High-Precision Entropy Values for Spanning Trees in Lattices

Shrock and Wu have given numerical values for the exponential growth rate of the number of spanning trees in Euclidean lattices. We give a new technique for numerical evaluation that gives much more precise values, together with rigorous bounds on the accuracy. In particular, the new values resolve one of their questions.Comment: 7 pages. Revision mentions alternative approach. Title changed slightly. 2nd revision corrects first displayed equatio

Male Fetal Sex Affects Uteroplacental Angiogenesis in Growth Restriction Mouse Model

Abnormally increased angiotensin II activity related to maternal angiotensinogen (AGT) genetic variants, or aberrant receptor activation, is associated with small-for-gestational-age (SGA) babies and abnormal uterine spiral artery remodeling in humans. Our group studies a murine AGT gene titration transgenic (TG; 3-copies of the AGT gene) model, which has a 20% increase in AGT expression mimicking a common human AGT genetic variant (A[-6]G) associated with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and spiral artery pathology. We hypothesized that aberrant maternal AGT expression impacts pregnancy-induced uterine spiral artery angiogenesis in this mouse model leading to IUGR. We controlled for fetal sex and fetal genotype (e.g., only 2-copy wild-type [WT] progeny from WT and TG dams were included). Uteroplacental samples from WT and TG dams from early (days 6.5 and 8.5), mid (d12.5), and late (d16.5) gestation were studied to assess uterine natural killer cell (uNK) phenotypes, decidual metrial triangle angiogenic factors, placental growth and capillary density, placental transcriptomics, and placental nutrient transport. Spiral artery architecture was evaluated at day 16.5 by contrast-perfused three-dimensional micro-computed tomography (3D microCT). Our results suggest that uteroplacental angiogenesis is significantly reduced in TG dams at day 16.5. Males from TG dams are associated with significantly reduced uteroplacental angiogenesis from early to late gestation compared with their female littermates and WT controls. Angiogenesis was not different between fetal sexes from WT dams. We conclude that male fetal sex compounds the pathologic impact of maternal genotype in this mouse model of growth restriction

Genetic and functional association of FAM5C with myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND: We previously identified a 40 Mb region of linkage on chromosome 1q in our early onset coronary artery disease (CAD) genome-wide linkage scan (GENECARD) with modest evidence for linkage (n = 420, LOD 0.95). When the data are stratified by acute coronary syndrome (ACS), this modest maximum in the overall group became a well-defined LOD peak (maximum LOD of 2.17, D1S1589/D1S518). This peak overlaps a recently identified inflammatory biomarker (MCP-1) linkage region from the Framingham Heart Study (maximum LOD of 4.27, D1S1589) and a region of linkage to metabolic syndrome from the IRAS study (maximum LOD of 2.59, D1S1589/D1S518). The overlap of genetic screens in independent data sets provides evidence for the existence of a gene or genes for CAD in this region. METHODS: A peak-wide association screen (457 SNPs) was conducted of a region 1 LOD score down from the peak marker (168–198 Mb) in a linkage peak for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) on chromosome 1, within a family-based early onset coronary artery disease (CAD) sample(GENECARD).RESULTS:Polymorphisms were identified within the 'family with sequence similarity 5, member C' gene (FAM5C) that show genetic linkage to and are associated with myocardial infarction (MI) in GENECARD. The association was confirmed in an independent CAD case-control sample (CATHGEN) and strong association with MI was identified with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 3' end of FAM5C. FAM5C genotypes were also correlated with expression of the gene in human aorta. Expression levels of FAM5C decreased with increasing passage of proliferating aortic smooth muscle cells (SMC) suggesting a role for this molecule in smooth muscle cell proliferation and senescence. CONCLUSION:These data implicate FAM5C alleles in the risk of myocardial infarction and suggest further functional studies of FAM5C are required to identify the gene's contribution to atherosclerosis

Deleterious, protein-altering variants in the transcriptional coregulator ZMYM3 in 27 individuals with a neurodevelopmental delay phenotype

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) result from highly penetrant variation in hundreds of different genes, some of which have not yet been identified. Using the MatchMaker Exchange, we assembled a cohort of 27 individuals with rare, protein-altering variation in the transcriptional coregulator ZMYM3, located on the X chromosome. Most (n = 24) individuals were males, 17 of which have a maternally inherited variant; six individuals (4 male, 2 female) harbor de novo variants. Overlapping features included developmental delay, intellectual disability, behavioral abnormalities, and a specific facial gestalt in a subset of males. Variants in almost all individuals (n = 26) are missense, including six that recurrently affect two residues. Four unrelated probands were identified with inherited variation affecting Arg441, a site at which variation has been previously seen in NDD-affected siblings, and two individuals have de novo variation resulting in p.Arg1294Cys (c.3880C>T). All variants affect evolutionarily conserved sites, and most are predicted to damage protein structure or function. ZMYM3 is relatively intolerant to variation in the general population, is widely expressed across human tissues, and encodes a component of the KDM1A-RCOR1 chromatin-modifying complex. ChIP-seq experiments on one variant, p.Arg1274Trp, indicate dramatically reduced genomic occupancy, supporting a hypomorphic effect. While we are unable to perform statistical evaluations to definitively support a causative role for variation in ZMYM3, the totality of the evidence, including 27 affected individuals, recurrent variation at two codons, overlapping phenotypic features, protein-modeling data, evolutionary constraint, and experimentally confirmed functional effects strongly support ZMYM3 as an NDD-associated gene

Deleterious, protein-altering variants in the transcriptional coregulator ZMYM3 in 27 individuals with a neurodevelopmental delay phenotype

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) result from highly penetrant variation in hundreds of different genes, some of which have not yet been identified. Using the MatchMaker Exchange, we assembled a cohort of 27 individuals with rare, protein-altering variation in the transcriptional coregulator ZMYM3, located on the X chromosome. Most (n = 24) individuals were males, 17 of which have a maternally inherited variant; six individuals (4 male, 2 female) harbor de novo variants. Overlapping features included developmental delay, intellectual disability, behavioral abnormalities, and a specific facial gestalt in a subset of males. Variants in almost all individuals (n = 26) are missense, including six that recurrently affect two residues. Four unrelated probands were identified with inherited variation affecting Arg441, a site at which variation has been previously seen in NDD-affected siblings, and two individuals have de novo variation resulting in p.Arg1294Cys (c.3880C>T). All variants affect evolutionarily conserved sites, and most are predicted to damage protein structure or function. ZMYM3 is relatively intolerant to variation in the general population, is widely expressed across human tissues, and encodes a component of the KDM1A-RCOR1 chromatin-modifying complex. ChIP-seq experiments on one variant, p.Arg1274Trp, indicate dramatically reduced genomic occupancy, supporting a hypomorphic effect. While we are unable to perform statistical evaluations to definitively support a causative role for variation in ZMYM3, the totality of the evidence, including 27 affected individuals, recurrent variation at two codons, overlapping phenotypic features, protein-modeling data, evolutionary constraint, and experimentally confirmed functional effects strongly support ZMYM3 as an NDD-associated gene