The human gene for the beta subunit of nerve growth factor is located on the proximal short arm of chromosome 1

Fragments of the recently cloned human gene for the beta subunit of nerve growth factor (beta-NGF) were used as hybridization probes in analyzing two sets of rodent-human somatic cell hybrids for the presence of human beta-NGF sequences. Results from the first set of hybrids assigned the human beta-NGF gene to chromosome 1 and ruled out the presence of sequences of comparable homology on any other chromosome. With the second set of hybrids, which contained seven different, but overlapping, regions of chromosome 1, the NGF locus was mapped to band 1p22.     

Evidence for reduced recombination on the nondisjoined chromosomes 21 in Down syndrome

Trisomy 21 usually results from nondisjunction during meiosis I. In order to determine whether nondisjunction results from failure of normal chromosome pairing or premature unpairing, recombination frequencies were estimated between DNA polymorphic markers on the long arm of chromosome 21 in families containing one individual with trisomy 21. The recombination frequencies on chromosomes 21 that had undergone nondisjunction were then compared to those on chromosomes 21 that had disjoined normally. The data indicate that recombination is reduced between DNA markers on nondisjoined chromosomes 21. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that reduced chiasma formation predisposes to nondisjunction, resulting in trisomy 21 in humans.     

Nicotiana chromosome coding for a specific polypeptide of the small subunit of fraction 1 protein

Fraction 1 protein has been isolated from leaves of a male sterile Nicotiana tabacum plant containing an extra N. debneyichromosome. The extra chromosome induces appearance of a third polypeptide composing the small subunit of fraction 1 protein, which otherwise contains two polypeptides as is shown by analysis of numerous different cultivars of N. tabacum.     

Assignment of the gene for myelin proteolipid protein to the X chromosome: implications for X-linked myelin disorders

Several inherited disorders in humans and in rodents result in myelin dysgenesis and a deficiency of the molecular constituents of myelin. A complementary DNA to one of the two major myelin proteins, myelin proteolipid protein (also known as lipophilin), has been used with Southern blot analysis of somatic cell hybrid DNA to map the human proteolipid protein gene to the middle of the long arm of the human X chromosome (bands Xq13-Xq22) and to assign the murine proteolipid protein gene to the mouse X chromosome. Comparison of the gene maps of the human and mouse X chromosomes suggests that myelin proteolipid protein may be involved in X-linked mutations at the mouse jimpy locus and has implications for Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease, a human inherited X-linked myelin disorder.     

Gene for von Recklinghausen neurofibromatosis is in the pericentromeric region of chromosome 17

Linkage analysis of 15 Utah kindreds demonstrated that a gene responsible for von Recklinghausen neurofibromatosis (NF) is located near the centromere on chromosome 17. The families also gave no evidence for heterogeneity, indicating that a significant proportion of NF cases are due to mutations at a single locus. Further genetic analysis can now refine this localization and may lead to the eventual identification and cloning of the defective gene responsible for this disorder.     

The human gene encoding GM-CSF is at 5q21-q32, the chromosome region deleted in the 5q- anomaly

Human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a 22,000-dalton glycoprotein that stimulates the growth of myeloid progenitor cells and acts directly on mature neutrophils. A full-length complementary DNA clone encoding human GM-CSF was used as a probe to screen a human genomic library and isolate the gene encoding human GM-CSF. The human GM-CSF gene is approximately 2.5 kilobase pairs in length with at least three intervening sequences. The GM-CSF gene was localized by somatic cell hybrid analysis and in situ hybridization to human chromosome region 5q21-5q32, which is involved in interstitial deletions in the 5q- syndrome and acute myelogenous leukemia. An established, human promyelocytic leukemia cell line, HL60, contains a rearranged, partially deleted GM-CSF allele and a candidate 5q- marker chromosome, indicating that the truncated GM-CSF allele may reside at the rejoining point for the interstitial deletion on the HL60 marker chromosome.     

Distribution of protein and RNA in the 30S ribosomal subunit

In Escherichia coli, the small ribosomal subunit has a sedimentation coefficient of 30S, and consists of a 16S RNA molecule of 1541 nucleotides complexed with 21 proteins. Over the last few years, a controversy has emerged regarding the spatial distribution of RNA and protein in the 30S subunit. Contrast variation with neutron scattering was used to suggest that the RNA was located in a central core of the subunit and the proteins mainly in the periphery, with virtually no separation between the centers of mass of protein and RNA. However, these findings are incompatible with the results of efforts to locate individual ribosomal proteins by immune electron microscopy and triangulation with interprotein distance measurements. The conflict between these two views is resolved in this report of small-angle neutron scattering measurements on 30S subunits with and without protein S1, and on subunits reconstituted from deuterated 16S RNA and unlabeled proteins. The results show that (i) the proteins and RNA are intermingled, with neither component dominating at the core or the periphery, and (ii) the spatial distribution of protein and RNA is asymmetrical, with a separation between their centers of mass of about 25 angstroms.     

