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Visual processing disorders in patients with Huntington's disease and asymptomatic carriers.

Deficits in visual processing are early cognitive abnormalities in patients with Huntington's disease (HD) and may be found in presymptomatic gene carriers. We investigated the nature and evolution of deficits in visual processing in HD, and whether subtle deficits could be recognized by formal testing in asymptomatic carriers. We studied 35 patients with HD in stages 1-3 of functional disability, and 26 symptom-free relatives at 50% risk for the disease. We administered the Mini Mental State Examination to assess overall cognitive function and tests to assess visuospatial skills such as visual attention and ocular scanning (Cancellation Task and Line Bisection Test), visuoconstructive abilities (Copy of Rey's Complex Figure), and visuoperception (Hooper Visual Organization Test). The group at risk comprised 15 asymptomatic carriers (AC) and 11 non-carriers (NC) and was assessed by investigators blinded to gene status. HD patients were impaired in most of the tasks compared with AC and NC, and the scores declined steadily from stage 1 to 3. However, the difference between patients in stage 1 of HD and AC and NC in most of the tasks was not significant. Only the Hooper Test, which requires complex visual integration, was highly discriminative of early symptomatic from asymptomatic carriers (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between AC and NC in any of the tasks. We conclude deficits in visual processing develop with other manifestations of the disease and are not significant on formal testing at presymptomatic stages; also, early visual deficits in HD seem to be related to disorders in complex visual processing.

Adolescent↗

Tandemly repeated satellite DNA of Dolichopoda schiavazzii: a test for models on the evolution of highly repetitive DNA.

Three specific satellite DNA families can be detected in the genome of the cave cricket Dolichopoda schiavazzii. The pDoP102 and the pDsPv400 families are species specific for D. schiavazzii; the pDoP500 family is probably present in all Dolichopoda species. The three satellite DNA families were characterized from individuals of three isolated populations of D. schiavazzii with respect to nucleotide sequence, sequence complexity, sequence variability, and copy number. This unique data set on satellite DNAs of D. schiavazzii seems to allow one to test the significance of theoretical approaches to the mode of evolution of noncoding, tandemly arranged satellite DNA. At least for satellite DNAs of D. schiavazzii two clear trends were observed: (1) sequence variability increases with copy number and (2) the repeat length decreases with copy number. The first trend is in good agreement with the theory but the second is not. Thus, a revision of the models is proposed.

Animals↗

The role of fluorescence in situ hybridization technologies in molecular diagnostics and disease management.

Large genomic changes, such as aneuploidy, deletions, and other chromosomal rearrangements, have long been associated with pregnancy loss, congenital abnormalities, and malignancy. These genomic changes are quantitative, unambiguous, and fundamental in the transition of normal cells to abnormal ones. Detection of these large genetic changes has an increasingly important role in determining patient diagnosis and care, including therapeutic selection. We have developed two major product platforms that assess genomic changes at various levels of resolution. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) techniques and the related technology of array-based comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) allow detection of genesized or larger alterations in the genome. FISH is a robust DNA probe technology that can measure both balanced and unbalanced genomic changes on a cell-by-cell basis. In most instances, it is not dependent on metaphase chromosomes, and it is widely used in clinical diagnostics. Array-based CGH has much greater multiplexing capabilities than FISH. This technology has the potential to examine many regions of the genome simultaneously for changes in DNA copy number and identify complex patterns of gains and losses within the genome. In this article, we review several of the current medical applications of FISH and discuss such advanced techniques as CGH and array-based CGH.

Databases, Factual↗

No chromosomal imbalances detected by comparative genomic hybridisation in subependymal giant cell astrocytomas.

Eight subependymal giant cell astrocytomas (SEGA) were studied by comparative genomic hybridisation. These consisted of six primary SEGA and two recurrences gained from six paediatric patients suffering from tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). No DNA copy number changes were found in any of the tumours. Our data show that chromosomal imbalances are absent or very rare events in primary and recurrent SEGA and that no aberrations were detected at the sites of the TSC-associated genes, thus indicating that mutational inactivation of one of the TSC genes is not followed by genomic instability.

