Presence of estrogen-binding sites on macrophage-like synoviocytes and cd8+, cd29+, cd45ro+ t lymphocytes in normal and rheumatoid synovium
Objective. To study the presence of estrogen-binding sites (EBS) in the synovial tissues of male and female patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in age and sex-matched healthy controls. Methods. Both type 1 (high affinity, low binding capacity) and type 2 (reduced affinity, higher binding capacity) EBS were investigated in both soluble and nuclear fractions of homogenized synovial tissue samples by a dextran-coated charcoal method. To determine what type of synovial cell was positive for EBS, cryosections of synovial tissues were immunostained with a specific monoclonal anti–estrogen receptor antibody (anti-ER MAb) using both immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase techniques. Double…
Clinical Significance of Rare Copy Number Variations in Epilepsy A Case-Control Survey Using Microarray-Based Comparative Genomic Hybridization
Objective To perform an extensive search for genomic rearrangements by microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization in patients with epilepsy. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Epilepsy centers in Italy. Patients Two hundred seventy-nine patients with unexplained epilepsy, 265 individuals with nonsyndromic mental retardation but no epilepsy, and 246 healthy control subjects were screened by microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization. Main Outcomes Measures Identification of copy number variations (CNVs) and gene enrichment. Results Rare CNVs occurred in 26 patients (9.3%) and 16 healthy control subjects (6.5%) (P = .26). The CNVs identified in patients were larger (P = …
Further Delineation of Duplications of ARX Locus Detected in Male Patients with Varying Degrees of Intellectual Disability
The X-linked gene encoding aristaless-related homeobox (ARX) is a bi-functional transcription factor capable of activating or repressing gene transcription, whose mutations have been found in a wide spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs); these include cortical malformations, paediatric epilepsy, intellectual disability (ID) and autism. In addition to point mutations, duplications of the ARX locus have been detected in male patients with ID. These rearrangements include telencephalon ultraconserved enhancers, whose structural alterations can interfere with the control of ARX expression in the developing brain. Here, we review the structural features of 15 gain copy-number variants …
Incidental Detection of a Chromosomal Aberration by Array-CGH in an Early Prenatal Diagnosis for Monogenic Disease on Coelomic Fluid
Background: Turner syndrome is a rare genetic condition in which a female is partly or completely missing an X chromosome. Signs and symptoms vary among those affected. In fetuses that survive at birth and without congenital malformations, the prognosis is usually positive, but it has high lethality in utero, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy. Methods: We report a case of monosomy X detected during a prenatal diagnosis for beta thalassemia on coelomic fluid (CF) at the VIII week of gestation. Beta globin gene analysis, whole genome amplification (WGA), quantitative fluorescent PCR and array comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) were performed on DNA extracted from CF. R…