Caracterización del HLA en una familia colombiana endogámica con síndrome de Usher

Resumen El síndrome de Usher es una enfermedad autosómica recesiva que se caracteriza por presentar retinitis pigmentosa, hipoacusia neurosensorial congénita y disfunción vestibular. El propósito de este trabajo es realizar la caracterización de hla en una familia colombiana endogámica que presenta síndrome de Usher. La metodología consiste en que con un previo consentimiento informado se realizó una genealogía de la familia y a cuatro pacientes confirmados clínicamente con síndrome de Usher y a cuatro fenotípicamente sanos se les tomó 5 ml de sangre periférica en tubos de venopunción con edta para luego realizar el aislamiento del dna por la técnica de salting out, conservados en buffer te a -8 °C y ajustada la muestra a una concentración de 8 μg/ml. Posteriormente a través de la técnica de pcr-ssp de mediana resolución se caracterizaron los antígenos de hla *a, *b, *drb1 y *dqb1. Los resultados obtenidos indican que la familia oriunda del Departamento del Huila presenta una marcada endogamia detectándose que todos los hermanos afectados, sus padres son hermanos también y una de las parejas a su vez tuvo una niña afectada, por lo que sus abuelos y padres son hermanos. En lo referente al hla, los alelos más frecuentemente encontrados fueron a30 b42 dr1 dq5 y a3 b45 dr12 y dq7, que no están asociados a la enfermedad. Estos resultados sugieren que dada la endogamia que muestra esta familia se presenta una gran acumulación de polimorfismos y mutaciones, por lo que es necesario realizar un proceso de asesoría genética para disminuir el riesgo de recurrencia. Abstract Usher syndrome is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by retinitis pigmentosa, congenital sensorineural hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction. The purpose of this work was to characterize hla in an inbred Colombian family that presents Usher Syndrome. The Methodology consisted in that a genealogy of the family was made and previous informed consent, from four patients clinically confirmed with Usher Syndrome and four phenotypically healthy patients 5 ml of peripheral blood were taken in venipuncture tubes with edta and then the dna isolation was performed with the technique of salting out, preserved in te buffer at -8 °C and adjusted the sample to a concentration of 8 μg/ml. The hla *A, *B, *DRB1 and *DQB1 antigens were then characterized by the medium-resolution pcr-ssp techniqu

Caracterización del HLA en una familia colombiana endogámica con síndrome de Usher

El síndrome de Usher es una enfermedad autosómica recesiva que se caracteriza por presentar retinitis pigmentosa, hipoacusia neurosensorial congénita y disfunción vestibular. El propósito de este trabajo es realizar la caracterización de hla en una familia colombiana endogámica que presenta síndrome de Usher. La metodología consiste en que con un previo consentimiento informado se realizó una genealogía de la familia y a cuatro pacientes confirmados clínicamente con síndrome de Usher y a cuatro fenotípicamente sanos se les tomó 5 ml de sangre periférica en tubos de venopunción con edta para luego realizar el aislamiento del dna por la técnica de salting out, conservados en buffer te a -8 °C y ajustada la muestra a una concentración de 8 μg/ml. Posteriormente a través de la técnica de pcr-ssp de mediana resolución se caracterizaron los antígenos de hla *a, *b, *drb1 y *dqb1. Los resultados obtenidos indican que la familia oriunda del Departamento del Huila presenta una marcada endogamia detectándose que todos los hermanos afectados, sus padres son hermanos también y una de las parejas a su vez tuvo una niña afectada, por lo que sus abuelos y padres son hermanos. En lo referente al hla, los alelos más frecuentemente encontrados fueron a30 b42 dr1 dq5 y a3 b45 dr12 y dq7, que no están asociados a la enfermedad. Estos resultados sugieren que dada la endogamia que muestra esta familia se presenta una gran acumulación de polimorfismos y mutaciones, por lo que es necesario realizar un proceso de asesoría genética para disminuir el riesgo de recurrencia

Investigating the association between obesity and asthma in 6- to 8-year-old Saudi children:a matched case-control study

