Department of Radiation Oncology and Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas jefferson University, The intronic G13964C variant in p53 is not a high-risk mutation in familial breast cancer in Australia.

BACKGROUND: Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 account for approximately 50% of breast cancer families with more than four affected cases, whereas exonic mutations in p53, PTEN, CHK2 and ATM may account for a very small proportion. It was recently reported that an intronic variant of p53--G13964C--occurred in three out of 42 (7.1%) \u27hereditary\u27 breast cancer patients, but not in any of 171 \u27sporadic\u27 breast cancer control individuals (P = 0.0003). If this relatively frequent occurrence of G13964C in familial breast cancer and absence in control individuals were confirmed, then this would suggest that the G13964C variant plays a role in breast cancer susceptibility. METHOD: We genotyped 71 familial breast cancer patients and 143 control individuals for the G13964C variant using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. RESULTS: Three (4.2%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0-8.9%) G13964C heterozygotes were identified. The variant was also identified in 5 out of 143 (3.5%; 95% CI 0.6-6.4%) control individuals without breast cancer or a family history of breast cancer, however, which is no different to the proportion found in familial cases (P = 0.9). CONCLUSION: The present study would have had 80% power to detect an odds ratio of 4.4, and we therefore conclude that the G13946C polymorphism is not a \u27high-risk\u27 mutation for familial breast cancer

The intronic G13964C variant in p53 is not a high-risk mutation in familial breast cancer in Australia

BACKGROUND: Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 account for approximately 50% of breast cancer families with more than four affected cases, whereas exonic mutations in p53, PTEN, CHK2 and ATM may account for a very small proportion. It was recently reported that an intronic variant of p53 - G13964C - occurred in three out of 42 (7.1%) 'hereditary' breast cancer patients, but not in any of 171 'sporadic' breast cancer control individuals (P = 0.0003). If this relatively frequent occurrence of G13964C in familial breast cancer and absence in control individuals were confirmed, then this would suggest that the G13964C variant plays a role in breast cancer susceptibility. METHOD: We genotyped 71 familial breast cancer patients and 143 control individuals for the G13964C variant using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. RESULTS: Three (4.2%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0–8.9%) G13964C heterozygotes were identified. The variant was also identified in 5 out of 143 (3.5%; 95% CI 0.6–6.4%) control individuals without breast cancer or a family history of breast cancer, however, which is no different to the proportion found in familial cases (P = 0.9). CONCLUSION: The present study would have had 80% power to detect an odds ratio of 4.4, and we therefore conclude that the G13946C polymorphism is not a 'high-risk' mutation for familial breast cancer

Implementation of transposon mutagenesis in Bifidobacterium

Random transposon mutagenesis allows for relatively rapid, genome-wide surveys to detect genes involved in functional traits, by performing screens of mutant libraries. This approach has been widely applied to identify genes responsible for activities of interest in multiple eukaryote and prokaryote organisms, although most studies on microorganisms have focused on pathogenic and clinically relevant bacteria. In this chapter we describe the implementation of an in vitro Tn5-based transposome strategy to generate a large collection of random mutants in the gut commensal Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003, and discuss considerations when applying this mutagenesis system to other Bifidobacterium species or strains of interest

Deciphering the intracellular metabolism of Listeria monocytogenes by mutant screening and modelling

