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P Sarda

Publications and source records attributed to P Sarda.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Rare Robertsonian translocations and meiotic behaviour: sperm FISH analysis of t(13;15) and t(14;15) translocations: a case report.

t(13;15) and t(14;15) are two rare Robertsonian translocations. Meiotic segregation was studied in four males heterozygous for the rare Robertsonian translocations t(13;15) and t(14;15). Both locus-specific probes (LSPs) and whole chromosome painting (WCP) probes, specific to chromosomes 13, 14 and 15, were used in this study. The number of spermatozoa scored for each carrier ranged from 891 to 5000. The frequencies of normal and balanced sperm resulting from the alternate mode of segregation ranged from 77.6 to 92.8%, confirming the prevalence of alternate segregation over other segregation modes in all Robertsonian translocations. The incidences of unbalanced complements ranged from 6.7 to 20.4%, with a significant excess of disomy rates over the complementary frequencies of nullisomy. This variability might reflect differences in the location of breakpoints in translocated chromosomes, leading to the variable production of unbalanced gametes and the variable alterations of semen parameters in Robertsonian translocation carriers.

Adult↗

Meiotic segregation of rare Robertsonian translocations: sperm analysis of three t(14q;22q) cases.

BACKGROUND: The t(14;22) remains one of the rare Robertsonian translocations observed in human, with an occurrence estimated at 1.2%. Three cases of rare Robertsonian translocation t(14;22) were investigated for meiotic segregation in sperm samples from male carriers using the fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) procedure. The three carriers included two men with an abnormal semen analysis and one with normal semen parameters. METHODS: Both locus-specific probes and whole-chromosome painting probes, specific for chromosomes 14 and 22, were used in this study. The number of spermatozoa scored for each probe set ranged from 3279 to 10,024. RESULTS: In the three carriers, similar frequencies, ranging from 78.53 to 81.76%, were found for normal and balanced spermatozoa resulting from alternate segregation. The total proportion of unbalanced spermatozoa resulting from adjacent modes of segregation ranged from 17.59 to 20.94%. CONCLUSION: This finding confirmed the predominance of alternate segregation over other segregation types in all Robertsonian translocations and indicates a higher production of imbalances in the t(14;22) than in most of the Robertsonian translocations previously analysed. This could be related to the variable location of breakpoints in Robertsonian translocations. This breakpoint diversity could also play a role in the differences in reproductive status observed in male carriers of Robertsonian translocations.

Adult↗

Sperm segregation analysis of a (13;22) Robertsonian translocation carrier by FISH: a comparison of locus-specific probe and whole chromosome painting.

BACKGROUND: The t(13;22) Robertsonian translocation constitutes a rare form of rearrangement between acrocentric human chromosomes. Most of the meiotic segregation studies of human Robertsonian translocations have been performed on common t(13;14) and t(14;21) translocations. Analysis of the chromosomal constitution in sperm of Robertsonian translocation carriers is of great interest for assessing the risk of unbalanced forms and adapting genetic counselling. In the present study, we present the first meiotic segregation study of a t(13;22) Robertsonian translocation in human sperm. METHODS: A total of 11 787 sperm nuclei were scored using two distinct FISH labelling techniques, i.e. the locus-specific probes (LSI) method and the whole chromosome painting (WCP) technique. RESULTS: The frequency of normal or balanced sperm resulting from alternate meiotic segregation was 86%. Incidences of unbalanced complements resulting from adjacent segregation modes were 12.79% and 14.36% in LSI and WCP assays, respectively. No significant excess of nullisomy or disomy for the affected chromosomes was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Similar results in segregation were obtained with the two techniques, demonstrating the efficiency of the two strategies for the direct segregation analysis of Roberstsonian translocations. The results obtained indicated a moderate meiotic production of imbalance. This study shows that the rare Robertsonian translocation (13;22) displays a similar distribution of balanced and unbalanced sperm patterns as the common Robertsonian translocations previously studied. This suggests that the behaviour of acrocentric chromosomes was similar in all cases of centric fusion.

Adult↗

Frequent severe liver iron overload after stem cell transplantation and its possible association with invasive aspergillosis.

Iron overload is associated with free radical generation and tissue damage. Our main objective was to ascertain the frequency and severity of iron overload in a group of 59 patients who died after conventional-intensity autologous (n=24) or allogeneic (n=35) haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). A second objective was to investigate associations between liver-iron concentration and causes of transplant-related mortality. The median age was 41 years (range, 19-66), 41 were males and 18 females. In total, 26 patients had acute leukaemia or MDS, 10 CML, 17 lymphoma, four myeloma and two aplastic anaemia. The median hepatic iron concentration (HIC) was 138 micromol/g dry weight (7.7 mg/g; range 31-631 micromol/g). In total, 4/32 (12%) patients with HIC <150 micromol/g and 10/27 (37%) with hepatic iron > or =150 micromol/g showed invasive aspergillosis at autopsy (P=0.035). This was significant in multivariate analysis (RR 9.0; 95% CI 1.6-50.3, P=0.012). In conclusion, severe iron overload is frequent in patients who die following HSCT and is associated with invasive aspergillosis.

