Genetic control of 24-hour growth hormone secretion in man: a twin study

The aim of this study was to delineate the contributions of genetic and environmental factors in the regulation of the 24-h GH secretion. The 24-h profile of plasma GH was obtained at 15-min intervals in 10 pairs of monozygotic and 9 pairs of dizygotic normal male twins, aged 16-34 yr. Sleep was polygraphically monitored. Significant pulses of GH secretion were identified using a modification of the computer algorithm ULTRA. For each significant pulse, the amount of GH secreted was calculated by deconvolution. A procedure specially developed for twin studies was used to partition the variance of investigated parameters into genetic and environmental contributions. A major genetic effect was evidenced on GH secretion during wakefulness (with a heritability estimate of 0.74) and, to a lesser extent, on the 24-h GH secretion. Significant genetic influences were also identified for slow wave sleep and height. These data demonstrate that human GH secretion in young adulthood is markedly dependent on genetic factors.     

Genetic diagnosis of growth disorders

The capability of examining genetic material with DNA probes and restriction endonucleases has opened up a new approach to clinical problems. Genetic disorders involving growth hormone can now be studied because the growth hormone gene (hGH-N) can be examined directly. Several distinct Mendelian disorders are associated with hGH deficiency. Some are caused by deletion of the hGH-N structural gene. In other instances, linkage analysis confirm that genetic disorders with hGH deficiency may be due to undetectable alterations in the hGH gene, or establish that the genetic abnormality does not involve the GH gene as such but rather affects some other gene essential for the production or release of factors involved in the regulation of growth hormone action.     

Genetic control of experimental spondylarthropathy

OBJECTIVE: To characterize experimentally induced spondylarthropathy (SpA) in arthritis-susceptible inbred mice and in their F(1) and F(2) hybrid generations of susceptible and resistant mouse strains. METHODS: SpA was induced in susceptible BALB/c and C3H/HeJCr (C3H) strains of mice, and in their F(1) and F(2) generations derived from intercrosses with arthritis- and/or spondylitis-resistant DBA/2 and DBA/1 parent strains, by systemic immunization with cartilage proteoglycan (PG) aggrecan. The incidence and severity of PG-induced spondylitis (PGIS) were scored histologically, and these scores for spine involvement were correlated with serum antibody and cytokine levels and with in vitro T cell responses to cartilage PG. RESULTS: PGIS was induced by systemic immunization with cartilage PG in adjuvant, and approximately 60-70% of susceptible mouse strains and their F(2) hybrids developed spondylitis either with or without arthritis. Adjuvants, particularly those activating the innate immune system and enforcing the Th1 dominance, had significant effects on the outcome and progression of SpA. The DBA/1 strain appeared to carry genes protecting this strain and its F(1) and F(2) hybrids from spondylitis, whereas the DBA/2 strain, although resistant to PGIS, harbored genes permitting PGIS in its hybrid generations. Arthritis- and/or spondylitis-susceptible BALB/c and C3H parent strains and their F(2) hybrids exhibited the highest incidence and severity of spondylitis. CONCLUSION: PGIS, a murine model of autoimmune spondylitis, shows similarities to ankylosing spondylitis. Segregation of susceptibility to PG-induced arthritis (PGIA) from that to PGIS in different genetic crosses suggests that PGIA and PGIS are separate diseases. Therefore, this model allows for the elucidation of genetic components involved in the etiology of SpA, independent of those controlling the susceptibility to PGIA.     

