Search results for "Allele"
showing 10 items of 1006 documents
Telomerase reverse transcriptase germline mutations and hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
2017
Abstract In an increasing proportion of cases, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) develops in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Mutations in telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) are associated with familial liver diseases. The aim of this study was to examine telomere length and germline hTERT mutations as associated with NAFLD‐HCC. In 40 patients with NAFLD‐HCC, 45 with NAFLD‐cirrhosis and 64 healthy controls, peripheral blood telomere length was evaluated by qRT‐PCR and hTERT coding regions and intron–exon boundaries sequenced. We further analyzed 78 patients affected by primary liver cancer (NAFLD‐PLC, 76 with HCC). Enrichment of rare coding mutations (allelic frequ…
Trans-Reactivation: A New Epigenetic Phenomenon Underlying Transcriptional Reactivation of Silenced Genes
2015
In order to study the role played by cellular RNA pools produced by homologous genomic loci in defining the transcriptional state of a silenced gene, we tested the effect of non-functional alleles of the white gene in the presence of a functional copy of white, silenced by heterochromatin. We found that non-functional alleles of white, unable to produce a coding transcript, could reactivate in trans the expression of a wild type copy of the same gene silenced by heterochromatin. This new epigenetic phenomenon of transcriptional trans-reactivation is heritable, relies on the presence of homologous RNA’s and is affected by mutations in genes involved in post-transcriptional gene silencing. Ou…
Influence of class M1 glutathione S-transferase (GST Mu) polymorphism on GST M1 gene expression level and tumor size in oral squamous cell carcinoma.
2010
Glutathione S-transferases (GST) are antioxidant enzymes and oxidative stress markers in oral carcinogenesis. They present a system of polymorphic proteins. Some variants are associated with increased sensitivity to toxic compounds, as it is known for the GSTM1-null variant allele. However, the influence of the GSTM1 allele variant genotype on GSTM1-mRNA quantity in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and normal mucosa as well as the impact on prognosis remains unclear. The genotype for GSTM1 (mutation vs. wild type) was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using genomic DNA extracted from peripheral blood from 28 OSCC patients. From the same patients, 28 pairs of OSCC cells and no…
Analysis of the structural integrity of the TAP2 gene in renal cell carcinoma.
2003
The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) gene products is involved in the processing of endogenous peptides that bind to MHC class I molecules. Mutations and/or polymorphism within these genes could alter the efficacy of the immune response which might be relevant for the development of autoimmune diseases and cancer. In this study we examined both the structural integrity and the polymorphism of TAP2 in renal cell carcinoma lesions by sequencing TAP2 in renal cell carcinoma lesions and autologous normal kidney epithelium. TAP2 sequence analysis of 31 renal cell carcinoma lesions, one oncocytoma and respective autologous normal kidney epithelium revealed no mutation in the T…
Novel and known genetic variants for male breast cancer risk at 8q24.21, 9p21.3, 11q13.3 and 14q24.1: Results from a multicenter study in Italy
2015
Increasing evidence indicates that common genetic variants may contribute to the heritable risk of breast cancer (BC). In this study, we investigated whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), within the 8q24.21 multi-cancer susceptibility region and within BC-associated loci widespread in the genome, may influence the risk of BC in men, and whether they may be associated with specific clinical-pathologic characteristics of male BC (MBC). In the frame of the ongoing Italian Multicenter Study on MBC, we performed a case-control study on 386 MBC cases, including 50 BRCA1/2 mutation carriers, and 1105 healthy male controls, including 197 unaffected BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. All 1491 subj…
The ISWI chromatin remodeler organizes the hsrω ncRNA-containing omega speckle nuclear compartments.
2011
The complexity in composition and function of the eukaryotic nucleus is achieved through its organization in specialized nuclear compartments. The Drosophila chromatin remodeling ATPase ISWI plays evolutionarily conserved roles in chromatin organization. Interestingly, ISWI genetically interacts with the hsrω gene, encoding multiple non-coding RNAs (ncRNA) essential, among other functions, for the assembly and organization of the omega speckles. The nucleoplasmic omega speckles play important functions in RNA metabolism, in normal and stressed cells, by regulating availability of hnRNPs and some other RNA processing proteins. Chromatin remodelers, as well as nuclear speckles and their assoc…
Prostate cancer: from the pathophysiologic implications of some genetic risk factors to translation in personalized cancer treatments.
2013
Several pathologies affect human prostate, such as prostate cancer (PC), which is the most common non-skin malignant cancer in Western male populations. A complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors (i.e. infectious agents, dietary carcinogens) and hormonal imbalances has been reported to have a fundamental role in PC pathophysiology by evoking chronic inflammation. Thus, chronic inflammation drives prostate carcinogenesis and neoplastic progression. No adequate biomarkers exist until now to guide PC prognosis and treatment. Accordingly, the research has particularly focused its attention on genetic variants in genes, codifying molecules of signaling innate immune/inflamma…
Is BRCA1-5083del19, identified in breast cancer patients of Sicilian origin, a Calabrian founder mutation?
2007
Various studies have been published in Italy regarding the different BRCA1 mutations, but only the BRCA1-5083del19 mutation is recurrent and specific to individuals of Italian descent with a founder effect on the Calabrian population. In our previous study, BRCA1-5083del19 mutation carriers were found in four index cases of 106 Sicilian patients selected for familial and/or hereditary breast/ovarian cancers. The high frequency rate of this mutation identified in the Sicilian population led us to perform haplotype analysis in all family carriers. Five highly polymorphic microsatellite markers were used (D17S1320, D17S932, D17S1323, D17S1326, D17S1325) to establish whether or not all these fa…
A polymorphic locus in the intron 16 of the human angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene is not correlated with complex regional pain syndrome I (C…
2004
Exaggerated neurogenic inflammation has been recognized to be one reason for many CRPS symptoms. Since angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is a key enzyme for the termination of neurogenic inflammation, it has been selected as a candidate gene for CRPS predisposition. A previous report of an insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in intron 16 within the ACE gene implicated an increased risk to develop CRPS I associated with the D allele. However, in the present study the D allele frequency was not increased in CRPS I cases (0.51 for D allele, 0.49 for I allele). Furthermore, there was no co-segregation of any genotype (DD, ID, II) with the CRPS phenotype in 12 selected familial CRPS I cases …
Functional Inactivation of the Genome-Wide Association Study Obesity Gene Neuronal Growth Regulator 1 in Mice Causes a Body Mass Phenotype
2012
To date, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified at least 32 novel loci for obesity and body mass-related traits. However, the causal genetic variant and molecular mechanisms of specific susceptibility genes in relation to obesity are yet to be fully confirmed and characterised. Here, we examined whether the candidate gene NEGR1 encoding the neuronal growth regulator 1, also termed neurotractin or Kilon, accounts for the obesity association. To characterise the function of NEGR1 for body weight control in vivo, we generated two novel mutant mouse lines, including a constitutive NEGR1-deficient mouse line as well as an ENU-mutagenised line carrying a loss-of-function mutation …