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[Utility and intricacy of molecular diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy].

To diagnose spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), we examined the deletion of exons 7 and 8 of the survival motor neuron (SMN) gene and exon 5 of the neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP) gene in 7 patients from 6 unrelated families, using the polymerase chain reaction method. Two patients with type I and two with type II SMA had the deletion in SMN, whereas 2 of the 3 patients with type III had no deletion in these genes. Thus, the method was not as useful in type III as in type I and II for making a diagnosis of SMA. Together with the data previously reported by others, our data indicated the possibility that the deletion frequency in type III SMA is lower in Japanese patients (< 40%) than in non-Japanese patients (> 80%). Two siblings had SMA of different severity; the older brother having type III and the younger brother type II. Both had the same deletion in the SMN gene. The different phenotypes in these siblings with the same genotype indicated that caution is required when utilizing molecular data for genetic counseling or prenatal diagnosis of SMA.

Child↗

[Autosomal dominant adult-onset spinal muscular atrophy with vocal cord paralysis: a case report].

This report concerns a 41-year-old female case of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) associated with vocal cord paralysis. Her parents were not consanguineous. Her maternal grandmother and younger brother were suspected of having SMA. At age 37, she first experienced gait disturbance and began to have slowly progressive dysarthria and weakness of the extremities. Neurological examination revealed that she had inspiratory stridor, dysarthria and proximal muscular weakness of the extremities. Achilles tendon reflexes were absent, while there were no pathological reflexes or sensory disturbances. She showed a waddling gait and Gowers' sign. The laboratory data indicated mild elevation of serum CK. The nerve conduction study was normal, while the electromyographic study and muscle biopsy revealed neurogenic changes. We diagnosed the case as adult onset SMA of the autosomal dominant type. Laryngoscopy revealed that the patient had vocal cord paralysis, which was predominant in abductor muscles and of the posterior paralysis type according to the categories established by Isozaki. Genetic analysis showed no mutations in the genes of the neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein and of the survival motor neuron.

Adult↗

Prenatal diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy in Turkish families.

Prenatal diagnosis of childhood proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is carried out by the detection of homozygous deletions of survival motor neuron (SMN; exons 7 and 8) and neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP; exons 5 and 6) genes located in 5q13 chromosomal region. In Hacettepe University, Department of Medical Biology, 203 postnatal molecular diagnoses of SMA have been carried out since October 1994 and prenatal diagnosis in subsequent pregnancies to couples who previously had an affected child became possible. Between January 1996 and December 1999 totally 41 SMA families were analyzed by detecting homozygous deletions of SMN and NAIP genes for prenatal counseling. Fetal DNAs were obtained from amniotic fluid and chorionic villus samples. 8/41 (20%) fetal samples were found to be affected and these pregnancies were terminated. It was interesting to find that 2 fetuses had only SMN deletions, however their affected siblings had both SMN and NAIP gene deletions.

Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein↗

Correlation between genotype and phenotype in Korean patients with spinal muscular atrophy.

The goal of this study was to define the correlation between genotype and phenotype in Korean patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The SMA can be classified into three groups based on the age of onset and the clinical course. The candidate genes, survival motor neuron (SMN) gene, neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP) gene, and p44 gene were mapped and duplicated with telomeric and centromeric. The loss of the telomeric SMN occurs by a different mechanism. That is the deletion or conversion of telomeric SMN to centromeric SMN, in which case the conversion could produce a mild phenotype and deletion could produce a severe one. It has been known that there may be a balance between the numbers of copies expressed by the centromeric and telomeric SMN genes. In our study, ten patients with type I SMA and two type II patients were identified by their clinical findings and DNA studies. The major deletion of SMA candidate genes, deletion of the SMN gene, NAIP gene, and p44 gene were identified in six patients with type I SMA, while the rest of type I and all the type II patients showed the deletion of the SMN gene only. Allele numbers of the C212 marker were compared in patients and normal controls in order to find the correlation between the copy numbers and the clinical severity. The result was that type I patients had 2-5 alleles and the normal controls had 4-6. This suggests that the deletion is a major determining factor in the clinical phenotype. However, two type I patients with telomeric NAIP gene deletion notably had 4-5 alleles, as in the normal controls. This result implies that the correlation between the copy numbers and the severity is uncertain as opposed to the previous hypothesis. One type I patient showed the conversion of the centromeric SMN gene to the telomeric, which supports the conclusion that gene conversion is an important molecular mechanism for SMA. In the study of one hundred normal newborns, two physically normal newborns showed deletion of the centromeric SMN gene, suggesting frequent rearrangement in the locus.

