HLA-DPB1 gene polymorphism and multiple sclerosis: a large case-control study in the southwest of France

The polymorphism at the HLA-DPB1 locus has been characterized in a large number of patients with multiple sclerosis (n = 112) and in healthy controls (n = 115). Both patients and controls lived in the southwest of France (in the Pyrénées Atlantiques) and had similar ethnic background. The typing procedure involved the selective amplification of the second exon of the DPB1 locus by polymerase chain reaction, followed by hybridization of the amplified DNA with 14 sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes. Individual alleles were identified by the pattern of hybridization of the different probes. The distribution of the DPB1 alleles was not significantly different in multiple sclerosis patients and controls (p = 0.11). This does not corroborate the reported association of multiple sclerosis with the primed lymphocyte typing (PLT)-defined DPw4 specificity and is not in favour of a role played by polymorphic residues of the DP molecule in susceptibility to multiple sclerosis.     

Hemoglobin constant spring defined by specific oligonucleotide hybridization and hemoglobin D Punjab (beta 121----Gln) in a Batak Indonesian family

A Batak Indonesian from North Sumatra with hemoglobin (Hb) D Punjab (alpha 2 beta 2 121----Gln) and hemoglobin Constant Spring (Hb CoSp) is described. The 24-year-old man did not have clinical symptoms, and his hematological indices were normal. However, he had a persistent slight elevation of fetal hemoglobin level. His mother and his brother were heterozygous for Hb D Punjab; his father had Hb CoSp trait. A sister did not have any abnormal hemoglobin. To show the exact molecular defect leading to the synthesis of Hb CoSp in this family, genomic DNA from the father was analyzed by hybridization with synthetic oligonucleotides. Genomic DNA was digested with Sst I and Hind III producing a 1.05-kb fragment from the 3' end segment of the alpha 2-globin gene, including the termination codon. Two nonadecamers were synthesized to serve as probes: one, entirely homologous to the normal 3' end of alpha 2A-globin gene sequence, including the termination codon TAA, the other different from it by a replacement of the T in the termination codon TAA with C, changing it to CAA, the codon for the amino acid glutamine. DNA from normal controls gave a positive signal with the normal alpha 2TAA oligonucleotide probe but negative with the alpha 2 CAA probe. The father of propositus who had Hb CoSp trait gave a positive signal with the normal alpha 2TAA oligonucleotide probe as well as with the alpha 2CAA oligonucleotide probe, showing him to be heterozygous for the alpha 2CAA-globin gene. This result shows that the Hb CoSp in the Batak family is indeed due to a replacement of T by C in the TAA termination codon of the alpha 2-globin gene changing it to CAA the condon for glutamine. This explains the resulting readthrough of the untranslated sequence of the mRNA.     

利用寡核苷酸芯片检测乙型肝炎病毒基因突变

目的　利用寡核苷酸芯片平行分析乙肝病毒表面抗原区S、前核心抗原pre C区、X区、聚合酶P区 12个已知的突变位点。方法　针对S、pre C、X、P区的 12个突变位点 ,设计位于乙肝病毒反义链的 2 4条寡核苷酸探针和两对PCR引物 ,探针长度为 14～ 18bp ,其 5′端连有氨基己烷和T15间隔子 ,合成后经点样仪点到醛基化玻片上。两对PCR引物分别用于扩增S与P区内的 5个突变位点和X、前C区内的 7个突变位点 ,其中上游引物含有荧光标记。不对称PCR扩增所得到的荧光标记的单链DNA与寡核苷酸阵列杂交、清洗后经扫描分析实验结果。结果　在对 12个乙肝阳性样品前核心抗原C和X区的突变检测中 ,存在 176 2A→T ,176 4G→A联合突变的有 2例、1896G→A突变的 3例、同时存在 176 2A→T、176 4G→A联合突变和 1896G→A突变的 1例、未存在任何突变的样品 6例。在 12个乙肝阳性样品的表面抗原S的突变检测中 ,未发现有突变出现。部分样品的随机测序结果与寡核苷酸阵列杂交结果一致。结论　寡核苷酸芯片适于快速、平行、大量检测突变     

Detection of YMDD motif mutants by oligonucleotide chips in lamivudine-untreated patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection

Lamivudine, a nucleoside analogue, has been used widely as an effective antiviral agent for the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. However, the YMDD motif mutation of HBV polymerase resistant to lamivudine occurs very frequently after long term therapy. We developed an oligonucleotide chip for the detection of YMDD motif mutants resistant to lamivudine and investigated the prevalence of the mutants in patients with chronic HBV infection who had not been treated by lamivudine before. Forty patients who had not been treated with lamivudine were included in this study. Serum samples were tested by the oligonucleotide chips designed for detection of wild-type YMDD motif, M552V and M552I. Samples were confirmed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and direct sequencing. M552I mutants were detected by the oligonucleotide chips in 7.5% (3/40) of chronic HBV infected patients (2 chronic hepatitis and 1 cirrhosis). The results were in accordance with those of RFLP. YMDD motif mutants occur as natural genome variabilities in patients with chronic HBV infection who had not been treated with lamivudine before. Oligonucleotide chip technology is a reliable and useful diagnostic tool for the detection of mutants resistant to antiviral therapy in chronic HBV infection.     

