250 research outputs found

    Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Type IV: A Genetic Disorder in Many Guises

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    Osteogenesis Imperfecta: The Molecular Basis of Clinical Heterogeneity a

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    Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73685/1/j.1749-6632.1988.tb55324.x.pd

    FinnTwin12 Cohort : An Updated Review

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    This review offers an update on research conducted with FinnTwin12 (FT12), the youngest of the three Finnish Twin Cohorts. FT12 was designed as a two-stage study. In the first stage, we conducted multiwave questionnaire research enrolling all eligible twins born in Finland during 1983–1987 along with their biological parents. In stage 2, we intensively studied a subset of these twins with in-school assessments at age 12 and semistructured poly-diagnostic interviews at age 14. At baseline, parents of intensively studied twins were administered the adult version of the interview. Laboratory studies with repeat interviews, neuropsychological tests, and collection of DNA were made of intensively studied twins during follow-up in early adulthood. The basic aim of the FT12 study design was to obtain information on individual, familial and school/neighborhood risks for substance use/abuse prior to the onset of regular tobacco and alcohol use and then track trajectories of use and abuse and their consequences into adulthood. But the longitudinal assessments were not narrowly limited to this basic aim, and with multiwave, multirater assessments from ages 11 to 12, the study has created a richly informative data set for analyses of gene–environment interactions of both candidate genes and genomewide measures with measured risk-relevant environments. Because 25 years have elapsed since the start of the study, we are planning a fifth-wave follow-up assessment.Peer reviewe

    Comparison of baricitinib, upadacitinib, and tofacitinib mediated regulation of cytokine signaling in human leukocyte subpopulations

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    BACKGROUND: The in vitro pharmacology of baricitinib, upadacitinib, and tofacitinib was evaluated to understand differences among these JAK inhibitors (JAKis) at the cellular level. METHODS: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors were incubated with different JAKis, levels of phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription (pSTAT) were measured following cytokine stimulation, and half maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) values were calculated in phenotypically gated leukocyte subpopulations. Therapeutic dose relevance of the in vitro analysis was assessed using calculated mean concentration-time profiles over 24 h obtained from JAKi-treated subjects. Time above IC50 and average daily percent inhibition of pSTAT formation were calculated for each JAKi, cytokine, and cell type. RESULTS: Distinct JAKis displayed different in vitro pharmacologic profiles. For example, tofacitinib and upadacitinib were the most potent inhibitors of the JAK1/3-dependent cytokines tested (interleukin [IL]-2, IL-4, IL-15, and IL-21) with lower IC50 values and increased time above IC50 translating to a greater overall inhibition of STAT signaling during the dosing interval. All JAKis tested inhibited JAK1/2-dependent cytokines (e.g., IL-6 and interferon [IFN]-γ), the JAK1/tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2)-dependent cytokines IL-10 and IFN-α, the JAK2/2-dependent cytokines IL-3 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and the JAK2/TYK2-dependent cytokine granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), but often to significantly differing degrees. CONCLUSIONS: Different JAKis modulated distinct cytokine pathways to varying degrees, and no agent potently or continuously inhibited an individual cytokine signaling pathway throughout the dosing interval. Notably, baricitinib inhibited JAK1/3 signaling to a lesser extent than upadacitinib and tofacitinib, while upadacitinib, baricitinib, and tofacitinib inhibited the signaling of JAK2/2-dependent cytokines, including GM-CSF and IL-3, as well as the signaling of the JAK2/TYK2-dependent cytokine G-CSF

    Anti-Insulin Receptor Autoantibodies Are Not Required for Type 2 Diabetes Pathogenesis in NZL/Lt Mice, a New Zealand Obese (NZO)-Derived Mouse Strain

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    The New Zealand obese (NZO) mouse strain shares with the related New Zealand black (NZB) strain a number of immunophenotypic traits. Among these is a high proportion of B-1 B lymphocytes, a subset associated with autoantibody production. Approximately 50% of NZO/HlLt males develop a chronic insulin-resistant type 2 diabetes syndrome associated with 2 unusual features: the presence of B lymphocyte–enriched peri-insular infiltrates and the development of anti-insulin receptor autoantibodies (AIRAs). To establish the potential pathogenic contributions ofBlymphocytes and AIRAs in this model, a disrupted immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (Igh-6) congenic on the NZB/BlJ background was backcrossed 4 generations into the NZO/HlLt background and was then intercrossed to produce mice that initially segregated for wild-type versus the mutant Igh-6 allele and thus permitted comparison of syndrome development. A new flow cytometric assay (AIRA binding to transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells stably expressing mouse insulin receptor) showed IgM and IgG subclass AIRAs in serum from Igh-6 intact males, but not in Igh6null male serum. However, the absence of B lymphocytes and antibodies distinguishing mutant from wild-type males failed to significantly affect diabetes-free survival. The Igh6nullmales gained weight less rapidly than wild-type males, probably accounting for a retardation, but not prevention, of hyperglycemia. Thus, AIRA and the Blymphocyte component of the peri-insulitis in chronic diabetics were not essential either to development of insulin resistance or to eventual pancreatic beta cell failure and loss. A new substrain, designated NZL, was generated by inbreeding Igh-6 wild-type segregants. Currently at the F10 generation, NZL mice exhibit the same juvenile-onset obesity as NZO/HlLt males, but develop type 2 diabetes at a higher frequency (> 80%). Also, unlike NZO/HlLt mice that are difficult to breed, the NZL/Lt strain breeds well and thus offers clear advantages to obesity/diabetes researchers

