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Biomedical subjects

M Jay

Publications and source records attributed to M Jay.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

No evidence for linkage or association between the dopamine transporter gene and schizophrenia in a French population.

Pharmacological and clinical findings suggest that the dopamine transporter (DAT) gene may be involved in the genetic predisposition to schizophrenia. Linkage of a Taq I VNTR polymorphism in the DAT gene to schizophrenia was studied in multiplex schizophrenic families from Rouen, France (n = 10) and the Island of La Réunion (n = 21). Neither the lod score method nor nonparametric methods (the affected pedigree member method of Weeks and Lange [1988] and the sibling method of Green and Woodrow [1977]) provided any evidence for linkage. An association study, carried out within a group of 91 unrelated schizophrenic patients from Rouen and 91 matched control subjects, examined a 40 base-pair repeat polymorphism located in the 3' nontranslated end of the DAT mRNA. There was no significant difference in allelic or genotypic frequencies between the two groups. These results exclude any substantial involvement of the DAT gene in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia in the population studied.

Adult↗

Flavonoid glycosides and an anthraquinone from Rumex chalepensis.

Besides rutin, quercetin 3-rhamnoside and kaempferol 3-rhamnosyl(1-->6) galactoside, a new flavonol glycoside, quercetin 3-glucosyl(1-->4)galactoside, and 1,6,8-trihydroxy-3-methyl anthraquinone (emodin) have been characterized from leaves of Rumex chalepensis. The structures were established on the basis of Rf values, acid hydrolysis to aglycone and sugar and UV, EI and FAB-mass spectra, 1H NMR, 13C DEPT NMR, NOE difference measurement, 1H-H COSY and 1H-13C COSY spectral data.

Anthraquinones↗

Preparation of [11C]formaldehyde using a hollow fiber membrane bioreactor.

A bioreactor consisting of the enzymes alcohol oxidase and catalase immobilized onto a hollow fiber membrane was used to convert [11C]methanol to [11C]formaldehyde. Using an alcohol oxidase:catalase ratio of 1:500 U, conversion yields of 90-95% were obtained allowing the production of up to 7400 MBq (200 mCi) of [11C]formaldehyde in 5 min. The hollow fiber bioreactor allowed for a convenient, rapid synthesis with yields significantly higher than the standard chemical procedures, has demonstrable advantages over glass bead immobilized systems (primarily due to convective flow), and was amenable to hot cell conditions.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗

Isla Vista virus: a genetically novel hantavirus of the California vole Microtus californicus.

Prospect Hill virus (PH) was isolated from a meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) in 1982, and much of its genome has been sequenced. Hantaviruses of other New World microtine rodents have not been genetically characterized. We show that another Microtus species (the California vole M. californicus) from the United States is host to a genetically distinct PH-like hantavirus, Isla Vista virus (ILV). The nucleocapsid protein of ILV differs from that of PH by 11.1% and a portion of the G2 glycoprotein differs from that of PH by 19.6%. ILV antibodies were identified in five of 33 specimens of M. californicus collected in 1975 and 1994-1995. Enzymatic amplification studies showed that 1975 and 1994-1995 ILV genomes were highly similar. Secondary infection of Peromyscus californicus was identified in Santa Barbara County, California. A long-standing enzootic of a genetically distinct hantavirus lineage is present in California voles.

Animals↗

Autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa mapping to chromosome 7p exhibits variable expression.

The genetic locus causing autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP) has recently been mapped in a large English family to chromosome 7p. Eight affected members of this family were studied electrophysiologically and psychophysically with dark adapted static threshold perimetry and dark adaptometry. The phenotypes observed fell into three categories: minimally affected with no symptoms, and normal (or near normal) electrophysiology and psychophysics; moderately affected with mild symptoms, abnormal electroretinograms, and equal loss of rod and cone function in affected areas of the retina; and severely affected with extinguished electroretinograms and barely detectable dark adapted static threshold sensitivities. The mutation in the gene on 7p causing adRP in this family causes regional retinal dysfunction with greatly variable expressivity ranging from normal to profoundly abnormal in a manner not explained by age.

Adult↗

Bimodal expressivity in dominant retinitis pigmentosa genetically linked to chromosome 19q.

A clinical, psychophysical, and electrophysiologic study was undertaken of two autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa pedigrees with a genetic mutation assigned to chromosome 19q by linkage analysis. Members with the abnormal haplotype were either symptomatic with adolescent onset nyctalopia, restricted visual fields, and non-detectable electroretinographic responses by 30 years of age, or asymptomatic with normal fundus appearance and minimal or no psychophysical or electroretinographic abnormalities. There was no correlation in the severity in parents and their offspring. Pedigree analysis suggested that although the offspring of parents with the genetic mutation were at 50% risk of having the genetic defect, the risk of being symptomatic during a working lifetime was only 31%. Such bimodal phenotypic expressivity in these particular pedigrees may be explained by a second, allelic genetic influence and may be a phenomenon unique to this genetic locus. Genetic counselling in families expressing this phenotype can only be based on haplotype analysis since clinical investigations, even in the most elderly, would not preclude the presence of the mutant gene.