Child↗

[Spinal muscular atrophy: SMN protein deficiency].

Spinal muscular atrophy is a heterogeneous group of disorders characterised by the loss of alfa motor neurons in spinal cord. Autosomal recessive infantile and juvenile proximal spinal muscular atrophy is the most common form of the disease. The identification of the disease gene-Survival of Motor Neuron (SMN) was a major advance in understanding of the molecular basis of SMA. 98% of SMA patients show the homozygous absence of at least exon 7 telomeric copy of SMN, the rest carry small intragenic mutations, usually in exon 6. Two different mechanisms seem to be responsible for the absence of the telomeric copy: deletion in severe form and gene conversion associated with mild phenotype. Recently, biochemical studies resulted in identification of the 38kDa survival motor neuron (SMN) protein, probably involved in the biogenesis of spliceosomal snRNP. The SMN protein level was shown to be 100-fold reduced in spinal cord of SMA 1 patients.

Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein↗

[A study of survival motor neuron and neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein gene in spinal muscular atrophy].

OBJECTIVE: To study the absence of survival motor neuron(SMN) gene exon 7,8 and neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein(NAIP) gene exon 5,6 in Chinese patients with type I - IV spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and to confirm the relationship between the deletions of SMN, NAIP and SMA phenotype. METHODS: PCR and PCR-enzyme methods were used to detect the deletions of NAIP gene exon 5,6 and SMN gene exon 7,8 in 45 SMA (I - IV) patients and 30 healthy relatives of the patients and 30 normal controls. RESULTS: Deletions of exon 7 and 8 of the telomeric SMN gene were 4/4, 2/3, 1/8 and 0/30 in type I, II, III and IV SMA patients, respectively. One patient with type II lacked the exon 7 but retained exon 8. No deletions was found in the relatives and controls(0/60). No deletions of exon 5 and 6 of the NAIP gene was detected in all the patients, healthy relatives and controls. CONCLUSIONS: Deletions of SMN gene exon 7 and 8 exa mined by PCR-enzyme digestion could be recommended as an accurate gene diagnostic method for SMA with type I and II. However, the method was not as useful in type III as in I and II for making a diagnosis of SMA. Type IV SMA, a heterogeneous disease with phenotypical similarities to type I - III SMA, may be caused by deletion of other genes. The frequency of NAIP deletion was lower in Chinese SMA patients.

Child↗

The loss of IAP expression during HL-60 cell differentiation is caspase-independent.

Human promyelocytic leukaemia cells (HL-60) differentiate into neutrophil-like cells that die spontaneously by apoptosis when treated with retinoic acid (RA). Inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAP) bind to and inhibit caspases 3, 7, and 9 activity and the induction of apoptosis. In this study, we demonstrate that undifferentiated HL-60 cells express IAP. During their differentiation, IAP expression is decreased at the mRNA and protein levels. In addition, we show that there is a corresponding increase in the expression and functional activity of active caspases 3 and 9. This activity was associated with the cleavage of XIAP, NAIP, and cIAP-2. Most importantly, we demonstrate that blocking caspase activity does not alter the decrease in IAP protein expression during differentiation but prevents caspase activation, IAP cleavage, and the induction of apoptosis. This result shows that the loss of IAP expression is independent of the induction of apoptosis and is solely related to the differentiation process. However, IAP cleavage is caspase-dependent. Terminal differentiation results in an altered apoptotic phenotype that is associated with the induction of HL-60 cell apoptosis.

Apoptosis↗

Application of DNA-based tests for diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy in Saudi Arabia.

We examined the deletion of the survival motor neuron (SMN) and neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP) genes in patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) using polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction site assay methods. The study included 16 Saudi patients (9 SMA type I and 7 SMA type II) and 6 healthy Saudi volunteers. The homozygous deletions of exons 7 and 8 of the telomeric SMN gene, and exon 5 of the NAIP gene were found in all SMA type I patients. Exons 7 and 8 of telomeric SMN were deleted in all SMA type II patients. However, exon 5 of NAIP was deleted in three of the seven cases. All control volunteers and all family members of the patients had normal SMN and NAIP. The incidence of NAIP deletion was higher in the more severe SMA cases and the dual deletion of the SMN and NAIP genes was more common in Saudi SMA type I patients compared with patients of other ethnic groups.

Case-Control Studies↗

Phenotype and genotype correlation in childhood spinal muscular atrophy.