Adolescent↗

Hollow cylinder protein in the cytoplasm of human erythrocytes.

A "Hollow Cylinder Protein' (HCP) similar to the protein originally isolated by Harris from human erythrocyte membranes (Harris, J.R. (1968) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 150, 534--537) is present in the cytosol of erythrocytes at a concentration of more than 15 micrograms/ml packed erythrocytes. When negatively stained and examined in the electron microscope, cytosol HCP is similar in morphology to the HCP associated with erythrocyte ghost membranes. Cytosol HCP can be purified by isoelectric precipitation at pH 5.2 followed by repeated sucrose gradient centrifugation at alkaline pH. Negatively stained purified cytosol HCP appears as a hollow cylinder with apparent dimensions of 18.0 nm in length by 11.8 nm in diameter and contains a hollow core. Purified cytosol HCP migrates as a single band by non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis shows that it is composed of five peptides having apparent molecular weights 21 500, 23 500, 26 000, 27 500 and 29 000. Chymotryptic peptide maps of each of these bands indicate that each is a unique polypeptide chain. These results indicate that erythrocyte cytosol HCP is a macromolecular complex composed of multiple copies of five non-identical subunits arranged as a hollow cylinder.

Blood Proteins↗

A differential cloning procedure for rearranged or altered genomic DNA based on in-gel competitive reassociation.

We have developed a substantially improved differential cloning procedure designed for cloning anonymous altered restriction DNA fragments from higher organisms. The improvements include (i) in-gel dissociation and reassociation of biotinylated restriction digests of target DNA fragments, (ii) replacement of agarose gel by a synthetic gel material for electrophoresis, (iii) use of a reassociation enhancing reagent (CTAB) for in-gel reassociation, and (iv) introduction of PCR. After several cycles of IGCR, we attained considerable enrichment of altered or rearranged DNA fragments which were originally present at one copy or less per complex eukaryotic genome. Examples of enrichment include those of an exogenously added DNA fragment, a chromosomal DNA sequence that has undergone a deletion, and DNA fragments containing a recombination junction.

Animals↗

Calpactin I binds to the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and cosediments with glial filaments in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner: implications for concerted regulatory effects of calpactin I and S100 protein on glial filaments.

Calpactin I, a heterotetrameric, cytoskeletal protein complex composed of two copies of annexin II cross-linked by two copies of p11, an S100-like protein, binds to the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and cosediments with glial filaments (GF) in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner, apparently without affecting GFAP polymerization under the present experimental conditions. Cosedimentation of calpactin I with GF, which occurs at micromolar free Ca2+ concentrations, is proportional to the concentrations of both calpactin I and GFAP and does not occur under conditions where GFAP assembly is maximally inhibited by, e.g., S100 protein. Annexin II also cosediments with GF and binds to GFAP, although to much smaller extents. Other annexins, such as annexins I, V, and VI, or p11 do not bind to either GF or GFAP. Calpactin I and S100 protein bind to different sites on GFAP, as investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy using acrylodan-labeled GFAP. Calpactin I and S100 protein might act, in the presence of Ca2+, in a concerted manner to determine the number and topography of GF in differentiating and/or mature glial cells.

2-Naphthylamine↗

Histones and histone genes in higher plants: structure and genomic organization.

The primary structure of the plant histone genes has been deduced from the comparison of the nucleotide sequences of 23 genes and 14 cDNAs from eight different species. These data confirmed the extreme conservation of histones H3 and H4 in plant and animal kingdoms. Histone H2B is more variable than H2A and the histone H1 is the less conserved histone. Some interesting observations concerning the non-conserved regions of H2A and H2B in their extended C- and N-terminal regions are reported. Only three plant histone genes were found to possess intervening sequences: one H1 gene and two H3.3 like genes. The most striking differences found between the two kingdoms are the absence from plant histone genes of the palindromic structure existing downstream of the animal genes and the fact that plant histone mRNAs are polyadenylated. This suggests that the post-transcriptional regulation of expression of histone genes is different in the two kingdoms. In plants the multiple copies of the histone genes are organized into multigenic families. In the complex genome of maize the multiple copies of the genes are highly dispersed on the genome.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Homologous transformation of Cephalosporium acremonium with the nitrate reductase-encoding gene (niaD).

