is more common than previously described. Complete ophthalmologic evaluation is recommended in all patients suspected to have NPB.
Adolescent↗
Clinical and genetic analysis of progressive dystonia with diurnal variation.
We examined 17 patients with progressive dystonia with diurnal variation, a dominantly inherited, generalized dystonia that begins in childhood. Dystonia was typically least severe in the morning, increased as the day continued, and markedly improved with low doses of carbidopa-levodopa. We also studied the patient's parents, children, and siblings from seven families. We observed a spectrum of neurologic involvement, phenotypic variability among siblings, and incomplete genetic penetrance. Progression of motor impairment over several years, which reaches a plateau during late adolescence, is useful in distinguishing progressive dystonia with diurnal variation from cerebral palsy and degenerative disorders. It is important to recognize the subtle, as well the extreme, manifestations of progressive dystonia with diurnal variation because it is treatable. Genetic counseling must consider that mildly affected parents with little or no disability may have profoundly affected children. Appreciation of the phenotypic variability and degree of genetic penetrance will permit detailed genetic and biochemical analyses.
Adolescent↗
Allele-specific sequencing confirms novel prion gene polymorphism in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
We analyzed the prion protein coding sequence in a familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease patient who did not have any of the currently recognized prion protein mutations. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis indicated that the prion protein coding sequence was heterozygous at least one location. We isolated each allele by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and directly sequenced. We found a DNA polymorphism at codon 178 that predicted the amino acid substitution, aspartate----asparagine. Whether this represents a benign polymorphism or pathogenic mutation will depend on analysis of the functional consequences of this change. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and allele-specific sequencing proved to be efficient means of analyzing sequence polymorphisms in this gene.
Adult↗
Correction of glucocerebrosidase deficiency after retroviral-mediated gene transfer into hematopoietic progenitor cells from patients with Gaucher disease.
Retroviral gene transfer has been used successfully to correct the glucocerebrosidase (GCase) deficiency in primary hematopoietic cells from patients with Gaucher disease. For this model of somatic gene therapy, we developed a high-titer, amphotropic retroviral vector designated NTG in which the human GCase gene was driven by the mutant polyoma virus enhancer/herpesvirus thymidine kinase gene (tk) promoter (Py+/Htk). NTG normalized GCase activity in transduced Gaucher fibroblasts and efficiently infected human monocytic and erythroleukemic cell lines. RNA blot-hybridization (Northern blot) analysis of these hematopoietic cell lines showed unexpectedly high-level expression from the Moloney murine leukemia virus long terminal repeat (Mo-MLV LTR) and levels of Py+/Htk enhancer/promoter-initiated human GCase RNA that approximated endogenous GCase RNA levels. Furthermore, NTG efficiently infected human hematopoietic progenitor cells. Detection (by means of the polymerase chain reaction) of the provirus in approximately one-third of NTG-infected progenitor colonies that had not been selected in G418-containing medium indicates that relative resistance to G418 underestimated the actual gene transfer efficiency. Northern blot analysis of NTG-infected, progenitor-derived cells showed expression from both the Mo-MLV LTR and the Py+/Htk enhancer/promoter. NTG-transduced hematopoietic progenitor cells from patients with Gaucher disease generated progeny in which GCase activity had been normalized.
Blotting, Northern↗
Expression of human glucocerebrosidase in long-term reconstituted mice following retroviral-mediated gene transfer into hematopoietic stem cells.
