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T B Shows

Publications and source records attributed to T B Shows.

388 records · Page 22Linked to original sources

Nonspecific integration of the HTLV provirus genome into adult T-cell leukaemia cells.

Human T-cell leukaemia virus (HTLV), previously also reported as ATLV, is a recently identified retrovirus which is closely associated with adult T-cell leukaemia (ATL) endemic in southwestern Japan and the Caribbean. Determination of the total nucleotide sequence of the HTLV genome has revealed no typical onc gene acquired from the cellular sequence. Screening of the HTLV provirus genome in tumour cells has shown that in all cases of ATL examined, the primary tumour cells contained the provirus genome and were monoclonal with respect to the integration site of the provirus. These findings suggest that ATL leukaemogenesis may be due to insertional mutagenesis in which the provirus genome is integrated into a specific locus on the chromosomal DNA and then activates an adjacent cellular onc gene, a mechanism already demonstrated in avian lymphoma and erythroblastosis induced by avian leukosis viruses. A common site of HTLV provirus integration in leukaemic cells among some ATL patients was reported by Hahn et al. but subsequently retracted. However, this retraction does not imply the random integration of the proviruses. Independently, we have been testing this insertional mutagenesis model in ATL and report here that the provirus did not have a common locus of integration in 35 ATL patients and did not integrate on the same chromosome in 2 ATL patients.

Adult↗

Localization of insulin-like growth factor genes to human chromosomes 11 and 12.

The insulin-like growth factors IGF-I and IGF-II are required for growth and development. Both are single-chain proteins (of 70 and 67 amino acids respectively) derived from precursors by proteolytic processing. IGF-I may be particularly important in promoting normal stature and IGF-II may be a fetal growth hormone. The IGF proteins are probably synthesized by many normal tissues and by some tumours. The secretion of growth factors by tumours and tumour-derived cell lines suggests that they may act as autocrine regulators of cell proliferation. Because of the possible role of these proteins in growth disorders and cancer, and their sequence homology with insulin, we have determined their chromosomal localization. Using somatic cell hybrids and cloned cDNA probes for these proteins, we have assigned the genes for IGF-I and IGF-II to human chromosomes 12 and 11, respectively. We present evidence that the IGF-II gene is located on the short arm of chromosome 11 with a ras proto-oncogene and the insulin structural gene, and also suggest the existence of a fragment length polymorphism using the IGF-I probe.

Animals↗

Human gamma-chain genes are rearranged in leukaemic T cells and map to the short arm of chromosome 7.

Three gene families that rearrange during the somatic development of T cells have been identified in the murine genome. Two of these gene families (alpha and beta) encode subunits of the antigen-specific T-cell receptor and are also present in the human genome. The third gene family, designated here as the gamma-chain gene family, is rearranged in murine cytolytic T cells but not in most helper T cells. Here we present evidence that the human genome also contains gamma-chain genes that undergo somatic rearrangement in leukaemia-derived T cells. Murine gamma-chain genes appear to be encoded in gene segments that are analogous to the immunoglobulin gene variable, constant and joining segments. There are two closely related constant-region gene segments in the human genome. One of the constant-region genes is deleted in all three T-cell leukaemias that we have studied. The two constant-region gamma-chain genes reside on the short arm of chromosome 7 (7p15); this region is involved in chromosomal rearrangements identified in T cells from individuals with the immunodeficiency syndrome ataxia telangiectasia and observed only rarely in routine cytogenetic analyses of normal individuals. This region is also a secondary site of beta-chain gene hybridization.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

cDNA sequence and chromosomal localization of human platelet-derived growth factor A-chain and its expression in tumour cell lines.

The amino-acid sequence of the precursor of the human tumour cell line-derived platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) A-chain has been deduced from complementary DNA clones and the gene localized to chromosome 7. The protein shows extensive homology to the PDGF B-chain precursor. Expression of the PDGF A-chain gene is independent of that of the PDGF B-chain in a number of human tumour cell lines, and secretion of a PDGF-like growth factor of relative molecular mass 31,000 correlates with expression of A- but not B-chain messenger RNA.

Base Sequence↗

The beta-subunit of follicle-stimulating hormone is deleted in patients with aniridia and Wilms' tumour, allowing a further definition of the WAGR locus.

One in 10,000 children develops Wilms' tumour, an embryonal malignancy of the kidney. Although most Wilms' tumours are sporadic, a genetic predisposition is associated with aniridia, genito-urinary malformations and mental retardation (the WAGR syndrome). Patients with this syndrome typically exhibit constitutional deletions involving band p13 of one chromosome 11 homologue. It is likely that these deletions overlap a cluster of separate but closely linked genes that control the development of the kidney, iris and urogenital tract (the WAGR complex). A discrete aniridia locus, in particular, has been defined within this chromosomal segment by a reciprocal translocation, transmitted through three generations, which interrupts 11p13. In addition, the specific loss of chromosome 11p alleles in sporadic Wilms' tumours has been demonstrated, suggesting that the WAGR complex includes a recessive oncogene, analogous to the retinoblastoma locus on chromosome 13. In WAGR patients, the inherited 11p deletion is thought to represent the first of two events required for the initiation of a Wilms' tumour, as suggested by Knudson from epidemiological data. We have now isolated the deleted chromosomes 11 from four WAGR patients in hamster-human somatic cell hybrids, and have tested genomic DNA from the hybrids with chromosome 11-specific probes. We show that 4 of 31 markers are deleted in at least one patient, but that of these markers, only the gene encoding the beta-subunit of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSHB) is deleted in all four patients. Our results demonstrate close physical linkage between FSHB and the WAGR locus, suggest a gene order for the four deleted markers and exclude other markers tested from this region. In hybrids prepared from a balanced translocation carrier with familial aniridia, the four markers segregate into proximal and distal groups. The translocation breakpoint, which identifies the position of the aniridia gene on 11p, is immediately proximal to FSHB, in the interval between FSHB and the catalase gene.

Adult↗

Assignment of the gene for human intra-acrosomal protein SP-10 to the p12----q13 region of chromosome 11.

The human sperm antigen SP-10 is a testis-specific, intra-acrosomal protein associated with the membranes of the acrosomal vesicle. The molecule has been designated a "primary vaccine candidate" by a World Health Organization (WHO) Taskforce on Contraceptive Vaccines. cDNA cloning and sequencing have indicated that SP-10 is encoded by a 795-base-pair (bp) reading frame that predicts a 265-amino acid protein of 28.3 kd. In this study, we used a 634-bp fragment (bp 68 through 700, amino acids 3 through 222) of the SP-10 sequence to probe, by Southern blotting, EcoRI-digested DNA from 33 mouse/human somatic cell hybrids involving 16 unrelated human cell lines and 4 mouse cell lines. The hybrids were characterized by karyotypic analysis and by mapped enzyme markers. The presence or absence of positive human bands was scored on the blots and the percent of concordance and discordance with a specific human chromosome was determined. The DNA probe for SP-10 showed a concordance of 31 and a discordancy of 0 for human chromosome 11, mapping SP-10 unequivocally to this chromosome. The hybrid XER-7 with the 11/X translocation: 11p12 or 11p11----11qter:: Xq11----Xqter and the hybrid EXR-5CSAZ with the X/11 translocation: Xpter----Xq22::11q13----11qter localized the SP-10 gene to the p12----q13 region. The SP-10 locus has been assigned the gene symbol ACRV1 (acrosomal vesicle protein-1).

Acrosome↗