Prenatal diagnosis of Werdnig Hoffmann disease in China

Objective To establish a means for prenatal prediction of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) through survival motor neuron (SMN) gene deletion analysis and genetic counseling in families with a child affected with SMA.
Methods Genetic analysis for prenatal prediction of Werdnig-Hoffmann disease was performed in a at risk Chinese family by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) in SMN gene exons 7 and 8.
Results The pregnancy was positive for the homozygous deletion of the SMN gene, thus the fetus was diagnosed as being affected and the pregnancy was terminated.
Conclusion This approach is fast and reliable for DNA-based prenatal diagnosis of Werdnig-Hoffmann disease.     

通用引物PCR-SSCP技术分析16Sr RNA基因特征快速鉴定细菌

目的探讨通用引物聚合酶链反应-单链构象多态性(PCR-SSCP)技术在细菌检测中的应用.方法选取9种常见的细菌,采用通用引物对细菌的16SrRNA基因进行PCR扩增,产物进行单链构象多态性分析,并以标准菌株为对照.结果一对引物扩增产物SSCP图谱各细菌之间难以区别;两对引物扩增产物SSCP图谱条带数目、相对迁移率及条带之间的间距存在明显,可相互区别;3种细菌的标准菌株和临床菌株的SSCP图谱完全一致.结论采用针对16SrRNA的通用引物PCR-SSCP技术以标准菌株为对照可方便快捷地检测细菌.     

PCR-SSCP法检测结核分枝杆菌耐药性

目的：探讨耐多药结核分枝杆菌耐药基因突变与耐药性的关系以及聚合酶链反应-单链构象多态性分析(poly merase chain reaction-single strand cinfomlation polymorphism，PCR-SSCP)方法的临床应用价值。方法：用PCR-SSCP方法检测58株结核分枝杆菌临床分离株katG，rpoB，rpsL基因突变并与常规药敏试验检测结果进行对比。结果：经常规药敏试验检测，58株结核分枝杆菌临床分离株中共有41株耐药，其中，耐异烟肼(INH)为35株，高耐药株27株；耐利福平(RFP)为31株，高耐药株24株；耐链霉素(SM)有31株，高耐药株26株。同时耐3种药物的有21株(51．2％)，耐2种药物的14株(34．1％)，单耐药株6株(14．6％)．PCR-SSCP方法对58株临床分离株katG，rpoB，rpsL基因突变的检测率为40％(23／58)，45％(26／58)，38％(22／58)，其中检出3个基因同时突变的有13株(32％)，2种基因突变的12株(29％)，1种基因突变的有10株(23．8％)．常规药敏试验与PCR-SSCP法检出结核分枝杆菌同时耐3种药物的符合率为61．9％(13／21)，检出耐2种药物的符合率为85．70k，(12／14)，检出耐1种药物的符合率为50％(3／6)．高耐药株中突变率为80．5％(62／77)，低耐药株中突变率为60％(12／20)．结论：PCR-SS-CP方法对耐2种以上药物的结核杆菌检出率较高，且耐药基因突变率随着耐药浓度增高而增高。将PCR-SSCP法与药敏试验联合应用可互相弥补，已成为临床指导用药的好方法。     

毛细管电泳技术快速检测p53基因点突变

目的：探讨利用毛细管电泳技术快速检测p53基因点突变的临床应用价值。方法：采用毛细管电泳作SSCP分析，检测20例结肠癌肿瘤标本p53基因第7外显子PCR扩增产物，并与传统的聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳结果进行比较，最后用DNA序列测定判断其准确性。结果：20例结肠癌标本中，毛细管电泳技术检测出5例标本(Ca4，Ca6，Ca7，Ca8，Ca14)有突变，而凝胶电泳结合银染技术仅检出4例标本(Ca4，Ca6，Ca7，Cal4)有突变，测序证实经毛细管电泳所检出的5例标本均存在点突变。结论：对于PCR产物的单链构象多态性分析，毛细管电泳技术是一种更加快速、简便、敏感的方法，可应用于临床筛查基因点突变。     

Simultaneous Detection of ACP1 and GC Genotypes Using PCR/SSCP

The classical enzyme and protein markers ACP1 and GC have gained new importance because of the biological functions of their gene products. ACP1 encodes a low molecular weight enzyme which is now recognized as a phosphotyrosine phosphatase with a role in the regulation of signal transduction pathways, and GC‐globulin acts both as a transporter of vitamin D and as a plasma actin scavenger and plays a role in macrophage activation. These two polymorphisms were phenotyped for decades on the basis of electrophoretic isozyme or protein patterns; the gene structures are now known. Nucleotide substitutions determining the common alleles are close enough at each locus to be contained in one short PCR product. We have developed a simple, rapid and reliable multiplex method based on PCR and SSCP which allows the simultaneous determination of the common ACP1 and GC genotypes.     

