Identification of a novel mutation in a Chinese family with X-linked ocular albinism

PURPOSE

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the GPR143 gene (G-protein coupled receptor 143) in a Chinese three-generation family with OA1, including four carriers and a proband with clinical features of X-linked ocular albinism.

METHODS

The proband underwent a detailed ophthalmologic evaluation. Blood samples of family members were obtained and genomic DNA isolated. Mutational analysis by SSCP and direct sequencing of the GPR143 gene was used to screen all nine exons including the intron/exon junctions. The novel mutation c.943G>T (p.G315X) found in the study was confirmed by DHPLC to exclude the possibility of polymorphism.

RESULTS

Ophthalmic features of the proband were characteristic of X-linked ocular albinism. The authors identified a novel nonsense mutation p.G315X on exon 8 that was not found in 100 non-albinism subjects by DHPLC. This novel mutation in the GPR143 gene is predicted to subject to nonsense mediated decay.

CONCLUSIONS

The novel mutation p.G315X in the OA1 gene was identified in a Chinese family with ocular albinism, which is predicted to generate a premature stop codon. These findings extend the mutational spectrum of GPR143 gene and will be useful for gene diagnosis and genetic counseling in Chinese OA1 patients.

The infiltrative, diffuse pattern of recurrence in patients with malignant gliomas treated with bevacizumab

2057

Background: There is no standard of care for recurrent gliomas; however, bevacizumab is often used as a salvage chemotherapy regimen. A diffuse, infiltrative pattern of recurrence, as evidenced by MR imaging, was seen manifesting as multifocal disease or presumed CSF dissemination with subependymal spread. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 40 recurrent glioma patients followed at Moffitt Cancer Center from September 2006 through December 2008 treated with bevacizumab alone or in combination with irinotecan. Histologies included glioblastoma (GB), anaplastic astrocytomas (AA), anaplastic oligodendrogliomas (AO), anaplastic oligoastrocytomas (AOA), and low-grade astrocytomas. Rate of diffuse, infiltrative recurrence, progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed and correlated with respect to specific prognostic variables. Results: 38% (15) of the patients were female and 63% (25) were male. The median (range) age was 51 (20–72) years. The median (range) KPS was 80 (50–100). Twenty-six (65%) patients had GB, 8 (20%) AA, 2 (5%) AO, and 3 (8%) AOA and 1 (3%) had LGA. Five (13%) patients had a gross total resection (GTR), 23 (58%) a subtotal resection (STR) and 12 (30%) had biopsy only. The median (range) number of prior therapies was 2 (1–7). At time of analysis 28 (70%) patients had died. Incidence of diffuse, infiltrative recurrence was seen in 8 (20%) of patients (95% CI: [9%, 36%]). This recurrence seems to be negatively associated with age: rate for age<=50: 6/18 (33%); (95% CI: [13%, 59%]) while rate for age>50: 2/22 (9%); (95% CI: [1%, 29%]), with an odds ratio (OR) of 5.0. Conclusions: There appears to be an increase in a diffuse, infiltrative pattern of recurrence among recurrent glioma patients treated with bevacizumab as a salvage regimen. In our experience, this appears most prevalent in patients less than 50 years of age. It is unclear why the disparity among this subset of patients occurs, however, we hypothesize that this may once again highlight the distinct tumor biology among young glioma patients. The impact of this observation on clinical decision making on whether to utilize bevacizumab in young recurrent glioma patients warrants further investigation.

