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N Mizuki

Publications and source records attributed to N Mizuki.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

[Gene structure of the human MHC region].

The human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) encodes the highly polymorphic human leukocyte antigens (HLA) responsible for antigen presentation to T cells. The HLA gene complex is located on the short arm of chromosome 6 within 6p21.3 and covers a distance of about 4,000 kb that has arisen through repeated gene duplication and conversion during evolution. The HLA class I region is about 2,000 kb in size, while the class II region is about 1,000 kb. The remainder comprises the HLA class III region. There are presently 19 HLA or HLA-like expressed genes and about 80 non-HLA expressed genes as well as 27 pseudogenes or gene fragments localized within the HLA region, although the function of most of these genes is still uncertain. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of non-HLA genes as well as HLA genes which are so far identified in this region.

Genes, MHC Class I↗

Seroepidemiological studies on Silk Road ethnic groups.

To clarify the origin of the Japanese, the Jomom and/or Yayol, we screened for HTLV-1 and -II antibodies among inhabitants of the Silk Road, the Han, Uygur and Kazaks. We also screened for HIV, HBV, and HCV. The HTLV-I, -II, HIV, and HCV antibody tests were uniformly negative in all the studied groups. In contrast, a significantly higher incidence of HBs antigen was observed in all the groups tested (Northern Han: 11.9%, Uygur: 6.0%, Kazak: 9.1%). These results indicate that these ethnic groups are not the origin of the indigenous Japanese (the Jomon), and that HBV is prevalent in the various groups along the Silk Road.

Antigens, Viral↗

Microsatellite polymorphism between the tumor necrosis factor and HLA-B genes in Behçet's disease.

Behçet's disease is associated with the HLA-B51 antigen. However, it has not yet been clarified if the HLA-B51 gene itself is the susceptibility gene related to this disease or if it is some other non-HLA gene in linkage disequilibrium with HLA-B51. Therefore, we screened one of the HSP70 genes, HUM70t (HSP70-Hom), around the class III region and the microsatellite sequence located between the HLA-B and TNF genes for genetic polymorphism in BD. A comparison between patients with BD and healthy controls revealed no significant difference in the frequency of the HUM70t polymorphism. In the microsatellite sequence, Tau-a, in the region between the HLA-B and TNF genes, the frequency of 14 repetitions of GT was increased significantly and that of 11 repetitions was decreased significantly in the patient group. Further, the allelic distributions of the B51 antigen-associated microsatellite polymorphism differed significantly between patients and healthy controls, and in the B51 antigen-negative subjects, analysis of the microsatellite polymorphism also revealed a significant difference in the haplotype frequency between the patient and control groups. These results suggest that the HLA-B51 gene may not be the primary locus responsible for BD, and implicate some other gene(s) located between the TNF and HLA-B genes.

Base Sequence↗

Determination of HLA class II alleles by genotyping in a Manchu population in the northern part of China and its relationship with Han and Japanese populations.

The genetic polymorphism of the HLA class II loci was investigated in a Manchu population resident in the northern part of China and compared with those of other Asian populations including Japanese and Han. In 8 DQA1 alleles, the most frequent allele was DQA1*03 with the gene frequency of 25.5%. Of 15 DQB1 alleles tested, 11 were observed and the most common allele was DQB1*0301 with the gene frequency of 24.5%. Among 19 DPB1 alleles, 11 were detected and DPB1*0501 (43.8%) was the most frequent allele as observed in other Asian populations such as Japanese, Chinese and Korean. Of 43 DRB1 alleles tested, 21 were detected and DRB1*0901 (14.0%), *1501 (11.0%), *1201 (11.0%), *07 (9.0%) and *1401 (9.0%) were highly predominant and account for the high frequencies of DR9, DR2, DR5, DR7 and DR6. In the DRB3 gene (DR52), DRB3*0202 (18.0%) was the most frequent. With respect to the DRB4 gene (DR53), the gene frequency of DRB4*0101 was 35.0%. Of 3 DRB5 alleles detected, DRB5*0101 (11.0%) was highly predominant. Comparison of HLA class II allele frequencies in Manchu with those in Japanese and Han Chinese populations (South & North) detected some significant differences and genetic divergence between these Oriental populations. The dendrogram constructed by the neighbor-joining (NJ) method based on the allele frequencies of DQA1, DQB1, DPB1 and DRB1 of 10 representative populations over the world suggested that Manchu is the closest, but at the same genetic distance to both Northern and Southern Han Chinese.