Comparison of DNA- and RNA-based methods for detection of truncating BRCA1 mutations

A number of methods are used for mutational analysis of BRCA1, a large multi-exon gene. A comparison was made of five methods to detect mutations generating premature stop codons that are predicted to result in synthesis of a truncated protein in BRCA1. These included four DNA-based methods: two-dimensional gene scanning (TDGS), denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC), enzymatic mutation detection (EMD), and single strand conformation polymorphism analysis (SSCP) and an RNA/DNA-based protein truncation test (PTT) with and without complementary 5' sequencing. DNA and RNA samples isolated from 21 coded lymphoblastoid cell line samples were tested. These specimens had previously been analyzed by direct automated DNA sequencing, considered to be the optimum method for mutation detection. The set of 21 cell lines included 14 samples with 13 unique frameshift or nonsense mutations, three samples with two unique splice site mutations, and four samples without deleterious mutations. The present study focused on the detection of protein-truncating mutations, those that have been reported most often to be disease-causing alterations that segregate with cancer in families. PTT with complementary 5' sequencing correctly identified all 15 deleterious mutations. Not surprisingly, the DNA-based techniques did not detect a deletion of exon 22. EMD and DHPLC identified all of the mutations with the exception of the exon 22 deletion. Two mutations were initially missed by TDGS, but could be detected after slight changes in the test design, and five truncating mutations were missed by SSCP. It will continue to be important to use complementary methods for mutational analysis.     

Comparison of SSCP and DHPLC for the detection of LDLR mutations in a New Zealand cohort

Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is a common inherited disorder, associated with premature vascular disease. FH may be caused by many different mutations in the low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene, about 700 mutations have been described, most of which occur rarely and often only in single families. Although particular mutations are prevalent in certain ethnic groups, countries with heterogeneous population bases (such as NZ) may carry a wide variety of mutations; making a gene screening approach the appropriate first step for a mutation detection programme. We have compared SSCP with DHPLC to assess their effectiveness as methods for LDLR mutation detection. Although five novel LDLR mutations were detected by SSCP in patients with FH, DHPLC was more sensitive, with eight novel mutations detected. Six of these mutations (T392M, R419G, Y421N, 1206-1207delCT, 1872delC, and 1943delC) were clustered in exons 9 and 13 of the EGF precursor homology domain, one (679-680delAC) in the ligand binding domain (exon 4) and the eighth (P774H) in the membrane-spanning domain (exon 16). Twenty five mutations were identified in 35 patients in total. Of these, we were able to detect only 64% of mutations by SSCP even though all variants were detected by DHPLC. All patients are heterozygous for the mutations, which is consistent with the clinical phenotypes.     

High-throughput single strand conformation polymorphism mutation detection by automated capillary array electrophoresis: validation of the method

Capillary array electrophoresis (CAE) is a novel technique, which allows for high throughput analysis of DNA fragments. When screening for mutations in whole populations or large patient groups it is necessary to have robust and well-characterized setups for high throughput analysis. For large-scale mutation screening, we have developed procedures for single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) assays using CAE (CAE-SSCP) whereby we may increase both the sensitivity and the throughput compared to conventional SSCP analysis. In this study we have validated CAE-SSCP by 1) comparing detection by slab-gel based SSCP with CAE-SSCP of mutations in the MYH7, MYL2, and MYL3 genes encoding sarcomere proteins from patients suffering from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; and 2) by constructing a series of 185 mutants having substitution mutations, as well as insertion/deletion mutations, or some combinations of these, in different sequence contexts in four exons and different positions relative to the end of the amplicon (three from the KCNQ1 gene, encoding a cardiac potassium channel, and one from the TNNI3 gene encoding cardiac troponin I). The method identified 181 out of 185 mutations (98%), and the data suggest that the position of mutation in the fragment had no effect on the sensitivity. Analysis of the specificity of the method showed that only very few mutants could not be distinguished from each other and there were no false positives.     

A new intragenic polymorphism detected by the single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) assay in the dystrophin gene.

We have employed the single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) technique to examine a group of patients with Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy who do not contain deletions detectable by multiplex PCR or Southern/cDNA, in an attempt to identify uncommon mutations within the dystrophin gene. In SSCP analysis, a mutated sequence can be detected as a change of mobility in a nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel. During the course of this investigation, we detected and characterized a new polymorphism at the 3' end of intron 16. The G-to-T base change creates a TaqI restriction site which allows for rapid typing of the polymorphism by restriction digestion and electrophoresis of PCR amplified products. Its localization inside the 5' region of the dystrophin gene and its high heterozygosity makes it a useful and easy tool for rapid carrier and prenatal diagnosis.