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated an association between obesity and asthma, but there remains considerable uncertainty about whether this reflects an underlying causal relationship. Aims: To investigate the association between obesity and asthma in pre-pubertal children and to investigate the roles of airway obstruction and atopy as possible causal mechanisms. Methods: We conducted an age- and sex-matched case–control study of 1,264 6- to 8-year-old schoolchildren with and without asthma recruited from 37 randomly selected schools in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. The body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and skin fold thickness of the 632 children with asthma were compared with those of the 632 control children without asthma. Associations between obesity and asthma, adjusted for other potential risk factors, were assessed separately in boys and girls using conditional logistic regression analysis. The possible mediating roles of atopy and airway obstruction were studied by investigating the impact of incorporating data on sensitisation to common aeroallergens and measurements of lung function. Results: BMI was associated with asthma in boys (odds ratio (OR)=1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.08–1.20; adjusted OR=1.11, 95% CI, 1.03–1.19) and girls (OR=1.37, 95% CI, 1.26–1.50; adjusted OR=1.38, 95% CI, 1.23–1.56). Adjusting for forced expiratory volume in 1 s had a negligible impact on these associations, but these were attenuated following adjustment for allergic sensitisation, particularly in girls (girls: OR=1.25; 95% CI, 0.96–1.60; boys: OR=1.09, 95% CI, 0.99–1.19). Conclusions: BMI is associated with asthma in pre-pubertal Saudi boys and girls; this effect does not appear to be mediated through respiratory obstruction, but in girls this may at least partially be mediated through increased risk of allergic sensitisation

Chimeric 14-3-3 proteins for unraveling interactions with intrinsically disordered partners

In eukaryotes, several "hub" proteins integrate signals from different interacting partners that bind through intrinsically disordered regions. The 14-3-3 protein hub, which plays wide-ranging roles in cellular processes, has been linked to numerous human disorders and is a promising target for therapeutic intervention. Partner proteins usually bind via insertion of a phosphopeptide into an amphipathic groove of 14-3-3. Structural plasticity in the groove generates promiscuity allowing accommodation of hundreds of different partners. So far, accurate structural information has been derived for only a few 14-3-3 complexes with phosphopeptide-containing proteins and a variety of complexes with short synthetic peptides. To further advance structural studies, here we propose a novel approach based on fusing 14-3-3 proteins with the target partner peptide sequences. Such chimeric proteins are easy to design, express, purify and crystallize. Peptide attachment to the C terminus of 14-3-3 via an optimal linker allows its phosphorylation by protein kinase A during bacterial co-expression and subsequent binding at the amphipathic groove. Crystal structures of 14-3-3 chimeras with three different peptides provide detailed structural information on peptide-14-3-3 interactions. This simple but powerful approach, employing chimeric proteins, can reinvigorate studies of 14-3-3/phosphoprotein assemblies, including those with challenging low-affinity partners, and may facilitate the design of novel biosensors

Semen quality in Peruvian pesticide applicators: association between urinary organophosphate metabolites and semen parameters

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Organophosphates are broad class of chemicals widely used as pesticides throughout the world. We performed a cross-sectional study of associations between dialkylphosphate metabolites of organophosphates and semen quality among pesticide applicators in Majes (Arequipa), Peru.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty-one men exposed to organophosphate (OP) pesticides and 31 non-exposed were recruited (age, 20–60 years). In exposed subjects, semen and a blood sample were obtained one day after the last pesticide application. Subjects were grouped according to levels of OP metabolites in urine. Semen samples were analyzed for sperm concentration, percentage of sperm motility, percentage of normal morphology, semen leucocytes and concentrations of fructose and zinc. Exposure to OP was assessed by measuring six urinary OP metabolites (dimethyl and diethyl phosphates and thiophosphates) by gas chromatography using a single flame photometric detector.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Diethyldithiophosphate (p = 0.04) and diethylthiophosphate (p = 0.02) better reflected occupational pesticide exposure than other OP metabolites. Semen analysis revealed a significant reduction of semen volume and an increase in semen pH in men with OP metabolites. Multiple regression analysis showed that both occupational exposure to pesticides and the time of exposure to pesticides were more closely related to alterations in semen quality parameters than the single measurement of OP metabolites in urine.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study demonstrated that occupational exposure to OP pesticides was more closely related to alterations in semen quality than a single measurement of urine OP metabolites. Current measurement of OP metabolites in urine may not reflect the full risk.</p

