[Oocyte donation in patients with Turner syndrome: A high-risk pregnancy]. / Procréation par don d'ovocytes dans le syndrome de Turner : une situation à haut risque.

Turner's syndrome is characterized by an ovarian failure, which occurs in most cases before puberty and leads to infertility. In vitro fertilization with oocyte donation has dramatically transformed the prognosis of infertility of these women. However, in the same time, it has become obvious that pregnancies in Turner's syndrome are at very high risk of possible sudden death because of a specific risk for cardiovascular complications involving aortic root dissection. We report the case of a serious cardiac failure occurred during a twin pregnancy obtained by oocyte donation in a 39-year-old patient with Turner's syndrome. Pregnancy outcome was hopefully favourable thanks to a foetal extraction at 27 weeks of amenorrhoea. If the most reported cases of maternal deaths in patients with Turner's syndrome are associated with an aortic root dissection, our observation is characterized by a full normal cardiologic assessment before the pregnancy and by the absence of aortic root dilatation during pregnancy. This case also illustrates the very high risk of pregnancy in women with Turner's syndrome and the importance of a multidisciplinary care by professionals informed and been used to this obstetric practice.

Abnormal expression of vimentin intermediate filaments in human lymphoid cell lines with deletion or translocation of the distal end of chromosome 8.

The expression of vimentin, the major polypeptide of the intermediate filament (IFM) cytoskeleton of lymphoid cells, was studied in normal and malignant human lymphoid cell lines. Cells from 24 of 27 Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines (BLCL) were found to have an absent (16 lines) or decreased (8 lines) expression of vimentin IFM. In contrast, non-Burkitt's malignant lymphoid cell lines (5 lines) and lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) derived from normal B-cells (45 lines) exhibited a well-developed vimentin IFM network. However, low expression of vimentin was also found in 3 LCL derived from patients with the Langer-Giedion syndrome, which is characterized by a deletion of the distal end of chromosome 8. Treatment of vimentin-negative BLCL and Langer-Giedion LCL with azacytidine led to a transient reexpression of vimentin.

Peripherin, a neuronal intermediate protein, is stably expressed by neuroendocrine carcinomas of the skin, their xenograft on nude mice, and the corresponding primary cultures.

The histogenesis of neuroendocrine carcinomas of the skin is still controversial. To determine the degree of neural differentiation of these neoplasias, we studied the expression of intermediate filament proteins in tumoral tissues. Expressions of peripherin, the neurofilament protein NF-L, vimentin, and cytokeratin 8 were analyzed by immunohistochemical methods on 12 human primary tumors and 3 tumor xenografts on nude mice. Peripherin was detected in 10 primary tumors by immunofluorescence. The protein and the corresponding messenger RNA were identified by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and Northern analysis in extracts of an immunofluorescence-negative tumor. Peripherin, NF-L, and cytokeratin 8 were detected in tumoral cells, whereas vimentin was found exclusively in the stroma. The histological and ultrastructural properties of the original cells of neuroendocrine carcinomas of the skin, as well as coexpression of peripherin, cytokeratin 8, and neurofilament polypeptides, were preserved in tumor xenografts and their primary cultures in vitro. These results bring new elements to the knowledge of the biology of neuroendocrine carcinomas of the skin and indicate that peripherin constitutes a marker for tumor identification.

Characterization of intermediate filaments expressed by Ewing tumor cell lines.

The histogenesis of Ewing sarcoma is still controversial; we therefore studied the expression of intermediate filaments (IF) in cell lines derived from Ewing tumors since identification of IF in tumor cells is considered a reliable marker of tissue origin and differentiation. All nine lines studied expressed vimentin IF; in addition, a small number of Ewing cells from three lines expressed keratin filaments. After treatment with phorbol esters, a high percentage of cells from these three lines synthesize keratin IF identified by immunoblotting as keratin 8 and 18 polypeptides, which are expressed by single epithelia and epithelial cells in early embryonic development. Furthermore cells from a fourth line synthesize keratins after transplantation in nude mice. These data indicate that, under certain conditions, undifferentiated Ewing cells may acquire an IF phenotype related to that of epithelial cells.

p53 and RAS gene mutations in multiple myeloma.

