Molecular scanning of the ABCA4 gene in Spanish patients with retinitis pigmentosa and Stargardt disease: identification of novel mutations.

PURPOSE: Among the 500 ABCA4 mutations identified so far in the retina-specific ABC transporter (ABCA4) gene, only 20 have been described in patients with autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP). In this study the gene was screened for mutations in a cohort of 25 patients of Spanish origin, to further assess ABCA4 involvement in retinal dystrophies. METHODS: The 50 exons of the ABCA4 gene have been analyzed through denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and direct sequencing of samples displaying altered elution profiles. RESULTS: Four new and five known mutations were identified in our patients; except for one new deletion detected in a patient with Stargardt disease, all the remaining variations are single nucleotide substitutions resulting in missense mutations. CONCLUSIONS: The results further underline the genetic heterogeneity of retinal disorders, suggesting that more than one gene could differentially contribute to at least some forms of retinal degeneration. Finding a high proportion of novel mutations merits the use of scanning methodologies to analyze the whole coding region of the ABCA4 gene.

Recognition of a 31,000 molecular weight protein synthesized by the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Lmk. during Dinophysis spp. algal bloom in the Gulf of Trieste (upper Adriatic Sea).

During Dinophysis spp. bloom, a histological alteration in the digestive gland of Mytilus galloprovincialis Lmk. occurs. Electrophoretic analysis of the water-soluble proteins of the hepatopancreas showed the presence of a low mol. wt protein, which appeared after the ingestion of algae by mussels. The probable relationship between the toxicity of Dinophysis and the synthesis of the new protein by mussels prompted us to produce a monoclonal antibody against this protein because it should be useful for the identification of mussel toxicity.

Ultrastructure of the hemocytes of Cetonischema aeruginosa larvae (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae): involvement of both granulocytes and oenocytoids in in vivo phagocytosis.

In the context of comparative studies on immunity defence mechanisms of adults and larvae of the coleopteran Cetonischema aeruginosa (Drury, 1770) the ultrastructure of the circulating hemocytes of the third instar larval stage has been investigated by means of light and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Six types of hemocytes were found in the hemolymph of C. aeruginosa and they were identified as prohemocytes, granulocytes, plasmatocytes, coagulocytes, oenocytoids and spherule cells. In order to identify the "professional" phagocyte cell, phagocytosis assays were performed in vivo by injection of 0.9 microm carboxylate-modified polystyrene latex beads. It was demonstrated that the granulocytes and the oenocytoids of C. aeruginosa were the only hemocyte types involved in this cellular response.