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C F Sing

Publications and source records attributed to C F Sing.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

The genetic determination of plasma apolipoprotein A-I levels measured by radioimmunoassay: a study of high-risk pedigrees.

Apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I) is the major protein component of the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) found in all primates. Using radioimmunoassay, we measured plasma apo A-I levels in 97 individuals from 23 pedigrees ascertained through cases of hypertension or early coronary artery disease (CAD). Using complex segregation analysis, we found that a genetic model with both a single locus with a major effect and polygenic loci gave the best explanation for the distribution of apo A-I levels in these pedigrees. There was no evidence for a major locus effect on HDL cholesterol in these pedigrees. This is the first study to show evidence of a major effect of a single genetic locus on the quantitative variation of plasma apo A-I in a sample of pedigrees enriched for individuals at risk for CAD.

Apolipoprotein A-I↗

Bias of the contribution of single-locus effects to the variance of a quantitative trait.

Advances in our understanding of the physiology of many quantitative phenotypes combined with better measurement abilities is providing a means for pursuing a measured genotype approach to partitioning the phenotypic variance into the contribution of separate loci. The standard estimate of the contribution of a single locus to the phenotypic variance applied recently in the human genetics literature is a biased statistic. We compare the biased estimates from several published studies with biased corrected estimates to illustrate the general problem.

Genetic Markers↗

HLA-B18 is associated with decreased levels of isoproterenol-stimulated cAMP in lymphocytes.

One hundred fifty-nine individuals were typed for HLA-A and B antigens and levels of isoproterenol-stimulated, lymphocyte cAMP. No significant age, sex, or caffeine effects on the natural log of the lymphocyte cAMP variable (ln cAMP) were found. A comparison of mean ln cAMP levels between individuals who carried a particular antigen (homozygous or heterozygous) and individuals who did not carry the antigen identified a highly significant decrease in ln cAMP levels associated with the HLA-B18 antigen. We estimated that 18.9% of the variability in ln cAMP was attributable to the HLA-B18 antigen. In addition, 38% of the variability in ln cAMP was attributable to factors that aggregate in families that were independent of the HLA-B18 effect. A weaker association of A10 with lymphocyte cAMP might be due to linkage disequilibrium between A10 and B18.

Adolescent↗

Strategies for elucidating the phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity of a chronic disease with a complex etiology.

Genetic heterogeneity is a consequence of the complexity of the biology of disease. Revealing genetic heterogeneity exposes the complexity of the genotype-environment interactions that are expressed by the intervening phenotypes that link genotype with the disease endpoint. Because we have not identified the genes involved in most common diseases, studies of genetic heterogeneity have primarily focused on a statistical analysis of either the discrete endpoint or the quantitative intervening phenotypes. Rapid progress in the development of sophisticated measures of the genotype and the intervening phenotypes will enhance our ability to characterize the etiology of the chronic disease. Both statistical and molecular methods will be required to understand the impact of each of the many genes that are expected to contribute to the chronic disease burden in the population at large.

Anemia, Sickle Cell↗

Role of the apolipoprotein E polymorphism in determining normal plasma lipid and lipoprotein variation.

The structural gene locus for apolipoprotein E (apo E) is polymorphic. Three common alleles (epsilon 2, epsilon 3, epsilon 4) code for three major isoforms in plasma and determine six apo E phenotypes that may be identified by isoelectric focusing on polyacrylamide. To establish what fraction of the inherited variation in a normal plasma lipid and lipoprotein profile is attributable to the segregation of the common alleles at the apo E gene locus, we have estimated the average apo E allelic effects on plasma cholesterol (C), triglycerides, very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)-C, VLDL-apo B, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-C, LDL-apo B, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-C in a representative sample of normolipidemic individuals from Ottawa, Canada. Data from published studies were also analyzed by the same statistical procedures. As much as 16% of the genetic variance (8.3% of the total variance) for LDL-C could be accounted for by the apo E gene locus. After correction for differences in age, sex, height, and weight, it was found that the epsilon 2 allele lowered and the epsilon 4 allele raised total cholesterol, LDL-C, and LDL-apo B. No other gene has been identified that contributes as much to normal cholesterol variability. Analysis of these data and those of others also indicates that the apo E locus imparts a differential susceptibility to a variety of factors that promote hyperlipidemia. The hypothesis is proposed that the epsilon 2 allele protects against coronary heart disease (CHD) and, hence, gives a reproductive advantage that is balanced by a predisposition to CHD when the epsilon 2 is combined with a second, independent causative factor to give a reproductive disadvantage. A similar mechanism is proposed for the maintenance of the epsilon 4 allele in the population.