Alleles↗

Clinical features of sarcoidosis in relation to HLA distribution and HLA-DRB3 genotyping by PCR-RFLP.

BACKGROUND: Susceptibility to the development of sarcoidosis has been demonstrated to be associated with HLA-DR5, -DR6, and -DR8 encoded by the DRB1 gene. However, involvement of the DRB3 (HLA-DR52) gene in the development of sarcoidosis remains unclear. METHODS: HLA-DRB3 genotyping was performed using the PCR-RFLP method and the clinical features of the patients with and without the DR3, 5, 6, 8 group antigens were compared. RESULTS: HLA-DRB3 genotyping indicated an association between DRB3*0101 and sarcoidosis. The DR8 haplotype lacking the DRB3 gene has been found to be increased significantly in sarcoidosis, suggesting that the HLA-DRB3 gene is not a primary determinant of predisposition to sarcoidosis. The association of DRB3*0101 with sarcoidosis is attributable to linkage disequilibrium with DR5- and DR6-associated alleles. There were significant decreases in the DR3, 5, 6, 8 group (DR5, DR6, or DR8) antigen frequencies in patients with retinal perivasculitis, high intraocular pressure (or secondary glaucoma), and optic nerve and/or macular lesion. Correlations were observed among the DR3, 5, 6, 8 group antigens, early onset sarcoidosis and disease with fewer intraocular lesions. CONCLUSION: This established a molecular basis for some of the clinical heterogeneity observed in sarcoidosis.

Adolescent↗

HLA-DQA1, -DQB1 and -DRB1 genotyping in Japanese pemphigus vulgaris patients by the PCR-RFLP method.

We performed HLA-DQA1, -DQB1 and -DRB1 genotyping using the PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism) method for 32 Japanese pemphigus vulgaris (PV) patients. There was a significant association of either DQB1*0503 or DRB1*1405 with PV, and a negative association of either DQA1*0103 or DQB1*0601 with PV was found. Since the DQB1*0503+ patients had various DR14-related alleles, we concluded that the association with DQB1 is primary and that the association with DRB1 is simply due to linkage disequilibrium between the DQ and DR genes. These results may indicate that specific HLA class II antigens confer the susceptibility to PV among Japanese.

Alleles↗

Behçet's disease associated with one of the HLA-B51 subantigens, HLA-B* 5101.

The strong association of Behçet's disease with HLA-B51 in several ethnic groups is well known. Because the HLA-B51 antigen has been recently identified to comprise three alleles, HLA-B* 5101, HLA-B* 5102, and HLA-B* 5103, we sought to investigate whether there is any correlation of one particular allele among them with B51-positive patients with Behçet's disease. Forty-six Japanese patients with Behçet's disease and HLA-B51 were typed by using the alloantisera, which allowed the subdivision of B51 antigen by the microlymphocyte toxicity assay. All the patients were found to carry HLA-B* 5101. This result suggests that amino acid substitutions at residue 167 or 171 prevent the development of Behçet's disease, because HLA-B* 5101 differs from HLA-B* 5102 and HLA-B* 5103 by single amino acid substitution at residues 171 and 167, respectively, or that another non-HLA gene tightly linked to the HLA-B* 5101-associated haplotype around the HLA class I gene region is responsible for the susceptibility to Bechçet's disease. This study provides insight into the molecular mechanism underlying an HLA association with Behçet's disease.

Alleles↗

Analysis of genes within the HLA region affecting susceptibility to ulcerative colitis.

To clarify the molecular relationship between HLA loci and ulcerative colitis (UC) in Japanese patients, we performed HLA-DP genotyping by the PCR-RFLP method and studied tumor necrosis factor beta-chain genetic polymorphism by Southern hybridization, in addition to conventional serologic typing. Significant increase was observed in Bw52, DPw9 (DPB1*0901), and DR2 (DRB1*1502) in Japanese patients with UC. Linkage analysis indicated that A24-Bw52-DR2-DPw9 alleles constitute a common haplotype in Japanese UC patients. Among the patients not carrying Bw52, B13 was significantly increased and B44 was relatively increased. These Bw52, B13, and B44 alleles share the unique amino acids, serine and aspartic acid at positions 67 and 77, respectively. These positions are in the second hypervariable region of the alpha 1-domain of the HLA-B13, B44, Bw52, and B49 antigens (B49 is quite rare in the Japanese population). The inflammatory region in UC patients was found to vary depending on their HLA-B alleles. These results suggest that the HLA-B locus itself plays an important role in the susceptibility to Japanese UC.