A retroviral vector (GTN) in which the glucocerebrosidase (GCase) cDNA is driven by the Moloney murine leukemia virus (Mo-MuLV) long terminal repeat (LTR) was tested for transfer efficiency and expression of the GCase gene in long-term reconstituted mice. Eleven W/Wv mice were transplanted with unselected GTN-infected bone marrow cells and 10 of these mice were analyzed 3 months later. Seven of these 10 mice (70%) contained the intact proviral genome in bone marrow, spleen, and thymus. Of these 7,3 mice contained a high-copy number of the provirus in all the hematopoietic tissues tested. The mice contained anywhere from one to four proviral integration sites that were the same in all three tissues, indicating that these mice have been repopulated by one or more transduced multipotential hematopoietic stem cells. Five months after transplantation, bone marrow from the eleventh mouse was transplanted into secondary recipient animals. The secondary recipients contained the intact proviral genome in the bone marrow, spleen, thymus, and macrophages 4 months after the secondary transplantation. This further supports the conclusion that hematopoietic stem cells have indeed been targeted. Human GCase RNA was detected in all 7 mice containing the proviral DNA. These results demonstrate expression of the human GCase gene in the progeny of repopulating hematopoietic stem cells of mice following gene transfer.
Animals↗
Hyperlipidemia as a complication of Niemann-Pick type B disease.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Adolescent↗
Neurologic complications in long-standing nephropathic cystinosis.
The central nervous system has been considered to be uninvolved in nephropathic cystinosis. Survival into adulthood, following renal dialysis and transplantation, has brought attention to the sequelae of long-standing cystinosis. We examined 14 patients with cystinosis, 12 of whom had undergone renal transplantation. Two patients had neurologic symptoms. One patient had progressive bradykinesia, dementia, and spasticity with computed tomographic scan evidence of cerebral atrophy and multifocal mineralization in bilateral internal capsules and periventricular white matter. One patient had behavioral and, to a lesser extent, cognitive disturbance and computed tomographic scan evidence of marked, progressive cerebral atrophy. Although the remaining patients had normal results of neurologic examinations, 11 had roentgenographic evidence of generalized cerebral atrophy; 2 of these had abnormal electroencephalograms, 1 had borderline-deficient intellectual function, and 2 had computed tomographic scan evidence of multifocal, intracerebral mineralization. The patients with nervous system abnormalities were not distinguished by patterns of medication use, demographic or laboratory features, or the relative severity of cystinosis. Although the neurologic involvement in these patients suggests that cystinosis may eventually involve the central nervous system, the differential diagnosis must include other complications from renal failure, dialysis, and immunosuppression.
Adolescent↗
Production of human glucocerebrosidase in mice after retroviral gene transfer into multipotential hematopoietic progenitor cells.
The human glucocerebrosidase (GC) gene has been transferred efficiently into spleen colony-forming unit (CFU-S) multipotential hematopoietic progenitor cells, and production of human GC RNA and protein has been achieved in transduced CFU-S colonies. High-titer retroviral vectors containing the human GC cDNA were constructed. Mouse bone marrow cells were stimulated with hematopoietic growth factors, infected by coculture with producer cells, and injected into lethally irradiated animals. Four vectors were compared with respect to gene-transfer efficiency into CFU-S progenitors. One vector (G vector) required high concentrations of interleukins 3 and 6 during stimulation and coculture for efficient transduction of CFU-S progenitors. The remaining three vectors (NTG, GTN, and GI vectors) transduced these progenitors at infection frequencies approaching 100% using low concentrations of hematopoietic growth factors to stimulate cell division prior to and during the infection. Vectors using the viral long terminal repeat enhancer/promoter to drive the human GC cDNA produced high levels of human GC RNA in the progeny of CFU-S progenitors after gene transfer. When an internal herpes simplex thymidine kinase promoter assisted by a mutant polyoma enhancer was used to drive the human GC cDNA (NTG vector), little or no human GC RNA was detected in transduced CFU-S colonies. All three vectors producing human GC RNA in CFU-S colonies can generate human GC as detected by immunochemical analysis of CFU-S colonies. NTG vector-infected bone marrow cells were transplanted into W/Wv recipients to generate long-term reconstituted mice. The capacity of the viral long terminal repeat and the internal thymidine kinase promoter to direct synthesis of RNA in transduced bone marrow and spleen cells 5 months after bone marrow transplantation reflected the performance of these promoters in NTG-transduced CFU-S colonies.
