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Telomere shortening, telomerase expression, and chromosome instability in rat hepatic epithelial stem-like cells.

Telomeres, which are specialized structures consisting of T2AG3 repeats and proteins at the ends of chromosomes, may be essential for genomic stability. To test whether telomere length maintenance preserves genomic stability in rats (Rattus rattus and Fischer 344), we assayed telomerase activity and telomere length in the rat hepatic epithelial stem-like cell line WB-F344 during aging in vitro and in tumor-derived lines. Telomerase activity in the parental WB-F344 line was repressed at low and intermediate passage levels in vitro and reexpressed at high passages. Southern blot hybridization and quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses demonstrated that telomeres were significantly eroded at intermediate passage levels, when telomerase was repressed, and at high passage levels, when telomerase was expressed. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis also revealed interstitial telomeric sequences in rat chromosomes. Tumor-derived WB-F344 cell lines that express telomerase had variably shortened telomeres. Cytogenetic analyses performed on WB-F344 cells at low, intermediate, and high passages demonstrated that chromosome instability was most severe in the intermediate passage cells. These data suggest that telomere shortening during aging of rat hepatic epithelial stem-like WB-F344 cells in vitro and during selection of tumorigenic lines in vivo may destabilize chromosomes. Expression of telomerase in high passage cells appeared to partially stabilize chromosomes.

Animals↗

Mechanisms leading to uniparental disomy and their clinical consequences.

Uniparental disomy (UPD) refers to the situation in which both copies of a chromosome pair have originated from one parent. In humans, it can result in clinical conditions by producing either homozygosity for recessive mutations or aberrant patterns of imprinting. Furthermore, UPD is frequently found in conjunction with mosaicism for a chromosomally abnormal cell line, which can also contribute to phenotypic abnormalities. Investigations into the mechanisms by which UPD may arise have helped to expand our general awareness of the impact of chromosomal abnormalities and chromosomal mosaicism in normal human development. Specifically, it appears that errors in the transmission of a chromosome from parent to gamete and during early somatic cell divisions are remarkably common but that embryo and cell selection during early embryogenesis help to ensure the presence of a numerically balanced chromosome complement in the developing fetus. UPD is also likely to occur within a portion of cells in all individuals simply as a consequence of somatic recombination occurring during mitotic cell divisions. This can be an important step in cancer development as well as a contributing factor to other late onset diseases. This review summarizes mechanisms by which UPD may arise and their associated clinical consequences.

Animals↗

Embryonic germ cell lines and their derivation from mouse primordial germ cells.

When primordial germ cells of the mouse are cultured on feeder layers with the addition of the polypeptide signalling molecules leukaemia inhibitory factor, Steel factor and basic fibroblast growth factor they give rise to cells that resemble undifferentiated blastocyst-derived embryonic stem cells. These primordial germ cell-derived embryonic germ cells (EG cells) can be induced to differentiate extensively in culture and also form teratocarcinomas when injected into nude mice. Additionally, they contribute to chimeras when injected into host blastocysts. We have derived multiple EG cell lines from 8.5 days post coitum (dpc) embryos of C57BL/6 inbred mice. Four independent EG cell lines with normal male karyotypes have formed chimeras (up to 70% coat colour chimerism) when injected into BALB/c host blastocysts. Chimeric mice from all four cell lines are fertile, but only those from one line have transmitted coat colour markers through the germline. Studies have also been carried out to determine whether gonadal primordial germ cells can give rise to pluripotent EG cells. Germ cells from gonads of 15.5 dpc C57BL/6 embryos and newborn mice failed to produce EG cell lines. EG cell lines capable of forming teratocarcinomas and coat colour chimeras have been established from primordial germ cells of 12.5 dpc genital ridges. We are currently testing the genomic imprinting status of the insulin-like growth factor type 2 receptor gene (Igf2r) in our different EG cell lines.

Animals↗

Investigation of UBE3A and MECP2 in Angelman syndrome (AS) and patients with features of AS.

Angelman syndrome (AS) is an imprinted neurobehavioral disorder characterized by mental retardation, absent speech, excessive laughter, seizures, ataxia, and a characteristic EEG pattern. Classical lesions, including deletion, paternal disomy, or epigenetic mutation, are confirmatory of AS diagnoses in 80% of cases. Loss-of-function mutations of the UBE3A gene have been identified in approximately 8% of AS cases, failing to account for the remaining patient population, and there appears to be a higher prevalence of mutations in familial than sporadic cases. We screened UBE3A in 45 index cases of AS without obvious 15q11-13 abnormalities. Pathological mutations were identified in 3/6 (50%) familial and 4/39 (>10%) sporadic cases. By combining our data with those of the literature, we demonstrate statistically that the frequency of UBE3A mutations is significantly higher in the familial than sporadic subsets of AS. This indicates that an independent molecular mechanism or 'phenocopy' exists for the sporadic group. Rett syndrome (RS), caused by mutations of the MECP2 gene, and patients with deletions of 22q13.3 --> qter, have overlapping clinical features with AS. We screened 24 of the sporadic AS cases without detectable UBE3A mutations for mutations of MECP2, but found none. A separate cohort of 43 atypical patients with features common to AS and RS, in whom 15q11-13 lesions and 22q13.3 --> qter deletion had been ruled out, were also screened for MECP2 mutations. One male patient was mosaic for a frameshift mutation of this gene (previously reported). While MECP2 mutations can cause a phenotype reminiscent of AS in rare cases, they fail to account for the excess of sporadic patients with a definitive clinical diagnosis of AS.