Genetic control of susceptibility to osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a common disease with a strong genetic component. Twin studies have shown that genetic factors play an important role in regulating bone mineral density (BMD), ultrasound properties of bone, skeletal geometry, and bone turnover as well as contributing to the pathogenesis of osteoporotic fracture itself. These phenotypes are determined by the combined effects of several genes and environmental influences, but occasionally, osteoporosis or unusually high bone mass can occur as the result of mutations in a single gene. Examples are the osteoporosis-pseudoglioma syndrome, caused by inactivating mutations in the lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 gene and the high bone mass syndrome, caused by activating mutations of the same gene. Genome-wide linkage studies in man have identified loci on chromosomes 1p36, 1q21, 2p21, 5q33-35, 6p11-12, and 11q12-13 that show definite or probable linkage to BMD, but so far, the causative genes remain to be identified. Linkage studies in mice have similarly identified several loci that regulate BMD, and a future challenge will be to investigate the syntenic loci in humans. A great deal of research has been done on candidate genes; among the best studied are the vitamin D receptor and the collagen type I alpha 1 gene. Polymorphisms of vitamin D receptor have been associated with bone mass in several studies, and there is evidence to suggest that this association may be modified by dietary calcium and vitamin D intake. A functional polymorphism affecting an Sp1 binding site has been identified in the collagen type I alpha 1 gene that predicts osteoporotic fractures independently of bone mass by influencing collagen gene regulation and bone quality. An important problem with most candidate gene studies is small sample size, and this has led to conflicting results in different populations. Some researchers are exploring the use of meta-analysis to try and address this issue and gain an accurate estimate of effect size for different polymorphisms in relation to relevant clinical endpoints, such as BMD and fracture. From a clinical standpoint, advances in knowledge about the genetic basis of osteoporosis are important, because they offer the prospect of developing genetic markers for the assessment of fracture risk and the opportunity to identify molecules that will be used as targets for the design of new drugs for the prevention and treatment of bone disease.     

Genetic control of insulin receptors.

Insulin-binding activity was measured in hepatocyte suspensions and liver membrane preparations from newborn mice homozygous for a perinatal-lethal deletion at and around the albino locus in chromosome 7. Cell suspensions and membrane preparations from the mutant mice exhibited only 20-25% of the specific hormone-binding activity observed in comparable preparations from their homozygous normal and heterozygous littermates. The decrease in insulin-binding activity appears to be attributable to a decrease in the number of insulin receptor sites per cell rather than to a change in receptor affinity. Gene sequences deleted at and around the albino locus are therefore instrumental in the regulation of insulin receptor concentration rather than in coding for the insulin receptor itself. The results of the present studies extend the identification of the regulatory functions exerted by the genes around the albino locus of the mouse.     

Genetic control of sodium channel function

Sodium ion (Na) influx through cardiac Na channels triggers the action potential in cells of the working myocardium and the specialized conduction system. Na channels thus act as key molecular determinants of cardiac excitability and impulse propagation. Na channel dysfunction may cause life-threatening arrhythmias. Here, we review the ways in which Na channel function can be aberrant due to genetic changes. We discuss how biophysical studies of mutant Na channels combined with precise clinical phenotyping may improve our understanding of Na channel function in health and disease and may be useful as a model from which to derive improved treatment strategies for common disease.     

Genetic defects of the growth hormone-insulin-like growth factor axis.

Our understanding of the physiology of the growth hormone-insulin-like growth factor (GH-IGF) axis has been characterized by remarkable advances in the past decade, with clarification of genetic defects in the development of somatotropes, GH secretion and action, and IGF synthesis and action. Combined efforts of research in this area and the development of animal models of growth retardation have also indicated new genetic abnormalities that might prove to cause short stature in humans. Genetic defects, both established and hypothetical, are reviewed, and a pragmatic clinical approach to the genetic investigation of short-statured patients is presented.     

Genetic control of branching in foxtail millet

Reduction in vegetative branching is commonplace when crops are domesticated from their wild progenitors. We have identified genetic loci responsible for these changes in foxtail millet (Setaria italica), a crop closely related to maize but whose genetics are little known. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis and comparative genomics reveal that basal branching (tillering) and axillary branching are partially controlled by separate loci, and that the orthologue of teosinte branched1, the major gene controlling branching phenotype in maize, has only a minor and variable effect. We identify other candidate genes for control of branching, including a number of hormone biosynthesis pathway genes. These results suggest that similar phenotypic effects may not be produced by orthologous loci, even in closely related species, and that results from well characterized model systems such as maize must be reviewed critically before being applied to other species.     

