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Biomedical subjects

L Wieslander

Publications and source records attributed to L Wieslander.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Intensive treatment of severe Class II malocclusions with a headgear-Herbst appliance in the early mixed dentition.

In the correction of large sagittal discrepancies in the relationship between the maxilla and the mandible, the orthopedic effect of treatment is often of small magnitude when compared with the dentoalveolar changes. A group of patients with severe Class II malocclusions were treated to assess the effects of a therapeutic approach which specifically took into consideration important factors such as type of anchorage, amount of force, age at start of treatment, and intensity of treatment to obtain the maximal orthopedic improvement. A special headgear-Herbst appliance was designed and short intensive treatment, lasting 5 months, was performed in the very early mixed dentition. Comparison with an untreated control group revealed the dramatic effects of treatment. The overall average change in the sagittal relationship between the maxillary and mandibular teeth was 7.5 mm after active treatment. The posteriorly directed effect on the maxilla of 3.1 mm was due to a combination of distal movement of the dentoalveolar arch and of posterior translation of the basal portion of the maxilla. The anteriorly directed effect upon the mandible of 4.4 mm was due mostly to anterior movement of the basal part of that bone, with a small part resulting from labial movement of the lower incisors. This appeared to be the result of a stimulation of growth of the mandibular condyles, a change in mandibular morphology, and an anteroinferior change in position of the condyles with a possible anterior translation of the glenoid fossa. After a 10-month posttreatment period during which an activator was used during the initial 6 months, a new comparison between the treated group and the control group was made. Growth continued to the same extent in the treated group as in the control group. However, a tendency toward relapse in overjet of 2.3 mm was observed, leading to some modifications in the treatment approach in recently started cases. A short period of interceptive orthopedic treatment in the very early mixed dentition may be indicated to correct skeletal deviations and establish a normal relationship between the maxilla and the mandible. Treatment could then be followed by a period without appliance wear until final dentoalveolar adjustments, if necessary, are made in the permanent dentition.

Activator Appliances↗

Balbiani ring 6 gene in Chironomus tentans: a diverged member of the Balbiani ring gene family.

We describe the internal organization of a large part of the Balbiani ring (BR) 6 gene in Chironomus tentans. The BR6 gene is a diverged member of the BR gene family. It displays the characteristic hierarchic organization of repetitive sequences, but in the constant region of the repeat units the overall sequence homology is only 49% when compared to other BR genes. All four cysteines are among the few amino acids conserved in the constant region. In the subrepeat region the central part is built from a repeated tripeptide, Pro-Glu--Arg+. A similar charge distribution adjacent to prolines is found in other BR gene subrepeat regions, most pronouncedly in the BR2-encoded protein. These conserved properties of the BR gene products are relevant to the issue how the various BR gene products interact to form a supramolecular structure, the larval tube, and how functional demands influence the evolution of a eucaryotic gene family.

Animals↗

Different evolutionary behavior of structurally related, repetitive sequences occurring in the same Balbiani ring gene in Chironomus tentans.

The Balbiani ring 2 (BR 2) gene in Chironomus tentans is highly internally repeated. Two types of related repeat units-the alpha and beta types-are tandemly arranged in separate blocks, which together are likely to form the major part of the gene. Every repeat unit has one constant region and one subrepeat region. Here we analyze the length and sequence of a number of repeat units of both types and compare the units within and between the blocks. The approximately 100 alpha repeat units are essentially invariant regarding length and sequence. In contrast, when the approximately 70 beta repeat units are compared, six length variants are found, four of which have been sequenced. The length variations reside in the subrepeat regions and are due to different numbers of whole or half subrepeats. Furthermore, the subrepeat regions differ by several base-pair substitutions, many of which change the amino acid sequence. On the other hand, all beta-type constant regions are of equal length and are virtually homogeneous in sequence. The observed length distributions in combination with analysis of the basepair substitutions in the alpha-and beta-type constant and subrepeat regions suggest that the alpha and beta blocks are of different age, that seemingly homologous repeated regions may play different functional roles at the protein level, and that sequence correction mechanisms are likely to operate to different extents on the constant and subrepeat regions within the beta block.

Journal Article↗

The Balbiani ring 2 gene in Chironomus tentans is built from two types of tandemly arranged major repeat units with a common evolutionary origin.

The internal structure of the 37 kb long Balbiani ring 2 (BR 2) gene in Chironomus tentans has been studied by analysis of a collection of cloned cDNA sequences and in genomic Southern blot analysis with the cDNA sequences used as probes. The BR 2 gene contains two types of tandemly arranged major repeat units 200 bp long, represented in our study by the pCt 7 and the pCt 63 cDNA inserts. The pCt 7 major repeat units are arranged in one or possibly a few blocks and cover 10 kb of the gene; the pCt 63 units form one uninterrupted block, 22 kb in length. Genomic Southern blot hybridizations revealed a number of sequence variants of the pCt 7 major repeat unit. In contrast, the 100 copies of the pCt 63 major repeat unit seem to be almost identical. The pCt 7 major repeat unit, 180 bp in length, is organized in the same way as the previously described 215 bp long pCt 63 major repeat, i.e., it contains a repetitive and a non-repetitive part. Moreover, the two major repeat units show a high degree of sequence homology, indicating that the pCt 7 and pCt 63 sequence blocks within the Br 2 gene have evolved through stepwise amplification from a common ancestral sequence.

Journal Article↗

A hierarchic arrangement of the repetitive sequences in the Balbiani ring 2 gene of Chironomus tentans.

