Large-scale variation among human and great ape genomes determined by array comparative genomic hybridization

Large-scale genomic rearrangements are a major force of evolutionary change and the ascertainment of such events between the human and great ape genomes is fundamental to a complete understanding of the genetic history and evolution of our species. Here, we present the results of an evolutionary analysis utilizing array comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH), measuring copy-number gains and losses among these species. Using an array of 2460 human bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) (12% of the genome), we identified a total of 63 sites of putative DNA copy-number variation between humans and the great apes (chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, and orangutan). Detailed molecular characterization of a subset of these sites confirmed rearrangements ranging from 40 to at least 175 kb in size. Surprisingly, the majority of variant sites differentiating great ape and human genomes were found within interstitial euchromatin. These data suggest that such large-scale events are not restricted solely to subtelomeric or pericentromeric regions, but also occur within genic regions. In addition, 5/9 of the verified variant sites localized to areas of intrachromosomal segmental duplication within the human genome. On the basis of the frequency of duplication in humans, this represents a 14-fold positional bias. In contrast to previous cytogenetic and comparative mapping studies, these results indicate extensive local repatterning of hominoid chromosomes in euchromatic regions through a duplication-driven mechanism of genome evolution.     

Antioxidant enzymatic defences in human follicular fluid: characterization and age-dependent changes

The aim of this work was to study the antioxidant enzymatic defences in human follicular fluid and investigate their possible changes during reproductive ageing. To this end, we tested the specific activities and protein expression of enzymes involved in reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging and in detoxification of ROS byproducts in follicular fluid from young (range 27-32 years, n = 12) and older (range 39-45 years, n = 12) women participating in an IVF programme. Results show that all the tested enzymes [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione transferase, glutathione reductase] were significantly expressed in human follicular fluid. However, when the two age groups were compared, we found that follicular fluid from older women exhibited a reduced level of glutathione transferase and catalase activities and a higher level of SOD activity. Immunoblot analysis revealed that ageing was associated with decreased protein expression of GST Pi isoform and did not affect SOD and catalase protein expression. Taken together, these findings indicate that reproductive ageing is accompanied by a change in the antioxidant enzymatic pattern that could impair ROS scavenging efficiency in the follicular environment.     

Identification of a new genotype H wild-type mumps virus strain and its molecular relatedness to other virulent and attenuated strains

A single clinical isolate of mumps virus designated 88-1961 was obtained from a patient hospitalized with a clinical history of upper respiratory tract infection, parotitis, severe headache, fever and lymphadenopathy. We have sequenced the full-length genome of 88-1961 and compared it against all available full-length sequences of mumps virus. Based upon its nucleotide sequence of the SH gene 88-1961 was identified as a genotype H mumps strain. The overall extent of nucleotide and amino acid differences between each individual gene and protein of 88-1961 and the full-length mumps samples showed that the missense to silent ratios were unevenly distributed. Upon evaluation of the consensus sequence of 88-1961, four positions were found to be clearly heterogeneous at the nucleotide level (NP 315C/T, NP 318C/T, F 271A/C, and HN 855C/T). Sequence analysis revealed that the amino acid sequences for the NP, M, and the L protein were the most conserved, whereas the SH protein exhibited the highest variability among the compared mumps genotypes A, B, and G. No identifying molecular patterns in the non-coding (intergenic) or coding regions of 88-1961 were found when we compared it against relatively virulent (Urabe AM9 B, Glouc1/UK96, 87-1004 and 87-1005) and non-virulent mumps strains (Jeryl Lynn and all Urabe Am9 A substrains).     

The role of long-acting parenteral testosterone undecanoate compound in the induction of secondary sexual characteristics in males with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism

IntroductionAndrogens are able to induce the development of secondary sexual characteristics in male patients suffering from hypogonadism. So far, the most common method of administering testosterone to induce puberty in these patients has been via the injection of testosterone ester formulations. Moreover, some evidence has showed that the length of polymorphism Cytosine‐Adenine‐Guanine (CAG) trinucleotide repeats present in androgen receptor (AR) gene might co‐regulate the effectiveness of testosterone therapy.AimThe aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a long‐acting injectable testosterone undecanoate (TU) formulation for the induction of secondary sexual characteristics in young males with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH).Main Outcome MeasuresWe studied the different stages of puberty development that occur progressively according to the continuous increase in serum testosterone levels and, secondly, whether these changes might be modulated by the length of CAG repeats.MethodsNine male subjects over the age of 17 that had not undergone pubertal development because of HH were enrolled in this study and compared with 15 control males. Of these patients, 6/9 suffered from idiopathic HH and 3/9 experienced hypogonadism related to β‐thalassemia (BT). All patients underwent a clinical examination and a determination of follicle‐stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), and total testosterone (T) serum levels; the free fraction (FT) and biologically active fraction of testosterone were also determined. The number of CAG triplets present in the AR gene was obtained for each patient. For treatment, HH patients received an oral TU (Andriol, 120 mg/day) for 3 months, followed by intramuscular injection of parenteral TU (Nebid, 1,000 mg) every 14 weeks for 1 year, then every 12 weeks for a second year. Serum T and SHBG levels were assayed 3 months after the start of oral TU treatment and also in the 10th week following the start of the second round of intramuscular TU injections (e.g., the eighth month). Levels were also determined 12, 18, and 24 months after the start of the parenteral TU treatments.ResultsSerum levels of T, SHBG, FT, and BT increased in all of the patients receiving oral TU and parental TU treatments, and this was accompanied by a development of secondary sexual characteristics. For treated patients with >24 CAG triples vs. the HH subjects with ≤24 CAG triplets, a slight delay in the appearance of the most advanced phases of puberty and a slightly reduced final penis length were observed, suggesting that AR CAG polymorphism might co‐regulate the effectiveness of T treatment.ConclusionsLong‐acting parental TU was able to induce the puberty in our group of HH patients, even though additional studies are needed to elucidate the possible role of CAG repeats' length for the development of secondary sexual characteristics in young men with HH. Giagulli VA, Triggiani V, Carbone MD, Corona G, Tafaro E, Licchelli B, and Guastamacchia E. The role of long‐acting parenteral testosterone undecanoate compound in the induction of secondary sexual characteristics in males with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. J Sex Med **;**:**–**.     