Adult↗

Ophthalmic genetics: a genealogical guide to sources in England and Wales.

Large pedigrees are fundamental to seeking new genes; they can be constructed on the basis of a family history but can frequently be enlarged considerably from public records. Genealogical sources in England and Wales consist of public records such as civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths, census returns, wills, and church records. Details are given as to their use and where they are to be found. In addition, examples are given of how archival material and pathology reports may be used to compile extensive pedigrees which can span 10 generations.

Censuses↗

Linkage refinement localises Sorsby fundus dystrophy between markers D22S275 and D22S278.

Sorsby fundus dystrophy is an autosomal dominant disorder which both clinically and histopathologically bears striking similarities to age related macular degeneration, one of the leading causes of blindness in the developed world. Recent studies have suggested a genetic localisation of the disease to chromosome 22q in a large genetic interval of approximately 25 cM. Independent genetic linkage analysis in a six generation British pedigree confirms linkage to the chromosome 22q region. A maximum two point lod score of 7.09 with no recombination was obtained with marker D22S280. Haplotype data positioned the disease between loci D22S275 and D22S278, thus significantly reducing the region on chromosome 22q where the gene is located.

Chromosomes, Human, Pair 22↗

Gender and age at onset in schizophrenia: impact of family history.

OBJECTIVE: The 1-year prevalence of schizophrenia was studied in a limited geographical area of Reunion Island (Indian Ocean) to assess the impact of family history of schizophrenia on the well-known association between gender and age at onset. METHOD: The population of schizophrenic patients meeting the DSM-III-R criteria for schizophrenia (N = 663) was identified and divided according to the presence of another schizophrenic patient among the first- and second-degree relatives. RESULTS: As previously reported, the median age at onset differed between the sexes: the males had an earlier onset (mean age = 27.8 years) than the females (31.5 years). Comparison of the ages at onset according to family history revealed that onset was later for female subjects with a negative family history than for the three other groups (i.e., males with or without a family history and females with a family history). No difference emerged in the comparison of the ages at onset of the males and females with a positive family history. CONCLUSIONS: Comparison of schizophrenic patients with familial versus sporadic disorder confirms the absence of a gender effect for age at onset in the subgroup with familial disorder. This approach also demonstrates the existence of a subgroup composed of affected females having late onset and no family history of schizophrenia.

Adolescent↗

Short report: prevalence of hantavirus infection in rodents associated with two fatal human infections in California.

Rodents living near two fatal human cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in California were surveyed for evidence of hantavirus infection. Seventeen (15%) (14 Peromyscus maniculatus and one each of P. truei, Eutamias minimus, and Microtus californicus) of 114 rodents tested had evidence (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or polymerase chain reaction) of hantavirus infection. This suggests that Peromyscus mice, and P. maniculatus in particular, may be the reservoir for the virus causing this newly recognized disease in California, as previously reported for New Mexico and Arizona.

Adult↗

Initiation codon mutation of the tyrosinase gene as a cause of human albinism.

Direct DNA sequence determination of PCR amplified exons of the tyrosinase gene of three British patients suffering from tyrosinase negative oculocutaneous albinism has revealed three new missense point mutations: (1) an adenine to guanine transition at codon 1 changes the initiating methionine codon into a valine codon thereby abolishing translation; (2) a thymine to cytosine transition at codon 370 changes a methionine to a threonine residue; (3) a cytosine to thymine transition at codon 367 changes a histidine to a tyrosine residue. A codon 402 change previously considered a polymorphism is assigned a pathological role.

Adult↗

Genetic study of dopamine D1, D2, and D4 receptors in schizophrenia.

The goal of this study was to define precisely the involvement of the dopamine D1, D2, and D4 receptor genes in the etiology of schizophrenia. A linkage analysis using the lod score method was performed in 37 families originating from France (n = 14) and from the Island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean (n = 23). No evidence of linkage between schizophrenia and genetic markers located at these loci was found. A simulation study was carried out to gauge the significance of these results. The conclusions of a nonparametric linkage test (i.e., the affected pedigree member method) were equally negative. For each genetic marker, an allelic association with the disease was also sought: 80 unrelated patients and 80 healthy control subjects were tested, and no significant association was found. These results, which are in agreement with those obtained by other groups, do not support the involvement of the dopamine D1, D2, and D4 receptor genes in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.