Adult↗

HLA antigens, phytohemagglutinin stimulation, and corticosteroid response.

Although it is clear that the major histocompatibility complex is associated with lymphocyte glucocorticoid sensitivity in mice, there has been less evidence for a similar relationship in man. We have typed 158 individuals for: (1) 13 A locus and 16 B locus antigens, (2) degree of stimulation of their purified lymphocytes by phytohemagglutinin A (PHA), and (3) degree of inhibition of the PHA stimulation by prednisolone and prednisolone-21-hemisuccinate. In contrasts of individuals with a particular antigen (homozygous or heterozygous) with all remaining individuals, HLA-B7 was found to be associated with an enhancing effect on the log stimulation by PHA while other antigens of these series did not have significant associations. In similar contrasts, A10 was associated with a decrease in sensitivity to glucocorticoid inhibition of PHA stimulation as measured by the log I50 of the suppression of PHA stimulation. Other antigens of these series were not found to have significant associations with the glucocorticoid sensitivity of lymphocytes in this assay.

Adolescent↗

Stability over time of hematological variables in 197 children with sickle cell anemia.

One hundred ninety-seven children with sickle cell anemia were followed for 4 years at the Wayne State Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center to evaluate the stability of the hematological variables (Hb, Hct, RBC count, MCV, %HbF and %HBA2) over time. The mean values of the hematological measurements taken during three separate 16-month intervals were used to represent an individual's values. The correlations of the hematological variables between intervals ranged from a low of 0.46 for %HBA2 to a high of 0.91 for %HbF. Correlations that spanned two intervals (an average of 32 months) were of the same magnitude as those that spanned only one interval (an average of 16 months), suggesting that there was no decrease in the degree of stability of these variables as the time between measurements increased. The stability of the correlations between variables within intervals, and the stability of the coefficients of the first two principal components of the six hematological variables over time suggested that the relationships among variables were also stable. In a recent report [Odenheimer et al, 1983], we used the values of the six hematological variables collected at an individual's first visit to the sickle cell center to identify four hematologically distinct subgroups of children. In the current report, we found that as many as 83% of the individuals remained in the same subgroup in at least two of the three follow-up intervals, suggesting that the factors that contributed to this classification were the result of stable, rather than transient phenomena.

Adolescent↗

An application of a model for a genotype-dependent relationship between a concomitant (age) and a quantitative trait (LDL cholesterol) in pedigree data.

In most genetic studies in humans the variability in a quantitative trait is adjusted for variability in concomitants (age, sex, etc) using a single regression equation prior to analyses of pedigree data. To illustrate an alternative approach, a single locus genetic model was tested. This model incorporates genotypic effects on the level of the trait, the variability in the trait, and the relationship between a concomitant and the trait. In this study, the model was applied to measures of age and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in a large kindred with familial hypercholesterolemia. The application of this model to 322 individuals in four generations provided evidence that genotypic variation at a single locus influences LDL levels early in life, the rate of increase of LDL with age and the phenotypic variance. A model with genotype-dependent slope and variance fit the data significantly better than a model with slope and variance independent of genotype. The inclusion of age-specific genotypic differences contributed to identification of high-risk individuals, to statistical support for a major locus, and to evidence for genetic determination of the tracking of LDL levels. Models that incorporate genotype-specific concomitant effects have the potential to represent more realistically the relationship between genotypic variability and quantitative phenotypic variation than models that assume that these effects do not exist.

Adolescent↗

Distribution of apolipoprotein E phenotypes in Friedreich's ataxia.

Allelic polymorphism at the apolipoprotein E (apo E) gene locus (alleles epsilon 2, epsilon 3, and epsilon 4) is responsible for the existence of 6 discrete electrophoretic phenotypes of plasma apo E. Since the presence of the epsilon 2 allele in the genotype tends to be associated with higher triglyceride levels, a study was undertaken to determine if a higher frequency of this allele could account for the presence of higher plasma triglycerides in subsets of patients with Friedreich's Ataxia. The frequency of the apo E phenotypes was determined in 37 subjects with Friedreich's Ataxia and compared with that of 102 normolipidemic and 102 hyperlipidemic individuals. There was no increased prevalence of the E3/2 phenotype and the epsilon 2 allele in the Friedreich's sample as is found in a hyperlipidemic sample. Furthermore, the epsilon 2 subset did not have significantly higher plasma triglycerides than the non-epsilon 2 subset and the hypothesis was rejected. On the other hand, there was a trend for a decreased frequency of the E4/3 phenotype in the Friedreich's sample relative to the hyperlipidemic group but the difference did not reach statistical significance. The apo E phenotype distribution was also measured in a smaller sample of Charlevoix-Saguenay disease; this led to the discovery of two siblings with the relatively rare E2/2 phenotype and unexpectedly low levels of plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations. Plasma apolipoprotein E concentrations in both diseases were within the normal range except for subjects bearing the E2/2 phenotype.