Gene dosage of the amyloid beta precursor protein in Alzheimer's disease

The progressive deposition in the human brain of amyloid filaments composed of the amyloid beta protein is a principal feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Densitometric analysis of Southern blots probed with a complementary DNA for the amyloid protein has been carried out to determine the relative dosage of this gene in genomic DNA of 14 patients with AD, 12 aged normal subjects, and 10 patients with trisomy 21 (Down syndrome). Whereas patients in the last group showed the expected 1.5-fold increase in dosage of this gene, none of the patients with AD had a gene dosage higher than that of the normal controls. These results do not support the hypothesis that the genetic defect in AD involves duplication of a segment of chromosome 21 containing the amyloid gene. Alternative mechanisms for the brain-specific increase in amyloid protein deposition in AD should be considered.     

Nucleotide sequence of the oncogene encoding the p21 transforming protein of Kirsten murine sarcoma virus

The transforming protein ofKirsten murine sarcoma virus (Ki-MuSV) is a virally encoded 21-kilodalton protein called p21 kis. The sequences encoding p21 kis were genetically localized to a 1.3-kilobase segment near the 5' end of the viral genome by assaying the capacity of a series of defined deletion mutants of molecularly cloned Ki-MuSV DNA to induce focal transformation of mouse cells. Nucleotide sequencing of a portion of this region has led to the identification of an open reading frame of 567 nucleotides coding for p21 kis protein.     

Gene for T-cell growth factor: location on human chromosome 4q and feline chromosome B1

T-cell growth factor (TCGF) or interleukin-2 (IL-2), an immunoregulatory lymphokine, is produced by lectin- or antigen-activated mature T lymphocytes and in a constitutive manner by certain T-cell lymphoma cell lines. By means of a molecular clone of human TCGF and DNA extracted from a panel of somatic cell hybrids (rodent cells X normal human lymphocytes), the TCGF structural gene was identified on human chromosome 4. In situ hybridization of the TCGF clone to human chromosomes resulted in significant labeling of the midportion of the long arm of chromosome 4, indicating that the TCGF gene was located at band q26-28. Genomic DNA from a panel of hybrids prepared with HUT-102 B2 cells was examined with the same molecular clone. In this clone of cells, which produces human T-cell leukemia virus, the TCGF gene was also located on chromosome 4 and was apparently not rearranged. The homologous TCGF locus in the domestic cat was assigned to chromosome B1 by using a somatic cell hybrid panel that segregates cat chromosomes. Linkage studies as well as high-resolution G-trypsin banding indicate that this feline chromosome is partially homologous to human chromosome 4.     

Visualizing ribosome biogenesis: parallel assembly pathways for the 30S subunit

Ribosomes are self-assembling macromolecular machines that translate DNA into proteins, and an understanding of ribosome biogenesis is central to cellular physiology. Previous studies on the Escherichia coli 30S subunit suggest that ribosome assembly occurs via multiple parallel pathways rather than through a single rate-limiting step, but little mechanistic information is known about this process. Discovery single-particle profiling (DSP), an application of time-resolved electron microscopy, was used to obtain more than 1 million snapshots of assembling 30S subunits, identify and visualize the structures of 14 assembly intermediates, and monitor the population flux of these intermediates over time. DSP results were integrated with mass spectrometry data to construct the first ribosome-assembly mechanism that incorporates binding dependencies, rate constants, and structural characterization of populated intermediates.     

S100蛋白在动情周期大鼠子宫中的分布

【目的】研究S100蛋白在动情周期SD大鼠子宫中的分布情况及其变化规律。【方法】采用阴道涂片方法将16只雌性SD大鼠分为动情前期、动情期、动情后期和动情间期4组,处死各组大鼠取子宫制作石蜡切片,采用免疫组织化学超敏感法(Streptavidin-Peroxidase,SP),研究S100蛋白在大鼠动情周期子宫中的分布规律。【结果】S100蛋白免疫阳性产物在各期子宫各层中均有不同程度的分布,主要定位于子宫内膜上皮细胞、腺上皮细胞、基质细胞、血管内皮细胞、血管平滑肌细胞、肥大细胞、平滑肌细胞及成纤维细胞中。S100蛋白免疫阳性产物在动情周期子宫内膜、肌层和外膜中的表达变化规律一致:动情前期着色最弱,动情期着色最深,动情后期着色变浅,动情间期着色又加深,表达呈双峰变化趋势。【结论】S100蛋白在动情周期SD大鼠子宫中的表达具有一定规律,可能受性类固醇激素的调节。     

Human chromosome 21 dosage: effect on the expression of the interferon induced antiviral state

Human primary skin fibroblasts trisomic for chromosome 13, 18, or 21 and diploid human skin fibroblasts were induced for an antiviral response with human interferon. The cells that were trisomnic for chromosome 21 were three to seven times more sensitive to protection by human interferon than the normal diploid or trisomic 18 or 13 fibroblasts. The differential response in trisomnic 21 cells is consistent with the known assignment of the human antiviral gene to chromosome 21.     

