Assessing chromosome 22 microdeletions in meningioma with new polymorphic DNA markers

In an approach to identify new candidates for tumor related genes, a set of established and new polymorphic DNA markers (simple sequence repeats) was used in menigioma samples to test for deletions within human chromosome 22. For this purpose, cytogenetically well characterized tumors were applied and those with monosomy #22 were omitted; only disomic material was analyzed. When comparing DNA from peripheral blood and tumor tissues using markers spaced throughout the long arm (22q) no allelic loss was observed indicating that, in disomic samples, deletions are present as microdeletions undetectable by the marker spacing chosen in this study, or that they do not occur frequently.

The SOX10/Sox10 gene from human and mouse: sequence, expression, and transactivation by the encoded HMG domain transcription factor

The SOX genes form a gene family related by homology to the high-mobility group (HMG) box region of the testis-determining gene SRY. We have cloned and sequenced the SOX10 and Sox10 genes from human and mouse, respectively. Both genes encode proteins of 466 amino acids with 98% sequence identity. Significant expression of the 2.9-kb human SOX10 mRNA is observed in fetal brain and in adult brain, heart, small intestine and colon. Strong expression of Sox10 occurs throughout the peripheral nervous system during mouse embryonic development. SOX10 shows an overall amino acid sequence identity of 59% to SOX9. Like SOX9, SOX10 has a potent transcription activation domain at its C-terminus and is therefore likely to function as a transcription factor. Whereas SOX9 maps to 17q, a SOX10 cosmid has previously been mapped by us to the region 22q13.1. Mutations in SOX10 have recently been identified as one cause of Waardenburg-Hirschsprung disease in humans, while a Sox10 mutation underlies the mouse mutant Dom, a murine Hirschsprung model.

A novel 25 bp tandem repeat within the human trefoil peptide gene TFF2 in 21q22.3: polymorphism and mammalian evolution

Trefoil peptides belong to a family of small secretory proteins characterised by three intrachain disulfide bonds forming the trefoil motif (TFF-domain). They serve to maintain or repair the epithelial mucosa, and promote cell migration. They are predominantly found in gastrointestinal tissues, and are upregulated around areas of epithelial damage, and in meta- and neoplasia. The corresponding three genes are clustered in human 21q22.3. TFF2 is the only human one encoding two TFF-domains on separate exons. In between (intron 2), a novel 25 bp sequence is located that is tandemly repeated approximately 48 times, but is unique in the human genome. A diallelic polymorphism with a second allele comprising approximately 53 repeat units is present among individuals. Both alleles were cloned on BAC recombinants. In Caucasians (n = 78) the allele frequencies found are 0.85 and 0.15, respectively, representing a frequency of heterozygosity of 26%. Ape and monkey species exhibit homologous repeats of shorter total array length, whereas none is found in other mammals.

A simple and fast procedure for high quality DNA isolation from gels using laundry detergent and inverted columns

A quick method for the recovery of DNA from agarose and polyacrylamide gels with high efficiency and quality is described. Excised gel slices, containing at least 10 ng DNA, are incubated for 15 min at 60 degrees C in the presence of laundry detergents. An "inverted column" is obtained by covering the extraction liquid by a layer of cotton wool, Sephadex G-50 and another layer of cotton wool. Following centrifugation the supernatant containing the DNA is recovered by aspiration and the DNA is precipitated with isopropanol and tRNA, washed with ethanol and air-dried. The yield of reisolated DNA does not depend on DNA fragment size and small quantities of gel volume. Thus, the technique may prove useful in a broad range of applications in the methodology of molecular biology.

