Anomalous incisor morphology indicates tissue-specific roles for Tfap2a and Tfap2b in tooth development

Mice possess two types of teeth that differ in their cusp patterns; incisors have one cusp and molars have multiple cusps. The patterning of these two types of teeth relies on fine-tuning of the reciprocal molecular signaling between dental epithelial and mesenchymal tissues during embryonic development. The AP-2 transcription factors, particularly Tfap2a and Tfap2b, are essential components of such epithelial-mesenchymal signaling interactions that coordinate craniofacial development in mice and other vertebrates, but little is known about their roles in the regulation of tooth development and shape. Here we demonstrate that incisors and molars differ in their temporal and spatial expression of Tfap2a and Tfap2b. At the bud stage, Tfap2a is expressed in both the epithelium and mesenchyme of the incisors and molars, but Tfap2b expression is restricted to the molar mesenchyme, only later appearing in the incisor epithelium. Tissue-specific deletions show that loss of the epithelial domain of Tfap2a and Tfap2b affects the number and spatial arrangement of the incisors, notably resulting in duplicated lower incisors. In contrast, deletion of these two genes in the mesenchymal domain has little effect on tooth development. Collectively these results implicate epithelial expression of Tfap2a and Tfap2b in regulating the extent of the dental lamina associated with patterning the incisors and suggest that these genes contribute to morphological differences between anterior (incisor) and posterior (molar) teeth within the mammalian dentition.

Spectral analysis of single-channel airflow and oxygen saturation recordings in obstructive sleep apnea detection

This study investigated the usefulness of the very low spectral content of single-channel airflow recordings to help in the diagnosis of the obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome. Additionally, we evaluated whether airflow frequency components in the 0.01 - 0.10 Hz band are linked with desaturations in blood oxygen saturation (SaO(2)) recordings due to apnea events. The relationship between changes in airflow and SaO(2) was analyzed by means of the magnitude squared coherence (MSC) function. Power spectral density (PSD) was used to obtain the power spectrum of single airflow and SaO(2) signals. Peak amplitude (PA) and relative power (P(R)) were used to parameterize the power spectrum in the very low frequency band. 148 subjects suspected of suffering from OSA were studied. Significant differences (p-value ≪ 0.01) between OSA positive and OSA negative subjects were obtained from PSD and MSC features. We found a power increase in the very low frequency band of single-channel airflow linked with the periodic desaturations of OSA. Diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 84.0%, 85.4% and 84.5%, respectively, were reached with the peak amplitude of the airflow PSD. Thus, spectral features from the very low frequency components of single-channel airflow recordings could provide useful information to help in OSA diagnosis.

Autism in tuberous sclerosis complex

The frequency and clinical presentation of autism in 28 probands with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) are reported and risk factors that may influence the development of autism in TSC are examined. Eight probands meet ICD-10 and DSM-IV criteria for autism, an additional 4 meet criteria for pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). Twelve TSC probands with autism/PDD are compared to 16 TSC probands without these conditions for factors which may underlie the association of autism and TSC. A specific seizure type, infantile spasms, as well as mental retardation, are increased in the TSC, autistic/PDD group. Furthermore, rates of social phobia and substance abuse are elevated among first-degree relatives of TSC probands with autism compared to first-degree relatives of TSC probands without autism. Implications of these findings in understanding the association of autism and TSC are discussed.