In the period 1998-2000 almost all new cases of childhood spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in addition to those from our database were studied for possible deletion of SMN gene (exons 7 a 8) and NAIP (exons 5 a 6). We correlated the size of deletion with the type, course and the onset of disease. The most informative for diagnosis was deletion of SMN. NAIP was deleted only in 18% of all cases, usually in SMA1 (in only 2 cases of SMA2). The molecular genetics permits to come back to previously posed question about the extremely frequent intrafamilial variability in SMA families. The problem became more clear due to our knowledge on telomeric and centromeric copies, as well as various genes and paragenes involved in SMA region. In the premolecular era we postulated the gender influence on course of the disease, which is particularly evident in mild SMA form 3b. Interestingly, presently we and some others detected deletion similar to those in the patients among the clinically healthy siblings. Those siblings are mostly females. The other problem, byproduct of molecular genetic, is the occurrence of SMN deletion in some disorders till now considered entirely different from SMA, e.g., arthrogryposis, congenital hypomyelinating neuropathies of newborn.

Child↗

Programmed cell death and the gene behind spinal muscular atrophy.

A gene involved in the development of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) has been found on human chromosome 5 after a 4-year search. Named the neuronal apoptosis inhibitor protein (NAIP) gene, it is believed to inhibit the normal process of apoptosis--the disintegration of single cells that results from programmed cell death--in motor neurons. The researchers who found the NAIP gene also discovered that healthy people carry one complete copy of the gene along with many other partial copies. Many children with SMA have the partial copies but not the complete gene. This discovery facilitates the accurate genetic diagnosis of SMA. But gene therapy for SMA will not be possible until researchers find a suitable vector to stably introduce activated and intact copies of the gene into the motor neurons of children with SMA in time to stop motor neuron loss.

Apoptosis↗

[The contribution of molecular genetics to the study of spinal muscular atrophy].

Spinal muscular atrophies constitute a group of hereditary diseases characterized by degeneration of the anterior horn of the spinal cord. Molecular studies began in 1990 with the location of the genome region responsible for the disease in chromosome 5q13. New directions for research were opened in 1995 with the identification of the affected region in the survival motor neuron (SMN) genes and the neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein genes. A main feature of these genes is that they are duplicate, forming part of two elements (centromeric and telomeric) that include mini-satellites that are also repeated, making this zone particularly unstable. The molecular abnormalities found in patients are a consequence of that instability: gene deletions and conversions in the SMN gene have been described independently of whether symptoms were severe or not. Molecular data make it possible to confirm the clinical diagnosis of most patients and to provide certain prenatal diagnosis for couples that are at high risk of passing on the disorder. Determining both the function of these genes and their pathogenesic role will help to ground new therapeutic strategies that will prevent or detain motor neuron degeneration.

Apoptosis↗

Clinical application of the molecular diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy: deletions of neuronal apoptosis inhibitor protein and survival motor neuron genes.

The molecular genetic diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) has recently been complicated by the identification of two candidate genes, which are often deleted in affected individuals but are also occasionally deleted in apparently unaffected carriers. We present a compilation of genotypes, from our laboratory and recent reports, for the survival motor neuron (SMN) and neuronal apoptosis inhibitor protein (NAIP) genes. Bayesian analyses were used to generate probabilities for SMA when deletions are present or absent in SMN. We found that when the SMN(T) exon 7 is deleted, the probability of SMA can reach greater than 98% in some populations, and when SMN(T) is present, the probability of SMA is approximately 17 times less than the prior population risk. Deletion of NAIP exon 5, as well as SMN(T) exon 7, is associated with a 5-fold increased risk of type I SMA. Case studies are used to illustrate differing disease risks for pre- and postnatal testing, depending on the presence of information about clinical status or molecular results. These analyses demonstrate that deletion screening of candidate genes can be a powerful tool in the diagnosis of SMA.

Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein↗

Distribution of neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein-like immunoreactivity in the rat central nervous system.

