Clinical relationship between EDN-3 gene, EDNRB gene and Hirschsprung＇s disease

AIM: To investigate the mutation of EDNRB gene and EDN-3 gene in sporadic Hirschsprung‘s disease (HD) in Chinese population. METHODS: Genomic DNA was extracted from bowel tissues of 34 unrelated HD patients which were removed by surgery. Exon 3, 4, 6 of EDNRB gene and Exon 1, 2 of EDN-3 gene were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and analyzed by single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP). RESULTS: EDNRB mutations were detected in 2 of the 13 short-segment HD. One mutant was in the exon 3, the other was in the exon 6. EDN-3 mutation was detected in one of the 13 short-segment HD and in the exon 2. Both EDNRB and EDN-3 mutations were detected in one short-segment HD. No mutations were detected in the ordinary or longsegment HD. CONCLUSION: The mutations of EDNRB gene and EDN-3 gene are found in the short-segment HD of sporadic Hirschsprung‘s disease in Chinese population, which suggests that the EDNRB gene and EDN-3 gene play important roles in the pathogenesis of HD.     

一种简单迅速筛选肿瘤基因组中基因突变的方法

目的 建立一种新的非同位素ＳＳＣＰ分析方法。方法 常规提取人类基因组ＤＮＡ作为模板,ＰＣＲ扩增ｎｍ２３－Ｈ１基因,变性ＰＣＲ产物,６％非变性聚丙烯酰胺凝胶ＳＳＣＰ电泳,银染后分析结果。结果 改进了目前ＰＣＲ－ＳＳＣＰ分析中应用同位素标记的检测方法,采用银染方法,建立起简单迅速的非同位素ＰＣＲ－ＳＳＣＰ分析方法和适宜条件。并将这种方法成功地应用于肿瘤转移抑制基因点突变的检测。结论 非同位素聚合酶链反     

家族性高胆固醇血症患者低密度脂蛋白受体基因新的突变类型一例

目的：分析一例家庭性高胆固醇血症患的低密度脂蛋白受体基因突变位点。方法：以患儿的基因组DNA为模板，用聚合酶链反应（PCR）扩增该基因的18个外显子。用单链构象多态性（SSCP）方法分析检测PCR产物，对电泳结果异常进行DNA测序。结果：单链构象多态性分析发现患儿第10外显子存在一异常条带。DNA测序证实患儿第10外显子发生N515S纯合错义突变。结论：该病例为一个新的LDLR突变位点；聚合酶链反应－单链构象多态性分析（PCR－SSCP）可用于该突变位点的诊断。     

Mutations in the gyrA and gyrB genes of fluoroquinolone-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis from TB patients in Thailand

Among fluoroquinolone-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (FQr-MTB) isolates, mutation at positions 90, 91, and 94 in gyrA gene and at positions 495, 516, and 533 in gyrB gene have been frequently reported. In this study, 35 isolates of FQr-MTB were collected from Siriraj Hospital and Chest Disease Institute. The quinolone-resistance-determining regions (QRDR) of gyrA and gyrB genes in all 35 FQr-MTB isolates and from the H37Ra MTB strain were amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). DNA-sequencing and single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) were further utilized for characterization of the mutations in the QRDR of gyrA and gyrB genes and mutation screening, respectively. From DNA-sequencing, 21 of 35 (60%) exhibited single-point mutations in different positions, at Ala90Val, Ser91Pro, and Asp94(Gly/Ala/His/Asn); and one novel mutation position at Gly88Cys in the gyrA gene and Asp495Asn in the gyrB gene. These positions were previously frequently reported to be responsible for FQr-MTB. The other 14 FQr-MTB isolates (40%) had no mutation. This study is the first report of mutation occurring only in the QRDR of the gyrB gene, without prior mutation in the gyrA QRDR among FQr-MTB isolates. By SSCP analysis for screening of the mutant FQr-MTB, the SSCP patterns of mutated FQr-MTB isolates were clearly differentiated from the SSCP patterns of FQs-MTB.     

聚合酶链反应-单链构象多态性技术检测耐多药结核分支杆菌rpoB、KatG、rpsL突变的研究

目的　应用PCRSSCP技术快速检测耐INH,RFP,SM结核分支杆菌分离株KatG、rpoB、rpsL基因突变,评价其在检测结核分支杆菌耐药性方面的价值。方法 32株耐INH、RFP、SM结核分支杆菌临床分离株及25株结核分支杆菌敏感分离株用PCRSSCP方法分别检测,rpoB、KatG、rpsL基因突变。结果 32株耐多药结核分支杆菌分离株中,rpoB、KatG、rpsL PCR扩增产物PCR-SSCP分别有28株(87.5%)rpoB基因,19株(59.3%)KatG基因和23株(71.9%)rpsL基因电泳条带与结核分支杆菌标准株H₃₇Rv电泳条带相比有明显差异,而25株结核分支杆菌敏感株的PCR-SSCP条带与结核分支杆菌H₃₇Rv相似,特异性为100%。结论 PCR-SSCP方法敏感、特异,可快速检测结核分支杆菌rpoB、KatG、rpsL耐药基因突变,有利于耐多药结核分支杆菌耐药性的快速检测。     