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Outcomes following induction chemotherapy in patients with AML arising from MDS: Analysis of prognostic factors

7088

Background: Secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML) arising from myelodysplasia (MDS) or a myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) has a poor prognosis. To date, there is limited knowledge about risk factors that determine how sAML will respond to treatment. This analysis evaluated possible prognostic factors in patients with sAML that were treated with anthracycline-based induction therapy. Methods: Retrospective chart review of patients with untreated AML from MDS/MPN treated with standard induction therapy from January 2004 to September 2008. Age, IPSS, ECOG PS, cytogenetics, duration of MDS, and prior MDS treatment were evaluated for their impact on obtaining complete remission (CR) or CR with low platelets (CRp) and overall survival (OS). Results: Sixty-one patients with sAML who received induction therapy were evaluated: median age (range) = 66 (36–82) years; M = 67%, ECOG PS 0 or 1 = 86%; poor-risk (PR) cytogenetics = 33%; IPSS > 1 = 43%; prior therapy for MDS with decitabine or azacitidine (DM) or lenalidomide (L) = 41% (25 pts). Of the entire group, 59% (36 pts) achieved CR/CRp (95% CI: 46%-71%) and the median OS was 6.5 (95% CI: 3.9–8.1) mo. Multivariable analysis indicated that the same three factors were significantly negatively associated with CR/CRp as well as OS: PR cytogenetics, prior treatment with DM/L, and long transformation to AML on log scale. Only 32% of the group that received prior treatment with a DM/L achieved CR/CRp compared to 78% in non DM/L-treated patients (OR = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.04–0.42). The CR/CRp rate for those with intermediate risk (IR) cytogenetics was 70% compared to only 35% for those with PR cytogenetics (OR = 4.33, 95% CI: 1.38–13.6). Those with PR cytogenetics had a median OS of 2.8 mo compared to 7.5 mo for IR (p = 0.01). The median OS for those treated with a DM/L was 3.7 mo compared to 10.5 mo for non DM/L-treated patients (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Prior MDS treatment with a DM/L, PR cytogenetics and long transformation to AML are independent negative prognostic factors for response and OS in patients with sAML following induction therapy, suggesting that such patients may be better served by novel approaches, and that stratification for these risk factors should be considered in future clinical trials. Larger-scale confirmation of these data is ongoing.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

COMT val158met modulates association between brain white matter architecture and IQ

The intelligence quotient (IQ) is typically associated with the architecture of gray and white matter in specific brain regions, and this association appears to be genetically based. However, specific sources of genetic variation for the association have not been studied extensively. Using diffusion tensor imaging in 15 mental retardation patients and 80 healthy volunteers, we studied the association between white matter architecture and IQ and also investigated the effects of COMT val158met on this association. The results showed that fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the prefrontal lobe and the hippocampus formation were associated with IQ and that val158met may affect this association. Subjects who were val homozygous showed steeper slopes for regression of the FA value on IQ than met carriers. Our findings suggest that COMT val158met may contribute to intelligence by affecting the association between IQ and the white matter architecture in the prefrontal lobe and the hippocampal formation.

Isolation of Bdellovibrio as biological therapeutic agents used for the treatment of Aeromonas hydrophila infection in fish

Fourteen strains of Bdellovibrio-like organisms were isolated from cultured fish ponds using Aeromonas hydrophila J-1 as host, one of them formed large plaques after 48 h of incubation at 28 degrees C on a double layer plate, designated as Bdellovibrio C-1. The Bdellovibrio was confirmed by electron microscopy and PCR amplification of Bdellovibrio-specific 16S rDNA. The optimum temperature for the growth of BdC-1 was between 15-37 degrees C and with optimal activity at temperatures of 25-30 degrees C. The ability of BdC-1 to lyse A. hydrophila was similar in the pH range of 6.5 to 8.5. It can lyse 23 Gram-negative bacterial strains comprising three genera of fish pathogens and one strain of Escherichia coli but cannot lyse Gram-positive bacteria such as Bacillus subtillis and Staphylococcus aureus. Immersion of fish in water containing different concentrations of BdC-1 was used in protection against an experimental infection of A. hydrophila J-1. Results show that the mortality of groups immersed with BdC-1 was lower than the group without BdC-1. These results suggest that it may be possible to use Bdellovibrio to control the disease caused by A. hydrophila.

