Search results for "Point Mutation"

Absence of mutations in the WT1 gene in patients with XY gonadal dysgenesis

1995

The WT1 gene is normally expressed during gonadal development and specific mutations in heterozygous form cause Drash syndrome, characterized by male pseudohermaphroditism and gonadal dysgenesis, renal failure and a predisposition for Wilms' tumour. These observations prompted us to test whether WT1 mutations are involved in isolated gonadal dysgenesis, being the most severe form of disturbance in gonadal differentiation. We studied 27 cases of 46,XY females with gonadal dysgenesis who had previously been screened for and found not to carry SRY gene mutations. We performed mutational screening of the WT1 gene with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. In one of these patients, a heterozy…

Domains of the E1 Protein of Human Papillomavirus Type 33 Involved in Binding to the E2 Protein

1996

Papillomavirus E1 and E2 proteins are essential for the initiation of viral DNA replication. We have now analyzed the interaction of E1 and E2 of human papillomavirus type 33, which is associated with cervical carcinoma. When synthesized in insect cells using the baculovirus expression system, the E1 and E2 proteins interacted efficiently at 4 degree. A monoclonal antibody recognizing E1 amino acids 584--600 inhibited the binding of E2 and vice versa, indicating that these amino acids are involved in E2 binding. To confirm this result, a mutational analysis of E1 was performed. The E2 binding activity of E1 deletion and point mutant proteins was assayed using glutathione S-transferase E1 fu…

Pharmacological Characterization of Loss of Function Mutations of the Human Melanocortin 1 Receptor That Are Associated with Red Hair

2004

Variation in skin color is the major host risk factor for melanoma and other forms of skin cancer. Individuals with red hair show an increased ratio of phaeomelanin to eumelanin in both hair and skin. This ratio is regulated by the melanocortin (MC) 1 receptor. There are several common point mutations in the human MC1 receptor that are overrepresented in North European red-heads, and in individuals with pale skin. In order to determine the functional significance of these mutations, we expressed the Asp84Glu, Val92Met, Arg163Gln, and Asp294His variants of the human MC1 receptors in eukaryotic cells and determined their ability to bind alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH) peptides and …

2015

Several point mutations have been identified in human aquaporins, but their effects on the function of the respective aquaporins are mostly enigmatic. We analyzed the impact of the aquaporin 2 mutation V71M, which causes nephrogenic diabetes insipidus in humans, on aquaporin structure and activity, using the bacterial aquaglyceroporin GlpF as a model. Importantly, the sequence and structure around the V71M mutation is highly conserved between aquaporin 2 and GlpF. The V71M mutation neither impairs substrate flux nor oligomerization of the aquaglyceroporin. Therefore, the human aquaporin 2 mutant V71M is most likely active, but cellular trafficking is probably impaired.

Specific mutations of the RET proto-oncogene are related to disease phenotype in MEN 2A and FMTC.

1994

We have analysed 118 families with inherited medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) for mutations of the RET proto-oncogene. These included cases of multiple endocrine neoplasia types 2A (MEN 2A) and 2B (MEN 2B) and familial MTC (FMTC). Mutations at one of 5 cysteines in the extracellular domain were found in 97% of patients with MEN 2A and 86% with FMTC but not in MEN 2B patients or normal controls. 84% of the MEN2A mutations affected codon 634. MEN 2A patients with a Cys634 to Arg substitution had a greater risk of developing parathyroid disease than those with other codon 634 mutations. Our data show a strong correlation between disease phenotype and the nature and position of the RET mutatio…

Sequence analysis of the DRB1 promoter reveals limited polymorphism with no influence on gene expression.

2001

HLA-class II promoters contain a set of conserved regulatory regions necessary for constitutive and induced gene expression. For the HLA-DQB as well as for the DRB1 promoter sequence, polymorphisms with influence on gene expression have been reported. In contrast to these data we could show that there is very limited allele-specific polymorphism among the HLA-DRB1 promoter alleles. In a long range PCR we amplified a DNA sequence containing the promoter and the second exon of the DRB1 gene in one fragment. Nested PCR products of this PCR fragment for the promoter and for the second exon were analysed by DNA sequencing to allow the linkage of a promoter to its DR allele. Most investigated DRB…

Differential effects of oncogenic H- and K-ras expression on HT-29 colorectal carcinoma cell line.

2008

The Ras oncogene is mutated in about 30% of the human tumors and its mutations are always point mutations concerning codon 12, 13 and 61. These mutations cause in the proteins a reduced GTPase activity, so that they become constitutively active. In human cells there are three main isoforms of Ras (H, K, N-ras) which can trigger alternative pathways of signal trasduction. In order to investigate the effects of expression of different oncogenic Ras isoforms in colorectal carcinoma cells (HT-29), we obtained stable clones of HT-29 cells transfected with cDNAs codifying H-RasG12V and K-Ras G12V called respectively H12 and K12 and K-RasG13D called K13, under the control of an hormone-inducible p…

Identification of a new nonsense mutation (Tyr129Stop) of the SRY gene in a newborn infant with XY sex-reversal.

2004

Point mutations and deletions of SRY gene have been described in several cases of XY gonadal dysgenesis. To date, most of these mutations affect the HMG domain of SRY which plays a central role in DNA binding activity of SRY. We report on a non-mosaic XY sex-reversed newborn girl (completely female external genitalia). The direct sequencing of SRY showed a new nonsense mutation in a codon of SRY gene flanking the 3' end of the HMG domain: a thymine is replaced by a guanine at position +387 in codon 129, resulting in the replacement of the amino acid tyrosine (TAT) by a stop codon (TAG). The new mutation of this patient provides further evidence to support the functional importance of the pu…

Molecular Characterization of a Variant of Bacillus anthracis-Specific Phage AP50 with Improved Bacteriolytic Activity▿ †

2008

ABSTRACT The genome sequence of a Bacillus anthracis -specific clear plaque mutant phage, AP50c, contains 31 open reading frames spanning 14,398 bp, has two mutations compared to wild-type AP50t, and has a colinear genome architecture highly similar to that of gram-positive Tectiviridae phages. Spontaneous AP50c-resistant B. anthracis mutants exhibit a mucoid colony phenotype.