Search results for "Zygote"
showing 10 items of 377 documents
The lipid-lowering effects of lomitapide are unaffected by adjunctive apheresis in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia – A post-h…
2015
AbstractObjectiveLomitapide (a microsomal triglyceride transfer protein inhibitor) is an adjunctive treatment for homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HoFH), a rare genetic condition characterised by elevated low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and premature, severe, accelerated atherosclerosis. Standard of care for HoFH includes lipid-lowering drugs and lipoprotein apheresis. We conducted a post-hoc analysis using data from a Phase 3 study to assess whether concomitant apheresis affected the lipid-lowering efficacy of lomitapide.MethodsExisting lipid-lowering therapy, including apheresis, was to remain stable from Week −6 to Week 26. Lomitapide dose was escalated on the basi…
Association Between Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the Cyclooxygenase-2, Tumor Necrosis Factor-α, and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A Genes,…
2011
Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) are mediators of inflammation and angiogenesis; all of them are produced in liver cirrhosis (LC) and in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It was proposed that there is an association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and HCC. These allelic variants influence the transcriptional activity of these genes, and therefore the proteins levels. The VEGF-A pathway is a potential therapeutic target in HCC, and several antiangiogenic agents have entered clinical trials in HCC. We evaluated the frequency of SNPs of COX-2, TNF-α, and VEGF-A genes in patients with HCC versus LC patients…
Gene diagnosis and carrier detection in Hunter syndrome by the iduronate-2-sulphatase cDNA probe.
1992
Hunter disease (McKusick 309900) is an X-chromosomal mucopolysaccharidosis due to deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme iduronate-2-sulphatase (IDS; EC 3.1.6.13). Diagnosis is based on both the typical clinical features of patients and the lack/reduction of IDS activity. Female carriers show no symptoms of the disease. In the past, several different assays were elaborated for measuring enzyme activity in carriers but none of them proved to be suitable for detecting heterozygotes reliably (Zlotogora and Bach 1984)
Origin and ploidy of multipronuclear zygotes
2000
Recently, several authors have proposed strategies for correction of triploidy based on the removal of the extra pronucleus at the zygote stage. In the present bioassay, the following were analysed: (1) the different factors that can induce the formation of multipronuclear zygotes in mammals; (2) the different morphological patterns established according to the number of pronuclei and polar bodies that can be observed at the zygote stage and used to distinguish the origin of multipronuclear zygotes; and (3) the pattern of chromosomal segregation during the first mitotic division and ploidy status of the resulting preim-plantation embryos. Such an analysis shows that the morphological crite…
Dynamic changes of the microtubule system corresponding to the unequal and spiral cleavage modes in the embryo of the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymor…
1998
Unequal cleavage requires a highly organised cytoskeleton. We investigated the localisation of both tubulins and microtubular arrays in Dreissena eggs during and after fertilisation using confocal laser scanning microscopy. Freshly spawned eggs are arrested in metaphase I. A maternal pool of γ-tubulin is found mainly in the centre of the asters of the meiotic spindle. The paternal pool of γ-tubulin, present in the fertilising sperm, could not be traced within the egg, but a microtubule-organising centre forms near the male pronucleus at anaphase II. Male and female pronuclei grow as they migrate in the wake of their aster and rendezvous. First cleavage is unequal and starts without pronucle…
Molecular Cloning and mRNA Expression of Heat Shock Protein Genes and Their Response to Cadmium Stress in the Grasshopper Oxya chinensis
2015
Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are highly conserved molecular chaperones that are synthesized in response to stress. In this study, we cloned the full-length sequences of the Grp78 (glucose-regulated protein 78), Hsp70, Hsp90, and Hsp40 genes from the Chinese rice grasshopper Oxya chinensis. The full-length cDNA sequences of OcGrp78, OcHsp70, OcHsp90, and OcHsp40 contain open reading frames of 1947, 1920, 2172, and 1042 bp that encode proteins of 649, 640, 724, and 347 amino acids, respectively. Fluorescent real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was performed to quantify the relative transcript levels of these Hsp genes in different tissues and developmental stages. The mRNAs encoding these four …
AMPA receptor GluA2 subunit defects are a cause of neurodevelopmental disorders.
2019
AMPA receptors (AMPARs) are tetrameric ligand-gated channels made up of combinations of GluA1-4 subunits encoded by GRIA1-4 genes. GluA2 has an especially important role because, following post-transcriptional editing at the Q607 site, it renders heteromultimeric AMPARs Ca2+-impermeable, with a linear relationship between current and trans-membrane voltage. Here, we report heterozygous de novo GRIA2 mutations in 28 unrelated patients with intellectual disability (ID) and neurodevelopmental abnormalities including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Rett syndrome-like features, and seizures or developmental epileptic encephalopathy (DEE). In functional expression studies, mutations lead to a dec…
A novel mutation of the DHCR7 gene in a sicilian compound heterozygote with Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome
2005
Introduction: Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) is an autosomal recessive disorder of cholesterol biosynthesis, resulting from deficient 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase (3β-hydroxysterol Δ7-reductase) activity, the enzyme responsible for conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol to cholesterol. SLOS is most common among people of European descent, with a reported incidence of 1 per 20 000–60 000 newborns, depending on the diagnostic criteria and the reference population. More than 80 different mutations have been identified in several hundred patients. In Italy, SLOS appears to be a rare condition, probably because of underdiagnosis. Method: We analyzed by direct sequencing the 7-dehydrocholesterol…
Management of homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia in two brothers
2018
Homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HoFH) is a rare, genetic disorder of abnormally high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) requiring aggressive interventions to retard the evolution of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. We treated two brothers (ages 46 years and 47 years) with HoFH with statins, lipoproteinapheresis (LA) and the microsomal triglyceride transfer protein inhibitor lomitapide. Both brothers carried the p.Thr434Arg homozygous LDLR mutation and had childhood total cholesterol levels >700 mg/dL. Inter-LA LDL-C levels remained high; therefore, they were given escalating doses of oral lomitapide (5–10 mg/day). One brother was able to maintain LDL-C l…
Clinical manifestations of Fabry disease in children: data from the Fabry Outcome Survey.
2006
Background Fabry disease is a rare X-linked disorder caused by deficient activity of the enzyme alpha-galactosidase A. This produces progressive lysosomal accumulation of globotriaosylceramide throughout the body, leading to organ failure and premature death. Aim Here, we present the clinical manifestations of Fabry disease in children enrolled in FOS--the Fabry Outcome Survey--a European database of the natural history of Fabry disease and the effects of enzyme replacement therapy with agalsidase alfa (Replagal). Methods Currently, there are 545 patients in FOS, from 11 European countries. We analysed the baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of 82 of these patients (40 boys, 4…