Probe selection algorithm for oligonucleotide array-based medium-resolution genotyping

Medium-resolution genotyping has the goal of distinguishing different subgroups instead of each element in a group. An oligonucleotide array provides an inexpensive, high-throughput method to identify differences in DNA sequence among individuals, which is fundamental for genotyping. As the cost and difficulty of designing and fabricating the oligonucleotide array dramatically increase with the number of probes used, it is therefore important to have a design with a minimum number of probes meeting the requirement of medium-resolution genotyping. The first algorithm for designing and selecting probes for oligonucleotide array-based medium-resolution typing is reported. The goal in deriving the algorithm was to select a minimum number of probes from a large probe set on the premise of minimum loss of resolution. The algorithm, which was based on entropy, conditional entropy and mutual information theory, was used to select the minimum number of probes from a large probe set. The algorithm was tested on a human leukocyte antigen (HLA) sequence data set. Thirty probes were selected from 390 probes for HLA-A, and 60 probes were selected from 767 probes for HLA-B. Although the number of probes was reduced by almost ten times, the distinguishability was reduced only a little, by 0.45% (from 99.90% to 99.45%) for HLA-A and 0.27% (from 99.84% to 99.57%) for HLA-B, respectively. This is a satisfactory and practical result.     

应用肿瘤基因芯片筛选早期肺鳞癌相关基因

目的： 研究人早期肺鳞癌发生相关基因表达谱, 探讨肺鳞癌发生的分子机制。方法:选取人早期肺鳞癌组织以及相应正常组织，提取RNA, 与含480个与肿瘤相关基因的芯片杂交, 结果经SuperArray Image 软件分析后比较两种组织中的差异表达基因。结果:共筛查出差异表达基因192 条，其中表达上调基因127 条, 下调基因65条; 按照基因功能可分为运输载体、代谢相关基因、细胞信号转导分子、细胞骨架、转录调控因子基因。结论:基因芯片可用于早期肺鳞癌相关基因表达谱的筛查，可为明确早期肺鳞癌发生机制提供重要参考。     

基因芯片技术检测环境中常见致病菌的初步研究

目的：为了快速，准确地检测环境中存在的致病菌，建立一种采用基因芯片技术对环境中常见致病检测和鉴定的实验方法。方法：采用合成后点样的方法把自行设计合成的一系列寡核苷酸探针固定在经过醛基化修饰的显微镜载玻片上，制成用于致病菌检测的基因芯片。结果：在相同的条件下，扩增了涉及12个菌属的151株细菌的165rDNA基因片段并与基因芯片杂交，经Scan-Array3000芯片阅读仪扫描得到特异性的交杂图，归纳这些杂交图，得到一套属（种）特异的典型杂交图谱。待检的样品菌与基因芯片进行杂交，得到的杂交结果与典型图谱比对即可判断出样品的种类。用这样的方法对从实际样品中分离的细菌进行检测，准确率表达了96．2％（25／26）。结论：该项技术的建立为今后更大规模的检测研究奠定了基础，可以推广应用于感染性疾病诊断，环境监测，食品卫生监督，商品检验检疫等领域。     

微阵列技术结合免疫组化分析BRCA2在肺鳞癌中的表达

目的研究BRCA2(乳腺癌易感基因2)在肺鳞癌中的表达情况,以筛选肺鳞癌分子标志物。方法利用cDNA微阵列技术研究6个分期为Ⅰ期的手术切除鳞癌标本的基因表达谱,重点分析BRCA2的表达情况,并利用免疫组化方法测定其蛋白表达水平。结果BRCA2基因在全部6个肺鳞癌标本中均呈下调表达,免疫组化结果显示BRCA2蛋白在20个肺鳞癌标本中表达较低(与20例正常肺组织比较),与cDNA微阵列技术检测结果相符。结论cDNA微阵列技术结合免疫组化可用于肺鳞癌分子标志物的筛选,BRCA2可初步作为肺鳞癌的侯选分子标志物。     

bFGF反义寡核苷酸对大鼠自体移植静脉内膜增生的影响

目的探讨碱性成纤维细胞生长因子(bFGF)反义寡核苷酸对大鼠自体移植静脉内膜增生的影响。方法 Wistar大鼠48只,分为反义寡核苷酸(AODN)组、正义寡核苷酸(SODN)组、随机寡核苷酸(RODN)组、空白对照组。将含300μg寡核苷酸的F127多聚凝胶溶液涂于移植静脉及吻合口外周,对比术后1周、2周移植静脉平均内膜及中膜厚度。并检测血管壁细胞内bFGF蛋白表达。结果术后1周、2周,AODN组内膜厚度、内膜/中膜及bFGF阳性细胞率均小于其它各组,差异均有显著性(P<0.05)。而SODN组、RODN组,空白对照组之间比较,均无显著性差异(P>0.05)。术后2周,SODN组、RODN组、空白对照组内膜增生较术后1周时明显,差异有显著性(P<0.05)。结论 bFGF反义寡核苷酸通过对bFGF基因表达的抑制作用,达到了抑制移植静脉内膜增生的目的 。