INFOGEST static in vitro simulation of gastrointestinal food digestion

peer-reviewedSupplementary information is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41596-018-0119-1 or https://www.nature.com/articles/s41596-018-0119-1#Sec45.Developing a mechanistic understanding of the impact of food structure and composition on human health has increasingly involved simulating digestion in the upper gastrointestinal tract. These simulations have used a wide range of different conditions that often have very little physiological relevance, and this impedes the meaningful comparison of results. The standardized protocol presented here is based on an international consensus developed by the COST INFOGEST network. The method is designed to be used with standard laboratory equipment and requires limited experience to encourage a wide range of researchers to adopt it. It is a static digestion method that uses constant ratios of meal to digestive fluids and a constant pH for each step of digestion. This makes the method simple to use but not suitable for simulating digestion kinetics. Using this method, food samples are subjected to sequential oral, gastric and intestinal digestion while parameters such as electrolytes, enzymes, bile, dilution, pH and time of digestion are based on available physiological data. This amended and improved digestion method (INFOGEST 2.0) avoids challenges associated with the original method, such as the inclusion of the oral phase and the use of gastric lipase. The method can be used to assess the endpoints resulting from digestion of foods by analyzing the digestion products (e.g., peptides/amino acids, fatty acids, simple sugars) and evaluating the release of micronutrients from the food matrix. The whole protocol can be completed in ~7 d, including ~5 d required for the determination of enzyme activities.COST action FA1005 INFOGEST (http://www.cost-infogest.eu/ ) is acknowledged for providing funding for travel, meetings and conferences (2011-2015). The French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA, www.inra.fr) is acknowledged for their continuous support of the INFOGEST network by organising and co-funding the International Conference on Food Digestion and workgroup meeting

Distribution and infection of triatomines (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) by Trypanosoma cruzi in the state of Michoacán, Mexico

An entomological study of triatomine species was carried out to assess their prevalence in 10 localities of the state of Michoacán, Mexico. Entomological indices were calculated to estimate the risk for vector-borne transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi to the human population in this area. Four triatomine species (Triatoma barberi, Triatoma dimidiata, Meccus pallidipennis and Meccus longipennis) were collected from the study area. This is the first report of M. longipennis and T. dimidiata in Michoacán. M. pallidipennis was significantly (p < 0.05) more abundant than any of the other species collected in the study area. Infection indices were greater than 50% for each of the four collected triatomine species. Significantly more triatomines were collected from intradomiciliary areas than from peridomiciliary or sylvatic areas. Infestation, crowding and density indices were low, whereas colonisation indices were high in five localities. The current vectorial conditions in the study area require continuous entomological and serological surveillance to diminish the risk of T. cruzi transmission to human populations

Caracterización del HLA en una familia colombiana endogámica con síndrome de Usher

Resumen El síndrome de Usher es una enfermedad autosómica recesiva que se caracteriza por presentar retinitis pigmentosa, hipoacusia neurosensorial congénita y disfunción vestibular. El propósito de este trabajo es realizar la caracterización de hla en una familia colombiana endogámica que presenta síndrome de Usher. La metodología consiste en que con un previo consentimiento informado se realizó una genealogía de la familia y a cuatro pacientes confirmados clínicamente con síndrome de Usher y a cuatro fenotípicamente sanos se les tomó 5 ml de sangre periférica en tubos de venopunción con edta para luego realizar el aislamiento del dna por la técnica de salting out, conservados en buffer te a -8 °C y ajustada la muestra a una concentración de 8 μg/ml. Posteriormente a través de la técnica de pcr-ssp de mediana resolución se caracterizaron los antígenos de hla *a, *b, *drb1 y *dqb1. Los resultados obtenidos indican que la familia oriunda del Departamento del Huila presenta una marcada endogamia detectándose que todos los hermanos afectados, sus padres son hermanos también y una de las parejas a su vez tuvo una niña afectada, por lo que sus abuelos y padres son hermanos. En lo referente al hla, los alelos más frecuentemente encontrados fueron a30 b42 dr1 dq5 y a3 b45 dr12 y dq7, que no están asociados a la enfermedad. Estos resultados sugieren que dada la endogamia que muestra esta familia se presenta una gran acumulación de polimorfismos y mutaciones, por lo que es necesario realizar un proceso de asesoría genética para disminuir el riesgo de recurrencia. Abstract Usher syndrome is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by retinitis pigmentosa, congenital sensorineural hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction. The purpose of this work was to characterize hla in an inbred Colombian family that presents Usher Syndrome. The Methodology consisted in that a genealogy of the family was made and previous informed consent, from four patients clinically confirmed with Usher Syndrome and four phenotypically healthy patients 5 ml of peripheral blood were taken in venipuncture tubes with edta and then the dna isolation was performed with the technique of salting out, preserved in te buffer at -8 °C and adjusted the sample to a concentration of 8 μg/ml. The hla *A, *B, *DRB1 and *DQB1 antigens were then characterized by the medium-resolution pcr-ssp techniqu