Collagen IV of basement membranes: III. Chloride pressure is a primordial innovation that drives and maintains the assembly of scaffolds.

Collagen IV scaffold is a primordial innovation enabling the assembly of a fundamental architectural unit of epithelial tissues-a basement membrane attached to polarized cells. A family of six α-chains (α1 to α6) coassemble into three distinct protomers that form supramolecular scaffolds, noted as collagen IVα121, collagen IVα345, and collagen IVα121-α556. Chloride ions play a pivotal role in scaffold assembly, based on studies of NC1 hexamers from mammalian tissues. First, Cl- activates a molecular switch within trimeric NC1 domains that initiates protomer oligomerization, forming an NC1 hexamer between adjoining protomers. Second, Cl- stabilizes the hexamer structure. Whether this Cl--dependent mechanism is of fundamental importance in animal evolution is unknown. Here, we developed a simple in vitro method of SDS-PAGE to determine the role of solution Cl- in hexamer stability. Hexamers were characterized from 34 animal species across 15 major phyla, including the basal Cnidarian and Ctenophora phyla. We found that solution Cl- stabilized the quaternary hexamer structure across all phyla except Ctenophora, Ecdysozoa, and Rotifera. Further analysis of hexamers from peroxidasin knockout mice, a model for decreasing hexamer crosslinks, showed that solution Cl- also stabilized the hexamer surface conformation. The presence of sufficient chloride concentration in solution or "chloride pressure" dynamically maintains the native form of the hexamer. Collectively, our findings revealed that chloride pressure on the outside of cells is a primordial innovation that drives and maintains the quaternary and conformational structure of NC1 hexamers of collagen IV scaffolds.

B0AT1 Amino Acid Transporter Complexed With SARS-CoV-2 Receptor ACE2 Forms a Heterodimer Functional Unit: In Situ Conformation Using Radiation Inactivation Analysis.

The SARS-CoV-2 receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2), is expressed at levels of greatest magnitude in the small intestine as compared with all other human tissues. Enterocyte ACE2 is coexpressed as the apical membrane trafficking partner obligatory for expression and activity of the B0AT1 sodium-dependent neutral amino acid transporter. These components are assembled as an [ACE2:B0AT1]2 dimer-of-heterodimers quaternary complex that putatively steers SARS-CoV-2 tropism in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. GI clinical symptomology is reported in about half of COVID-19 patients, and can be accompanied by gut shedding of virion particles. We hypothesized that within this 4-mer structural complex, each [ACE2:B0AT1] heterodimer pair constitutes a physiological "functional unit." This was confirmed experimentally by employing purified lyophilized enterocyte brush border membrane vesicles exposed to increasing doses of high-energy electron radiation from a 16 MeV linear accelerator. Based on radiation target theory, the results indicated the presence of Na+-dependent neutral amino acid influx transport activity functional unit with target size molecular weight 183.7 ± 16.8 kDa in situ in intact apical membranes. Each thermodynamically stabilized [ACE2:B0AT1] heterodimer functional unit manifests the transport activity within the whole ∼345 kDa [ACE2:B0AT1]2 dimer-of-heterodimers quaternary structural complex. The results are consistent with our prior molecular docking modeling and gut-lung axis approaches to understanding COVID-19. These findings advance understanding the physiology of B0AT1 interaction with ACE2 in the gut, and thereby contribute to translational developments designed to treat or mitigate COVID-19 variant outbreaks and/or GI symptom persistence in long-haul postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2.

Death on demand? An analysis of physician-administered euthanasia in The Netherlands.

Background: Physician-administered euthanasia (PAE) was legalized, along with physician-assisted suicide (PAS), in The Netherlands in 2001. Sources of data: Annual reports of the Dutch Regional Euthanasia Review Committees, the committees' 2015 published Code of Practice and research studies. Areas of agreement: There is a general openness about the practice of PAE/PAS in The Netherlands and an avoidance of misleading euphemisms. The 2001 law also includes arrangements for post-event review of PAE/PAS decisions. Areas of controversy: Rising numbers of annually reported deaths from PAE and uncertainty over actual numbers. Movement away from the principle that euthanasia must take place within an established doctor-patient relationship. Increasing extension of the 2001 law to people with mental health conditions, dementia and multiple co-morbidities. Nature of the post-event scrutiny applied to reported cases. Growing points: The predominance of PAE over PAS where both are legalized raises questions over how these two acts are perceived and whether there are implications for such laws. Areas for timely research: Are the criteria for PAE/PAS in the 2001 law appropriate for a law of this nature? What should be the respective roles of the second-opinion doctors and the review committees?

Physician-assisted suicide-a clean bill of health?