We have recently shown that spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by motor neuron loss, is associated with deletion of a gene that encodes the neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP). In the present study, we have examined the distribution of NAIP-like immunoreactivity (NAIP-LI) in the rat central nervous system (CNS) by using an affinity-purified polyclonal antibody against NAIP. In the forebrain, immunoreactive neurons were detected in the cortex, the hippocampus (pyramidal cells, dentate granule cells, and interneurons), the striatum (cholinergic interneurons), the basal forebrain (ventral pallidum, medial septal nucleus, and diagonal band), the thalamus (lateral and ventral nuclei), the habenula, the globus pallidus, and the entopenduncular nucleus. In the midbrain, NAIP-LI was located primarily within neurons of the red nucleus, the substantia nigra pars compacta, the oculomotor nucleus, and the trochlear nucleus. In the brainstem, neurons containing NAIP-LI were observed in cranial nerve nuclei (trigeminal, facial, vestibular, cochlear, vagus, and hypoglossal nerves) and in relay nuclei (pontine, olivary, lateral reticular, cuneate, gracile nucleus, and locus coeruleus). In the cerebellum, NAIP-LI was found within both Purkinje and nuclear cells (interposed and lateral nuclei). Finally, within the spinal cord, NAIP-LI was detected in Clarke's column and in motor neurons. Taken together, these results indicate that NAIP-LI is distributed broadly in the CNS. However, high levels of NAIP-LI were restricted to those neuronal populations that have been reported to degenerate in SMA. This anatomical correspondence provides additional evidence for NAIP involvement in the neurodegeneration observed in acute SMA.

Animals↗

[Detection of SMN gene deletions in spinal muscular atrophy].

OBJECTIVE: Survival motor neuron gene(SMN) and neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein gene (NAIP) have been identified as the candidates of progressive spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)-determining genes. The aims of this study were to investigate the absence of SMN gene exon 7 in Chinese SMA patients, to confirm the relationship between the deletion of the SMN and SMA further, and to establish methods for gene diagnosis and prenatal diagnosis of SMA. METHODS: PCR-SSCP with silver staining method was used to detect the genomic DNA of 37 SMA patients and 30 normal individuals for deletions of SMN exon 7. RESULTS: Homozygous deletion of the SMN exon 7 was identified in 86.7%(13/15) of type I SMA patients and 86.4%(19/22) of type II patients. In the 88 controls (including parents of patients and normal individuals), homozygous absence of SMA exon 7 was only found in a mother of a patient. CONCLUSION: The data support that homozygous absence of SMN exon 7 is strongly associated with SMA. The percentage of homozygous deletions in this study is almost as high as that reported by other researchers. This method is useful, reliable and effective for gene diagnosis and prenatal diagnosis of SMA.

Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein↗

Spinal muscular atrophy: untangling the knot?

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of neuromuscular diseases, is a disorder of motor neurones characterised by degeneration of spinal cord anterior horn cells and muscular atrophy. SMA is an autosomal recessive disorder with a carrier frequency of about 1150. Three candidate genes, the survival motor neurone (SMN) gene, the neuronal inhibitory protein (NAIP) gene, and the p44 (subunit of basal transcription factor TFIIH) gene, have been considered as genes involved in this condition. The region spanning these genes has a complex organisation including duplications, repetitive sequences, truncated genes, and pseudogenes, which makes molecular analysis of this condition difficult. Although deletions have been found in the majority of SMA patients, a few microrearrangements (like duplications, missense mutations, microdeletions, and gene conversions) localised in the telomeric form of the SMN gene have also been reported. The function of the protein encoded by the SMN gene is still not fully understood but recent studies have indicated that it is found intracellularly in gems, novel nuclear structures. Its interaction with other proteins suggests a role in mRNA processing and metabolism. Whether the NAIP gene protein and other apoptosis associated proteins are directly involved in the initial stages of neurone degeneration and apoptosis, or acting downstream on the pathological pathway, has been difficult to determine. Further studies will be required to elucidate possible functional interactions between these proteins.

Autoantigens↗

NAIP protects the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway in an intrastriatal 6-OHDA rat model of Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder of the basal ganglia, associated with the inappropriate death of dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). Here, we show that adenovirally mediated expression of neuronal apoptosis inhibitor protein (NAIP) ameliorates the loss of nigrostriatal function following intrastriatal 6-OHDA administration by attenuating the death of dopamine neurons and dopaminergic fibres in the striatum. In addition, we also addressed the role of the cysteine protease caspase-3 activity in this adult 6-OHDA model, because a role for caspases has been implicated in the loss of dopamine neurons in PD, and because NAIP is also a reputed inhibitor of caspase-3. Although caspase-3-like proteolysis was induced in the SNc dopamine neurons of juvenile rats lesioned with 6-OHDA and in adult rats following axotomy of the medial forebrain bundle, caspase-3 is not induced in the dopamine neurons of adult 6-OHDA-lesioned animals. Taken together, these results suggest that therapeutic strategies based on NAIP may have potential value for the treatment of PD.

Amphetamine↗