We report the development of a homologous transformation system for Cephalosporium acremonium using the niaD gene of the nitrate assimilation (NA) pathway. Mutants in the NA pathway were selected on the basis of chlorate resistance by conventional means. Screening procedures were developed to differentiate between nitrate reductase apoprotein structural gene mutants (niaD) and molybdenum cofactor gene mutants (cnx) as wt C. acremonium, unlike most filamentous fungi, fails to grow on minimal medium with hypoxanthine as a sole source of nitrogen. Phage clones carrying the niaD gene were isolated from a C. acremonium library constructed in lambda EMBL3 using the A. nidulans niaD gene as a heterologous probe. An 8.6-kb EcoRI fragment was subcloned into pUC18, and designated pSTA700. pSTA700 was able to transform stable niaD mutants to NA at a frequency of up to 40 transformants per microgram DNA. Transformants were easily visible since the background growth was low and no abortives were observed. Gene replacements, single copy homologous integration and complex multiple integrations were observed. The niaD system was used to introduce unselected markers for hygromycin B resistance and benomyl resistance into C. acremonium by cotransformation.

Acremonium↗

Conversion of the tetrameric restriction endonuclease Bse634I into a dimer: oligomeric structure-stability-function correlations.

The Bse634I restriction endonuclease is a tetramer and belongs to the type IIF subtype of restriction enzymes. It requires two recognition sites for its optimal activity and cleaves plasmid DNA with two sites much faster than a single-site DNA. We show that disruption of the tetramerisation interface of Bse634I by site-directed mutagenesis converts the tetrameric enzyme into a dimer. Dimeric W228A mutant cleaves plasmid DNA containing one or two sites with the same efficiency as the tetramer cleaves the two-site plasmid. Hence, the catalytic activity of the Bse634I tetramer on a single-site DNA is down-regulated due to the cross-talking interactions between the individual dimers. The autoinhibition within the Bse634I tetramer is relieved by bridging two DNA copies into the synaptic complex that promotes fast and concerted cleavage at both sites. Cleavage analysis of the oligonucleotide attached to the solid support revealed that Bse634I is able to form catalytically competent synaptic complexes by bridging two molecules of the cognate DNA, cognate DNA-miscognate DNA and cognate DNA-product DNA. Taken together, our data demonstrate that a single W228A mutation converts a tetrameric type IIF restriction enzyme Bse634I into the orthodox dimeric type IIP restriction endonuclease. However, the stability of the dimer towards chemical denaturants, thermal inactivation and proteolytic degradation are compromised.

Chromatography, Gel↗

The multisubunit acetyl-CoA carboxylase is strongly associated with the chloroplast envelope through non-ionic interactions to the carboxyltransferase subunits.

The committed step for de novo fatty acid biosynthesis is the carboxylation of acetyl-CoA catalyzed by acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase). Plastidial ACCase from most plants is a multisubunit complex composed of multiple copies of four different polypeptides, biotin carboxyl carrier protein (BCCP), biotin carboxylase (BC), and carboxyltransferase (alpha-CT and beta-CT). Immunoblot analyses revealed these four proteins were mostly (69% of total) associated with a 17,000 g insoluble fraction from lysed pea chloroplasts. Under the same conditions only 8% of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase was associated with this insoluble fraction. BCCP and biotin carboxylase BC subunits freely dissociated from 17 kg insoluble fractions under high ionic strength conditions, whereas alpha-CT and beta-CT subunits remained tightly associated. Both CT subunits were highly enriched in envelope versus stroma and thylakoid preparations whereas BC and BCCP subunits were predominantly stromal-localized due to partial dissociation. Rapid solubilization of intact chloroplasts with Triton X-100 followed by centrifugation at 30 kg resulted in a pellet that was up to 8-fold enriched in ACCase activity and 21-fold enriched in BC activity. Triton-insoluble 30 kg pellets were reduced in lipid and chlorophyll content but enriched in chloroplast DNA due to the isolation of nucleoid particles. However, ACCase was not directly associated with nucleoids since enzymatic digestion of DNA or RNA had no effect on the association with Triton-insoluble matter. The amount of Triton-insoluble ACCase was similar in chloroplasts isolated from dark- or light-adapted leaves suggesting transitory starch granules were also not involved in this association. It is proposed that ACCase is associated with envelope membranes through interactions with an unidentified integral membrane protein.

Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase↗

The fuzzy boundaries of apperceptive agnosia.

Following a trauma that mainly involved the right hemisphere, a 21-year-old girl showed a profound impairment in visual object recognition, without language and intellectual deficit. Her elementary sensory functions were preserved and she performed in the normal range on visual matching tasks, on taks requiring to detect small differences between similar complex shapes and in copying drawings, without any evidence of a line by line approach. Her deficit emerged with tests that, though not implying identification of meaning, demanded to disentangle a form from a confused background and to achieve a highly structured description of the stimulus. In addition to this high-level perceptual processing disorder, there was a deficit in recovering from the visual store the shape of an object, also when the performance did not involve perceptual discrimination, e.g., in drawing from memory or telling the physical difference between two named stimuli. Knowledge of the semantic and contextual attributes of objects was intact. The case is taken as evidence that the borders of apperceptive agnosia may be ampler than usually thought and its distinction from associative agnosia less rigid, with some patients laying in-between the two syndromes.

Adult↗

A high resolution workstation prototype for diagnosis of digital mammograms.

The development of a total digital high resolution mammography display system must meet a number of requirements that remain a challenge nowadays, most probably because of the special nature of breast imaging. In this paper, we discuss our particular approach to address some problems concerning the complexity of soft-copy diagnosis in digital mammography, such as image quality and user interface evaluation. Based on the experience obtained in the previous implementation of a medical image browser, a more ambitious project is being developed at the Department of Radiology of the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) in collaboration with the Department of Medical Informatics of INTELSIS, an emerging software company in our country. This new system will provide complete support to display, store and analyze mammographic studies in digital format.

Mammography↗

Neuropsychological performance and regional cerebral blood flow in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Convergent findings from neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies have suggested that neural dysfunction in frontal-subcortical circuits may play a central role in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To further examine the relationship between these two sets of findings we investigated both neuropsychological functions and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in a combined study. Fourteen unmedicated patients fulfilling DSM-IV criteria for OCD and 14 healthy controls matched for age, gender, handedness, and education were assessed on neuropsychological tests that included Trail Making Test (TMT), Rey Complex Figure Test (RCF) (copy and 5-min recall), Verbal Fluency Test (VFT), and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). rCBF was studied with 99 mTc-hexamethyl-propyleneamine-oxime (HMPAO) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Patients performed more poorly than controls (P<.05) on RCF (copy), VFT, and WCST (perseverative errors). Spearman's correlations indicated that severity of OCD correlated inversely with performance on the RCF (copy and recall scores) and positively with rCBF in the right thalamus. Positive correlations were observed between nonperseverative errors (WCST) and rCBF in frontal areas and anterior cingulate. Perseverative errors (WCST) correlated negatively with rCBF in the right thalamus. These findings are consistent with most previously published studies and suggest neural dysfunctions in the frontal-subcortical circuits probably more pronounced in the right hemisphere. They also extend the existing research, showing associations between deficits in cortical-subcortical circuitry and performance on neuropsychological tests of controlled attention and visuospatial functions.

Adolescent↗

A core-weighted fitting method for docking atomic structures into low-resolution maps: application to cryo-electron microscopy.

