Phenotype and genotype correlation of the microconversion from the CYP21A1P to the CYP21A2 gene in congenital adrenal hyperplasia

Deficiency of 21-hydroxylase is the most common form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH-21OH). We determined by allele-specific PCR the frequency of microconversion in the CYP21A2 gene in 50 Brazilian patients with the classical (salt wasting: SW and simple virilizing: SV) forms and nonclassical (NC) form of CAH-21OH and correlated genotype with phenotype. Genotypes were classified into three mutation groups (A, B, and C) based on the amount of enzymatic activity in in vitro studies using adrenal cells. In 94 unrelated alleles, we diagnosed 76% of the affected alleles after screening for 7 microconversions. The most frequent point mutations observed in this series were I172N (19%), V281L (18%), and IVS2,A/C>G,-12 (15%). In the SW form, the most frequent mutation was IVS2,A/C>G,-12 (38%), in the SV form it was I172N (53%), and in the NC form it was V281L (57.7%). We observed a good correlation between genotype and phenotype. Discordance between genotype and phenotype was found in one SV patient with a mild mutation in one of the alleles (R356W/V281L). However, we cannot rule out the presence of an additional mutation in these alleles. We also observed a good correlation of genotype with 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, testosterone, and androstenedione levels. The severity of external genitalia virilization correlated with the severity of mutation. In conclusion, the frequencies described in the present study did not differ from worldwide studies, including the Brazilian population. The few differences observed may reflect individual sample variations. This new Brazilian cohort study suggests the presence of new mutations in Brazilian patients with different forms of CAH-21OH.1311131