Female↗

Pseudoautosomal region in schizophrenia: linkage analysis of seven loci by sib-pair and lod-score methods.

In a previous study, we reported a nonrandom segregation between schizophrenia and the pseudoautosomal locus DXYS14 in a sample of 33 sibships. That study has been extended by the addition of 16 new sibships from 16 different families. Data from six other loci of the pseudoautosomal region and of the immediately adjacent part of the X specific region have also been analyzed. Two methods of linkage analysis were used: the affected sibling pair (ASP) method and the lod-score method. Lod-score analyses were performed on the basis of three different models--A, B, and C--all shown to be consistent with the epidemiological data on schizophrenia. No clear evidence for linkage was obtained with any of these models. However, whatever the genetic model and the disease classification, maximum lod scores were positive with most of the markers, with the highest scores generally being obtained for the DXYS14 locus. When the ASP method was used, the earlier finding of nonrandom segregation between schizophrenia and the DXYS14 locus was still supported in this larger data set, at an increased level of statistical significance. Findings of ASP analyses were not significant for the other loci. Thus, findings obtained from analyses using the ASP method, but not the lod-score method, were consistent with the pseudoautosomal hypothesis for schizophrenia.

Family↗

Macular dystrophy associated with mutations at codon 172 in the human retinal degeneration slow gene.

BACKGROUND: Recently, mutations in the retinal degeneration slow (rds) gene which codes for peripherin-rds have been implicated as a cause of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa. Because this gene is expressed in both rods and cones, mutations in the rds gene might be expected to cause degeneration affecting either the scotopic or photopic systems. Mutations at codon 172 of the rds gene have been identified in three families with autosomal dominantly inherited, progressive macular dystrophy. METHODS: Affected individuals underwent ophthalmic examination, scotopic perimetry, dark adaptometry, measurement of color-contrast sensitivity, and electroretinography to characterize the photoreceptor dysfunction. RESULTS: In all but one affected member, symptoms of progressive central visual loss developed in the third or fourth decade of life accompanied by central scotoma and well-demarcated atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium and choriocapillaris of the macula. In general, cone and rod thresholds were elevated, and color-contrast sensitivity was absent in the central visual field. Peripherally, the scotopic sensitivities were normal, as was the recovery from bleach. Cone electroretinograms were diminished in amplitude, and delayed in all affected adults except one. Rod electroretinograms were normal or near normal in amplitude, and had normal implicit times. Affected asymptomatic children had macular changes, abnormal color-contrast sensitivity, and reduced pattern and cone electroretinograms. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that mutations in the rds gene can be expressed as a macular dystrophy, with evidence of primary cone dysfunction and preservation of peripheral rod function.

Adolescent↗

Identification of a sixth locus for autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa on chromosome 19.

We report the mapping of a sixth locus for autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP) to 19q13.4. After a total genome linkage search using over 300 markers in a single large pedigree, marker loci on the long arm of chromosome 19 showed significant linkage with the disease locus. Since the mapping information for the marker loci used in this study was derived from two different genome maps, we established genetic distances between relevant marker loci so that linkage information could be combined from both maps. A conventional three point analysis between the adRP phenotype and markers D19S180 and D19S214 gave a maximum lod score of 4.87. Combining data from these and other markers, we used the recently described multiple two point programme FASTMAP to simulate a multipoint analysis of the full data set. This gave a lod score of 5.34 in the interval between markers D19S180 and D19S214. Recently this laboratory has also reported the linkage of another form of retinal degeneration known as cone-rod dystrophy (CRD) to a genetically different set of markers from 19q. Linkage data presented here clearly supports the existence of two separate retinal genes in this part of the genome.

Chromosome Mapping↗

Mutation spectrum in the CHM gene of Danish and Swedish choroideremia patients.

The recent isolation of the complete open reading frame of the choroideremia (CHM) gene and the characterization of the exon-intron boundaries has paved the way to mutation detection in patients with classical choroideremia. We have performed mutation screening in patients from 15 Danish and Swedish families by using Southern blot hybridization and the polymerase chain reaction single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) technique. Causative mutations in the CHM gene were detected in at least 12 families, indicating that a substantial part of the mutations can be identified by this approach. In four of these families deletions of different sizes were found. Thus, in one patient, the deletion resulted in the absence of only one exon, while in another the deletion comprised the entire CHM gene. Mapping of the deletion endpoints in these four patients and in another 11 male patients with sizeable deletions enabled us to construct a very detailed map of intervals 2 and 3 of Xq21. In the remaining 11 Danish and Swedish families at least 8 causative mutations were found by PCR-SSCP analysis and direct sequencing. Interestingly, all CHM gene mutations detected thus far in choroideremia patients give rise to the introduction of a premature stop codon.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