ABNORMAL MYOGLOBIN ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRUM IN DUCHENNE TYPE OF PROGRESSIVE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY

Met-myoglobin isolated from gluteal muscle of cases with Duchenne type of progressive muscular dystrophy showed an abnormal ultraviolet spectrum. The maximum of the spectrum at pH 7.0 was at 275 mmicro, in contrast to that at 281 m/ A in normal met-myoglobin. Such an abnormality was not found in the limb-girdle type of dystrophy and in progressive spinal muscular atrophy. The results indicate the presence of an abnormal myoglobin in the Duchenne type of progressive muscular dystrophy.     

Frame-shift deletions in patients with Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and its less severe form Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) are allelic disorders. It has been suggested that in the mutations involving BMD, the translational reading frame of messenger RNA is maintained and a smaller, though partially functional, protein is produced. In order to test this, the exon-intron boundaries of the first ten exons of the DMD gene were determined, and 29 patients were analyzed. In a number of BMD patients (mild and severe BMD), the reading frame of messenger RNA was not maintained. On the basis of these findings, a model for reinitiation from an internal start codon is suggested.     

Expression of the murine Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene in muscle and brain

Complementary DNA clones were isolated that represent the 5' terminal 2.5 kilobases of the murine Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Dmd) messenger RNA (mRNA). Mouse Dmd mRNA was detectable in skeletal and cardiac muscle and at a level approximately 90 percent lower in brain. Dmd mRNA is also present, but at much lower than normal levels, in both the muscle and brain of three different strains of dystrophic mdx mice. The identification of Dmd mRNA in brain raises the possibility of a relation between human Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene expression and the mental retardation found in some DMD males. These results also provide evidence that the mdx mutations are allelic variants of mouse Dmd gene mutations.     

Molecular analysis of a constitutional X-autosome translocation in a female with muscular dystrophy

The gene responsible for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) maps to the X chromosome short arm, band Xp21. In a few females with DMD or BMD, the Xp21 region is disrupted by an X-autosome translocation. Accumulating evidence suggests that the exchange has physically disrupted the DMD/BMD locus to cause the disease. One affected female with a t(X;21)(p21;p12) translocation was studied in detail. The exchange points from both translocation chromosomes were cloned, restriction-mapped, and sequenced. The translocation is reciprocal, but not conservative. A small amount of DNA is missing from the translocated chromosomes; 71 to 72 base pairs from the X chromosome and 16 to 23 base pairs from the 28S ribosomal gene on chromosome 21.     

The genetic linkage map of the human X chromosome

A database useful for mapping the human X chromosome has been established. The data consist of the genotypic characterizations obtained at more than 20 DNA marker loci from a set of 38 selected families. Multilocus linkage analysis has provided an initial genetic map completely spanning the distance from the distal short arm to the distal long arm of the chromosome, for a total genetic length of at least 185 recombination units. Analysis of the recombinational behavior of fully marked chromosomes suggests that the number of recombination events on the X chromosome may be nonrandom. Linkage studies of six families that carry the mutation which causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy were combined with linkage data from a large number of normal families. This permitted mapping of the locus for Duchenne muscular dystrophy with greater precision and statistical confidence than studies in which disease families alone provided the genotypic database. This observation suggests that the normal linkage map of this chromosome should be especially valuable in the mapping of rare X-linked diseases.     

Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene expression in normal and diseased human muscle

A probe for the 5' end of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene was used to study expression of the gene in normal human muscle, myogenic cell cultures, and muscle from patients with DMD. Expression was found in RNA from normal fetal muscle, adult cardiac and skeletal muscle, and cultured muscle after myoblast fusion. In DMD muscle, expression of this portion of the gene was also revealed by in situ RNA hybridization, particularly in regenerating muscle fibers.     

Rescue of dystrophic muscle through U7 snRNA-mediated exon skipping

Most mutations in the dystrophin gene create a frameshift or a stop in the mRNA and are associated with severe Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Exon skipping that naturally occurs at low frequency sometimes eliminates the mutation and leads to the production of a rescued protein. We have achieved persistent exon skipping that removes the mutated exon on the dystrophin messenger mRNA of the mdx mouse, by a single administration of an AAV vector expressing antisense sequences linked to a modified U7 small nuclear RNA. We report the sustained production of functional dystrophin at physiological levels in entire groups of muscles and the correction of the muscular dystrophy.     