Adolescent↗

Studies of enzyme polymorphism in the Kamuela population of Drosophila mercatorum. III. Effects of variation at the alpha GPD locus and subflight stress on the energy charge and glycolytic intermediate concentrations.

We have employed a "level crossing" strategy to study the primary effects of an enzyme polymorphism in Drosophila mercatorum. This strategy consists of following genetic differences across intervening phenotypes to possible fitness effects. In this paper, we report the steady state concentrations of the glycolytic intermediates and the adenylates (intervening phenotypes) in two genotypes (alpha GPD-F, alpha GPD-S) at two stress levels (rest, subflight). We did not detect a genotype or a genotype by stress interaction effect on glycolytic intermediate or adenylate concentrations despite the ability of the experimental design to detect a 20 to 50% difference from the mean of a control. The flux of glycolysis is adequate to maintain the energy charge in both strains under the stress levels considered. If there is a fitness difference between these alpha GPD variants, it is unlikely to be a result of modifications of glycolysis. Subflight stress, however, resulted in an increase in metabolic flux. The observed pattern of intermediate concentration differences is consistent with the modulation of glycolysis by the ratio of the ATP and AMP concentrations acting on phosphofructokinase activity.

Animals↗

Familial aggregation of blood pressure and weight in adoptive families. III. Analysis of the role of shared genes and shared household environment in explaining family resemblance for height, weight and selected weight/height indices.

This study presents an analysis of the role of genetic and household environment in explaining the familial aggregation of height (HT), weight (WT), and body mass indices (WT/HT1.2 and WT/HT2.0). The biologic model used for the analysis partitions the covariances between family members into the contributions of genetic and environmental variability shared within and across generations, including a variance component shared only by a mother and her natural children. Tests of hypotheses suggest that shared genes and shared household environmental factors make significant contributions to the familial aggregation of WT (adjusted for age and sex) and of HT (adjusted for age and sex), whereas family resemblance of WT adjusted for age and HT can be attributed mostly to the effects of shared genes. The familial aggregation of selected WT/HT indices is attributed to the effects of shared household environment only, suggesting that these variables measure a characteristic of stature that is independent of height and weight.

Adolescent↗

Total cholesterol and lipoproteins in school children: prediction of coronary heart disease in adult relatives.

The distribution of risk factors and the prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) were studied in 850 first- and second-degree relatives of 98 healthy index cases selected from 3666 school children surveyed for lipid levels in Rochester, Minnesota. Three groups of families were based on an index child's total plasma cholesterol level: 18 families with a child in less than the fifth percentile (low-cholesterol group), 47 with a child in the fifth to ninety-fifth percentiles (middle-cholesterol group) and 33 with a child in greater than the ninety-fifth percentile (high-cholesterol group). The children's cholesterol levels clustered with those of their relatives; mortality due to CHD before age 65 was increased by 2.5 times in grandfathers of index cases in the high-cholesterol group compared with those of the middle-cholesterol group (p less than 0.016). The prevalence of CHD in all the grandfathers was associated with an index child's total cholesterol, more strongly associated with an index child's low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level and most strongly associated with an index child's high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level as a fraction of total cholesterol. This study establishes that childhood lipid and lipoprotein levels from a single cross-sectional survey identify families at elevated risk for CHD.

Adolescent↗

Heterogeneity of sickle-cell anemia based on a profile of hematological variables.

Factors that influence the heterogeneity of the disease expression of sickle-cell anemia are not well understood. This study examines the ability of a profile of six hematological variables (HB, HCT, RBC, %Hb F, MCV, and %HBA2) to predict the severity of disease measured on 225 patients ranging from 0.2 to 18 years of age. Four subgroups of patients were identified separately in each sex using cluster analysis techniques. In each sex, mean hemoglobin concentration and percent Hb F increased across the four clusters from 7 to 10 gm/dl and from 7% to 16%, respectively. Mean cell volumes were approximately 90, 80, 90, and 75 in groups 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively; thus MCV did not increase in an orderly progression along with HB and %Hb F. We studied the distribution of four anthropometric, five physical examination, and seven clinical measures of disease severity among clusters. In each sex, subgroups differed significantly (P less than .05) for percent ever hospitalized for sickle-cell anemia, percent ever transfused, and percent with bone-age delays greater than 1 year. In addition, male clusters differed significantly for percent ever having had pneumonia, priapism, or dactylitis, and females differed significantly for height and weight. %Hb F and its inverse relationship with %HBA2 was more highly associated with the measures of severity than the degree of anemia or MCV. This study establishes the utility of a vector of hematological variables as a predictor of heterogeneity of measures of clinical manifestations among young patients with sickle-cell anemia. The role of alpha-thalassemia and genetic factors that affect Hb F levels were considered as possible explanations for the observed heterogeneity.