Adult↗

Association of primary biliary cirrhosis with human leukocyte antigen DPB1*0501 in Japanese patients.

To investigate the relationship between distribution of human leukocyte antigen alleles and susceptibility to primary biliary cirrhosis among Japanese, we performed serological typing and human leukocyte antigen DP genotyping in 47 Japanese patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. Serologically, the frequency of human leukocyte antigen DQ3 was significantly higher in the patients than in healthy controls, whereas frequency of DR52 was significantly lower in the patients. Human leukocyte antigen DP genotyping using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction-fragment-length polymorphism method showed that the frequency of human leukocyte antigen DPB1*0501 (85.1%) was significantly higher in patients than in healthy controls but that the frequency of DPB1*0402 was significantly lower in patients. The positive association of human leukocyte antigen DPB1*0501 with primary biliary cirrhosis was stronger than that of serological human leukocyte antigen DQ3, which can be explained by its linkage to DPB1*0501. In addition, three of seven DPB1*0501-negative patients had DPB1*0202, suggesting that the human leukocyte antigen DPB1 amino-acid chain plays an important role in the immunogenesis of primary biliary cirrhosis among Japanese patients. Comparative analysis of amino acid sequences from DPB1 alleles indicated that a Leu at position 35 of the DPB1 chain likely contributes to the susceptibility to primary biliary cirrhosis among the Japanese.

Adult↗

The mouse male germ cell-specific gene Tpx-1: molecular structure, mode of expression in spermatogenesis, and sequence similarity to two non-mammalian genes.

Tpx-1 is a testis-specific gene that maps on mouse Chromosome (Chr) 17. The deduced TPX-1 protein shows 55% amino acid sequence similarity to acidic epididymal glycoprotein (AEG), assumed to be involved in sperm maturation. In the present study, we determined the genomic structure of the mouse Tpx-1 gene and the cellular localization of its transcripts. The gene was found to contain ten exons, with an unusually large intron (approximately 17.0 kilobase pairs) between exons 8 and 9. In situ hybridization of testicular sections showed that Tpx-1 is transcribed abundantly by haploid male germ cells. A computer search of protein databases revealed that deduced TPX-1/AEG proteins have significant sequence similarity (approximately 30%) to two non-mammalian proteins: "pathogenesis-related" proteins 1 of tobaccos, and venom sac proteins of white-face hornets, known as Dol m V. Amino acid residues encoded by exon 10 of the Tpx-1 gene and most of those encoded by exon 9 were absent in the non-mammalian proteins. This result suggests that the ancestor of Tpx-1 acquired exons 9 and 10 after its divergence from the ancestors of the plant and insect proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

HLA class II molecules and autoimmune hepatitis susceptibility in Japanese patients.

To investigate the association between autoimmune hepatitis and HLA alleles in Japanese patients, serological typing and class II genotyping were performed using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLP) method. Serological typing showed that HLA-B54, -DR4, -DR53, and -DQ4 were significantly more frequent in patients with autoimmune hepatitis than in controls. HLA-DR4 was most frequently associated with autoimmune hepatitis (88.7%). In PCR-RFLP typing, the frequency of DRB1*0405 was significantly higher in autoimmune hepatitis than in controls. However, there was no significant difference in the frequency of Dw between the patients and the controls who were DR4-positive. The significant increase observed in DQA1*0301 and DQB1*0401 was explained by a linkage disequilibrium with DR4. Six DR4-negative patients had DR2, but there was no significant difference in the frequency of the DR2-associated Dw-alleles compared with the DR2-positive controls. No DPB1 allele was significantly associated with autoimmune hepatitis. These findings suggest that the basic amino acid at position 13, which is present only on the DR2 and DR4 B1 molecules (Arg on DR2 and His on DR4), contributes to the susceptibility to autoimmune hepatitis among the Japanese.

Adult↗