Early endovascular stenting for extracranial carotid artery dissection with angiographic flow stasis: A series of four cases

Extracranial carotid artery dissection is a major cause of ischemic stroke in young patients. Progressive stroke or recurrent ischemic symptoms may occur despite adequate medical treatment. Our treatment policy for these conditions is based on the fact that immediate vascular reconstruction is necessary in the cases with angiographic flow stasis in the true lumen beyond the dissection site. We report our experiences with four consecutive extracranial carotid artery dissections successfully treated with early endovascular stenting and discuss the indication of this treatment with a special emphasis on the angiographic findings

Ubiquitin chains in the Dsk2 UBL domain mediate Dsk2 stability and protein degradation in yeast

Ubiquitin-like (UBL)-ubiquitin-associated (UBA) proteins, including Dsk2 and Rad23, act as delivery factors that target polyubiquitinated substrates to the proteasome. We report here that the Dsk2 UBL domain is ubiquitinated in yeast cells and that Dsk2 ubiquitination of the UBL domain is involved in Dsk2 stability, depending on the Dsk2 UBA domain. Also, Dsk2 lacking ubiquitin chains impaired ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation and decreased the interaction of Dsk2 with polyubiquitinated proteins in cells. Moreover, Dsk2 ubiquitination affected ability to restore the temperature-sensitive growth defect of dsk2 Delta. These results indicate that ubiquitination in the UBL domain of Dsk2 has in vivo functions in the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in yeast

Increased CaV1.2 late current by a CACNA1C p.R412M variant causes an atypical Timothy syndrome without syndactyly

Timothy syndrome (TS) is a rare pleiotropic disorder associated with long QT syndrome, syndactyly, dysmorphic features, and neurological symptoms. Several variants in exon 8 or 8a of CACNA1C, a gene encoding the α-subunit of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (Cav1.2), are known to cause classical TS. We identified a p.R412M (exon 9) variant in an atypical TS case. The aim of this study was to examine the functional effects of CACNA1C p.R412M on CaV1.2 in comparison with those of p.G406R. The index patient was a 2-month-old female infant who suffered from a cardio-pulmonary arrest in association with prolonged QT intervals. She showed dysmorphic facial features and developmental delay, but not syndactyly. Interestingly, she also presented recurrent seizures from 4 months. Genetic tests identified a novel heterozygous CACNA1C variant, p.R412M. Using heterologous expression system with HEK-293 cells, analyses with whole-cell patch-clamp technique revealed that p.R412M caused late Ca2+ currents by significantly delaying CaV1.2 channel inactivation, consistent with the underlying mechanisms of classical TS. A novel CACNA1C variant, p.R412M, was found to be associated with atypical TS through the same mechanism as p.G406R, the variant responsible for classical TS