    Growth characteristics in individuals with osteogenesis imperfecta in North America: results from a multicenter study.

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    PurposeOsteogenesis imperfecta (OI) predisposes people to recurrent fractures, bone deformities, and short stature. There is a lack of large-scale systematic studies that have investigated growth parameters in OI.MethodsUsing data from the Linked Clinical Research Centers, we compared height, growth velocity, weight, and body mass index (BMI) in 552 individuals with OI. Height, weight, and BMI were plotted on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention normative curves.ResultsIn children, the median z-scores for height in OI types I, III, and IV were -0.66, -6.91, and -2.79, respectively. Growth velocity was diminished in OI types III and IV. The median z-score for weight in children with OI type III was -4.55. The median z-scores for BMI in children with OI types I, III, and IV were 0.10, 0.91, and 0.67, respectively. Generalized linear model analyses demonstrated that the height z-score was positively correlated with the severity of the OI subtype (P < 0.001), age, bisphosphonate use, and rodding (P < 0.05).ConclusionFrom the largest cohort of individuals with OI, we provide median values for height, weight, and BMI z-scores that can aid the evaluation of overall growth in the clinic setting. This study is an important first step in the generation of OI-specific growth curves

    Mutation and polymorphism spectrum in osteogenesis imperfecta type II: implications for genotype–phenotype relationships

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    Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), also known as brittle bone disease, is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder primarily characterized by susceptibility to fracture. Although OI generally results from mutations in the type I collagen genes, COL1A1 and COL1A2, the relationship between genotype and phenotype is not yet well understood. To provide additional data for genotype–phenotype analyses and to determine the proportion of mutations in the type I collagen genes among subjects with lethal forms of OI, we sequenced the coding and exon-flanking regions of COL1A1 and COL1A2 in a cohort of 63 subjects with OI type II, the perinatal lethal form of the disease. We identified 61 distinct heterozygous mutations in type I collagen, including five non-synonymous rare variants of unknown significance, of which 43 had not been seen previously. In addition, we found 60 SNPs in COL1A1, of which 17 were not reported previously, and 82 in COL1A2, of which 18 are novel. In three samples without collagen mutations, we found inactivating mutations in CRTAP and LEPRE1, suggesting a frequency of these recessive mutations of ∼5% in OI type II. A computational model that predicts the outcome of substitutions for glycine within the triple helical domain of collagen α1(I) chains predicted lethality with ∼90% accuracy. The results contribute to the understanding of the etiology of OI by providing data to evaluate and refine current models relating genotype to phenotype and by providing an unbiased indication of the relative frequency of mutations in OI-associated genes

    Actionable, Pathogenic Incidental Findings in 1,000 Participants’ Exomes

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    The incorporation of genomics into medicine is stimulating interest on the return of incidental findings (IFs) from exome and genome sequencing. However, no large-scale study has yet estimated the number of expected actionable findings per individual; therefore, we classified actionable pathogenic single-nucleotide variants in 500 European- and 500 African-descent participants randomly selected from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Exome Sequencing Project. The 1,000 individuals were screened for variants in 114 genes selected by an expert panel for their association with medically actionable genetic conditions possibly undiagnosed in adults. Among the 1,000 participants, 585 instances of 239 unique variants were identified as disease causing in the Human Gene Mutation Database (HGMD). The primary literature supporting the variants’ pathogenicity was reviewed. Of the identified IFs, only 16 unique autosomal-dominant variants in 17 individuals were assessed to be pathogenic or likely pathogenic, and one participant had two pathogenic variants for an autosomal-recessive disease. Furthermore, one pathogenic and four likely pathogenic variants not listed as disease causing in HGMD were identified. These data can provide an estimate of the frequency (∼3.4% for European descent and ∼1.2% for African descent) of the high-penetrance actionable pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in adults. The 23 participants with pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants were disproportionately of European (17) versus African (6) descent. The process of classifying these variants underscores the need for a more comprehensive and diverse centralized resource to provide curated information on pathogenicity for clinical use to minimize health disparities in genomic medicine
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