Localization of the gene encoding the human interleukin-2 receptor on chromosome 10

The human interleukin-2 receptor is an inducible growth factor receptor present on the surface of activated T lymphocytes. The receptor is required for a normal T-cell immune response. High-resolution fluorescence-activated chromosome sorting and DNA spot-blot analysis with complementary DNA's for the interleukin-2 receptor indicated that the receptor gene was located on chromosome 9, 10, 11, or 12. In situ hybridization studies showed that the interleukin-2 receptor gene is on the short arm of chromosome 10, p14----15.     

Lysosphingolipids inhibit protein kinase C: implications for the sphingolipidoses

Lysosphingolipids potently and reversibly inhibited protein kinase C activity and binding of phorbol dibutyrate in vitro and in human platelets. As with activation of protein kinase C by phosphatidylserine and sn-1,2-diacylglycerol, inhibition was subject to surface dilution. Accordingly, inhibition in mixed micelle assays was dependent on the molar percentage of lysosphingolipids rather than the bulk concentration. Lysosphingolipids inhibited protein kinase C activity at molar percentages similar to those required for activation by phosphatidylserine and sn-1,2-diacylglycerol. Since lysosphingolipids accumulate in Krabbe's disease, Gaucher's disease, and other sphingolipidoses, the hypothesis that lysosphingolipid inhibition of protein kinase C represents the missing functional link between the accumulation of sphingolipids and the pathogenesis of these disorders appears to unify existing data. The accumulation of lysosphingolipids would cause progressive dysfunction of signal transduction mechanisms vital for neural transmission, differentiation, development, and proliferation and would eventually lead to cell death.     

Crystal structure of alpha 1: implications for protein design

X-ray diffraction shows the structure of a synthetic protein model, formed from noncovalent self-association of a 12-residue peptide and of sulfate ions at low pH. This peptide is a fragment of a 16-residue polypeptide that was designed to form an amphiphilic alpha helix with a ridge of Leu residues along one helical face. By interdigitation of the leucines of four such helices, the design called for self-association into a four-alpha-helical bundle. The crystal structure (2.7 angstrom resolution; R factor = 0.215) reveals a structure more complex than the design, with both a tetramer and a hexamer. The alpha-helical tetramer with leucine interior has more oblique crossing angles than most four-alpha-helical bundles; the hexamer has a globular hydrophobic core of 12 leucine residues and three associated sulfate ions. Computational analysis suggests that the hexameric association is tighter than the tetrameric one. The consistency of the structure with the design is discussed, as well as the divergence.     

Gene for human insulin receptor: localization to site on chromosome 19 involved in pre-B-cell leukemia

Consistent chromosomal translocations in neoplastic cells may alter the expression of proto-oncogenes that are located near the breakpoints. The complementary DNA sequence of the human insulin receptor is similar to those of the EGF receptor (erbB oncogene) and products of the src family of oncogenes. With in situ hybridization and Southern blot analysis of somatic cell hybrid DNA, the human insulin receptor gene was mapped to the distal short arm of chromosome 19 (bands p13.2----p13.3), a site involved in a nonrandom translocation in pre-B-cell acute leukemia.     

Gene for alpha-chain of human T-cell receptor: location on chromosome 14 region involved in T-cell neoplasms

A human complementary DNA clone specific for the alpha-chain of the T-cell receptor and a panel of rodent X human somatic cell hybrids were used to map the alpha-chain gene to human chromosome 14 in a region proximal to the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus. Analysis by means of in situ hybridization of human metaphase chromosomes served to further localize the alpha-chain gene to region 14q11q12, which is consistently involved in translocations and inversions detectable in human T-cell leukemias and lymphomas. Thus, the locus for the alpha-chain T-cell receptor may participate in oncogene activation in T-cell tumors.     

Transport protein genes in the murine MHC: possible implications for antigen processing

T lymphocyte activation requires recognition by the T cell of peptide fragments of foreign antigen bound to a self major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule. Genetic evidence suggests that part of the class II region of the MHC influences the expression, in trans, of MHC class I antigens on the cell surface, by regulating the availability of peptides that bind to and stabilize the class I molecule. Two closely related genes in this region, HAM1 and HAM2, were cloned and had sequence similarities to a superfamily of genes involved in the ATP-dependent transport of a variety of substrates across cell membranes. Thus, these MHC-linked transport protein genes may be involved in transporting antigen, or peptide fragments thereof, from the cytoplasm into a membrane-bounded compartment containing newly synthesized MHC molecules.     

A common variant on chromosome 9p21 affects the risk of myocardial infarction

The global endemic of cardiovascular diseases calls for improved risk assessment and treatment. Here, we describe an association between myocardial infarction (MI) and a common sequence variant on chromosome 9p21. This study included a total of 4587 cases and 12,767 controls. The identified variant, adjacent to the tumor suppressor genes CDKN2A and CDKN2B, was associated with the disease with high significance. Approximately 21% of individuals in the population are homozygous for this variant, and their estimated risk of suffering myocardial infarction is 1.64 times as great as that of noncarriers. The corresponding risk is 2.02 times as great for early-onset cases. The population attributable risk is 21% for MI in general and 31% for early-onset cases.