Genetic and non-genetic control of myocardial calcium

Summary Some aspects of the genetic and non-genetic control of the amount and rate of calcium cycled during steady-state activation of papillary muscles from right ventricular rabbit myocardium are presented. Genetic reorganization of the intracellular structure of the myocardium is achieved by producing right ventricular pressure overload and thyrotoxic hypertrophy. The mechanical performance of the pressure overload heart is slowed while time to peak tension is increased. These changes are associated with an increase in myothermal economy. In thyrotoxic hypertrophy the rate of mechanical performance is increased while time to peak tension is decreased. These alterations are associated with a decrease in myothermal economy. Tension-independent heat is used as an index of calcium cycling. In pressure overload hearts the amount and rate of calcium cycling is decreased. In contrast in thyrotoxic hypertrophy the amount of calcium cycled is unchanged while the rate is increased. In the pressure overload hearts there is a decrease in sarcoplasmic reticular (SR) Ca⁺⁺ ATPase, whereas in the thyrotoxic preparations the message is increased. The change in the rate of calcium uptake in pressure overload and thyrotoxic hearts is correlated with a change in the amount of SR Ca⁺⁺ ATPase mRNA. Calcium cycling was also altered by non-genetic inotropic intervention. Isoproterenol (1 μM) increases the amount of calcium cycled during each contraction relaxation cycle and the rate at which it is removed. These alterations are associated with an increase in force and a foreshortened twitch. Incubating the papillary muscle in high calcium (11 mM) also increases the force and the amount of calcium released into the cytosol. Unter these circumstances the rate of uptake is not significantly increased and, accordingly, the isometric twitch is not foreshortened. In the presence of verapamil (14 μM) the peak twitch force is decreased and the isometric myogram is foreshortened. These changes are associated with a decrease in the amount of calcium released during activation and the rate at which it is removed. Supported in part by the following USPHS grants: PHS 28001-07, HL 39303-02.     

Genetic control of chromosome length in yeast.

The chromosomes of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae terminate with sequences that have the form poly(C1-3-A). In this paper, we show that within an individual yeast strain all chromosomes end with tracts of poly(C1-3-A) of similar lengths; however, different strains can have tracts that vary in length by a factor of two. By a genetic analysis, we demonstrate that yeast cells have a mechanism that allows them to change rapidly the length of their chromosomes by altering the length of the poly(C1-3-A) tract.     

Genetic control of immune responses to Schistosoma japonicum

The mouse IgE antibody response to S. japonicum antigen (Sj) was found to be under control of a gene(s) linked to the major histocompatibility complex. In some strains but not all among low responders, however, T cell responsiveness to Sj could be demonstrated by the induction of carrier effect as well as by proliferation response. Resistance to reinfection with a large dose of S. japonicum cercariae was demonstrated in most strains examined, except C57BL/6, irrespective of the immune responsiveness. Further studies will be needed to elucidate whether genetically regulated immune responses may affect susceptibility to or pathogenesis of schistosomiasis japonica in the mouse.     

Genetic control of early folliculogenesis in mice.

Perinatally, granulosa cells encase individual oocytes within the ovary to form primordial follicles. The initial stages of folliculogenesis are independent of gonadotropins and involve cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous factors. Although still poorly understood at a molecular level, successful follicle formation and initiation of follicle growth must involve genetic networks both in germ and in somatic cells. Mouse models offer useful windows into these essential processes. By investigating phenotypes of mouse lines lacking specific gene products, genetic hierarchies that regulate the initial stages of folliculogenesis are being elucidated. These investigations will provide insight into the regulation of mammalian fertility.