We analysed genomic DNA from 30 patients with multiple myeloma (MM), searching for alterations in the p53 and RAS genes by a combination of polymerase chain reaction and single-strand conformation polymorphism techniques. Mutations in the p53 gene were observed in 20% (6 out of 30) of the patients, and were located in conserved sequence blocks within exons 5 and 7. These were single-nucleotide substitutions and consisted predominantly (4/6) of G:C to A:T transitions. Of the six patients with a mutated p53 gene, four were in the terminal phase of the disease. RAS gene mutations were found more frequently since they occurred in 47% (14 out of 30) of the patients. Mutations consisted of single-nucleotide substitutions, located in codons 12, 13 and 61 of either K- or N-RAS, to the exclusion of H-RAS. Moreover, one patient bore two simultaneous mutations, affecting simultaneously the K- and the N-RAS genes. RAS gene mutations were more frequently observed in patients with fulminating disease (10/15, 67%) than in patients with less aggressive forms of the disease (4/15, 26%). We also analysed genomic DNAs from 10 human myeloma cell lines, of which two bore mutations affecting codon 12 of the K-RAS gene, and one codon 12 of the N-RAS gene. The first two cell lines were obtained from freshly explanted tumor cells in which we observed identical mutations. Results presented here show that activating mutations in the RAS genes are, in MM, more frequent than those affecting the p53 gene and suggest that both events are related to terminal phases of the disease.

Mutations of the p53 gene in human myeloma cell lines.

Mutations affecting the p53 gene have been found associated with many human malignancies, but little is as yet known about multiple myeloma. We investigated p53 gene alterations in 10 human myeloma cell lines (HMCL), half of these being dependent upon exogenous interleukin 6 (IL-6) for in vitro growth, similar to freshly explanted myeloma cells. Using a polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) approach, eight of the 10 HMCL were found to bear a mutated p53 gene. All the mutations were single base substitutions with a predominance of G:C to A:T transitions. There was no apparent relation between the presence of a mutation and IL-6 requirement of the cell line. Interestingly, in two cell lines (XG-2 and XG-4) the SSCP pattern showed the presence of both the wild-type and the mutated allele and, upon reverse PCR on RNA, both alleles were found to be concomitantly expressed at the RNA level. Moreover, three freshly explanted tumor samples had the same p53 gene status (mutated versus wild type) as the HMCL that were derived from them. These results show that p53 mutations are frequent in HMCL. Although no apparent relation could be evidenced with the loss of exogenous IL-6 requirement, it may prove interesting to investigate further potential relations between the presence of a mutated p53 allele and gradual autonomy for cell growth.

Isolation of quail qMEF2D gene and its expression pattern in the developing central nervous system.

We report here the identification of the first avian MEF2 gene, termed qMEF2D. qMEF2D is the first MEF2 protein that contains 41 repeats of glutamine in the C-terminal. This quail gene is more abundantly expressed, in a transient fashion, in the developing brain than in the muscle cells.

Transient protection by peripheral benzodiazepine receptors during the early events of ultraviolet light-induced apoptosis.

The peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR) is a mitochondrial protein involved in the formation of mitochondrial permeability transition (PT) pores which play a critical role during the early events of apoptosis. PBRs are located in many tissues and are strongly expressed in the superficial layers of human epidermis. PBRs play a protective role against free radical damage and PBR ligands modulate apoptosis. To investigate the role of PBR during the early events of ultraviolet (UV)-mediated apoptosis we compared the effects of UVB on PBR-transfected Jurkat cells and their wild type counterparts devoid of any PBR expression. Results indicate that early after UVB exposure (up to 4 h), PBR-transfected cells were more resistant to apoptosis and exhibited a delayed mitochondrial transmembrane potential drop, a diminished superoxide anions production, and a reduced caspase-3 activation. Taken together these findings suggest that PBR may regulate early death signals leading to UV induced apoptosis.