Erythrocyte deformation in human muscular dystrophy

Erythrocytes from patients with congenital muscular dystrophy exhibit dramatic surface deformation when observed with a scanning electron microscope. A similar alteration, but one affecting a smaller proportion of cells, occurs in the case of female carriers of the sex-linked Duchenne dystrophic condition. These observed changes in the erythrocyte surface may reflect a systemic defect in membrane properties.     

The human as an experimental system in molecular genetics

There are compelling reasons for choosing to develop the human as the highest-order experimental system in genetics: an obvious social context that stirs interest, wide medical observation of the population that permits identification of an abundance of genetic defects, and our ability to perceive in the human subtle or complex variations that may not be observable in other species. Various lines of genetic inquiry that are based on research in other systems--cytogenetic analysis, biochemical studies, mapping of defective loci by linkage analysis in affected families, and in vitro techniques such as the creation of transgenic organisms--complement and enrich each other. New phenomena that would not have been predicted from investigations in other organisms have been found in humans, such as the discovery of the "giant" Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene and the identification of recessive cancer genes. Genetic research is yielding insights into human biology that are raising new possibilities for therapy and prevention of disease, as well as challenges to society in the form of ethical decisions about the appropriate application of genetic information.     

X-ROS signaling: rapid mechano-chemo transduction in heart

We report that in heart cells, physiologic stretch rapidly activates reduced-form nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase 2 (NOX2) to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a process dependent on microtubules (X-ROS signaling). ROS production occurs in the sarcolemmal and t-tubule membranes where NOX2 is located and sensitizes nearby ryanodine receptors (RyRs) in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). This triggers a burst of Ca(2+) sparks, the elementary Ca(2+) release events in heart. Although this stretch-dependent "tuning" of RyRs increases Ca(2+) signaling sensitivity in healthy cardiomyocytes, in disease it enables Ca(2+) sparks to trigger arrhythmogenic Ca(2+) waves. In the mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, hyperactive X-ROS signaling contributes to cardiomyopathy through aberrant Ca(2+) release from the SR. X-ROS signaling thus provides a mechanistic explanation for the mechanotransduction of Ca(2+) release in the heart and offers fresh therapeutic possibilities.     

Fibroblast growth factor in the extracellular matrix of dystrophic (mdx) mouse muscle

Polyclonal antibody F547 reacts with a bovine basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and a human recombinant bFGF, but not with bovine acidic fibroblast growth factor. This antibody localized bFGF in the extracellular matrix of mouse skeletal muscle, primarily in the fiber endomysium, which includes the heparin-containing basal lamina. In mdx mouse muscle, which displays persistent regeneration, FGF levels in the extracellular matrix are higher than those in controls. Overabundance of matrix FGF in mdx muscles may be related to an increase in both satellite cell and regenerative activity in the dystrophic muscle and may help explain the benign phenotype of mdx animals compared with the genetically identical human Duchenne muscular dystrophy.     

Myotonic dystrophy type 2 caused by a CCTG expansion in intron 1 of ZNF9

Myotonic dystrophy (DM), the most common form of muscular dystrophy in adults, can be caused by a mutation on either chromosome 19q13 (DM1) or 3q21 (DM2/PROMM). DM1 is caused by a CTG expansion in the 3' untranslated region of the dystrophia myotonica-protein kinase gene (DMPK). Several mechanisms have been invoked to explain how this mutation, which does not alter the protein-coding portion of a gene, causes the specific constellation of clinical features characteristic of DM. We now report that DM2 is caused by a CCTG expansion (mean approximately 5000 repeats) located in intron 1 of the zinc finger protein 9 (ZNF9) gene. Parallels between these mutations indicate that microsatellite expansions in RNA can be pathogenic and cause the multisystemic features of DM1 and DM2.     

