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T Sander

Publications and source records attributed to T Sander.

90 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Refinement of map position of the human GluR6 kainate receptor gene (GRIK2) and lack of association and linkage with idiopathic generalized epilepsies.

Hereditary factors play a major role in the etiology of idiopathic generalized epilepsies (IGEs). The pivotal function of glutamate receptors (GluRs) in excitatory neurotransmission implicates their involvement in epileptogenesis and genetic susceptibility to IGEs. A trinucleotide repeat polymorphism detected in the 3' untranslated region of the kainate-selective GluR6 receptor gene (GRIK2) on chromosome 6 makes it possible to perform linkage and association studies with this high-ranking candidate gene. The present study tested the hypothesis that allelic variants of GRIK2 contribute to the genetic susceptibility to the common IGEs. Linkage and association analyses were conducted in 63 families ascertained through IGE patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, juvenile absence epilepsy, or childhood absence epilepsy. Our linkage and association results suggest that allelic variants of GRIK2 are not involved in the expression of the common familial IGEs, and radiation hybrid mapping assigns GRIK2 to the chromosomal region 6q16.3-q21. This localization excludes GRIK2 as a candidate for the putative IGE susceptibility locus "EJM1" on the short arm of chromosome 6.

Chromosome Mapping↗

Molecular biological perspectives in treating neuropsychiatric disorders with dopaminergic drugs.

This review aims to present perspectives of molecular neuropharmacology in the development of more targeted drugs that modulate dopaminergic functions in various neuropsychiatric disorders. Recent advances in molecular neurobiology have revealed five distinct dopamine receptor (DR) genes and multiple allelic variations encoding DR subtypes with functional diversity. Depending on the different biophysical and pharmacological properties and the various cerebral distributions of the DR subtypes, the action profile of subtype-specific dopaminergic drugs can be predicted. In vitro expression of DR gene variants in mammalian cell lines will facilitate the screening and pharmacological characterization of dopaminergic ligands. Molecular modeling of the DR subtypes by three-dimensional computer models will be useful for establishing structure-function relationships between ligands and the DRs, and could provide a template for the design of receptor-specific drugs. In the near future, drugs modulating dopamine turnover and transport or involving the successive effector systems will increase the current therapeutical spectrum.

Dopamine↗

[The long-term toxicity of polychemotherapy in successfully treated testicular carcinoma].

Of 55 patients with testicular cancer, treated by combination chemotherapy including cisplatin, 21 (mean age 35 [21-51] years) were reexamined for late sequelae of the chemotherapy 1-9 years later. No patient had a recurrence or second malignancy. They all had normal renal function (renal sequence scintigraphy; creatinine clearance). Seven of 20 patients had a polyneuropathy, nine of 18 had high-tone hearing loss. Two patients became fathers after treatment. In nine of 20 patients the serum concentration of follicle-stimulating hormone was raised to above 20 mU/ml, evidence of germ-cell damage. Six of 13 patients had an abnormal ejaculation following retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy or excision of a residual tumour. There was no evidence of any life-limiting toxicity of the chemotherapy.

Adult↗

Confirmation of the localization of the human GABAA receptor alpha 1-subunit gene (GABRA1) to distal 5q by linkage analysis.

The GABAA receptor is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter receptor in the mammalian brain. To date, 14 genes that encode subunits of this receptor have been identified; these appear to be scattered throughout the human genome and are under investigation as candidate loci for a number of neurological and psychiatric disorders. We report here a highly polymorphic (dC-dA)n repeat within the human alpha 1-subunit gene (GABRA1). Typing of this marker in the Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH) panel of families confirms the previous assignment of the GABRA1 locus to the distal portion of chromosome 5q by demonstrating linkage to the markers CRI-L45 (D5S61) (Zmax = 11.00, theta max = 0.15), CRI-V1022 (D5S54) (Zmax = 7.25, theta max = 0.20), and CRI-P148 (D5S72) (Zmax = 5.71, theta max = 0.24).

Base Sequence↗

Do idiopathic generalized epilepsies share a common susceptibility gene?