Animals↗
Tetrahydrobiopterin administration in biopterin-deficient progressive dystonia with diurnal variation.
We administered tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) to 4 patients with progressive dystonia with diurnal variation (PDDV). One patient improved clinically. Deficient CSF concentrations of HVA and 5-HIAA were unchanged despite marked elevation of CSF biopterin concentration. Variable effectiveness of BH4 in PDDV may reflect reduced number or function of biopterin-metabolizing neurons or variable entry of BH4 into these neurons.
Adult↗
Carbamazepine in Fabry's disease: effective analgesia with dose-dependent exacerbation of autonomic dysfunction.
Seven patients with Fabry's disease and severe pain received carbamazepine (CMZ). Five of 7 patients had moderate to complete relief based upon self-assessment of pain levels. Preexisting autonomic dysfunction was exacerbated by CMZ in 2. Complications encountered were ileus, urinary retention, and gastrointestinal disturbance. Although CMZ was useful in treatment of pain, caution should be employed in this disease.
Adult↗
Clinical spectrum of Niemann-Pick disease type C.
Analysis of the neurologic symptomatology in 22 patients with Niemann-Pick disease type C revealed 3 phenotypes: (1) an early-onset, rapidly progressive form associated with severe hepatic dysfunction and psychomotor delay during infancy and later with supranuclear vertical gaze paresis, ataxia, marked spasticity, and dementia; (2) a delayed-onset, slowly progressive form heralded by the appearance, usually in early childhood, of mild intellectual impairment, supranuclear vertical gaze paresis, and ataxia, and later associated with dementia and, variably, seizures and extrapyramidal deficits; (3) a late-onset slowly progressive form distinguished from the 2nd pattern by later age of onset (adolescence or adulthood) and a much slower rate of progression. The existence of the 1st and 2nd phenotypes within the same sibship suggests that they are variant expressions of the same clinicopathologic disorder. Niemann-Pick disease type C should be considered not only in infants and children who present with organomegaly and a progressive neurodegenerative course, but also in adolescents and adults who have insidiously progressive neurologic dysfunction and only slight organomegaly. Associated with the disease is a marked deficiency in the ability of cultured fibroblasts to esterify exogenously supplied cholesterol. Assay of this deficiency is particularly useful for confirming the diagnosis in patients with atypical presentation.
Adolescent↗
Richter's transformation of lymphoma complicating Gaucher's disease.
A case of lymphoma in a middle-aged woman with Gaucher's disease, a mu-kappa monoclonal gammopathy, peripheral lymphocytosis, and massive splenomegaly is described. There was no evidence of Gaucher's disease in the splenectomy specimen. Instead, the splenic architecture was effaced by a small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), with a few foci of large cell lymphoma (LCL). Immunoperoxidase studies showed that both lymphomatous components had a mu-kappa immunophenotype. Flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood and spleen lymphocyte surface markers confirmed monoclonality. The intensity of surface immunoglobulin expression and the results of other cell marker studies in the SLL component were consistent with a stage of differentiation beyond that typical of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The presence of abundant cytoplasmic immunoglobulin in the SLL and the association with monoclonal gammopathy were more consistent with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia or plasmacytoid lymphocytic lymphoma. The immunohistochemical and flow cytometric findings suggest that the SLL component evolved clonally or underwent Richter's transformation to LCL. Although Gaucher's disease has been associated with a variety of B-cell disorders, the subsequent transformation to a high-grade lymphoma has not been previously reported.
B-Lymphocytes↗
Dystonia with marked diurnal variation associated with biopterin deficiency.
