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Biomedical subjects

Robert David

Publications and source records attributed to Robert David.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

The finished DNA sequence of human chromosome 12.

Human chromosome 12 contains more than 1,400 coding genes and 487 loci that have been directly implicated in human disease. The q arm of chromosome 12 contains one of the largest blocks of linkage disequilibrium found in the human genome. Here we present the finished sequence of human chromosome 12, which has been finished to high quality and spans approximately 132 megabases, representing approximately 4.5% of the human genome. Alignment of the human chromosome 12 sequence across vertebrates reveals the origin of individual segments in chicken, and a unique history of rearrangement through rodent and primate lineages. The rate of base substitutions in recent evolutionary history shows an overall slowing in hominids compared with primates and rodents.

Animals↗

Erythrocyte omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and preeclampsia risk in Peruvian women.

OBJECTIVE: This case-control study was conducted in Lima, Peru, from June 1997 through January 1998 to assess whether alteration in maternal erythrocyte omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6 (n-6) fatty acids was associated with increased risk of preeclampsia. METHODS: A total of 99 preeclampsia and 100 normotensive pregnant women were included. Maternal erythrocyte n-3 and n-6 fatty acids were determined using capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and expressed as micromolar (mM) concentrations. We employed logistic regression procedures to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULT: n-3 fatty acids were consistently lower in preeclampsia cases than controls. After adjusting for confounders, the corresponding ORs for preeclampsia across decreasing quartiles of sum of long-chain n-3 fatty acids were 1.0, 3.3, 2.4, and 3.3, respectively (P=0.07 for trend). A similar pattern was observed for eicosapentenoic acid (20:5n-3, EPA) and docosahexenoic acid (22:6n-3, DHA). There was no clear evidence of an association between arachidonic acid (20:4n-6, AA) and preeclampsia risk, the ORs in successively lower quartiles were 1.0, 1.1, 1.0, and 1.5 (P=0.48 for trend). A similar pattern was seen for the sum of long-chain n-6 fatty acids. CONCLUSION: In Peruvian women, low erythrocyte n-3 fatty acids appeared to be associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia.

Case-Control Studies↗

The DNA sequence of the human X chromosome.

The human X chromosome has a unique biology that was shaped by its evolution as the sex chromosome shared by males and females. We have determined 99.3% of the euchromatic sequence of the X chromosome. Our analysis illustrates the autosomal origin of the mammalian sex chromosomes, the stepwise process that led to the progressive loss of recombination between X and Y, and the extent of subsequent degradation of the Y chromosome. LINE1 repeat elements cover one-third of the X chromosome, with a distribution that is consistent with their proposed role as way stations in the process of X-chromosome inactivation. We found 1,098 genes in the sequence, of which 99 encode proteins expressed in testis and in various tumour types. A disproportionately high number of mendelian diseases are documented for the X chromosome. Of this number, 168 have been explained by mutations in 113 X-linked genes, which in many cases were characterized with the aid of the DNA sequence.

Animals↗

Prophylaxis for second eye involvement in leber hereditary optic neuropathy: an open-labeled, nonrandomized multicenter trial of topical brimonidine purite.

PURPOSE: To test a topical agent with purported antiapoptotic properties as prophylactic treatment after first eye involvement in Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), a maternally-inherited disorder characterized by bilateral, often sequential, visual loss. DESIGN: Open labeled, nonrandomized prospective pilot study. METHODS: Nine primary mutation molecularly confirmed LHON patients with one eye vision loss for less than 6 months and normal visual function in the fellow eye were treated with brimonidine purite 0.15% (Alphagan P) 4 times daily in the unaffected eye for up to 2 years. Visual acuity was the primary efficacy outcome. Secondary measures included changes on automated perimetry and quantification of the relative afferent pupillary defect. RESULTS: There were 8 men and 1 woman enrolled, aged 13 to 54 years (mean 32 years), eight with the 11778 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutation, and one with the 3460 mutation. Despite normal visual acuity at baseline in all patients, 7 patients had some minimal changes in the central visual field of the study eye. All patients had deterioration of vision in their second eye. In 1 of the 2 patients who had treatment initiated within 16 days after first eye involvement, good visual acuity was maintained in the study eye at 15 month followup, despite a mildly abnormal study eye baseline visual field. CONCLUSIONS: LHON may be a bilateral condition at onset more frequently than appreciated, with asymmetric severity at presentation. Topical brimonidine purite in this dosage was unsuccessful in preventing second eye involvement in recently monocularly-symptomatic LHON.