Organization and expression of intermediate filaments in epithelial cells expressing the HTLV-I Tax protein.

Intermediate filaments (IF) represent major components of the cytoskeletal network. These proteins which are differentially expressed according to the cell type, constitute a dynamic structure which not only contributes to the cell architecture but also defines its state of differentiation. Furthermore, numerous observations have shown that the IF network is altered in cells transformed by tumorigenic viruses. We have previously demonstrated that HTLV-I (human T-cell leukemia virus type I) transformed T cells were characterized by a high level of vimentin transcripts and that the HTLV-I Tax regulatory protein was able to transactivate the vimentin promoter transfected into Jurkat and HeLa cells. To enlarge the scope of this study, we investigated the effects of the Tax protein on the expression and organization of IF of epithelial cells in which the IF network is composed of vimentin and cytokeratin. To this aim, we have developed a model of epithelial cells (HeLa) stably expressing the tax sequences which were introduced by using retrovirus-mediated gene transfer. Half of the Tax expressing HeLa clones were loosely adherent to the culture surface and were displaying remarkable morphological alterations, as ascertained by the presence of round-shaped or spindle-shaped cells. In these cells, expression of this viral protein correlated to a pronounced disruption in the distribution of both the vimentin and the cytokeratin networks, as shown by immunofluorescence and ultrastructural analysis. Indeed, vimentin filaments appeared to be concentrated in discrete spots throughout the cytoplasm, while the cytokeratin filaments appeared to form a dense ring around the nucleus. More importantly, mRNA and protein analysis indicate an enhanced expression of the cytokeratin 7 gene.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Molecular analysis of the IL-6 receptor in human multiple myeloma, an IL-6-related disease.

A PCR-SSCP approach was used to search for mutations in IL-6 receptor genes in 9 human plasma cell lines (HMCL) and in tumor plasma cells from 19 patients with fulminating multiple myeloma, an IL-6-related disease. Whereas no mutation was found in the cytokine receptor homologous (CRH) domain of IL-6R alpha, DNA and RNA polymorphisms in the gp130 CRH domain was detected in tumoral samples as well as in blood samples from healthy donors. Finally, mutations in the gp130 critical cytoplasmic domain were found in one HMCL and in tumor plasma cells of one patient. Only the mutated allele was expressed in the HMCL.

Cytoskeletal protein synthesis and organization in cultured mouse osteoblastic cells. Effects of cell density.

The most abundant cytoskeletal proteins synthesized in mouse endosteal osteoblastic cells were identified employing two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting. The relative rate of synthesis of the proteins were measured on radioautograms of detergent-soluble and -insoluble lysates of the cells labeled with [35S]methionine. Doubling initial cell density induced a 10-45% reduction in the de novo synthesis of actin, alpha-actinin, vimentin and beta-tubulins with no change in alpha-tubulins. Increasing cell density caused a 45% decrease in the polymerized form a actin with no change in the unpolymerized fraction, suggesting a correlation of alteration of the organization and synthesis of proteins.

Neurotensin type 1 receptor-mediated activation of krox24, c-fos and Elk-1: preventing effect of the neurotensin antagonists SR 48692 and SR 142948.

Stimulation of neurotensin (NT) type 1 receptors (NT1-R) in transfected CHO cells is followed by the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases and the expression of the early response gene krox24. By making point mutations and internal deletions in the krox24 promoter, we show that proximal serum responsive elements (SRE) are involved in transcriptional activation by NT. In addition, we show that the related early response gene c-fos and the Ets protein Elk-1 are also induced by NT. The involvement of NT1-R in NT-mediated activation of krox24, c-fos and Elk-1 was demonstrated by the preventing effect of the specific antagonists SR 48692 and SR 142948. Finally, we show that the activation of krox24 and Elk-1 on the one hand, and that of c-fos on the other hand, result from independent transduction pathways since the former are pertussis toxin-sensitive whereas the latter is insensitive to pertussis toxin.

Up-regulation of interleukin (IL)-6 receptor gene expression in vitro and in vivo in IL-6 deprived myeloma cells.