Two pairs of siblings with severe dystonia with marked diurnal fluctuation had both reduced CSF concentration of biopterin and marked symptomatic improvement of the dystonia in response to levodopa. Whether the reduced concentration of biopterin reflects focal abiotrophy of biopterin-containing neurons or deficiency of biopterin synthesis is uncertain. A fifth individual, who had a systemic deficiency of biopterin synthesis, shared the features of reduced biopterin in CSF, marked diurnal variation in the degree of dystonia, and clinical improvement in response to levodopa. Generalized dystonia with marked diurnal fluctuation was therefore shared by the four patients in whom biopterin deficiency was limited to the CNS and the patient with systemic deficiency of biopterin.
Adolescent↗
Multiple sulfatase deficiency.
Multiple sulfatase deficiency is an inherited disorder characterized by a deficiency of several sulfatases and the accumulation of sulfatides, glycosaminoglycans, sphingolipids, and steroid sulfates in tissues and body fluids. The clinical manifestations represent the summation of two diseases: late infantile metachromatic leukodystrophy and mucopolysaccharidosis. We present a 9-year-old girl with a phenotype similar to a mucopolysaccharidosis: short stature, microcephaly, and mild facial dysmorphism, along with dysphagia, retinal degeneration, developmental arrest, and ataxia. We discuss the importance of measuring the sulfatase activities in the leukocytes, and the instability of sulfatases in the cultured skin fibroblasts.
Cerebroside-Sulfatase↗
Treatable dystonia presenting as spastic cerebral palsy.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Adolescent↗
Type C Niemann-Pick disease. Abnormal metabolism of low density lipoprotein in homozygous and heterozygous fibroblasts.
The esterification of cholesterol derived from human low density lipoprotein (LDL) or fetal bovine serum (FBS) was deficient in cultured fibroblasts from subjects with heterozygous and homozygous type C Niemann-Pick (NPC) disease. Failure to significantly esterify LDL-derived cholesterol resulted in abnormal accumulation of predominantly unesterified cholesterol in homozygous NPC fibroblasts. Compared with normal and homozygous fibroblasts, heterozygous NPC fibroblasts synthesized intermediate levels of cholesteryl ester during the initial 6 h of incubation with LDL. The rate of cholesterol esterification in heterozygous cells was normal when measured over a 24-h period of incubation with LDL. In addition to demonstrating a defect in cholesterol esterification, homozygous NPC fibroblasts accumulated more total cholesterol when incubated with LDL or FBS than normal fibroblasts accumulated. When heterozygous NPC fibroblasts were incubated with LDL or FBS, cellular accumulation of cholesterol reached levels that were high-normal or intermediary between levels observed in normal and homozygous NPC fibroblasts. The partial expression of these metabolic errors in the heterozygous genotype relevantly links these errors to the primary mutation of this disorder.
Cell Line↗
Studies on hydroxyethyl starch. Part I: Molecular characterization by size exclusion chromatography coupled with low-angle laser light scattering.
Two commercially available hydroxyethyl starch (HES) preparations (in clinical use as plasma expanders) specified with Mw = 450,000/MS = 0.7 and Mw = 200,000/MS = 0.5, respectively, and three experimental HES-samples (supposingly similar to the commercial product with the specification 450,000/0.7, except of one with MS = 0.5) were studied. The latter were prepared via acid or enzymatic hydrolysis of waxy-maize starch. Each of the samples was characterized by its intrinsic viscosity and molar substitution, and was studied with low-angle laser light scattering (LALLS) and with size exclusion chromatography (SEC) coupled with LALLS. The weight-average molecular weight Mw of the commercial samples was found to be 60-80% higher than the value given in the product declaration. This discrepancy can be explained by the argument that previous measurements were not carried out at sufficiently small scattering angles to enable reliable extrapolation to zero angle. The calibration functions Mw(v) of the individual HES-samples measured by SEC/LALLS-coupling are identical over a broad range of the elution volume v and are used for calibration of conventional SEC in a subsequent paper. The small, but detectable differences in the Mw(v)-functions indicate interesting differences between these HES-preparations with respect to the effective hydrodynamic density of the branched HES-molecules.
Chromatography, Gel↗