Adult↗

Measurement of liver iron overload by magnetic induction using a planar gradiometer: preliminary human results.

The measurement of hepatic iron overload is of particular interest in cases of hereditary hemochromatosis or in patients subject to periodic blood transfusion. The measurement of plasma ferritin provides an indirect estimate but the usefulness of this method is limited by many common clinical conditions (inflammation, infection, etc). Liver biopsy provides the most quantitative direct measurement of iron content in the liver but the risk of the procedure limits its acceptability. This work studies the feasibility of a magnetic induction (MI) low-cost system to measure liver iron overload. The excitation magnetic field (B0, frequency: 28 kHz) was produced by a coil, the perturbation produced by the object (deltaB) was detected using a planar gradiometer. We measured ten patients and seven volunteers in supine and prone positions. Each subject was moved in a plane parallel to the gradiometer several times to estimate measurement repeatability. The real and imaginary parts of deltaB/B0 were measured. Plastic tanks filled with water, saline and ferric solutions were measured for calibration purposes. We used a finite element model to evaluate the experimental results. To estimate the iron content we used the ratio between the maximum values for real and imaginary parts of deltaB/B0 and the area formed by the Nyquist plot divided by the maximum imaginary part. Measurements in humans showed that the contribution of the permittivity is stronger than the contribution of the permeability produced by iron stores in the liver. Defined iron estimators show a limited correlation with expected iron content in patients (R < or = 0.56). A more precise control of geometry and position of the subjects and measurements at multiple frequencies would improve the method.

Computer Simulation↗

Preterm infant formula supplementation with alpha linolenic acid and docosahexaenoic acid.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate if supplementation of preterm infant formula with a high docosahexaenoic acid/eicosapentaenoic acid (DHA/EPA) ratio together with alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) was able to maintain plasma and red blood cell DHA levels similar to that obtained with breast milk feeding without altering n-6 fatty acid status. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: Preterm infants of mothers who elected not to breast feed (n=13) were assigned to ALA- and DHA-enriched formula (DHA group: DHA/EPA=5/l). Infants fed breast milk (n=25) constituted a reference group (BM group). Anthropometric and fatty acid parameters (plasma phospholipids, cholesterol esters, triglycerides and red blood cell phosphatidylethanolamine, PL, CE, TG, RBC-PE, respectively) were obtained after 2 days (D2) and 15 days (D15) of enteral feeding and at the 37th week (W37) of post-conception age and 1 month later (W37+30) in the DHA group. Mean DHA intake ranged between 16.5+/-1.6 and 17.9+/-2.9 mg/kg/day between D2 and W37+30. RESULTS: At W37, infant weights, heights, and head circumferences were similar in DHA and BM groups. PL DHA was maintained in the DHA group at the same level as in the BM group and the same for DHA in PE at W37. In RBC-PE and at W37, AA status was the same in both groups. In PL, AA levels remained very stable throughout the study; however, in the DHA group AA levels in PL remained in the range observed with standard formulas. CONCLUSION: The combined 18:3 n-3 and DHA supplementation of infant formula with DHA/EPA ratio 5/l is compatible with growth and n-3 fatty acid metabolism similar to that of preterm infants fed human milk.

Dietary Supplements↗

First preimplantation genetic diagnosis of hereditary retinoblastoma using informative microsatellite markers.

Retinoblastoma is a malignant intra-ocular tumour of developing retina initiated by inactivation of both alleles of the retinoblastoma susceptibility (RB1) gene. This paper reports the first clinical experience of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for hereditary retinoblastoma using two highly polymorphic microsatellite markers RB1.20 and D13S284, located within and close to the RB1 gene respectively. Duplex PCRs were tested on more than 300 single lymphocytes from heterozygous individuals at both loci, in order to test the accuracy and reliability of the single-cell protocol. This procedure requires a nested PCR and the analysis of fluorescently labelled PCR products on an automatic DNA sequencer. Amplification efficiency and allele drop-out rates ranged from 96.7 to 98.4%, and 3.7 to 5.4% respectively. This test was found to be accurate and reliable enough to be applied to the study of human blastomeres. Subsequently, this approach was used in a PGD treatment cycle for a couple who already had a child affected with hereditary retinoblastoma and found to be informative for both microsatellite markers.