Adolescent↗

Apolipoprotein E phenotyping with a single gel method: application to the study of informative matings.

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis or isoelectric focusing before and after treatment with cysteamine are currently used to determine the six apolipoprotein E isomorphic phenotypes from isolated very low density lipoproteins. A technique is described that makes this possible by performing isoelectric focusing on a single polyacrylamide cylindrical gel under standardized conditions. The technique is simple and accurate enough to obtain 99.5% concordance when the gels are interpreted independently by four different skilled and unskilled observers in the absence of any knowledge of the origin of the samples. There was complete agreement between our technique and the bidimensional method carried out independently in another laboratory on 74 aliquots of plasma very low density lipoproteins. Its application to 16 informative matings involving 101 subjects confirmed the recent demonstration that the apolipoprotein E phenotype inheritance is autosomal and compatible with three common alleles acting at a single genetic locus. Analyses of the contribution of apoE polymorphism to lipid and lipoprotein variability demonstrated a recessive allelic effect of epsilon 2 on plasma very low density lipoprotein cholesterol and a dominant epsilon 4 effect on low density lipoprotein cholesterol. As much as 30% of the variability in low density lipoprotein cholesterol was attributable to this polymorphic gene locus. A simplified scheme is proposed for the symbolic representation of the six phenotypes for clinical and genetic applications.

Adult↗

Multivariate models for human genetic analysis: aggregation, coaggregation, and tracking of systolic blood pressure and weight.

A multivariate path model parameterizing the sources of familial aggregation and coaggregation of systolic blood pressure and weight, as well as their tracking across time, is applied to longitudinal data collected in Muscatine, Iowa. Genetic, common household, and individual environmental effects, pleiotropy, and a direct regression effect of blood pressure on weight are parameterized. The sample consisted of 998 individuals distributed in 261 families of whom 601 were measured on four successive occasions. The data were divided with times 1 and 2 forming group 1, and times 3 and 4, group 2. Model fitting and estimation was performed using group 1, followed by testing the model and estimates using the data in group 2. Heritability estimates for systolic blood pressure and weight were .15 and .54, respectively. The genetic correlation between these traits was nonsignificant, but there was a significant direct regression effect. The results indicate that 30% of the full-sib correlation for systolic blood pressure is attributable to the aggregation of weight. In terms of tracking, 59% and 60% of the predicted systolic blood pressure and weight correlations, respectively, were attributable to genetic effects. Testing the model from group 1 in group 2 indicates that the qualitative relationships between blood pressure and weight are stable with time.

Adolescent↗

Phenotypic heterogeneity in cystic fibrosis.

We have confirmed heterogeneity in CF using a different combination of primary clinical variables than those used in previous studies. Subgroupings of individuals with similar levels of sweat chloride were independent of the clustering based on level of pancreatic enzyme supplementation and degree of pulmonary involvement. Data from families with multiple CF children are consistent with the hypothesis that the genetic etiology of CF involves two or more genes that modify the expression of the primary gene defect.

Cystic Fibrosis↗

Studies of enzyme polymorphisms in the Kamuela population of Drosophila mercatorum. II. Evaluation of glycolytic intermediates.

A simple and effective cryogenic procedure for the extraction of glycolytic intermediates from whole Drosophila has been developed. This procedure gives consistent results when a measure (microM/liter/OD260) is adopted which corrects for differences in extraction efficiency. Using this measure and a homozygous strain of D. mercatorum, there are no significant differences among extracts for the levels of any of the 15 glycolytic intermediate or energy molecules considered. The profile of means is consistent across experimental designs and instrument types. Coefficients of variation are well below 50% for most variables. The methodology presented has the statistical power to detect a mean change of 10 to 50% using an experimental design which requires as few as 32 observations. The estimated energy charge for resting Drosophila from these studies is the expected value of 0.86.

Adenine Nucleotides↗