Molecular genetic research in epilepsy is most promising in the homogeneous, genetically determined forms of the disease. The phenotype-genotype strategy used makes some epileptic syndromes more suitable for such study than others. Unequivocal clinical presentation, mendelian transmission with similar clinical expression in close relatives, and sufficiently large numbers of affected families are requisites. This makes idiopathic generalized epilepsies (IGEs), particularly absence and juvenile myoclonic epilepsies (JMEs), suitable subtypes for genetic analysis. Results of family studies to date show that five IGE syndromes have a common genetic origin. Linkage studies have localized a gene defect on chromosome 6p that predisposes to a group of IGEs: JME, absence epilepsy, and generalized tonic-clonic seizures in epilepsy families with JME probands. Environmental and additional genetic factors are other areas requiring further study to elucidate the discriminant factors associated with different varieties of IGE.

Chromosomes, Human, Pair 6↗

Localization of idiopathic generalized epilepsy on chromosome 6p in families of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy patients.

Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) is a distinct subform of idiopathic generalized epilepsy of adolescence. Linkage studies with Bf and serologic HLA markers in families of JME patients have shown a tight linkage on chromosome 6. We present a linkage analysis with HLA-DQ restriction fragment length polymorphisms on more extended families, paying particular attention to the epilepsy type of the affected family members. We studied 21 families of JME patients with a total of 143 family members and obtained a highest logarithm of the odds (lod) score of 3.9 (theta m = 0.01, theta f = 0.01) assuming a dominant mode of inheritance and 70% penetrance when family members with JME, absence epilepsy, or epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) were considered as affected. When we also classified clinically normal family members with generalized spike-wave discharges in the EEG as "affected," the maximum lod score was 4.1 (theta m = 0.01, theta f = 0.3) under a dominant mode of inheritance and 90% penetrance. These findings support the conclusion that a gene locus for a group of idiopathic generalized epilepsies (JME, epilepsy with absences, and epilepsy with GTCS) maps to chromosome 6p.

Chromosomes, Human, Pair 6↗

Oligoclonal bands in serum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with HIV infection.

Matched samples of serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 15 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients were examined after isoelectric focusing. The appearance of oligoclonal bands only in the CSF could indicate the primary HIV infection of CNS in early stages of the disease. Later, the increasing number of autochthonous oligoclonal bands in the CSF suggested locally synthesized IgG against opportunistic infections. Because of the immunodeficiency, T cell independent polyclonal B cell stimulation might mask the oligoclonal pattern.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Laser-induced alteration of collagen substructure allows microsurgical tissue welding.

Tissue welding is a potentially important biomedical application of laser technology. The structural alterations basic to this phenomenon were studied in experimental repair of lesions of the rat carotid artery and sciatic nerve. A modified neodymiumdoped yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser operating at a wavelength of 1.319 micrometers was used in conjunction with conventional suture techniques. Histological and fine-structural analysis revealed a homogenizing change in collagen with interdigitation of altered individual fibrils that appeared to be the structural basis of the welding effect.

Animals↗

Fracture analysis of retrieved orthopedic wires.

Ten retrieved samples of 316L stainless steel wires, implanted for times from 11 months to 11 years, were examined fractographically and metallurgically to evaluate the effects of a physiological environment on their fracture. Seven samples were from L-rod instrumentation, and three samples were from trochanter reattachment. Of 16 breaks in the 10 samples, 94% were caused primarily by cyclic loading (fatigue), and 6% were caused by tensile forces. Two factors were found to influence the effective life of an implanted wire. First, the surface condition (deformation) appeared to be most important, and second, corrosion pits present on most wire surfaces could possibly be an influence in initiating a crack. Biomechanical forces on wires enveloping L-rods tended to promote metal deformation and faceting, which decreased time to fracture. This decrease in wire life was evident from a substantial hardness increase in faceted areas.

Bone Wires↗

Interaction of the oncogene protein myc with specific DNA fragments.

