Salivary adiponectin, but not adenosine deaminase, correlates with clinical signs in women with Sjögren's syndrome: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate salivary adiponectin and adenosine deaminase (ADA) in women suffering from Sjögren's syndrome (SS). METHODS: Salivary adiponectin and ADA were measured in patients with SS (n = 17) and compared to their values in healthy controls (n = 13) and patients suffering from drug-induced xerostomia (non-SS sicca group; n = 19). A clinical history was made for each patient, patients were examined clinically, and xerostomia inventory (XI) was performed. RESULTS: Salivary adiponectin corrected by total protein was higher in patients with SS than in healthy individuals (P < 0.05) or patients with non-SS sicca (P < 0.01) and correlated with XI (r = 0.555; P < 0.05). Salivary ADA was higher in patients with SS and non-SS sicca compared to controls (P < 0.05 in both cases). CONCLUSION: The results of the present study indicate that adiponectin and ADA are increased in the saliva of patients with SS. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Salivary adiponectin corrected by total protein can be a potential biomarker of SS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03156569.

Widening the spectrum of deletions and molecular mechanisms underlying alpha-thalassemia.

Inherited deletions of α-globin genes and/or their upstream regulatory elements (MCSs) give rise to α-thalassemia, an autosomal recessive microcytic hypochromic anemia. In this study, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification performed with commercial and synthetic engineered probes, Gap-PCR, and DNA sequencing were used to characterize lesions in the sub-telomeric region of the short arm of chromosome 16, possibly explaining the α-thalassemia/HbH disease phenotype in ten patients. We have found six different deletions, in heterozygosity, ranging from approximately 3.3 to 323 kb, two of them not previously described. The deletions fall into two categories: one includes deletions which totally remove the α-globin gene cluster, whereas the other includes deletions removing only the distal regulatory elements and keeping the α-globin genes structurally intact. An indel was observed in one patient involving the loss of the MCS-R2 and the insertion of 39 bp originated from a complex rearrangement spanning the deletion breakpoints. Finally, in another case, no α-globin gene cluster deletion was found and the patient revealed to be a very unusual case of acquired α-thalassemia-myelodysplastic syndrome. This study further illustrates the diversity of genomic lesions and underlying molecular mechanisms leading to α-thalassemia.

Hb Yaoundé [beta134(H12)Val-->Ala] in association with Hb C [beta6(A3)Glu-->Lys] in a Caucasian Portuguese family.

Hb Yaoundé [beta134(H12)Val-->Ala] is a rare, silent and asymptomatic hemoglobin (Hb) variant. It was previously reported in a Black man from Cameroon, in association with Hb Kenitra [beta69(E13)Gly-->Arg], and was subsequently found and described as Hb Mataro in a sub-Saharan child. To date, Hb Yaoundé has not been described in Caucasian people and molecular studies have never been performed. Here we describe a three-generation Caucasian Portuguese family in whom Hb Yaoundé was found in association with Hb C [beta6(A3)Glu-->Lys] (in the proband) and in a heterozygous state (in the proband's mother). The Hb studies of the proband's hemolysate, performed by isoelectric focusing (IEF) and low-pressure cation exchange chromatography, only revealed an Hb variant identified as Hb C by comparison with a control. However, analysis performed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed two different beta chain variants and a complete absence of the normal beta chain. This uncommon Hb variant was identified as Hb Yaoundé by DNA sequencing analysis of the beta-globin gene (codon 134, GTG-->GCG). The beta-globin gene haplotypes were determined in all family members using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methodology; Hb Yaoundé was found to be associated with the Mediterranean haplotype II. This study is the first description of Hb Yaoundé in Caucasian individuals, and its association with a Mediterranean haplotype supports the hypothesis of an independent genetic origin other than African.