Myeloma cells absolutely require interleukin-6 (IL-6) for growing in vivo in patients with multiple myeloma and exogenous IL-6-dependent myeloma cell lines have been reproducibly obtained. In this study we show a dramatic up-regulation of the IL-6 receptor (gp80 chain) gene expression in myeloma cell lines following the removal of exogenous IL-6. Such a regulation was also known to occur in IL-6-deprived myeloma cells in vivo in three patients who were treated with optimal doses of anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibodies. The direct effect of IL-6 on IL-6 receptor gene expression in myeloma cells was further confirmed by adding IL-6 to an autonomously growing myeloma cell line.

A new monoclonal antibody recognizing the amino-terminal consensus sequence of vertebrate intermediate filament proteins.

The mouse monoclonal antibody ME 101 raised against human peripherin, an intermediate filament protein (IFP) specific to well defined neuronal populations, recognizes all the major classes of vertebrate IFP in immunoblotting assays. Desmin, GFAP, vimentin, peripherin and the lightest neurofilament protein (NF-L) were cleaved into carboxy- and amino-terminal halves by N-chlorosuccinimide at their unique trytophan residue. Whereas the antibody directed against the epitope common to every IFP (intermediate filament antigen or IFA) and located on the carboxy-terminal end of the rod domain recognizes the carboxy-terminal half, the ME 101 antibody, as the present study illustrates, recognizes specifically the amino-terminal half. From the amino acid sequence data of IFP, it is deduced that the cognate epitope is localized on the amino-terminal part of coil la.

Changes in some cytoskeletal proteins during neuroblastoma cell differentiation.

After in vitro microtubule assembly of mouse neuroblastoma crude extracts, six protein species migrate in the tubulin region of two-dimensional electrophoregrams. The evolution of these forms after morphological cell differentiation of the clone NIE115 shows two major modifications. Form 5 decreased drastically while form 6 increases during neurite formation. Peptide mapping analysis reveals that forms 5 and 6 are vimentin, a component of intermediate filaments, and beta-tubulin subunit, respectively. Sodium butyrate treatment of NIE115 cells or serum starvation of NIA103 cells, conditions blocking cell division and failing to induce morphological differentiation, prevent any modifications in the relative proportion of these proteins. It is concluded that the changes in the distribution of the tubulin isoforms and vimentin are directly related to neurite formation.

Identification of rat brain polysomes synthesizing the brain specific enolase (14.3.2 protein), S100 protein and alpha and beta tubulin subunits.

Polysomes prepared from frozen rat brain powder were fractionated by centrifugation in a sucrose gradient. Individual fractions were used to program a reticulocyte lysate in a run-off reaction. The products of cell-free synthesis were assayed for the brain-specific enolase (14.3.2 protein) and S100 protein by immunoprecipitation with specific antisera and for tubulin by two-dimensional electrophoresis in polyacrylamide slab gels. The relative synthesis of these proteins by unfractionated free brain polysomes were 0.1 per cent, 0.05 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively. After centrifugation in a sucrose gradient polysomes synthesizing S100 protein were separated from those synthesizing the other two markers. There was a threefold enrichment in the specific messenger RNA activity for each of the three proteins studied in their respective peak fractions of polysomes.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity in adrenocortical and Leydig cells of the Syrian golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus).

In an immunocytochemical investigation of the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in non-nervous system tissues ten anti-GFAP antibodies were used on a range of normal adult organs from different species. All four polyclonal and six monoclonal antibodies revealed the expression of GFAP in cells of the zona fasciculata and reticularis of the adrenal cortex and Leydig cells of the Syrian hamster. The Chinese hamster, mole, rat, mouse, guinea pig, rabbit, pig, duck and man were negative. Co-expression of immunoreactivity for GFAP and vimentin was observed in adrenocortical and Leydig cells of the Syrian hamster but there were differences in the staining patterns of these intermediate filament proteins. Expression of GFAP in adrenal cortex of Syrian hamster is confirmed by immunoblot and limited proteolysis analysis which reveal a light form which is immunochemically indistinguishable from its counterpart in the central nervous system. The results presented here suggest a new model for the study of the possible role of GFAP expression in cells known to be sites of steroid synthesis.

