Search results for "Exons"
showing 10 items of 197 documents
Effectiveness of screening for known mutations in Sicilian patients with "probable" familial hypercholesterolemia.
2002
Background and Aim: More than 750 mutations in the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor gene are currently known to cause familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), but the array of mutations varies considerably in different populations. The definition of essentially all the LDL receptor gene mutations in a population is therefore a prerequisite for the implementation of nation-wide genetic testing for FH. Methods and Results: In this study, a screening strategy based on PCR-enzymatic digestion and PCR-allele specific hybridisation procedures was used to evaluate the frequency distributions of 11 known mutations in a cohort of 214 unrelated subjects meeting the diagnostic criteria of "probable" …
Noncanonical RNAs from transcripts of the Drosophila muscleblind gene.
2006
It has become increasingly evident that eukaryotic cells produce RNA molecules from coding genes with constitutions other than those of typically spliced mRNA transcripts. Here we describe new cDNAs from the Drosophila melanogaster muscleblind (mbl ) locus that identify two such atypical RNA molecules: RNAs containing an incomplete exon 2 tandem repetition (mblE2E2#) or having exons with a different order compared to the corresponding genomic DNA (mblE2E3#E2#; exon scrambling). The existence of exon duplications and rearrangements in the genomic locus that might explain such cDNAs was ruled out by genomic Southern blotting and in silico analysis of the Drosophila genome sequence. The incomp…
Data from: Chironomus riparius (Diptera) genome sequencing reveals the impact of minisatellite transposable elements on population divergence
2017
Active transposable elements (TEs) may result in divergent genomic insertion and abundance patterns among conspecific populations. Upon secondary contact, such divergent genetic backgrounds can theoretically give rise to classical Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities (DMI), thus contributing to the evolution of endogenous genetic barriers and eventually cause population divergence. We investigated differential TE abundance among conspecific populations of the non-biting midge Chironomus riparius and evaluated their potential role in causing endogenous genetic incompatibilities between these populations. We focussed on a Chironomus-specific TE, the minisatellite-like Cla-element, whose activi…
Y179C, F486L and N550H are BRCA1 variants that may be associated with breast cancer in a Sicilian family: results of a 5-year GOIM (Gruppo Oncologico…
2006
Background Over 600 different pathogenic mutations have been identified in the BRCA1 gene. Nevertheless, numerous missense mutations of unknown biological function still exist. Understanding of biological significance of these mutations should help in genetic counselling to carriers and their families. Patients and methods A total of 104 patients with breast and/or ovarian cancer whose genetic counselling answered the criteria of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO 2003), were prospectively screened for mutations in all coding exons of the BRCA1 gene by automatic direct sequencing. Results During these mutational screening procedures one case presented three mutations classified…
No evidence of ATP1A2 involvement in 12 multiplex Italian families with benign familial infantile seizures
2005
A missense mutation in the gene encoding the alpha(2) Subunit of the Na+,K+ ATPase pump (ATP1A2) was found in a family with both familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) and Benign Familial Infantile Seizures (BFIC). As it is still unclear whether ATP1A2 is responsible for pure BFIC syndromes, we checked mutations of the ATP1A2 gene in probands of 12 Italian multiplex families with pure BFIC, who were negative for mutations in the SCN2A gene. We screened the ATP1A2 gene by denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (D-HPLC) and direct sequencing of DNA fragments showing an aberrant elution pattern. We found one exonic variant and five intronic variants, none leading to significant amino ac…
ATP1A2 mutations in 11 families with familial hemiplegic migraine.
2005
Abstract Familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) is an autosomal dominant form of migraine with aura. The disease is caused by mutations of at least three genes among which two have been identified, CACNA1A and ATP1A2. Very few mutations have been identified so far in ATP1A2. We screened the coding sequence of ATP1A2 in 26 unrelated FHM probands in whom CACNA1A screening was negative. A total of eight different mutations were identified in 11 of the probands (41%), including six missense mutations, one small deletion leading to a frameshift, and one in frame deletion. All were novel mutations. Two mutations were recurrent, in three and two families, respectively. Genotyping of 94 relatives of th…
A vertebrate globin expressed in the brain.
2000
Haemoglobins and myoglobins constitute related protein families that function in oxygen transport and storage in humans and other vertebrates. Here we report the identification of a third globin type in man and mouse. This protein is predominantly expressed in the brain, and therefore we have called it neuroglobin. Mouse neuroglobin is a monomer with a high oxygen affinity (half saturation pressure, P50 approximately 2 torr). Analogous to myoglobin, neuroglobin may increase the availability of oxygen to brain tissue. The human neuroglobin gene (NGB), located on chromosome 14q24, has a unique exon-intron structure. Neuroglobin represents a distinct protein family that diverged early in metaz…
A novel approach to investigate the evolution of structured tandem repeat protein families by exon duplication.
2020
Tandem Repeat Proteins (TRPs) are ubiquitous in cells and are enriched in eukaryotes. They contributed to the evolution of organism complexity, specializing for functions that require quick adaptability such as immunity-related functions. To investigate the hypothesis of repeat protein evolution through exon duplication and rearrangement, we designed a tool to analyze the relationships between exon/intron patterns and structural symmetries. The tool allows comparison of the structure fragments as defined by exon/intron boundaries from Ensembl against the structural element repetitions from RepeatsDB. The all-against-all pairwise structural alignment between fragments and comparison of the t…
Zebrafish as a Model to Evaluate a CRISPR/Cas9-Based Exon Excision Approach as a Future Treatment Option for EYS-Associated Retinitis Pigmentosa
2021
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an inherited retinal disease (IRD) with an overall prevalence of 1 in 4000 individuals. Mutations in EYS (Eyes shut homolog) are among the most frequent causes of non-syndromic autosomal recessively inherited RP and act via a loss-of-function mechanism. In light of the recent successes for other IRDs, we investigated the therapeutic potential of exon skipping for EYS-associated RP. CRISPR/Cas9 was employed to generate zebrafish from which the region encompassing the orthologous exons 37-41 of human EYS (eys exons 40-44) was excised from the genome. The excision of these exons was predicted to maintain the open reading frame and to result in the removal of exactl…
Evolutionary implications of intron-exon distribution and the properties and sequences of the RPL10A gene in eukaryotes.
2013
The RPL10A gene encodes the RPL10 protein, required for joining 40S and 60S subunits into a functional 80S ribosome. This highly conserved gene, ubiquitous across all eukaryotic super-groups, is characterized by a variable number of spliceosomal introns, present in most organisms. These properties facilitate the recognition of orthologs among distant taxa and thus comparative studies of sequences as well as the distribution and properties of introns in taxonomically distant groups of eukaryotes. The present study examined the multiple ways in which RPL10A conservation vs. sequence changes in the gene over the course of evolution, including in exons, introns, and the encoded proteins, can be…