Cosmid-derived transcripts and sequence tags mapped to three subregions of human chromosome 22

Fifty cosmids from the ICRF, London, and Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, California, human chromosome 22 cosmid libraries were isolated, regionally assigned and tested for their ability to detect repeats or single copy sequences. The search resulted in nine cosmids containing repetitive motifs from the pericentric region of chromosome 22. An additional 19 cosmids, that detected single copy sequences in the long arm of chromosome 22q: 7 in the region 22q11.2-q13.1 and 12 in 22q13.1-qter, were mapped more precisely by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Three out of these 19 recombinants displayed restriction fragments containing (CA)n repeats, were subcloned and sequenced. One cosmid, representing a region coding for an ubiquitous 300-bp transcript, is localized 600 kb from PDGFB, and four cosmids contained sequences surrounding the ARSA gene at 22q13.3. Presently, long range physical maps, that may be useful for analysing structural alterations of chromosome 22q13, are being constructed from these additional, regionally assigned markers from chromosome 22q13 employing both existing cosmid and new bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries.

Distribution and linkage of repetitive clusters from the heterochromatic region of human chromosome 22

The pericentric regions of eukaryotic chromosomes consist of several types of repetitive DNA families. In human chromosome 22, the organization of such families was studied in more detail. In addition to the known families of alpha and beta repeats, an additional repeat with a 48-bp motif was previously assigned to 22pter-q11. Here, we report in more detail the distribution of these repeat families, applying pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, fluorescence in situ hybridization and physical linkage on cosmid recombinants. At least two clusters of 48-bp repeats are localized on chromosome 22, one on the distal p-arm and one in the region 22cen-q11. Cosmids from a chromosome 22 library, containing both 48-bp and beta-repeats, link both arrays on 22p and define their maximum distances to less than 44 kb. Loss of 48-bp repeat sequences in a Dl-George cell line carrying a deletion in 22q11 suggests the presence of a second cluster in 22q11, a distribution supported by (fluorescene in situ hybridization)-FISH signal analysis. As additional members of the 48-bp repeat family can be found on all acrocentric chromosomes. It remains to be determined whether the distribution seen on chromosome 22 is also common in other human acrocentric chromosomes.

Resonance Raman and optical transient studies on the light-induced proton pump of bacteriorhodopsin reveal parallel photocycles

The photocycle of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) was studied at ambient temperature in aqueous suspensions of purple membranes using time-resolved resonance Raman (RR) and optical transient spectroscopy (OTS). The samples were photolyzed, and the fractional concentrations of the retinylidene chromophore in its parent state, BR570, and in the intermediate states L550, M412, N560, and O640 were determined in the time domain 20 microseconds-1 s and in the pH range 4-10.5. Two kinetically different L components could be identified. At pH 7 one fraction of L (approximately 65%) decays in 80 microseconds to M (deprotonation of the Schiff base), whereas the residual part is converted in approximately 0.5 ms to N. The RR spectra reveal only minor structural changes of the chromophore in the L-->N transition. These were attributed to a conformational change of the protein backbone [Ormos, P., Chu, K., & Mourant, J. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 6933]. With decreasing pH the L-->N transition is delayed to > 2 ms following a titration-like function with pKa approximately 6.2. The decay of M412 monitored by OTS can be fitted for each pH value by two different amplitudes and time constants (Mf, tau f; Ms, tau s; f = fast, s = slow). Both Mf and Ms consist of subcomponents which can be distinguished by their different reaction pathways (but not by OTS). Mf occurs in the reaction sequences L-->Mf-->N-->BR and L-->Mf-->O-->BR. The population of the first sequence, in which N is formed with the time constant tau f (approximately 2-4 ms, pH 6-10.5), increases with pH. Ms is also found in two different reaction sequences of the form L-->Ms-->BR. The quantitative analysis reveals that each "titration effect" can be related to a certain fraction of bR. It is proposed that each fraction can be identified with a "subspecies" of bR which undergoes an independent and individual cyclic reaction. A complete reaction scheme is set up which represents the manifold of observed phenomena. It is concluded from the pH dependence of the lifetimes of Ms and N that the reconstitution of BR570 in the reaction steps Ms-->BR and N-->BR requires the uptake of a proton from the external phase. It is argued that this proton catalyzes the reisomerization of retinal, whereas the Schiff base is internally reprotonated from Asp-85. A model for proton pumping is proposed in which the proton taken up from the external phase to catalyze the reisomerization of retinal is the one which is pumped through the membrane during the photocycle of bR.