自主性功能性甲状腺腺瘤TSH受体基因突变研究

目的　研究TSH受体 (TSHR)基因突变在自主性功能性甲状腺腺瘤 (AFTA)发病中的作用。方法　以 14例AFTA作为研究对象 ,另 4例为毒性多结节性甲状腺肿、7例扫描呈“冷结节”的甲状腺腺瘤及AFTA周围正常甲状腺组织作为对照 ,酚 氯仿 异戊醇法提取基因组DNA ,对目的基因片段进行聚合酶链反应—单链构象多态性 (PCR SSCP)分析及DNA序列分析。结果　在 14例自主性功能性甲状腺瘤标本中 ,SSCP检测出 6例条带变异的个体 (4 3 % ) ,对其中 3例进行DNA序列测定 ,发现 1例为 6 2 0位密码子的点突变 ,苏氨酸被脯氨酸置换 (T6 2 0P ,ACC→CCC)。 2例为单碱基插入突变 ,在 1972与 1973位核苷酸之间插入了一个腺嘌呤核苷酸 (A) ,使得密码子 6 2 4位以后的氨基酸发生了移码突变。在对照组未发现TSHR基因突变。结论　TSHR基因突变可能在自主性功能性甲状腺腺瘤的发病中起重要作用。     

Single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis is a rapid and effective method for the identification of mutations and polymorphisms in the gene for glycoprotein IIIa

Glanzmann thrombasthenia (GT) is the most common inherited disorder of platelets. Most of the molecular defects previously identified in GT have been caused by point (or other small) mutations in the genes for glycoprotein (GP) IIb or GPIIIa. We have used single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis to rapidly identify single- base changes in the GPIIIa gene. Using genomic DNA from normal individuals and patients with GT, each GPIIIa exon and a short stretch of flanking intronic sequence was amplified, heat-denatured, and separated in nondenaturing acrylamide gels. Only those fragments with an abnormal migration pattern were isolated and the nucleotide sequence determined. Using SSCP, we detected the polymorphism in the HPA-1 (P1A) system and all three known silent polymorphisms in the GPIIIa gene. Screening 14 GPIIIa exons from 5 patients with GT, one mutant allele was identified. The nucleotide sequence of the abnormal 240-bp SSCP fragment was determined and a G-->A substitution in the splice donor site of exon iv was identified. Analysis of platelet RNA resulting from this mutation showed two mRNA species: one contained a deletion of exon iv, whereas the other had a 27-bp addition to exon iv due to the use of a cryptic splice site in the downstream intron. Single-base substitutions are the most common mutation in GT and often result in abnormal mRNA splicing. SSCP is a rapid and sensitive technique for identifying mutations or polymorphisms in the GPIIIa gene.     

线粒体DNA13731点突变与脊髓小脑性共济失调相关性研究

目的 探索线粒体DNA(mtDNA)突变位点与脊髓小脑性共济失调(SCA)的关系.方法 采用聚合酶链反应(PCR)对基因确诊的四个SCA家系10例患者及其亲属共34例与40例健康对照的线粒体ND5基因片段进行扩增,扩增产物进行单链构象多态性分析(SSCP),对SSCP出现异常的样本进行相应mtDNA片段测序.结果 在一家系的1名确诊患者及1名症状前患者检测到mtDNA13731(T>C)点突变.结论 脊髓小脑性共济失调的发生、发展可能与mtDNA突变有关.     

Novel Donor Splice Site Mutation in the KVLQT1 Gene is Associated with Long QT Syndrome

KVLQT1 Gene Mutation and LQTS. Introduction : Inherited long QT syndrome (LQTS) recently has been associated with mutations in genes coding for potassium ( KVLQTI, KCNEI , and HERG ) or sodium ( SCN5A ) ion channels involved in regulating either sodium inward or potassium outward currents of heart cells, resulting in prolongation of the repolarization period. We describe a new mutation, a-1 donor splice site mutation in a kindred with two affected members (QTc = 0.61 and 0.54 sec).
Methods and Results : Single stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analyses were performed on DNA fragments amplified by polymerase chain reaction from DNA extracted from whole blood. Aberrant conformers were analyzed by DNA sequencing. SSCP analysis of the KVLQTI gene revealed an aberrant conformer in the affected family members. DNA sequencing confirmed the presence of a G→A change in the last nucleotide of codon 344. This mutation does not cause an amino acid change, but a change of the splice site characteristics at the 3'end of exon 6. The mutation may affect, through deficient splicing, the putative sixth transmembrane segment of the K⁺ channel, and this type of mutation has not previously been described in KVLQTI.
Conclusion : The clinical course of LQTS in the affected family members, in whom no deaths occurred despite 20 to 30 syncopes, can he explained by the ability of the cellular machinery to perform partial correct splicing in the mutant allele. This type of mutation may be misinterpreted as a normal variant, since it is a point mutation causing neither an amino acid change nor the introduction of a stop codon.     