The p110gag-myc protein coded for by the retrovirus MC29 was purified 3,000-fold from MC29-Q8 transformed cells by immuno-affinity chromatography using IgG specific for the N-terminal region of the gag protein. Interaction of the protein with DNA fragments was studied by filter binding assay. DNA fragments were obtained from a MC29 DNA clone by restriction endonuclease treatment. Besides the complete DNA provirus the clone contained flanking cellular sequences into which the provirus had integrated. The DNA fragments which were retained by the p110gag-myc protein were eluted from the filter and analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Preferential binding of a DNA fragment originating from the flanking cellular sequences was detected. The protein did not preferentially bind to the viral LTR promoter/enhancer region as suggested by an autoregulatory model, which can therefore no longer be substantiated.

DNA↗

Isolation and characterization of the human cellular myc gene product.

Antibodies against the product of the human cellular myc gene (c-myc) were prepared against a bacterially expressed human c-myc protein by inserting the ClaI/BclI fragment of the human c-myc DNA clone in an expression vector derived from pPLc24. These antibodies cross-react with viral-coded myc (v-myc) proteins from MC29 and OK10 viruses. Furthermore, IgGs specific for synthetic peptides, corresponding to the 12 carboxy-terminal amino acids of the human c-myc gene and 16 internal amino acids, were isolated. By use of the various myc-specific antisera or IgGs, a protein of Mr 64 000 was detected in several human tumor cell lines including Colo320, small cell cancer of the lung (417d), HL60, Raji, and HeLa. This protein is larger than the corresponding v-myc or chicken c-myc proteins from avian virus transformed cells or avian bursa lymphoma cells (RP9), both of which are proteins of Mr 55 000. The human c-myc protein is located in the nucleus of Colo320 cells, exhibits a half-life of about 15 min, and is expressed at significantly lower levels than the viral protein. The human c-myc protein was enriched about 3000-fold from Colo320 cells using c-myc-specific IgG coupled to Sepharose beads. The protein binds to double-stranded DNA in vitro, a reaction that can be inhibited to more than 90% by c-myc specific IgG.

Antibodies↗

Serine- and threonine-specific protein kinase activities of purified gag-mil and gag-raf proteins.

Retroviruses carry cell-derived oncogenes (v-onc) that have the potential to transform cells in culture and induce tumours in vivo. One of the few carcinoma-inducing viruses is the acutely transforming retrovirus MH2, which carries the putative oncogene v-mil and the known oncogene v-myc. Recently, a high degree of homology was discovered between v-mil and v-raf, the transforming gene of the murine retrovirus 3611 murine sarcoma virus (MSV), whereas homology to v-src is low. Both viruses express their oncogenes as the gag-fusion polyproteins p100gag-mil and p75gag-raf (of respective relative molecular mass (Mr) 100,000 and 75,000), while the myc oncogene of MH2 is expressed by means of a subgenomic messenger RNA. We have recently demonstrated that p100gag-mil is not a nuclear protein. Here we report that purified p100gag-mil and p75gag-raf exhibit protein kinase activities in vitro which, in contrast to the src-related p130gag-fps of Fujinami sarcoma virus (FSV) and all other characterized oncogene-encoded protein kinases, phosphorylate serine and threonine but not tyrosine. Both types of protein kinases phosphorylate lipids in vitro.

Animals↗

Five exon 1 variants of mu opioid receptor and vulnerability to alcohol dependence.

The human mu opioid receptor (hMOR) gene is a prime candidate gene responsible for addictive disorders. The present association study tested the hypothesis that hMOR exon 1 variants elicit susceptibility to alcohol dependence. We have analyzed five nucleotide changes in exon 1 of the hMOR gene. Three of them are in the 5'untranslated region of exon 1 at positions -172G/T,-111C/T and -3 8C/A, the remaining two variants cause amino acid substitutions: +17C/T (Ala6Val) and +118A/G (Asn40Asp). Our population-based association study included 327 German alcohol-dependent subjects and 340 ethnically matched controls. The lack of an allelic association suggests that the analyzed hMOR exon 1 variants do not contribute a common and substantial effect to the genetically determined vulnerability of alcohol dependence.

5' Untranslated Regions↗