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Objective: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neuropsychiatric group of pervasive developmental disorders mainly diagnosed through the complex behavioral phenotype. According to strong genetic involvement, detecting the chromosome regions and the key genes linked to autism can help to elucidate its etiology. The present study aimed to investigate the value of cytogenetic analysis in syndromic autism and find an association between autism and chromosome abnormalities. Materials & Methods: Thirty-six autistic patients from 30 families were recruited, clinically diagnosed with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5). The syndromic patients with additional clinical features (including development delay, attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, seizure, and language and intellectual impairment) were selected due to elevating the detection rate. Cytogenetics analysis was performed using GTG banding on the patients' cultured fibroblasts. Moreover, array-comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) was also performed for patients with a de novo and novel variant. Results: Karyotype analysis in 36 syndromic autistic patients detected chromosomal abnormalities in 2 (5.6%) families, including 46,XY,dup(15)(q11.1q11.2) and 46,XX,ins(7)(q11.1q21.3)dn. In the latter, array-CGH detected 3 abnormalities on chromosome 7, including deletion and insertion on both arms: 46,XX,del(7)(q21.11q21.3),dup(7)(p11.2p14.1p12.3)dn. Conclusion: We reported a novel and de novo cytogenetic abnormality on chromosome 7 in an Iranian patient diagnosed with syndromic autism. However, the detection rate in syndromic autism was low, implying that it cannot be utilized as the only diagnostic procedure.
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INTRODUCTION: Hearing impairment is a complex medical disorder which has genetic and non-genetic causes. Gap Junction Protein Beta 2 (GJB2) gene variant is a well-known disease-causing gene among patients with hearing impairment. The frequencies of genetic variants in the GJB2 gene are different in each population. This study aimed to discuss the GJB2 gene status in an Iranian population with hearing impairment who referred for prenatal testing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a genetic laboratory affiliated with Mashhad Jahad Daneshgahi, Mashhad, Iran. A total number of 21 bilateral hearing impaired patients were enrolled in this study. The exons for target GJB2 gene were amplified by polymerase chain reaction after the confirmation of the hearing impairment and the exclusion of the acquired causes of hearing loss. RESULTS: The c.35delG and c.79G>A variants were the first and second most common variants in the study population, respectively. The mean age of the patients was 27.5 (8.7) years and 12 cases were male. There was no significant association between hearing impairment degree and age and heterozygosity status (P=0.376 and P=.074 respectively). CONCLUSION: The c.35delG and c.79G>A variants were determined as the first and second most common variants in the GJB2 gene, respectively. The mean age of 26 years in this study population indicates the late referral for the evaluation of the hearing difficulty. Furthermore, it highlights the further need to encourage families with a history of hearing impairment to engage in genetic counseling.
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BACKGROUND: Maternal cigarette smoking causes health risks and developmental defects in the offspring. So far, many studies have been conducted to suppress the effects of nicotine. However, the effects of coadministration of vitamin C and nicotine on extracellular matrix have not gained enough attention. OBJECTIVES: This study decided to investigate the effects of vitamin C on fibronectin expression in kidneys of mice offspring, treated with nicotine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighteen female pregnant BALB/c mice were selected; six mice in the experimental group 1 (exp 1) received nicotine (3 mg/kg/day), six mice in the experimental group 2 (exp 2) received 3 mg/kg/day nicotine and 9 mg/kg/day vitamin C simultaneously, and six were used as the control group and received 3 mL/kg/day normal saline via intraperitoneal (IP) injection parallel to other groups, since the 6th day of gestation to the end of prenatal period. In the first days of delivery, fibronectin content of neonatal kidneys was studied by immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay and gene expression was studied by the real-time PCR. RESULTS: IHC results showed that fibronectin reaction significantly increased in proximal convoluted tubules of exp 1 compared with the control offspring; on the other hand, fibronectin reaction decreased in the mice offspring of exp 2. Gene expression results showed that fibronectin expression in the exp 1 offspring significantly increased compared with the control ones and fibronectin expression decreased in the mice offspring of exp 2. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that vitamin C could reduce the fibronectin accumulation effects of nicotine on kidney.
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BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies indicate that over the past forty years, the stroke incidence rates has increased. Factors V and II mutations are established genetic-variant risk factors for venous thrombosis; however, their contribution to stroke is a controversial issue. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the potential association of FV and FII mutations with stroke in an Iranian population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 153 patients of different stroke subtypes (except cryptogenic strokes), admitted to Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad, Iran. The control group included 153 age- and sex-matched subjects without a history of cerebrovascular or neurologic diseases. Mutations of FV and FII were determined by using a TaqMan SNP Genotyping technique. The chi-square and Exact Fisher tests were used to analyze the baseline characteristics. Results were as follows: The calculated P-value for sex and diabetes mellitus were 0.907 and 1.000, respectively. The case and control groups were also matched in low density lipoprotein (P = 0.816), high density lipoprotein (P = 0.323), triglyceride (P = 0.846), and total cholesterol (P = 0.079). RESULTS: Analysis of the FV showed that none of the study subjects were AA homozygous for this mutation and only 6 heterozygous subjects were detected in the case and control groups. Regarding FII variants, none of the study subjects were AG heterozygous and only 1 AA homozygous was detected in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of both FV and FII variants are population based. Iran is an ethnically diverse country. Therefore, for a comprehensive analysis of a potential association of FV and/or FII mutations with stroke among Iranian population, epidemiological studies could be conducted among different ethnic groups.