Background: The human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes resides and proliferates within the cytoplasm of epithelial cells. While the virulence factors essentially contributing to this step of the infection cycle are well characterized, the set of listerial genes contributing to intracellular replication remains to be defined on a genome-wide level. Results: A comprehensive library of L. monocytogenes strain EGD knockout mutants was constructed upon insertion-duplication mutagenesis, and 1491 mutants were tested for their phenotypes in rich medium and in a Caco-2 cell culture assay. Following sequencing of the plasmid insertion site, 141 different genes required for invasion of and replication in Caco-2 cells were identified. Ten in-frame deletion mutants were constructed that confirmed the data. The genes with known functions are mainly involved in cellular processes including transport, in the intermediary metabolism of sugars, nucleotides and lipids, and in information pathways such as regulatory functions. No function could be ascribed to 18 genes, and a counterpart of eight genes is missing in the apathogenic species L. innocua. Mice infection studies revealed the in vivo requirement of IspE (Lmo0190) involved in mevalonate synthesis, and of the novel ABC transporter Lmo0135-0137 associated with cysteine transport. Based on the data of this genome-scale screening, an extreme pathway and elementary mode analysis was applied that demonstrates the critical role of glycerol and purine metabolism, of fucose utilization, and of the synthesis of glutathione, aspartate semialdehyde, serine and branched chain amino acids during intracellular replication of L. monocytogenes. Conclusion: The combination of a genetic screening and a modelling approach revealed that a series of transporters help L. monocytogenes to overcome a putative lack of nutrients within cells, and that a high metabolic flexibility contributes to the intracellular replication of this pathogen

Medulloblastoma outcome is adversely associated with overexpression of EEF1D, RPL30, and RPS20 on the long arm of chromosome 8

BACKGROUND: Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor of childhood. Improvements in clinical outcome require a better understanding of the genetic alterations to identify clinically significant biological factors and to stratify patients accordingly. In the present study, we applied cytogenetic characterization to guide the identification of biologically significant genes from gene expression microarray profiles of medulloblastoma. METHODS: We analyzed 71 primary medulloblastomas for chromosomal copy number aberrations (CNAs) using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). Among 64 tumors that we previously analyzed by gene expression microarrays, 27 were included in our CGH series. We analyzed clinical outcome with respect to CNAs and microarray results. We filtered microarray data using specific CNAs to detect differentially expressed candidate genes associated with survival. RESULTS: The most frequent lesions detected in our series involved chromosome 17; loss of 16q, 10q, or 8p; and gain of 7q or 2p. Recurrent amplifications at 2p23-p24, 2q14, 7q34, and 12p13 were also observed. Gain of 8q is associated with worse overall survival (p = 0.0141), which is not entirely attributable to MYC amplification or overexpression. By applying CGH results to gene expression analysis of medulloblastoma, we identified three 8q-mapped genes that are associated with overall survival in the larger group of 64 patients (p < 0.05): eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1D (EEF1D), ribosomal protein L30 (RPL30), and ribosomal protein S20 (RPS20). CONCLUSION: The complementary use of CGH and expression profiles can facilitate the identification of clinically significant candidate genes involved in medulloblastoma growth. We demonstrate that gain of 8q and expression levels of three 8q-mapped candidate genes (EEF1D, RPL30, RPS20) are associated with adverse outcome in medulloblastoma

A New Highly Conserved Antibiotic Sensing/Resistance Pathway in Firmicutes Involves an ABC Transporter Interplaying with a Signal Transduction System

Signal transduction systems and ABC transporters often contribute jointly to adaptive bacterial responses to environmental changes. In Bacillus subtilis, three such pairs are involved in responses to antibiotics: BceRSAB, YvcPQRS and YxdJKLM. They are characterized by a histidine kinase belonging to the intramembrane sensing kinase family and by a translocator possessing an unusually large extracytoplasmic loop. It was established here using a phylogenomic approach that systems of this kind are specific but widespread in Firmicutes, where they originated. The present phylogenetic analyses brought to light a highly dynamic evolutionary history involving numerous horizontal gene transfers, duplications and lost events, leading to a great variety of Bce-like repertories in members of this bacterial phylum. Based on these phylogenetic analyses, it was proposed to subdivide the Bce-like modules into six well-defined subfamilies. Functional studies were performed on members of subfamily IV comprising BceRSAB from B. subtilis, the expression of which was found to require the signal transduction system as well as the ABC transporter itself. The present results suggest, for the members of this subfamily, the occurrence of interactions between one component of each partner, the kinase and the corresponding translocator. At functional and/or structural levels, bacitracin dependent expression of bceAB and bacitracin resistance processes require the presence of the BceB translocator loop. Some other members of subfamily IV were also found to participate in bacitracin resistance processes. Taken together our study suggests that this regulatory mechanism might constitute an important common antibiotic resistance mechanism in Firmicutes. [Supplemental material is available online at http://www.genome.org.