应用PCR—SSCP银染技术检测HBV基因点突变

目的：为了对乙型肝炎患者HBV基因突变进行大大面积筛检,建立简便 可靠的检测HBV基因突变的方法。方法：采用单链构象多态性（SSCP）银染技术,检测HBV Pre-C基因突变。结果：在10份HBeAg阳性标本中,有8份PCR阳性,SSCP显示有2份标本有HBV Pre-C基因突变,直接测序证实为非终止密码突变。48份抗－HBe阳性标本中,有12份为PCR阳性,有8份SSCP显示PCR产物单链泳运动状态异常,其中4份标本经直接测序证实在1898位发生了G→A变异,出现了TAG终止密码突变。结论：PCR－SSCP银染技术检测HBV Pre-C基因点突变有很高的特异性和敏感性,该方法稳定、简便、快速,能基本满足临床大面积大样本筛检的需要。     

Direct carrier testing of haemophilia B by SSCP

Summary. Haemophilia B is due to multiple molecular defects in the factor IX gene. Most of them are single base substitutions, and can now be identified by direct sequencing of the coding sequence of the factor IX gene, preceded or not by a screening strategy. In some instances the mutation alters an enzyme recognition site and this allows rapid and accurate carrier testing and prenatal diagnosis in the affected pedigree. This was not the case for the previously described nt 31119 (G– > A) mutation that we found in an extended haemophilia B pedigree, during the search for mutations in the factor IX gene in patients from Southern France. We first detected this mutation by single stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and then identified it by DNA sequencing. Carriership could be easily determined in the females of the pedigree by analysis of the SSCP patterns. Our results indicate that the SSCP analysis of amplified genomic DNA fragments can be successfully used as a diagnosis approach for direct carrier testing and prenatal diagnosis.     

A novel thyrotropin receptor mutation in an infant with severe thyrotoxicosis.

An infant girl was born at 37 weeks gestation and found to be clinically thyrotoxic at 9 months of age. Thyroid autoantibodies were negative, and thyroid function failed to normalize with medical treatment. The patient underwent a total thyroidectomy. DNA obtained from her thyroid gland and leukocytes was analyzed for thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) mutations using single strand conformation polymorphism and direct sequencing. A mobility shift of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified DNA was detected on single strand conformation polymorphism gel. Direct sequencing identified a novel point mutation in the fifth transmembrane domain of the TSH receptor at codon 597 (GTC to CTC), resulting in the amino acid substitution of leucine for valine. The mutation was heterozygous and germline, and was not identified in DNA from either of her parents. Expression of the V597L mutant is transiently transfected COS 7 cells displayed increased constitutive cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) production compared with the wild-type receptor. The mutant is expressed at very low levels on the surface of COS cells, and its response to TSH is marginal.     

c-kit gene mutation at exon 17 or 13 is very rare in sporadic gastrointestinal stromal tumors

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the human gut. They frequently have gain-of-function mutations of the c-kit gene, which encodes a receptor, tyrosine kinase. The mutations were found at exon 11 in most cases, and either at exon 9 or at exon 13 in rare cases. Recently, we found a family with multiple GIST and a gain-of-function mutation at exon 17. The family was the first reported GIST case with c-kit gene mutation at exon 17 including sporadic GIST. Although we previously reported that the c-kit gene mutation at exon 17 was not detected in 124 sporadic GIST by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis, the mutation at exon 17 observed in the familial GIST was detectable by the use of direct sequencing but not by our SSCP method. In the present study, we examined the mutations at exon 17 and exon 13 by using direct sequencing. METHODS: Genomic DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded GIST tissues. We could obtain 143 sporadic GIST cases appropriate for DNA analysis at exon 17 and 141 at exon 13. Exons 17 and 13 were amplified by using polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing was conducted. RESULTS: No mutation was found at exon 17, and only one case with the mutation at exon 13 was observed. The GIST with the mutation at exon 13 was large and showed frequent mitosis, and the patient died of the recurrent GIST 3 years after the first operation. CONCLUSION: The mutation at exons 17 or 13 was considered to be very rare in sporadic GIST.     

