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Biomedical subjects

Y M Lo

Publications and source records attributed to Y M Lo.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

HLA typing for DR3 and DR4 using artificial restriction fragment length polymorphism PCR from archival DNA.

AIM: To develop polymerase chain reaction based artificial restriction fragment length polymorphism (artificial RFLP PCR) assays for DR3 and DR4 alleles of the multiallelic DRB1 locus and to apply them to paraffin wax embedded archival material. METHODS: Sixty five samples from DRB1 typed cell lines were analysed using the artificial RFLP PCR method to determine the specificity and sensitivity of the system. RESULTS: The artificial RFLP PCR method for typing the DRB1 locus showed 100% accuracy in the 65 samples previously typed using allele specific PCR and serology. The samples included 18 combinations of alleles that included DR3, 18 that included DR4, four that were DR3/DR4 heterozygotes, and 10 samples that were neither DR3 nor DR4. Typing of 10 paraffin wax embedded samples using artificial RFLP PCR was in complete agreement with previous typing at the DRB1 locus. CONCLUSION: The application of artificial RFLP PCR for the analysis of multiallelic loci, such as those of the HLA system, in archival DNA samples has been achieved. Artificial RFLP PCR is a robust, easily implemented, non-isotopic system and may be useful for large retrospective studies.

Alleles

Analysis of complex genetic systems by ARMS-SSCP: application to HLA genotyping.

We have developed a new method for analysis of complex genetic systems by a combination of the Amplification Refractory Mutation System (ARMS) and Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphism (SSCP) analysis: ARMS-SSCP. Thus, a complex allelic series is subdivided into a number of groups by ARMS followed by the identification of specific alleles using SSCP analysis. We have shown that the HLA alleles at the DRB3 and DQB1 loci were distinguishable from each other using ARMS-SSCP. In 36 individuals typed for the DRB3 and 48 individuals typed for the DQB1 loci, ARMS-SSCP results were in complete agreement with those obtained using the established method of sequence-specific oligonucleotide (SSO) hybridisation. With silver staining, ARMS-SSCP is a rapid, non-radioactive and reliable method which also offers the possibility for detecting new HLA alleles. We have demonstrated that ARMS-SSCP can be performed using fluorescent PCR primers, a feature which gives the method potential for automation.

Base Sequence

Failure to detect cytomegalovirus DNA in pancreas in type 2 diabetes.

We have attempted to confirm the finding of cytomegalovirus (CMV) nucleic acid sequences in pancreas sections from patients with type 2 diabetes in a large population since this finding has major implications for the pathogenesis of the disorder. A highly sensitive nested polymerase chain reaction method was developed to detect the immediate-early CMV gene in DNA extracted from wax-embedded tissue sections. We could not confirm the previous findings; CMV DNA was not detected in pancreas sections from 43 type 2 diabetic patients or from 38 non-diabetic age-matched subjects, although the method detected CMV DNA, even in very low concentrations, in positive controls.

Adult

Application of PCR to human gene detection.

The advent of the polymerase chain reaction has stimulated the development of a number of rapid methods for characterizing human genes. In addition, the unprecedented level of sensitivity offered by some of these methods may prove to be of great value in the detection of minority cell populations. Over the past year, technical developments have been made in this area.

Genes

Missense glucokinase mutation in maturity-onset diabetes of the young and mutation screening in late-onset diabetes.

We describe a codon 299 mutation in the glucokinase gene in a British pedigree with maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) resulting in a substitution of glycine to arginine. One out of fifty patients diagnosed with classical late-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus was also found to have this mutation. All nine relatives of this patient who have inherited the mutation have type 2 diabetes, although six others without the mutation are also present with diabetes. The discovery that glucokinase mutations can cause MODY and was also found in ten affected members of a pedigree with type 2 diabetes in which MODY had not previously been considered indicates that diagnosis based on molecular pathology will be helpful in understanding the aetiology of type 2 diabetes.

Adolescent

Detection of hepatitis B pre-core mutant by allele specific polymerase chain reaction.

AIM: Development of a specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for detection of the pre-core, stop codon, mutant of hepatitis B virus (HBV). METHODS: PCR primers, specific at the 3'-end for nucleotide 1896 of either the pre-core, stop codon, mutant or wild type HBV, were synthesised using published sequence data. Positive control templates for both types of virus were synthesised by the PCR, incorporating sequences specific for each virus type at the appropriate position. These templates were used to optimise the specificity of the procedure. Formalin fixed, paraffin wax embedded human tissue from acute or fulminant HBV hepatitis from Hong Kong or Oxford was then investigated for presence of mutant or wild type virus. The HBV DNA was amplified from this tissue using a two step procedure, with an initial amplification phase followed by a second diagnostic phase on optimally diluted target DNA. RESULTS: Specific detection of mutant or wild type HBV was achieved. An important factor in determining specificity was the temperature of annealing, 70 degrees C proving to be highly specific. To overcome the inherent variation of target copy number in clinical samples and to provide an intrinsic positive control, it was important to generate and standardise the amount of target HBV used for the specific PCR. Two cases of fulminant hepatitis and four cases of acute hepatitis from Hong Kong, and one case of fulminant hepatitis from Oxford, contained only wild type HBV, with no evidence of a mutant virus. CONCLUSION: This method can be applied to FFPE tissues. It is rapid, non-radioactive, and specific for the stop codon mutation at nucleotide 1896 of HBV. Preliminary investigation of a small number of cases of fulminant hepatitis from Oxford and Hong Kong showed only wild type virus. The result differs from results published from Japan and Israel.

Alleles

Linkage analysis of maturity-onset diabetes of the young with microsatellite polymorphisms. No linkage to ADA or GLUT2 genes in two families.

MODY is a form of NIDDM inherited as an autosomal dominant condition. We studied the linkage of MODY to two loci: ADA and GLUT2 in two large pedigrees with nonradioactive microsatellite polymorphic systems. A positive linkage of ADA to MODY was recently demonstrated in the large RW pedigree. Formal linkage analysis excluded a tight linkage between ADA and MODY with a LOD score of -5.82 and -2.24 at a recombination fraction of 0.01 in the two families. This result suggests genetic heterogeneity in the molecular basis of MODY. GLUT2 is a candidate gene that is expressed in the liver and beta-cells of pancreatic islets. In the two families studied, the disease did not cosegregate with GLUT2 alleles. The LOD scores for GLUT2 were -7.79 and -1.9 at a recombination fraction of 0.001 in the two families, thus providing evidence against the involvement of GLUT2 in MODY.

Adenosine Deaminase

Direct haplotype determination by double ARMS: specificity, sensitivity and genetic applications.

We have developed a novel double Amplification Refractory Mutation System (double ARMS) using a highly polymorphic region 5' to the human delta-globin gene as a model system. The double ARMS approach involves using two allele-specific ARMS primers simultaneously during DNA amplification by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The resulting system is highly sensitive and more specific than single ARMS. In addition, this approach enables the elucidation of the relationship of polymorphic sites on the same chromosome and thus allows the direct determination of haplotypes. We have also demonstrated that this system can be used in conjunction with inverse PCR, the resulting double ARMS inverse PCR (DARMSI-PCR) may allow haplotype determination on polymorphic sites which are separated further apart than the length limit imposed by PCR. The double ARMS approach has numerous other applications in molecular biology including HLA typing, virology, forensic pathology and the investigation of the phenomenon of chimerism following bone marrow transplantation.

Alleles