An Illustrative Case Of Léri-weill Dyschondrosteosis

We report on a girl presenting Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (LWD) due to deletion of the SHOX gene. Her family included individuals with short stature alone or with both short stature and mesomelia or Madelung's deformity. The deletion was demonstrated through detection of hemizygosity for microsatellite markdrs SHOX-CA repeat, DXYS10092, DXYS10093 and DXYS10091 localized around the SHOX gene, with retention of paternal alleles in the proband and three of her sisters who had short stature as the only clinical feature. Hemizygosity for these loci was also observed in their mother, who had short stature too. The deletion in the proband was however larger, including locus DXY 10083. The proband's only sister with normal height did not carry the deletion. Family history suggests transmission of the deletion from the proband's maternal great-grandfather to her grandfather via the Y chromosome, and from the grandfather to the proband's mother via the X chromosome after crossing-over in the pseudoautosomal region proximal to the SHOX gene. Copyright © 2008, Sociedade Brasileira de Genética.314839842Belin, V., Cusin, V., Viot, G., Girlich, D., Toutain, A., Moncla, A., Vekemans, M., Cormier-Daire, V., SHOX mutations in dyschondrosteosis (Léri-Weill syndrome) (1998) Nat Genet, 19, pp. 67-69Benito-Sanz, S., del Blanco, D.G., Aza-Carmona, M., Magano, L.F., Lapunzina, P., Argente, J., Campos-Barros, A., Heath, K.E., PAR1 deletions downstream of SHOX are the most frequent defect in a Spanish cohort of Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (LWD) probands (2006) Hum Mutat, 27, p. 1062Benito-Sanz, S., del Blanco, D.G., Huber, C., Thomas, N.S., Aza-Carmona, M., Bunyan, B., Maloney, V., Campos-Barros, A., Characterization of SHOX deletions in Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (LWD) reveals genetic heterogeneity and no recombination hotspots (2006) Am J Hum Genet, 79, pp. 409-412Benito-Sanz, S., Thomas, N.S., Huber, C., Gorbenko del Blanco, D., Aza-Carmona, M., Crolla, J.A., Maloney, V., Campos-Barros, A., A novel class of pseudoautosomal region 1 deletions downstream of SHOX Is associated with Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (2005) Am J Hum Genet, 77, pp. 533-544Clement-Jones, M., Schiller, S., Rao, E., Blaschke, R.J., Zuniga, A., Zeller, R., Robson, S.C., Strachan, T., The short stature homeobox gene SHOX is involved in skeletal abnormalities in Turner syndrome (2000) Hum Mol Genet, 9, pp. 695-702Ellison, J.W., Wardak, Z., Young, M.F., Gehron Robey, P., Laig-Webster, M., Chiong, W., PHOG, a candidate gene for involvement in the short stature of Turner syndrome (1997) Hum Mol Genet, 6, pp. 1341-1347Filatov, D.A., Gerrard, D.T., High mutation rates in human and ape pseudoautosomal genes (2003) Gene, 317, pp. 67-77Fukami, M., Kato, F., Tajima, T., Yokoya, S., Ogata, T., Transactivation function of an approximately 800-bp evolutionarily conserved sequence at the SHOX 3′ region: Implication for the downstream enhancer (2006) Am J Hum Genet, 78, pp. 167-170Henry, A., Thorburn, M.J., Madelung's deformity. A clinical and cytogenetic study (1967) J Bone Joint Surg, 49 B, pp. 66-73Jorge, A.A., Souza, S.C., Nishi, M.Y., Billerbeck, A.E., Liborio, D.C., Kim, C.A., Arnhold, I.J., Mendonca, B.B., SHOX mutations in idiopathic short stature and Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis: Frequency and phenotypic variability (2007) Clin Endocrinol, 66, pp. 130-135Lien, S., Szyda, J., Schechinger, B., Rappold, G., Arnheim, N., Evidence for heterogeneity in recombination in the human pseudoautosomal region: High resolution analysis by sperm typing and radiation-hybrid mapping (2000) Am J Hum Genet, 66, pp. 557-566Rao, E., Weiss, B., Fukami, M., Rump, A., Niesler, B., Mertz, A., Muroya, K., Winkelmann, M., Pseudoautosomal deletions encompassing a novel homeobox gene cause growth failure in idiopathic short stature and Turner syndrome (1997) Nat Genet, 16, pp. 54-63Rappold, G., Blum, W.F., Shavrikova, E.P., Crowe, B.J., Roeth, R., Quigley, C.A., Ross, J.L., Niesler, B., Genotypes and phenotypes in children with short stature: Clinical indicators of SHOX haploinsufficiency (2007) J Med Genet, 44, pp. 306-313Rappold, G.A., Fukami, M., Niesler, B., Schiller, S., Zumkeller, W., Bettendorf, M., Heinrich, U., Onigata, K., Deletions of the homeobox gene SHOX(short stature homeobox) are an important cause of growth failure in children with short stature (2002) J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 87, pp. 1402-1406Schneider, K.U., Sabherwal, N., Jantz, K., Röth, R., Muncke, N., Blum, W.F., Cutler Jr, G.B., Rappold, G., Identification of major raombinant hotspot in patients with short stature and SHOX deficiency (2005) Am J Hum Genet, 77, pp. 89-96Shears, D.J., Vassal, H.J., Goodman, F.R., Palmer, R.W., Reardon, W., Superti-Furga, A., Scambler, P.J., Winter, R.M., Mutation and deletion of the pseudoautosomal gene SHOX cause Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (1998) Nat Genet, 19, pp. 70-72Zebala, L.P., Manske, P.R., Goldfarb, C.A., (200't) Madelung's deformity: A spectrum of presentation.. The J Hand Surg, 32 A, pp. 1393-1401Zinn, A.R., Ramos, P., Ross, J., (1006) A second recombination hotspot associated with SHOX deletions Am J Hum Genet, 78, pp. 523-52

Measurement of D*+/- meson production in jets from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper reports a measurement of D*+/- meson production in jets from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is based on a data sample recorded with the ATLAS detector with an integrated luminosity of 0.30 pb^-1 for jets with transverse momentum between 25 and 70 GeV in the pseudorapidity range |eta| < 2.5. D*+/- mesons found in jets are fully reconstructed in the decay chain: D*+ -> D0pi+, D0 -> K-pi+, and its charge conjugate. The production rate is found to be N(D*+/-)/N(jet) = 0.025 +/- 0.001(stat.) +/- 0.004(syst.) for D*+/- mesons that carry a fraction z of the jet momentum in the range 0.3 < z < 1. Monte Carlo predictions fail to describe the data at small values of z, and this is most marked at low jet transverse momentum.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (22 pages total), 5 figures, 1 table, matches published version in Physical Review

Mutations in SRY and WT1 genes required for gonadal development are not responsible for XY partial gonadal dysgenesis