结核分支杆菌异烟肼耐药基因突变微通道电泳检测方法的建立

目的 建立一种用微通道电泳芯片分析系统检测结核分支杆菌异烟肼耐药基因突变的方法。方法 以丙烯酰胺及其衍生物的聚合物溶液作为筛分介质，溶液中掺入微量的吖啶橙作为荧光标记物，对结核分支杆菌的异烟肼耐药相关的katG和inhA基因进行单链构象多态性(SSCP)分析，检测其与耐药性相关的突变。对于突变部位附近没有二级结构的inhA基因，设计了特别的引物使扩增产物增加一个能与突变部位配对的区域，从而使野生型片段呈现独特的构象。结果 此方法可实现对katG基因野生型片段与315位密码子突变型片段的区分，以及对inhA基因调节序列野生型与突变型片段的区分。30个临床分离株中的23个耐药株有22个被检出，效率达95％。结论 微通道电泳方法用于结核杆菌耐药基因突变检测，具有快速、灵敏的优点，可望将之应用于临床耐药性检测。     

Abnormalities of the p53 gene in juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia

Juvenile chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML) is a rare myeloproliferative disorder of childhood. Fewer than 30% of cases of JMML terminate in a blast crisis; however, its molecular mechanism is unknown. Since mutation and/or deletion of the p53 gene has been reported to be associated with disease progression in a wide variety of human cancers, including adult-type chronic myelogenous leukaemia, we studied the p53 gene in 20 patients with JMML (16 samples in chronic phase and seven at blast crisis). Exons 4-8 of the p53 gene, which cover all the hot spots of point mutations, were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and subjected to mutation screening by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis. No mobility shift of single-strand DNA of PCR products in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, indicating point mutations, was found in 19/20 patients. DNA of the remaining patient in the chronic phase failed to be amplified by PCR and Southern blot analysis with XbaI-digested genomic DNA revealed a gross rearrangement (presumed deletion) of the p53 gene. These data indicate that abnormalities of the p53 gene are rare in JMML and not responsible for acute transformation, but could be involved in the pathogenesis of some cases of JMML.     

Screening for variants of the uncoupling protein 2 gene in Japanese patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

We examined genetic mutations in the coding regions of the uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) gene in 100 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). The sequences of each exon-intron boundary were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primer pairs designed in the cDNA sequence of UCP2 and a cycle-sequence method. Using the specific primer pairs in the intron 5'- or 3'-untranslated region, each exon with its exon-intron boundaries was amplified with the PCR method, and the PCR products were analyzed using a single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) method. One nucleotide substitution in exon 4 was found, which exchanged Ala (gcc) at position 55 of the amino acid sequence for Val (gtc), previously reported in Denmark by Urhammer et al in 1997. The polymorphism was reanalyzed in all patients and 120 normal subjects using a PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. There was no difference in the genotype distribution between patients and normal subjects, and our genotype distribution was similar to the Danish study. Furthermore, there were no clinical differences between genotype groups among the patients. No other mutation including the exon-intron boundary was found in these patients. Genetic mutations of UCP2 may not be commonly associated with obesity or diabetes in Japanese subjects.     

Codon 249 mutations of p53 gene in non-neoplastic liver tissues

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Hypokalemia-induced long QT syndrome with an underlying novel missense mutation in S4-S5 linker of KCNQ1

Congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) is caused by mutations in at least five genes coding for cardiac potassium or sodium channels that regulate the duration of ventricular action potentials. Acquired LQTS often is associated with drugs or metabolic abnormalities. A 47-year-old woman who presented with marked QT prolongation (QTc = 620 msec(1/2)) and repeated episodes of torsades de pointes associated with hypokalemia (2.6 mEq/L) was screened for mutations in LQTS genes using polymerase chain reaction/single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR/SSCP). We identified a novel missense mutation in the intracellular linker of S4-S5 domains of KCNQ1, resulting in an amino acid substitution of cysteine for arginine at position 259 (R259C). Whole cell, patch clamp experiments were conducted on COS7 cells transfected with wild-type and/or R259C KCNQ1 with or without KCNE1. Functional analyses of the mutant KCNQ1 subunit on COS7 cells revealed its functional channels in the homozygous state, producing a significantly smaller current than the KCNQ1 channels and a less severe dominant-negative effect on I(Ks). The novel KCNQ1 mutation R259C is the molecular basis for I(Ks) dysfunction underlying an apparently sporadic case of hypokalemia-induced LQTS, consistent with a mild mutation likely to disclose the clinical manifestation of LQTS in a context of severe hypokalemia. Our findings suggest that gene carriers with such mild mutations might not be so rare as commonly expected in patients with acquired LQTS, and stress the importance of mutational analysis for detecting either "silent" forms of congenital LQTS or de novo mutations.