Terahertz spectroscopy of plasmonic fractals

We use terahertz time-domain spectroscopy to study the transmission properties of metallic films perforated with aperture arrays having deterministic or stochastic fractal morphologies ("plasmonic fractals"), and compare them with random aperture arrays. All of the measured plasmonic fractals show transmission resonances and antiresonances at frequencies that correspond to prominent features in their structure factors in k space. However, in sharp contrast to periodic aperture arrays, the resonant transmission enhancement decreases with increasing array size. This property is explained using a density-density correlation function, and is utilized for determining the underlying fractal dimensionality, D(<2). Furthermore, a sum rule for the transmission resonances and antiresonances in plasmonic fractals relative to the transmission of the corresponding random aperture arrays is obtained, and is shown to be universal.

Shape of disorder-broadened Landau subbands in graphene

In this Letter, we calculate the density of states of graphene under a highly uniform magnetic field and white-noise random potential. We discover that the disorder-broadened zero-energy Landau band has a Gaussian shape and its width is proportional to the random potential variance and the square root of magnetic field. We also use the Wegner-type calculation to justify our simulation results.

Effects of Celecoxib and Nimesulide on the Proliferation of Ectopic Endometrial Stromal Cells in vitro

The effects of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) selective inhibitors on the proliferation of ectopic endometrial stromal cells in vitro were investigated. Ectopic endometrial stromal cells were treated with either celecoxib or nimesulide for 24 and 48 h. The results showed that (i) both celecoxib and nimesulide inhibited the proliferation of ectopic endometrial stromal cells in vitro in a time- and dose-dependent manner; (ii) the expression of prostaglandin E2 was significantly inhibited by both celecoxib and nimesulide in a dose-dependent manner; (iii) the percentage of apoptotic cells was significantly higher for cells treated with celecoxib or nimesulide than for untreated cells; and (iv) the percentage of the cells in the G0/G1 phase increased after the cells were treated with either agent in a dose-dependent manner. These data suggest that celecoxib and nimesulide inhibited proliferation of ectopic endometrial stromal cells by inducing apoptosis and blocking the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase.

Regional gray matter changes are associated with cognitive deficits in remitted geriatric depression: an optimized voxel-based morphometry study

BACKGROUND

We aimed to investigate structural abnormalities in first-episode remitted geriatric depression (RGD) with optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM) in closely matched patients and healthy control subjects and examine the relationship of performances on neuropsychological tests with regional gray matter volumes.

METHODS

Nineteen subjects with first-episode RGD and 16 well-matched healthy control subjects were recruited for this study, and neuropsychological tests and magnetic resonance imaging were conducted on the subjects. The differences in regional gray matter volume were determined between these two groups by optimized VBM.

RESULTS

The volumes of right superior frontal cortex, left postcentral cortex, and right middle temporal gyrus were significantly smaller in patients with RGD relative to healthy control subjects. However, patients with RGD had larger left cingulate gyrus volume compared with healthy control subjects. There was a significant negative correlation between left cingulate gyrus volume and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test delayed recall raw score in patients with RGD.

CONCLUSION

These results reveal that RGD is associated with gray matter changes of certain brain regions hypothesized to influence cognition and might thus be involved in the psychopathology and pathophysiology of cognitive impairment in RGD.

The dielectric properties of Ba(0.6)Sr(0.4)Cr(x)Ti(1-x)O(3) thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Ba(0.6)Sr(0.4)Cr(x)Ti(1-x)O(3) (BSCT) films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition with the value of x varying from 0 mol% to 2.0 mol%. X-ray diffraction analysis detected an increase in the lattice parameters, which could be due to the characteristics of the growth process. Dielectric properties and tunability of the BSCT films were measured. The dissipation factors of the films decreased with increasing Cr-concentration. The highest figure of merit (FOM) value of 33.3 was obtained in 1.0 mol%-doped BSCT film. As a result, the effect of Cr doping is positive.