Transient Expression of Hemagglutinin Antigen from Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H7N7) in Nicotiana benthamiana

The influenza A virus is of global concern for the poultry industry, especially the H5 and H7 subtypes as they have the potential to become highly pathogenic for poultry. In this study, the hemagglutinin (HA) of a low pathogenic avian influenza virus of the H7N7 subtype isolated from a Swedish mallard Anas platyrhynchos was sequenced, characterized and transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana. Recently, plant expression systems have gained interest as an alternative for the production of vaccine antigens. To examine the possibility of expressing the HA protein in N. benthamiana, a cDNA fragment encoding the HA gene was synthesized de novo, modified with a Kozak sequence, a PR1a signal peptide, a C-terminal hexahistidine (6×His) tag, and an endoplasmic retention signal (SEKDEL). The construct was cloned into a Cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV)-based vector (pEAQ-HT) and the resulting pEAQ-HT-HA plasmid, along with a vector (pJL3:p19) containing the viral gene-silencing suppressor p19 from Tomato bushy stunt virus, was agro-infiltrated into N. benthamiana. The highest gene expression of recombinant plant-produced, uncleaved HA (rHA0), as measured by quantitative real-time PCR was detected at 6 days post infiltration (dpi). Guided by the gene expression profile, rHA0 protein was extracted at 6 dpi and subsequently purified utilizing the 6×His tag and immobilized metal ion adsorption chromatography. The yield was 0.2 g purified protein per kg fresh weight of leaves. Further molecular characterizations showed that the purified rHA0 protein was N-glycosylated and its identity confirmed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. In addition, the purified rHA0 exhibited hemagglutination and hemagglutination inhibition activity indicating that the rHA0 shares structural and functional properties with native HA protein of H7 influenza virus. Our results indicate that rHA0 maintained its native antigenicity and specificity, providing a good source of vaccine antigen to induce immune response in poultry species

Novel loci affecting iron homeostasis and their effects in individuals at risk for hemochromatosis.

Variation in body iron is associated with or causes diseases, including anaemia and iron overload. Here, we analyse genetic association data on biochemical markers of iron status from 11 European-population studies, with replication in eight additional cohorts (total up to 48,972 subjects). We find 11 genome-wide-significant (P<5 × 10(-8)) loci, some including known iron-related genes (HFE, SLC40A1, TF, TFR2, TFRC, TMPRSS6) and others novel (ABO, ARNTL, FADS2, NAT2, TEX14). SNPs at ARNTL, TF, and TFR2 affect iron markers in HFE C282Y homozygotes at risk for hemochromatosis. There is substantial overlap between our iron loci and loci affecting erythrocyte and lipid phenotypes. These results will facilitate investigation of the roles of iron in disease

Characterization of Apoptosis-Related Oxidoreductases from Neurospora crassa

The genome from Neurospora crassa presented three open reading frames homologous to the genes coding for human AIF and AMID proteins, which are flavoproteins with oxidoreductase activities implicated in caspase-independent apoptosis. To investigate the role of these proteins, namely within the mitochondrial respiratory chain, we studied their cellular localization and characterized the respective null mutant strains. Efficiency of the respiratory chain was analyzed by oxygen consumption studies and supramolecular organization of the OXPHOS system was assessed through BN-PAGE analysis in the respective null mutant strains. The results demonstrate that, unlike in mammalian systems, disruption of AIF in Neurospora does not affect either complex I assembly or function. Furthermore, the mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes of the mutant strains display a similar supramolecular organization to that observed in the wild type strain. Further characterization revealed that N. crassa AIF appears localized to both the mitochondria and the cytoplasm, whereas AMID was found exclusively in the cytoplasm. AMID2 was detected in both mitochondria and cytoplasm of the amid mutant strain, but was barely discernible in wild type extracts, suggesting overlapping functions for the two proteins