The WT1 transcription factor regulates SRY expression during the initial steps of the sex determination process in humans, activating a gene cascade leading to testis differentiation. In addition to causing Wilms' tumor, mutations in WT1 are often responsible for urogenital defects in men, while SRY mutations are mainly related to 46,XY pure gonadal dysgenesis. In order to evaluate their role in abnormal testicular organogenesis, we screened for SRY and WT1 gene mutations in 10 children with XY partial gonadal dysgenesis, 2 of whom with a history of Wilms' tumor. The open reading frame and 360 bp of the 5' flanking sequence of the SRY gene, and the ten exons and intron boundaries of the WT1 gene were amplified by PCR of genomic DNA. Single-strand conformation polymorphism was initially used for WT1 mutation screening. Since shifts in fragment migration were only observed for intron/exon 4, the ten WT1 exons from all patients were sequenced manually. No mutations were detected in the SRY 5' untranslated region or within SRY open-reading frame sequences. WT1 sequencing revealed one missense mutation (D396N) in the ninth exon of a patient who also had Wilms' tumor. In addition, two silent point mutations were found in the first exon including one described here for the first time. Some non-coding sequence variations were detected, representing one new (IVS4+85A>G) and two already described (-7ATG T>G, IVS9-49 T>C) single nucleotide polymorphisms. Therefore, mutations in two major genes required for gonadal development, SRY and WT1, are not responsible for XY partial gonadal dysgenesis.172

Search for supersymmetry in final states with jets, missing transverse momentum and one isolated lepton in sqrt{s} = 7 TeV pp collisions using 1 fb-1 of ATLAS data

We present an update of a search for supersymmetry in final states containing jets, missing transverse momentum, and one isolated electron or muon, using 1.04 fb^-1 of proton-proton collision data at sqrt{s} = 7 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in the first half of 2011. The analysis is carried out in four distinct signal regions with either three or four jets and variations on the (missing) transverse momentum cuts, resulting in optimized limits for various supersymmetry models. No excess above the standard model background expectation is observed. Limits are set on the visible cross-section of new physics within the kinematic requirements of the search. The results are interpreted as limits on the parameters of the minimal supergravity framework, limits on cross-sections of simplified models with specific squark and gluino decay modes, and limits on parameters of a model with bilinear R-parity violation.Comment: 18 pages plus author list (30 pages total), 9 figures, 4 tables, final version to appear in Physical Review

Reducing heterotic M-theory to five dimensional supergravity on a manifold with boundary

This paper constructs the reduction of heterotic $M$-theory in eleven dimensions to a supergravity model on a manifold with boundary in five dimensions using a Calabi-Yau three-fold. New results are presented for the boundary terms in the action and for the boundary conditions on the bulk fields. Some general features of dualisation on a manifold with boundary are used to explain the origin of some topological terms in the action. The effect of gaugino condensation on the fermion boundary conditions leads to a `twist' in the chirality of the gravitino which can provide an uplifting mechanism in the vacuum energy to cancel the cosmological constant after moduli stabilisation.Comment: 16 pages, RevTe

Balanços energéticos agropecuários: uma importante ferramenta como indicativo de sustentabilidade de agroecossistemas.

No Brasil, pouca atenção se tem dado às formas e caminhos com que os fluxos energéticos se distribuem nos sistemas produtivos. Na agropecuária, a atenção tem sido voltada a novas fontes de energia (biomassa) ou em tecnologia alternativa, visando a racionalização do uso de energia fóssil ou elétrica. Entretanto, a agricultura tem se desenvolvido baseada fortemente na utilização intensiva de máquinas agrícolas, com conseqüente uso de combustíveis fósseis. Um fator de estrangulamento muito forte no consumo energético geral tem sido a utilização massiva de fertilizantes derivados do petróleo nos agroecossistemas. Estudos de Balanços Energéticos visam determinar os pontos de estrangulamento energético fundamentando a busca por tecnologias poupadoras de energia, especialmente aquelas de origem fóssil (combustível, fertilizante, agrotóxicos, energia despendida na fabricação das máquinas e implementos, etc.). No Brasil, a Região Sul, é onde se encontram vários trabalhos buscando uma agricultura mais auto-sustentável, do ponto de vista da utilização da energia. Em vista da possibilidade de eventuais futuras crises energéticas, o presente trabalho procura analisar o estado-da-arte dos estudos em Balanço Energético, no Brasil e no Mundo, como uma ferramenta de indicação da sustentabilidade dos sistemas agropecuários