2种羊巴贝斯虫的核型及系统发育分析

为明确引起羊巴贝斯虫病的病原虫莫氏巴贝斯虫临潭株(Babesia motasi Lintan,BLT)及羊巴贝斯虫未定种新疆株(Babesia sp.Xinjiang,BXJ)的核型和亲缘关系,通过DNA大片段脉冲场凝胶电泳(PFGE)和三代高通量测序对2种虫体进行核型分析和系统发育分析。结果表明:2种巴贝斯虫都有4条染色体,但基因组的大小与核型分析不一致,莫氏巴贝斯虫临潭株基因组大小为11.1 Mb,4条染色体大小分别为6.0 Mb、3.0 Mb、1.1 Mb和1.0 Mb;羊巴贝斯虫未定种新疆株基因组大小为7.0 Mb,4条染色体分别为2.4 Mb、2.0 Mb、1.7 Mb和0.9 Mb;羊巴贝斯虫未定种新疆株与牛巴贝斯虫的亲缘性较近,而莫氏巴贝斯虫临潭株与双芽巴贝斯虫的亲缘关系较近。     

A new probe for the diagnosis of myotonic muscular dystrophy

Myotonic muscular dystrophy (DM) is the most common muscular dystrophy, affecting adults as well as children. It is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait and is characterized by variable expressivity and late age-of-onset. Linkage studies have established the locus on chromosome 19. In order to identify tightly linked probes for diagnosis as well as to define in detail the DM gene region, chromosome 19 libraries were constructed and screened for restriction fragment length polymorphisms tightly linked to DM. A genomic clone, LDR152 (D19S19), was isolated that is tightly linked to DM; recombination fraction = 0.0 (95% confidence limits 0.0-0.03); lod score, 15.4.     

限食饲养对猪肌组织影响的研究

本文观察了3个体重年龄,3种不同饲养水平,2个品种猪肌组织的发育及其形态学特征。1.正常组织达到50公斤时,低维组哈白猪的肌纤维直径落后于同组民猪,差异显著。说明哈白猪对劣环境反应比民猪敏感,抗逆性比民猪差。2.猪出生后暂时营养失调,对肌组织不能造成退化性和坏死性变化而使肌纤维数减少,主要是影响肌间组织,经补偿后肌组织与正常组无差异。3.1级肌束纤维数为30～60条,而数束或十数束构成2级束。4.民猪和哈白猪背最长肌、股二头肌均为中间型纤维(氧化糖酵解型)组成。5.70公斤时,哈白猪和民猪的肌纤维生长还未得到成熟水平,不宜屠宰。     

Duchenne muscular dystrophy involving translocation of the dmd gene next to ribosomal RNA genes

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe X-linked disorder leading to early death of affected males. Females with the disease are rare, but seven are known to be affected because of a chromosomal rearrangement involving a site at or near the dmd gene on the X chromosome. One of the seven has a translocation between the X and chromosome 21. The translocation-derived chromosomes from this patient have been isolated, and the translocation is shown to have split the block of genes encoding ribosomal RNA on the short arm of chromosome 21. Thus ribosomal RNA gene probes may be used to identify a junction fragment from the translocation site, allowing access to cloned segments of the X at or near the dmd gene and presenting a new approach to the study of this disease.     

Duchenne muscular dystrophy: functional ischemia reproduces its characteristic lesions

The highly characteristic early and midstage histological lesions of Duchenne dystrophy were reproduced experimentally in the rat by the combination of a vascular abnormality, aortic ligation, which does not affect the structure of the intramuscular blood vessels, and the humoral vasoactive substance 5-hydroxytryptamine. Neither ligation nor injection of 5-hydroxytryptamine alone causes changes in the muscle fibers. This result establishes the possibility of a similar combined mechanism for a nonstructural ischemia pathogenesis in Duchenne dystrophy. The proposed pathogenesis is contrary to the generally held idea that the cause is an intrinsic abnormality of muscle fiber metabolism.     

鱼油在鲤饲料中的适宜用量

在高蛋白半纯化饲料中分别添加0，30，50，70，90g/kg的未加抗氧化剂的新鲜鱼油，投喂58g左右2龄鲤（Cyprinus carpio)鱼种46d , 结果表明，添加新鲜鱼油量为30g/kg时，鲤生产性能最佳，鲤肝体比（HSI），肝胰脏脂肪含量，肌肉营养不良症和肌肉渗出性损失随着钎油添加量的增加而持续上升，而肌肉和肾脏氧化稳定性则随着鱼油添加量的增中而持续下降，当添加鱼油量升至30，70，70，50，70，70g/kg时，上述6项指标与对照组差异显著（P＜0．05），综合各项指标，未添加抗氧化剂的新鲜鱼油在高蛋白质鲤饲料中适宜用量以不超过30g/kg为宜。