Cryo-electron microscopy of "single particles" is a powerful method to analyze structures of large macromolecular assemblies that are not amenable to investigation by traditional X-ray crystallographic methods. A key step in these studies is to obtain atomic interpretations of multiprotein complexes by fitting atomic structures of individual components into maps obtained from electron microscopic data. Here, we report the use of a "core-weighting" method, combined with a grid-threading Monte Carlo (GTMC) approach for this purpose. The "core" of an individual structure is defined to represent the part where the density distribution is least likely to be altered by other components that comprise the macromolecular assembly of interest. The performance of the method has been evaluated by its ability to determine the correct fit of (i) the alpha-chain of the T-cell receptor variable domain into a simulated map of the alphabeta complex at resolutions between 5 and 40 A, and (ii) the E2 catalytic domain of the pyruvate dehydrogenase into an experimentally determined map, at 14 A resolution, of the icosahedral complex formed by 60 copies of this enzyme. Using the X-ray structures of the two test cases as references, we demonstrate that, in contrast to more traditional methods, the combination of the core-weighting method and the grid-threading Monte Carlo approach can identify the correct fit reliably and rapidly from the low-resolution maps that are typical of structures determined with the use of single-particle electron microscopy.

Animals↗

Deficits in motor control processes involved in production of graphic movements of children with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder.

This study aimed to investigate whether two distinct motor control processes, i.e. motor planning and parameter setting, were impaired in children with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). An experiment was designed in which children copied figures of increasing complexity under increasing accuracy levels on a digitizer. Sixteen children with ADHD (11 males, 5 females; mean age 8 y 4 mo, SD 1 y 1 mo) and 16 comparison children, without impairment, matched for age and sex participated. ADHD was diagnosed by a psychiatrist following the criteria of the DSM-V. Only children with IQ scores greater than 80 were included. Across all graphic tasks, children with ADHD made slower, inaccurate strokes with relatively high axial pen force compared with the comparison group. No evidence was found for a deficit in motor planning, but parameter setting appeared to be deficient as the ADHD group made less accurate strokes when accuracy demands increased.

Adolescent↗

Anion exchange protein in Southeast Asian ovalocytes: heterodimer formation between normal and variant subunits.

Chemical cross-linking has been used to determine the composition of the erythrocyte band 3 protein dimer in Southeast Asian ovalocytes (SAO). Individuals with SAO are heterozygous for a mutation in which residues 400-408 of band 3 are deleted. Normal and variant protein are present in equal amounts, but the SAO protein does not transport anions or bind stilbenedisulfonates with high affinity. We find that the rate constant for 35SO4(2-) efflux from SAO cells is about 50% that of normal cells, but the time course is a single exponential, indicating that there is no detectable heterogeneity in the distribution of SAO band 3 in the population of cells. Treatment of intact cells with the homobifunctional crosslinker BS3 (bis[sulfosuccinimido]suberate) produces similar amounts of covalent dimer in both normal and SAO cells. In SAO cells, copies of normal band 3 can be distinguished from SAO band 3 by treating with H2DIDS to form a crosslink between major chymotryptic fragments (60 kDa and 35 kDa) within one subunit. Successive treatment of cells with [3H]-4,4'-diisothiocyanatodihydrostilbene-2,2'-disulfonate ([3H]H2DIDS), BS3, and chymotrypsin gives 3H-labeled products that include homodimer of normal band 3 as well as products of crosslinking normal band 3 with the 60- and 35-kDa fragment of SAO band 3. The results are in semiquantitative agreement with a model in which covalent dimer forms between normal and SAO subunits with the same probability as between two normal subunits. These results indicate that the normal copy of band 3, complexed in a heterodimer with SAO band 3, reacts with H2DIDS as in normal cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-Disulfonic Acid↗

An organometallic inhibitor for glycogen synthase kinase 3.

Replacing natural products with kinetically inert metal complexes may lead to a new class of therapeutics in which a metal center plays the role of an innocent bystander, organizing the orientation of the organic ligands in the receptor space. As an example of this approach, a ruthenium complex is described that copies the binding mode of indolocarbazole protein kinase inhibitors and serves as a reversible, low-nanomolar inhibitor for glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3).

Carbazoles↗