Different Aspects of Sartan + Calcium Antagonist Association Compared to the Single Therapy on Inflammation and Metabolic Parameters in Hypertensive Patients

This study aims to evaluate the effects of an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB)/calcium channel blocker combination on blood pressure control, lipid profile, insulin sensitivity, and inflammation markers. We randomized 276 hypertensive patients to olmesartan 20 mg, amlodipine 10 mg, or a single pill containing an olmesartan/amlodipine combination 20/5 mg for 12 months. We evaluated the following: body weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, fasting plasma insulin (FPI), M value, lipid profile, adiponectin (ADN), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and macrophage migration inhibitory factor-1β (MIP-1β). Olmesartan/amlodipine combination better reduced blood pressure, FPI, homeostasis model assessment index, and increased M value and ADN compared to olmesartan and amlodipine monotherapies. Olmesartan/amlodipine significantly decreased Hs-CRP, MCP-1, and MIP-1β. In this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, clinical study, ARB/calcium antagonist combination resulted to be more effective than single monotherapies in reducing blood pressure, in improving insulin sensitivity, and in reducing inflammation parameters in patients with stage I essential hypertension.     

Diversity of genomic breakpoints in TFG-ALK translocations in anaplastic large cell lymphomas: identification of a new TFG-ALK(XL) chimeric gene with transforming activity

Anaplastic large cell lymphomas are associated with chromosomal aberrations involving the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene at 2p23 that result in the expression of novel chimeric ALK proteins with transforming properties. In most of these tumors, the t(2;5)(p23;q35) generates the NPM-ALK fusion gene. However, several studies have now demonstrated that genes other than NPM may be fused to the ALK gene. We have recently described two different ALK rearrangements involving the TRK-fused gene (TFG) in which the same portion of ALK was fused to different length fragments of the 5' TFG region. These two rearrangements encoded chimeric proteins of 85 kd (TFG-ALK(S)) and 97 kd (TFG-ALK(L)), respectively. In this study, we have identified a new ALK rearrangement in which the catalytic domain of ALK was fused to a larger fragment of the TFG gene (TFG-ALK(XL)), encoding for a fusion protein of 113 kd. Genomic analysis of these three TFG-ALK rearrangements revealed that the TFG breakpoints occur at introns 3, 4, and 5, respectively, whereas the ALK breakpoints always occur in the same intron. No homologous regions or known recombination sequences were found in these regions. Transfection experiments using NIH-3T3 fibroblasts showed a similar transforming efficiency of TFG-ALK variants compared with NPM-ALK. In addition, in common with NPM-ALK, the TFG-ALK proteins formed stable complexes with the signaling proteins Grb2, Shc, and PLC-gamma. In conclusion, these findings indicate that the TFG may use a variety of intronic breakpoints in ALK rearrangements generating fusion proteins of different molecular weights, but with similar transforming potential than NPM-ALK.     

Own or dam’s genotype? Classical colony breeding may bias spontaneous and stress-challenged activity in DAT-mutant rats

There is considerable interest in understanding what makes an individual vulnerable or resilient to the deleterious effects of stressful events. From candidate genes, dopamine (DA) and dopamine transporter (DAT) have been linked to anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. We investigated role of DAT using the new DAT heterozygous (DAT-HET) and homozygous mutant (DAT-KO) rat models of hyperdopaminergia. We studied the impact of two breeding conditions in spontaneous locomotor behavior of female rats. The classical colony, through mating DAT-HET males × DAT-HET females (breeding HET–HET), was used. A second WT colony was derived and maintained (breeding WT–WT). Additionally, a subgroup of rats was bred through mating DAT-KO males × WT females (atypical HET, breeding KO–WT). We studied the effects of genotype and its interaction with maternal care (depending by breeding condition). HET–HET breeding led to reduced activity in HET females compared to WT rats (from WT–WT breeding). However, HET females from KO–WT breeding did not differ so much from WT rats (WT–WT breeding). The maternal-care impact was then confirmed: HET mothers (breeding HET–HET) showed reduced liking/grooming of pups and increased digging away from nest, compared to WT mothers (breeding WT–WT). In their female offspring (HET, breeding HET–HET vs. WT, breeding WT–WT), isolation plus wet bedding induced higher and more persistent impact on activity of HET rats, even when the stressor was removed. Our results highlight the importance of epigenetic factors (e.g., maternal care) in responses to stress expressed by offspring at adulthood, quite independently of genotype. DAT hypofunction could determinate vulnerability to stressful agents via altered maternal care.