Administration, Topical↗

Magnetic cell sorting purification of differentiated embryonic stem cells stably expressing truncated human CD4 as surface marker.

Embryonic stem (ES) cells offer great potential in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Clinical applications are still hampered by the lack of protocols for gentle, high-yield isolation of specific cell types for transplantation expressing no immunogenic markers. We describe labeling of stably transfected ES cells expressing a human CD4 molecule lacking its intracellular domain (DeltaCD4) under control of the phosphoglycerate kinase promoter for magnetic cell sorting (MACS). To track the labeled ES cells, we fused DeltaCD4 to an intracellular enhanced green fluorescent protein domain (DeltaCD4EGFP). We showed functionality of the membrane-bound fluorescent fusion protein and its suitability for MACS leading to purities greater than 97%. Likewise, expression of DeltaCD4 yielded up to 98.5% positive cells independently of their differentiation state. Purities were not limited by the initial percentage of DeltaCD4(+) cells, ranging from 0.6%-16%. The viability of MACS-selected cells was demonstrated by reaggregation and de novo formation of embryoid bodies developing all three germ layers. Thus, expression of DeltaCD4 in differentiated ES cells may enable rapid, high-yield purification of a desired cell type for tissue engineering and transplantation studies.

Animals↗

Human embryonic stem cells for cardiovascular repair.

The critical loss of functional cardiomyocytes causes severe deterioration of pump function, resulting in heart failure. The possibility to regenerate or repair damaged or ischemic cardiac tissue is a great challenge for the future treatment of end-stage heart failure. As cardiomyocytes cannot be regenerated in adults, current therapeutic modalities for the treatment of end-stage heart failure are limited and include medical therapy, mechanical left ventricular assist devices, and cardiac transplantation. This review will focus on the potential use of human embryonic stem (hES) cell-derived cardiomyocytes and vascular cells, as a therapeutic tool for the treatment of myocardial infarction and end-stage heart failure.

Cardiomyopathies↗

Recognition of adenosine triphosphate binding sites using parallel cascade system identification.

Parallel cascade identification (PCI) is a method for approximating the behavior of a nonlinear system, from input/output training data, by constructing a parallel array of cascaded dynamic linear and static nonlinear elements. PCI has previously been shown to provide an effective means for classifying protein sequences into structure/function families. In the present study, PCI is used to distinguish proteins that are binding to adenosine triphosphate or guanine triphosphate molecules from those that are nonbinding. Classification accuracy of 87.1% using the hydrophobicity scale of Rose et al. (Hydrophobicity of amino acid residues in globular proteins. Science 229:834-838, 1985), and 88.8% using Korenberg's SARAH1 scale, are obtained, as measured by tenfold cross-validation testing. Nearest-neighbor and K-nearest-neighbor (KNN) classifiers are constructed, and the resulting accuracy is, respectively, 88.0% and 90.8% on the SARAH1-encoded test data set, as measured by the above testing protocol. Significantly improved classification accuracy is achieved by combining PCI and KNN classifiers using quadratic discriminant analysis: accuracy rises from 87.9% (PCI) and 87.4% (KNN) to 96.5% for the combination, as measured by twofold cross-validation testing on the SARAH1-encoded test data set.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Initial sequencing and comparative analysis of the mouse genome.

The sequence of the mouse genome is a key informational tool for understanding the contents of the human genome and a key experimental tool for biomedical research. Here, we report the results of an international collaboration to produce a high-quality draft sequence of the mouse genome. We also present an initial comparative analysis of the mouse and human genomes, describing some of the insights that can be gleaned from the two sequences. We discuss topics including the analysis of the evolutionary forces shaping the size, structure and sequence of the genomes; the conservation of large-scale synteny across most of the genomes; the much lower extent of sequence orthology covering less than half of the genomes; the proportions of the genomes under selection; the number of protein-coding genes; the expansion of gene families related to reproduction and immunity; the evolution of proteins; and the identification of intraspecies polymorphism.

Animals↗