Adult↗

Meier-Gorlin syndrome: report of eight additional cases and review.

The Meier-Gorlin syndrome or ear, patella, short stature syndrome (MIM 224690) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder, characterized by the association of bilateral microtia, aplasia/hypoplasia of the patellae, and severe pre- and postnatal growth retardation. Twenty-one cases have been reported in literature thus far. Here we report on eight patients from seven families and compare them with previously described cases. One of the present cases had previously undescribed genital anomalies. There is a difference in facial characteristics between patients reported in early infancy and those described at older age; follow-up of patients is needed to substantiate this changing facial phenotype. We recommend radiographic survey of the patellae in patients at older age to investigate the weight of absent or hypoplastic patellae in the diagnosis of the syndrome.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Prevalence of HFE mutations in people from North Africa living in southern France.

The two main mutations of the HFE (haemochromatosis) gene, C282Y and H63D, were found previously to be rare or absent among Africans. Dried blood samples of 1276 newborns from southern France were analysed for both HFE mutations, and the origins of the four grandparents of each newborn were recorded. The allele frequency of C282Y and H63D was 3.0% +/- 0.7% and 16.9% +/- 1.5% respectively. In a subgroup of 171 newborns with four North African ancestries (mainly from Morocco and Algeria) the allele frequency was 0.9%+2.5%-0.2% for the C282Y and 13.2% +/- 3.6% for H63D. HFE mutations are not absent in individuals with North African origins living in southern Europe. This finding has implications for the diagnosis and screening of hereditary haemochromatosis in these populations.

Africa, Northern↗

A broad spectrum of clinical presentations in congenital disorders of glycosylation I: a series of 26 cases.

INTRODUCTION: Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG), or carbohydrate deficient glycoprotein syndromes, form a new group of multisystem disorders characterised by defective glycoprotein biosynthesis, ascribed to various biochemical mechanisms. METHODS: We report the clinical, biological, and molecular analysis of 26 CDG I patients, including 20 CDG Ia, two CDG Ib, one CDG Ic, and three CDG Ix, detected by western blotting and isoelectric focusing of serum transferrin. RESULTS: Based on the clinical features, CDG Ia could be split into two subtypes: a neurological form with psychomotor retardation, strabismus, cerebellar hypoplasia, and retinitis pigmentosa (n=11), and a multivisceral form with neurological and extraneurological manifestations including liver, cardiac, renal, or gastrointestinal involvement (n=9). Interestingly, dysmorphic features, inverted nipples, cerebellar hypoplasia, and abnormal subcutaneous fat distribution were not consistently observed in CDG Ia. By contrast, the two CDG Ib patients had severe liver disease, enteropathy, and hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia but no neurological involvement. Finally, the CDG Ic patient and one of the CDG Ix patients had psychomotor retardation and seizures. The other CDG Ix patients had severe proximal tubulopathy, bilateral cataract, and white matter abnormalities (one patient), or multiorgan failure and multiple birth defects (one patient). CONCLUSIONS: Owing to the remarkable clinical variability of CDG, this novel disease probably remains largely underdiagnosed. The successful treatment of CDG Ib patients with oral mannose emphasises the paramount importance of early diagnosis of PMI deficiency.

Adipose Tissue↗

Neurological phenotype in Waardenburg syndrome type 4 correlates with novel SOX10 truncating mutations and expression in developing brain.

Waardenburg syndrome type 4 (WS4), also called Shah-Waardenburg syndrome, is a rare neurocristopathy that results from the absence of melanocytes and intrinsic ganglion cells of the terminal hindgut. WS4 is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait attributable to EDN3 or EDNRB mutations. It is inherited as an autosomal dominant condition when SOX10 mutations are involved. We report on three unrelated WS4 patients with growth retardation and an as-yet-unreported neurological phenotype with impairment of both the central and autonomous nervous systems and occasionally neonatal hypotonia and arthrogryposis. Each of the three patients was heterozygous for a SOX10 truncating mutation (Y313X in two patients and S251X [corrected] in one patient). The extended spectrum of the WS4 phenotype is relevant to the brain expression of SOX10 during human embryonic and fetal development. Indeed, the expression of SOX10 in human embryo was not restricted to neural-crest-derived cells but also involved fetal brain cells, most likely of glial origin. These data emphasize the important role of SOX10 in early development of both neural-crest-derived tissues, namely melanocytes, autonomic and enteric nervous systems, and glial cells of the central nervous system.