One cloned cDNA sequence, pCt63, was used to characterize the repeated structure of the Balbiani ring 2 gene in Chironomus tentans. Although small in size (0.63 kb), the cDNA insert corresponds to a large portion (25 kb) of the BR2 gene (37 kb). Southern blotting experiments suggested that a large part of the BR2 gene consists of tandemly repeated units, each about 215 bp. Sequence analysis of the cDNA confirmed the repeated nature of the BR2 gene and revealed the internal structure of the repeat unit. Each such unit is composed of two regions of approximately equal length; one is highly ordered and built from about six 18 bp repeats, each consisting of a slightly diverged 9 bp duplication. The recorded hierarchic arrangement of the repetitive sequences in the BR2 gene and a specific pattern of base substitutions along the gene have enabled us to propose how a major part of the giant BR2 gene has evolved from a short primordial sequence, 110-120 bp in length.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Evidence for a common ancestor sequence for the Balbiani ring 1 and Balbiani ring 2 genes in Chironomus tentans.

The Balbiani ring (BR) 1 and BR 2 genes in Chironomus tentans are functionally related and are only expressed in the salivary gland cells. Here we reveal the principal structure of the BR 1 gene and analyze the structural and evolutionary relationship between the BR 1 and BR 2 genes. The properties of the BR 1 gene, 37 kilobases in size, are derived from the analysis of a cloned cDNA sequence, pCt 21. A considerable part of the BR 1 gene consists of one or a few blocks of a tandemly repeated 246-base-pair (bp) major repeat unit. About half of this major repeat unit is in turn built from four tandem repeats of a 33-bp sequence. This hierarchic arrangement of repetitive sequences within the BR 1 gene suggests that the gene has evolved through two major amplification steps, starting from a short primordial sequence. A similar evolutionary model has been put forward for the BR 2 gene [Sümegi, J., Wieslander, L. & Daneholt, B. (1982) Cell 30, 579-587]. The two putative primordial genes contain a similar, 102-bp-long sequence (86% nucleotide sequence homology), indicating that the BR 1 and BR 2 genes most likely arose from the same ancestor sequence. During the course of evolution the two genes diverged, mainly due to differences in the length and sequence of the gene segments involved in the two amplification steps. Moreover, at least one of the BR genes was translocated to another chromosomal locus.

Journal Article↗

Identification of the Balbiani ring 2 chromomere and determination of the content and compaction of its DNA.

The giänt puff Balbiani ring 2 (BR 2) in the salivary glands of Chironomus tentants is known to contain transcriptionally active 75S RNA genes. The corresponding chromosomal superstructure, the BR 2 chromomere, has been identified and characterized in the present study. It was demonstrated by cytological methods that BR 2 originates from the broad band IV-3B10, since all the bands except the 3B10 band could be detected as intact bands in the vicinity of BR 2. In situ hybridization of BR 2 RNA to squashed Malpighian tubule chromosomes lacking BR 2, showed that all or almost all the DNA sequences complementary to BR 2 RNA are located in the 3B10 band. The DNA amount in the 3B10 band, designated the Br 2 band, was measured in relation to the DNA content of the whole chromosome set by both direct and indirect microspectrophotometry of Feulgen-stained Malpighian tubule chromosomes. From a determination of the haploid DNA content in sperm cells (0.25 pg), the amount of DNA in at BR 2 chromomere could then be calculated to be 5.1 x 10-4 pg DNA or 470 kb DNA. A minimum value of the DNA compaction within the BR 2 chromomere was estimated to 380 from the B-form length of BR 2 DNA (160 mum) and the thickness of the BR 2 band (0.42 mum). Since there are only between 1 and 4 75S RNA genes, 37 kb in size, in a BR 2 chromomere, most of the BR 2 DNA must consist of DNA not coding for 75S RNA. The nature of this DNA is discussed in relation to the high average AT-content of Chironomus DNA. The orgnization of the chromosome fiber in the BR 2 chromomere is considered in relation to the gene activation process in the salivary glands, i.e. the formation of a 75S RNA transcription loop from a protion of the tightly packed chromosome fiber in the BR 2 chromomere.

Animals↗

The 75 S RNA transcription unit in Balbiani ring 2 and its relation to chromosome structure.

A defined transcription unit in the Balbiani ring 2 (BR 2) region of chromosome IV in the salivary glands of Chironomus tentans has been characterized on the basis of analysis of the corresponding primary transcript, 75S RNA, and its functional significance. The available information on the transcription unit and its relations to chromosome structure can be summarized in the following way: 1. The size of the 75S RNA transcription unit in BR 2 is on the order of 30 000 base pairs. 2. The unit is likely to contain a long coding segment (at least 6000 base pairs), probably corresponding to information for salivary polypeptides. 3. The sequences are distributed in more than one chromomere (probably in 3--5 chromomeres). Further studies are needed before it can be stated whether or not there is a simple one-to-one relation between chromomeres and transcription units in the BR 2 region.

Animals↗

Demonstration of Balbiani ring RNA sequences in polysomes.

A polysome extract from salivary glands of C. tentans was sedimented in a 15-60% sucrose gradient. Fractions from the heavy polysome region (1,000-2,000S) and fractions from the light polysome region (200-1,000S) were pooled separately, and the long-term labeled RNA was released by Sarkosyl/pronase and analysed by in situ hybridization. The results showed that BR 1 and BR 2 sequences were present in the heavy and the light polysome regions of the sucrose gradient. From control experiments with EDTA-treated extracts, it was concluded that most of the recorded BR 1 and BR 2 sequences were in fact located in polysomes. The finding that BR products enter polysomes suggests that they act as messenger RNA molecules. This study therefore strongly supports the concept that chromosome puffs represent active genes.

Animals↗