Angelman Syndrome↗

Evaluation of screening strategies to detect an oligogenic disease.

Using data simulated to reflect an oligogenic disease, we evaluated screening strategies based on lod-score and weighted pairwise correlation (WPC) analysis with respect to their ability to efficiently identify regions near disease loci. Lod-score analysis was done twice, once assuming a near-recessive mode of inheritance with a high penetrance and again assuming a semidominant mode of inheritance with lower penetrance. Under the near-recessive model, no disease loci were correctly identified, while there was one false positive result. Under the semidominant model, D1G31 was correctly identified, and there were two false positive results. Due to the lack of highly informative families and possible sensitivity to parameter misspecification, this poor performance was not unexpected. WPC, on the other hand, is assumption-free and thus potentially more powerful than a misspecified parametric model, but almost certainly less powerful than a well-specified parametric model. Using WPC modified to handle binary phenotypes with no age-of-onset, we found results closely resembling those under the semidominant model, although no markers near disease loci exceeded the theoretical critical value for WPC.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗

Quantitative trait locus detection using combined linkage/disequilibrium analysis.

We describe an extension of the variance component linkage method that augments identity-by-descent information from relatives with identity-by-state information from unrelated individuals, exploiting disequilibrium to facilitate fine mapping of quantitative trait loci. An advantage of the combined linkage/disequilibrium test is that it detects association only in the presence of linkage and is not biased by population stratification.

Alcoholism↗

Environmental covariates: effects on the power of sib-pair linkage methods.

The effect of inclusion of environmental risk factors on the power of sib-pair linkage methods was tested for a qualitative trait. It was found that inclusion of an environmental variable did not increase the power of the Haseman-Elston (H-E) sib-pair nonparametric linkage analysis test. However, a significant increase in power was observed for both the H-E and affected-sib-pair tests, even in small samples, when persons unexposed to the environmental risk factor were coded as unknown.

Environment↗

A generalized estimating equations approach to linkage analysis in sibships in relation to multiple markers and exposure factors.

We describe a multiple regression approach to nonparametric linkage analysis in sibships incorporating multiple genetic loci, environmental covariates, and interactions. The covariance in trait residuals between sib pairs is treated as the dependent variable, regressed upon identical-by-descent sharing probabilities and interaction effects, using generalized estimating equations to allow for the correlations among multiple sib pairs within a sibship. Individual covariates can also be introduced in the model for the trait means. An application to the GAW11 simulated data revealed linkage with each of the four simulated loci, as well as gene x environment interactions of E1 with loci C and D and gene x gene interactions among the cluster of loci A, B, and D.

Environment↗

Stratification techniques to explore genotype environment interactions.

Linkage analysis was performed on the GAW11 Problem 2 data set using stratification to explore the effects of the environmental risk factors and the differences between mild and severe phenotypes. Analysis of the four study populations stratified by the two risk factors identified regions on chromosomes 3 and 5 with significant evidence for linkage. Other loci were sought by removing families consistent with linkage to the chromosome 3 locus. Our studies identified a locus on chromosome 3 (markers 43-46) associated with the mild phenotype in the presence of risk factor 1 and with the severe phenotype independent of risk factor 1. This suggests that distinct allelic variants at the chromosome 3 locus may cause different forms of disease. The locus identified on chromosome 5 (markers 36-39) was linked to the severe phenotype, but exposure to factor 1 or 2 may have a protective effect. The regions on chromosomes 3 and 5 appeared to have independent roles in disease etiology. Evidence for two loci on chromosome 1 linked to the mild form was found. The methods successfully identified linkages and interaction consistent with the generating model.

Environment↗

Possible linkage of alcoholism, monoamine oxidase activity and P300 amplitude to markers on chromosome 12q24.

Multipoint linkage analysis was used to screen for evidence of linkage between alcoholism and five alcoholism-related quantitative traits. The results suggest that a susceptibility locus that influences monoamine oxidase activity and P300 amplitude at the Pz lead, and increases the risk of alcohol dependence may be linked to markers in the 12q24 region. Furthermore, the susceptibility for alcoholism may be associated with allele 3 (allele size 144) of D12S392.

Alcoholism↗

Novel tests for marker-disease association using the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism data.

