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Biomedical subjects

J Kulski

Publications and source records attributed to J Kulski.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Genomics of the major histocompatibility complex: haplotypes, duplication, retroviruses and disease.

The genomic region encompassing the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) contains polymorphic frozen blocks which have developed by local imperfect sequential duplication associated with insertion and deletion (indels). In the alpha block surrounding HLA-A, there are ten duplication units or beads on the 62.1 ancestral haplotype. Each bead contains or contained sequences representing Class I, PERB11 (MHC Class I chain related (MIC) and human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) 16. Here we consider explanations for co-occurrence of genomic polymorphism, duplication and HERVs and we ask how these features encode susceptibility to numerous and very diverse diseases. Ancestral haplotypes differ in their copy number and indels in addition to their coding regions. Disease susceptibility could be a function of all of these differences. We propose a model of the evolution of the human MHC. Population-specific integration of retroviral sequences could explain rapid diversification through duplication and differential disease susceptibility. If HERV sequences can be protective, there are exciting prospects for manipulation. In the meanwhile, it will be necessary to understand the function of MHC genes such as PERB11 (MIC) and many others discovered by genomic sequencing.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Time trends in the prevalence of human papillomavirus infections in archival Papanicolaou smears: analysis by cytology, DNA hybridization, and polymerase chain reaction.

A retrospective study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in routine Papanicolaou (Pap) smears collected by general practitioners from Western Australian women in each of the years 1972, 1982, and 1987. HPV infection was detected by cytology, dot-blot hybridization, or polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It was found that the prevalence of HPV infection remained unchanged over the 15 year study period, was independent of age, and was associated with normal cytology at a rate far greater than previously recognized. Indeed, the prevalence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) lesions, as detected by cytology, was 3.0% in 1972 and 3.8% in 1982 and 1987. The prevalence of HPV infection, detected as koilocytosis or parakeratosis, was 6.5%, 6.8%, and 5.3% in smears collected in 1972, 1982, and 1987, respectively, from 1,800 women. In 237 cytologically normal smears reprocessed for HPV-DNA studies, the prevalence of HPV 16 was determined to be 15.6%, 11.2%, and 17.8% in 1972, 1982, and 1987, respectively, as determined by dot-blot hybridization. However, the PCR detected HPV 16 in an additional 55.5%, 62.9%, and 57.0% of cytologically normal and dot-blot negative smears. The prevalence of HPV 16 infection in cytologically normal smears was estimated to be 71.0%, 74.1%, and 74.8% in 1972, 1982, and 1987, respectively, by combining the HPV 16 dot-blot and PCR-positive results. The high prevalence of HPV 16 in cytologically normal Pap smears suggests that infection with HPV 16, as detected by PCR amplification, does not place women in a high-risk category for cervical cancer.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