Species-specific differences in the expression of the HNF1A, HNF1B and HNF4A genes

Background: The HNF1A, HNF1B and HNF4A genes are part of an autoregulatory network in mammalian pancreas, liver, kidney and gut. The layout of this network appears to be similar in rodents and humans, but inactivation of HNF1A, HNF1B or HNF4A genes in animal models cause divergent phenotypes to those seen in man. We hypothesised that some differences may arise from variation in the expression profile of alternatively processed isoforms between species. Methodology/Principal Findings: We measured the expression of the major isoforms of the HNF1A, HNF1B and HNF4A genes in human and rodent pancreas, islet, liver and kidney by isoform-specific quantitative real-time PCR and compared their expression by the comparative Ct (??Ct) method. We found major changes in the expression profiles of the HNF genes between humans and rodents. The principal difference lies in the expression of the HNF1A gene, which exists as three isoforms in man, but as a single isoform only in rodents. More subtle changes were to the balance of HNF1B and HNF4A isoforms between species; the repressor isoform HNF1B(C) comprised only 6% in human islets compared with 24–26% in rodents (p = 0.006) whereas HNF4A9 comprised 22% of HNF4A expression in human pancreas but only 11% in rodents (p = 0.001). Conclusions/Significance: The differences we note in the isoform-specific expression of the human and rodent HNF1A, HNF1B and HNF4A genes may impact on the absolute activity of these genes, and therefore on the activity of the pancreatic transcription factor network as a whole. We conclude that alterations to expression of HNF isoforms may underlie some of the phenotypic variation caused by mutations in these genes

The Frequency of Mental Disorders among Kerman Residents above 15 Years of Age

Abstract: Background & Aims: In developed countries mental disorders are recognized by screening questionnaires and clinical interviews. Since there is a limited number of epidemiological studies about mental disorders in Iranian population, the present study was performed to find the prevalence and type of mental disorders among Kerman residents older than 15 years old. Method: At the first step, GHQ – 28 was completed door – side for 1527 residents selected through stratified cluster sampling. The cut off point of 6 was considered as disorder presence. At the second step, 490 ones who had obtained the cut off point participated in DSM – IV clinical interview. Results: In whole, 32.1% (34.5% female and 27.1% male) were diagnosed as psychiatrically ill. The frequency of mental disorders was 35.1% among those over 65 years, 35.3% among 45 – 64 years subjects, 100% in divorced, 45.8% in widows, 40.2% in illiterates, 36.9% in students, 34.7% in housewives and 34.8% in low socioeconomic class. Major depressive and panic disorders were the most frequent disorders (6.8% and 4.3% respectively). The frequency of generalized anxiety disorder was 2.8%, schizophrenia was 0.9% and Bipolar disorder was 0.3%. Conclusion: The frequencies of major depressive and generalized anxiety disorder were higher than other studies in Iran and similar to some studies from other countries. Different cultures and screening questionnaires maybe some reasons for these incompatibilities. The results of this study my help mental health providers to improve their programs. Keywords: Epidemiology, Mental disorders, Adult, Adult childre

Stable transformation of the gram-positive phytopathogenic bacterium Clavibacter michiganensis subsp sepedonicus with several cloning vectors

Laine MJ, Nakhei H, Dreier J, et al. Stable transformation of the gram-positive phytopathogenic bacterium Clavibacter michiganensis subsp sepedonicus with several cloning vectors. APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY. 1996;62(5):1500-1506.In this paper we describe transformation of Clavibacter michiganensis subsp, sepedonicus, the potato ring rat bacterium, with plasmid vectors, Three of the plasmids used, pDM100, pDM302, and pDM306, contain the origin of replication from pCM1, a native plasmid of C. michiganensis subsp, michiganensis, We constructed two new cloning vectors, pHN205 and pHN216, by using the origin of replication of pCM2, another native plasmid of C. michiganensis subsp, michiganensis. Plasmids pDM302, pHN205, and pHN216 were stably maintained without antibiotic selection in various strains of C. michiganensis subsp, sepedonicus. We observed that for a single plasmid, different strains of C, michiganensis subsp, sepedonicus showed significantly different transformation efficiencies, We also found unexplained strain-to-strain differences in stability,vith various plasmid constructions containing different arrangements of antibiotic resistance genes and origins of replication, We examined the effect of a number of factors on transformation efficiency. The best transformation efficiencies were obtained when C, michiganensis subsp, sepedonicus cells were grown on DM agar plates, harvested during the early exponential growth phase, and used fresh (without freezing) for electroporation. The maximal transformation efficiency obtained was 4.5 x 10(4) CFU/mu g of pHN216 plasmid DNA. To demonstrate the utility of this transformation system, we cloned a beta-1,4-endoglucanase-encoding gene from C. michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus into pHN216. When this construction, pHN216:C8, was electroporated into competent cells of a cellulase-deficient mutant, it restored cellulase production to almost wild-type levels