We applied several novel tests for association and linkage in the presence of association to the Genetic Analysis Workshop 11 Problem 1 data set. Our analyses included a Hardy-Weinberg test for association between a marker and a disease susceptibility locus, a Bayesian transmission/disequilibrium test, and a Bayesian case-control test. Positive results for each of these methods require the presence of population association between the marker and a disease susceptibility locus.

Alcoholism↗

Linkage analysis with adequate modeling of a parent-of-origin effect.

We present an extension to parametric linkage analysis that allows modeling diseases with a parent-of-origin effect (i.e., imprinting). Different penetrances are assumed for individuals being heterozygous at the disease locus, depending on their having inherited the disease allele from the father or mother. Motivated by the finding of a maternally expressed locus influencing alcohol consumption in mice (Alcp2), the analysis method has been included into the program GENEHUNTER for application to Problem 1, Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism of Genetic Analysis Workshop 11. By this extension, a powerful tool is provided for adequately modeling an inherited disease in linkage analysis that supposedly has imprinting effects. The program has been used to analyze the data set on alcohol dependence in humans and can be applied to other genetically determined traits as well.

Alcoholism↗

Parental sex effect in families with alcoholism.

Parental sex effects have been shown to influence the inheritance of a number of complex disorders. In this paper we performed affected sib-pair analyses on 105 families with recurrent alcoholism to evaluate the effects that the parent of origin might have on this disorder. Three alternative classification schemes were used and the families were grouped as maternal, paternal, mixed, or unknown. Paternal effects were observed at D9S64, D16S475, and D16S2622, while maternal effects were expressed at FABP2, D8S280, D8S1715, and D8S1988. Except for D16S2622, none of these markers resulted in a significant p-value when all families were analyzed together. These results suggest that the parental sex should not be ignored and that a discriminatory analysis should always be performed.

Alcoholism↗

Genetic linkage analysis of simulated complex disease data.

The purpose of this analysis was to apply current analytic methods to a simulated data set with a recognized genetic model in order to identify the loci that affect a complex disease, detect evidence for the interaction among two of the loci, and detect the gene-environment interaction. The following analytic tools were used: two multipoint linkage analysis programs, a stratification strategy based on the results of the multipoint analysis, and a case-control analysis using discordant sib pair data. The results were consistent with the underlying genetic model: a disease due to a major gene on chromosome 3 associated with an environmental risk factor, and two minor interacting loci on chromosomes 1 and 5.

Case-Control Studies↗

Genetic model-free linkage analysis using the maximum-likelihood-binomial method for categorical traits.

Within the simulated data of the 11th Genetic Analysis Workshop, we searched for the genes controlling the disease. We analyzed 200 families from Studies 2 and 3 presenting both mild and severe forms of disease. Linkage analysis was performed using the recently developed genetic model-free maximum-likelihood-binomial (MLB) method which overcomes the problem of multiple sibs by considering the sibship as a whole. The MLB allowed us to consider the disease as either a binary (affected/unaffected) or an ordered categorical (differentiating the two forms of disease and including effects of environmental factors) phenotype. In both studies, two regions provided evidence for linkage at a significance level below 10(-4). One is located on chromosome 3 (from D3G041 to D3G047), and the other on chromosome 5 (from D5G034 to D5G041). In Study 2, the most significant results were obtained by combining both forms of disease, suggesting that they are under the same genetic control, while in Study 3, the stronger results were obtained when considering severe subjects alone, suggesting that only the severe form is under the control of both locus B and C. The subsequent knowledge of the true model allowed a posterior interpretation of our results, in particular the difference in optimal coding schemes observed between Studies 2 and 3, and the failure to locate locus A.

Alleles↗

Search for a gene x environment interaction: G x E hunt.

We developed a method to identify gene x environment interactions (G x Es). To test this method in the simulated data (Problem 2, GAW11), we first identified an environmental factor (E1) that was associated with the simulated disorder. We stratified affected sibling pairs (ASPs) into two groups, those concordant for the presence of E1 and those concordant for the absence of E1. We then localized genes on chromosomes 3 and 5 using identity-by-descent (IBD) sharing rates among ASPs. Because the stratified IBD sharing rates are independent of the environmental factor if there is no G x E, we inferred the existence of a G x E near loci 3G44 and 3G45 by testing whether the proportion of ASPs sharing no alleles IBD differed among the two groups.

Environment↗

Analysis of complex traits using neural networks.

A recently developed approach that employs artificial neural networks (ANNs) was applied to the simulated data set to identify sets of marker loci involved in disease etiology. In this implementation, ANNs are trained to predict the disease state (output) from the given genetic marker data (input). A contribution value (CV) for each locus is calculated from the weights that represent the strength of the connections for the trained ANN; a higher CV indicates a higher probability of linkage. The highest CV values were chosen as the most likely candidate regions involved in the disease.

Computer Simulation↗