Global Optimization by Basin-Hopping and the Lowest Energy Structures of Lennard-Jones Clusters Containing up to 110 Atoms

We describe a global optimization technique using `basin-hopping' in which the potential energy surface is transformed into a collection of interpenetrating staircases. This method has been designed to exploit the features which recent work suggests must be present in an energy landscape for efficient relaxation to the global minimum. The transformation associates any point in configuration space with the local minimum obtained by a geometry optimization started from that point, effectively removing transition state regions from the problem. However, unlike other methods based upon hypersurface deformation, this transformation does not change the global minimum. The lowest known structures are located for all Lennard-Jones clusters up to 110 atoms, including a number that have never been found before in unbiased searches.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, revte

Mitochondrial Disease in Autism Spectrum Disorder Patients: A Cohort Analysis

Previous reports indicate an association between autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and disorders of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. One study suggested that children with both diagnoses are clinically indistinguishable from children with idiopathic autism. There are, however, no detailed analyses of the clinical and laboratory findings in a large cohort of these children. Therefore, we undertook a comprehensive review of patients with ASD and a mitochondrial disorder.We reviewed medical records of 25 patients with a primary diagnosis of ASD by DSM-IV-TR criteria, later determined to have enzyme- or mutation-defined mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) dysfunction. Twenty-four of 25 patients had one or more major clinical abnormalities uncommon in idiopathic autism. Twenty-one patients had histories of significant non-neurological medical problems. Nineteen patients exhibited constitutional symptoms, especially excessive fatigability. Fifteen patients had abnormal neurological findings. Unusual developmental phenotypes included marked delay in early gross motor milestones (32%) and unusual patterns of regression (40%). Levels of blood lactate, plasma alanine, and serum ALT and/or AST were increased at least once in 76%, 36%, and 52% of patients, respectively. The most common ETC disorders were deficiencies of complex I (64%) and complex III (20%). Two patients had rare mtDNA mutations of likely pathogenicity.Although all patients' initial diagnosis was idiopathic autism, careful clinical and biochemical assessment identified clinical findings that differentiated them from children with idiopathic autism. These and prior data suggest a disturbance of mitochondrial energy production as an underlying pathophysiological mechanism in a subset of individuals with autism

Truncating Variants in NAA15 Are Associated with Variable Levels of Intellectual Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Congenital Anomalies

Genetics of disease, diagnosis and treatmen

Integrin alpha 11 beta 1 is a receptor for collagen XIII

Collagen XIII is a conserved transmembrane collagen mainly expressed in mesenchymal tissues. Previously, we have shown that collagen XIII modulates tissue development and homeostasis. Integrins are a family of receptors that mediate signals from the environment into the cells and vice versa. Integrin alpha 11 beta 1 is a collagen receptor known to recognize the GFOGER (O=hydroxyproline) sequence in collagens. Interestingly, collagen XIII and integrin alpha 11 beta 1 both have a role in the regulation of bone homeostasis. To study whether alpha 11 beta 1 is a receptor for collagen XIII, we utilized C2C12 cells transfected to express alpha 11 beta 1 as their only collagen receptor. The interaction between collagen XIII and integrin alpha 11 beta 1 was also confirmed by surface plasmon resonance and pull-down assays. We discovered that integrin alpha 11 beta 1 mediates cell adhesion to two collagenous motifs, namely GPKGER and GF(S)QGEK, that were shown to act as the recognition sites for the integrin alpha 11-I domain. Furthermore, we studied the in vivo significance of the alpha 11 beta 1-collagen XIII interaction by crossbreeding alpha 11 null mice (Itga11(-/-)) with mice overexpressing Col13a1 (Col13a1(oe)). When we evaluated the bone morphology by microcomputed tomography, Col13a1(oe) mice had a drastic bone overgrowth followed by severe osteoporosis, whereas the double mutant mouse line showed a much milder bone phenotype. To conclude, our data identifies integrin alpha 11 beta 1 as a new collagen XIII receptor and demonstrates that this ligand-receptor pair has a role in the maintenance of bone homeostasis