Immunocytochemical localization of the intermediate filament protein peripherin in adult mouse adrenal chromaffin cells in culture.

Peripherin is the main intermediate filament protein in sympathetic neurons. Immunoreactivity to peripherin was studied in mouse adrenal chromaffin cells after 6 days in culture, and compared to immunoreactivity to tyrosine hydroxylase used as a general marker of chromaffin cells in culture. Most of the cells immunoreactive to tyrosine hydroxylase were rounded, with a glandular phenotype and a few of them had processes. The cells reactive to peripherin only constituted a small proportion of the chromaffin cells (2%), and most of them sent out processes. However, not all the cells with processes were reactive for peripherin. These results did not change in the presence of nerve growth factor. The discussion focuses on the significance of the sub-population of cells reactive to peripherin. We suggest that these cells resemble the small granule chromaffin cells, regarded as an intermediate cell type between glandular cells and neurons. The cells that expressed peripherin here are compared to those selected to form the PC12 clone. The presence of peripherin in only a few of the cells sending out neurite-like processes is discussed in relation to the expression of other neurofilament proteins in developing cells and to the influence of non-chromaffin cells.

In vivo expression of the intermediate filament peripherin in rat motoneurons: modulation by inhibitory and stimulatory signals.

Peripherin is a type III intermediate filament which, in contrast to the neurofilaments, is strongly up-regulated after nerve injury. Although peripherin expression is stimulated in vitro by neurotrophins and cytokines, little is known about its in vivo regulation. In this report, we show that the in vivo down-regulation of peripherin expression to normal levels during regeneration closely correlates with target reconnection in rat facial motoneurons. Prevention of reconnection, by transection and suture, results in the persistence of strong peripherin expression for prolonged periods of up to 11months. This contrasts with the modulation of the p75 low-affinity neurotrophin receptor, whose expression returns to normal even in the absence of reconnection. We further demonstrate that blockade of the axonal transport in non-injured motoneurons increases the expression of peripherin. Blockade of the axonal transport simultaneously to, or after injury of, facial motoneurons does not abolish the axotomy-induced peripherin up-regulation. These data demonstrate that the in vivo expression of peripherin is normally restrained by a distal retrogradely transported inhibitory signal. Thus, peripherin up-regulation results primarily from a lack of supply in this factor. Our results show that stimulatory factors released at the injury site are not required for the initial up-regulation and maintenance of high peripherin expression. However, they appear to enhance this increase during the acute post-lesion phase. Peripherin expression is thus finely tuned by both glial cell-derived stimulatory and distal inhibitory signals that reflect neuron-target interactions.

Overexpression of erb B2 remains a major risk factor in non-metastatic breast cancers treated with high-dose alkylating agents and autologous stem cell transplantation.

The importance of dose intensity has been strongly emphasized in high-risk breast cancer. Overexpression of erb B2 is clearly correlated with an overall poor prognosis which could be limited in patients receiving intensive chemotherapy with alkylating agents and autologous stem cell transplants (SST). Thirty-five patients with high-risk non-metastatic breast cancer (>4 involved lymph nodes), treated with high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) followed by SST were analyzed. All were previously treated by four cycles of standard-dose anthracycline or anthracene dione. Nine had erb B2 overexpression. Minimum follow-up duration was 41 months (median 68 months). At 5 years, the actuarial relapse-free survival is 57.4% and actuarial overall survival 67.4%. Patients with overexpression of erb B2 had significantly lower disease-free survivals (P: 0.021) and overall survivals (P: 0.001). On multivariate analysis, erb B2 overexpression appeared to be the single independent poor prognosis factor for relapse (RR 3.25, range 1.12 to 9.45) and overall (RR 5.28, range 1.74 to 16.03) survival. These results suggest that poor prognosis of erb B2 overexpression is unchanged after HDC with alkylating agents but a possible benefit may exist in these patients with the additional monoclonal antibody, herceptin.