Autonomic Nervous System↗

Alpha linolenic acid in cholesterol esters: a marker of alphalinolenic acid intake in newborns.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) (18&ratio;3 n-3) and linolenic acid (LA) (18&ratio;2 n-6) in cholesterol esters (CE) as markers of ALA and LA dietary intakes in preterm infants. SUBJECTS: Forty-five preterm infants: two groups fed different formulas, the third fed human milk. DESIGN: ALA and LA dietary intakes were precisely recorded in each infant to accurately determine the cumulative amount of ingested ALA and LA during two intervals: (i) between the second day after the first significant formula intake (D0) and the fifteenth day (D15); and (ii) between D0 and the first day of the 37th week of post-conception age (W37). The corresponding amounts of ingested ALA and LA were related to ALA and LA levels determined by capillary column gas-liquid chromatography in plasma cholesterol esters at D15 and W37, respectively. RESULTS: ALA in CE was very significantly correlated to D0-D15 and D0-W37 ALA intakes (0.66; P=0.0001 and 0.70; P=0.0001), respectively. LA in CE was weakly correlated to D0-D15 LA intakes (0.03; P=0.01) and whatever the group (human milk or enriched formula) the correlation was lost at W37. CONCLUSION: In preterm infants, ALA in CE can be considered as representative of ALA dietary intakes, whereas LA in CE appears as a poor marker of LA intakes.

Biological Availability↗

Argon-lead isotopic correlation in mid-atlantic ridge basalts

Step-heating analyses for Mid-Atlantic Ridge glass samples show that maximum 40Ar/36Ar values correlate with 206,207,208Pb/204Pb. These correlations hold for the whole Atlantic Ocean and therefore are unlikely to result from shallow-level contamination processes. Instead, they are taken as mixing hyperbolae between the degassed-depleted upper mantle and a recycled component characterized by high 206Pb/204Pb ratios (19 to 21) and low 40Ar/36Ar ratios (300 to 1000). These relations imply that argon may also be a tracer of mantle recycling.

Journal Article↗

Differential effect of N-ethyl maleimide on delta6-desaturase activity in human fetal liver toward fatty acids of the n-6 and n-3 series.

The effect of N-ethyl-maleimide (NEM) on delta5- and delta6-desaturase activities and the incorporation of substrates and products into different microsomal lipid classes and phospholipid (PL) subclasses were studied in human fetal liver microsomes, obtained after legally approved therapeutic abortion. Desaturase activities were measured by a radiochemical method using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). After nonphospholipid (NPL) and PL separation on silica cartridges, the radioactivity in different lipids of the NPL group was assessed by two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography, and their fatty acid (FA) composition by gas-liquid chromatography. The PL subclasses were separated, and the distribution of radioactivity between products and substrates was determined in PL subclasses. NEM inhibited the delta5- and delta6-desaturase activities in the n-6 series of FA but not the delta6-desaturase activity in the n-3 series, which suggests the existence of two distinct delta6-desaturases, one for the n-6 series and another for the n-3 series. Whether NEM was present or absent, most of the radioactivity was recovered in the free FA form (about 80%). The desaturation products, obtained in the presence or absence of NEM, were preferentially incorporated into PL, suggesting a channeling of the newly synthesized FA toward microsomal PL. The comparison of the distribution of substrates and products incorporated into the different PL classes showed that most of the labeled FA were incorporated into phosphatidylcholine and to a lesser degree into phosphatidylethanolamine.

Acylation↗

Expression of FMR1, FXR1, and FXR2 genes in human prenatal tissues.

We analyzed the distribution of FMR1, FXR1, FXR2 mRNA, and FMRP in whole normal human embryos and in the brains of normal and fragile X fetuses. The distributions of mRNA for the 3 genes in normal whole embryos and in the brains of normal male and female carrier fetuses were similar, with large amounts of mRNA in the nervous system and in several non-nervous system tissues. No FMR1 (mRNA and protein) was detected and no evident neuropathologic abnormalities found in the brains of male carrier fetuses, suggesting that the FMR1 product (FMRP) may have no crucial function in early stages of nervous system development. FXR1 and FXR2 mRNA had the same distribution and similar intensity in the brains of normal and pathologic fetuses (female and male carriers). The coexpression in the same tissues of FMR1, FXR1, and FXR2, associated with the normal expression of FXR1 and FXR2 and the absence of obvious neuropathological abnormalities in pathological brains, supports the notion that the FXR1 and FXR2 proteins partially compensate for FMRP function. However, the absence of significant overexpression of FXR1 and FXR2 in pathological brains suggests that these genes do not compensate for the lack of FMR1 expression. Alternatively, FMR1, FXR1, and FXR2 proteins may not have compensatory functions, but instead may regulate functions by hetero or homo oligomerization, as suggested by other studies. Thus, a dominant negative effect of abnormal multimeric protein complexes lacking FMRP (e.g. by modification of FXR1 and FXR2 protein functions) may result in the fragile X syndrome phenotype.

Base Sequence↗