Background: Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) laws have been enacted in five US States and, along with physician-administered euthanasia, in Canada and the Netherlands. Sources of data: Annual reports of the Oregon Health Authority and published research papers. Areas of agreement: Not all recipients of lethal drugs use them to end their lives. Improvements in palliative care provision. Areas of controversy: Rising numbers of deaths from PAS. Emergence of 'doctor shopping' and multiple-prescribing. Absence of qualitative scrutiny of assessment process. No re-assessment or oversight when prescribed drugs are ingested. Recent pressures to extend Oregon's PAS law. Growing points: Reasons given for seeking PAS indicate this is a societal rather than a clinical issue and raise the question whether adjudicating on requests for legalized PAS is an appropriate role for doctors. Areas for timely research: Research into quality of decision-making in requests for PAS and into potential role of doctors as expert witnesses rather than judges in requests for PAS.

Investigating the effects of 6†months extended duration, in-centre nocturnal versus conventional haemodialysis treatment: a non-randomised, controlled feasibility study.

INTRODUCTION: In-centre nocturnal haemodialysis (INHD) is an underutilised dialysis regimen that can potentially provide patients with better clinical outcomes due to extended treatment times. We have established an INHD programme within our clinical network, fulfilling a previously unmet patient need. This feasibility study aims to gather sufficient data on numerous outcome measures to inform the design of a multicentre randomised controlled trial that will establish the potential benefits of INHD and increase the availability of this service nationally and internationally. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This will be a non-randomised controlled study. Prevalent patients on haemodialysis (HD) will electively change from a conventional in-centre HD regimen of 4 hours thrice weekly to a regimen of extended treatment times (5-8 hours) delivered in-centre overnight thrice weekly. After recruitment of the INHD cohort, a group of patients matched for age, gender and dialysis vintage will be selected from patients remaining on a conventional daytime dialysis programme. Outcome measures will include left ventricular mass as measured by MRI, physical performance measured by the short physical performance battery and physical activity measured by accelerometry. Additionally we will measure quality of life using validated questionnaires, nutritional status by bioimpedance spectroscopy and food diaries, and blood sampling for markers of cardiovascular disease, systemic inflammation. Suitable statistical tests shall be used to analyse the data. We will use omnibus tests to observe changes over the duration of the intervention and between groups. We will also look for associations between outcome measures that may warrant further investigation. These data will be used to inform the power calculation for future studies. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: A favourable opinion was granted by Northampton Research Ethics Committee (15/EM/0268). It is anticipated that results of this study will be presented at national and international meetings, with reports being published in journals during 2017. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN16672784.

Sedation and analgesia for critically ill pediatric burn patients: the current state of practice.

The objective of this study was to assess current practice patterns and attitudes toward pediatric sedation and analgesia in United States (US) burn centers for critically ill patients. Survey-based questionnaire was sent to 119 Directors at US burn centers that care for pediatric patients. Forty-one surveys (34%) were analyzed. 48.8% of responding centers mandate pediatric consultation for pediatric burn patients based on factors such as age and burn size. The most common sedation and analgesic agents used were midazolam, fentanyl, morphine, ketamine, and diphenhydramine. Written sedation policies exist at 63.4% of centers. 90.2% of centers employ scoring systems to guide agent titration. 60.9% of respondents practice sedation holidays "always" or "usually." 90.2% of centers perceive the medications they routinely use are "always" or "often" efficacious in pediatric sedation and analgesia. 53.7% of respondents reported the presence of withdrawal signs and symptoms in their patient population. The lack of consensus guidelines for sedation and analgesia delivery to pediatric intensive care unit patients results in practice variation. The majority of centers perceive their sedation and analgesia strategies to be efficacious despite the heavy reliance on propofol and midazolam, both of which have questionable safety profiles in critically ill children.

False-positive rates of provocative cardiac testing in chest pain patients admitted to an emergency department observation unit.

Emergency department observation units (EDOUs) typically perform routine cardiac stress testing or coronary computed tomography (CCTA) to rule out ischemic cardiac chest pain. Some have questioned the utility of routine stress testing and advanced anatomic imaging in the low-risk chest pain patients. EDOU chest pain patients undergoing stress testing or CCTA prior to cardiac catheterization between June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2012 were studied in a prospective, observational manner. Baseline data, EDOU-related outcomes, and testing results were recorded. Stress tests were treadmill echocardiogram or myocardial perfusion stress tests and were considered positive if a "positive" or "equivocal" interpretation by the reviewing cardiologist prompted cardiac catheterization. CCTA was considered positive if it led to subsequent cardiac catheterization. Cardiac catheterization was considered positive if subsequent stent placement, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), or change in medical management occurred. Of 1276 patients evaluated, 112 (8.8%) underwent cardiac catheterization of which 56 underwent some modality of prior testing. Forty-two of 56 were subject to stress testing (30 stress echo and 12 myocardial perfusion) and 14 underwent CCTA prior to catheterization. False-positive rate overall was 62.5% (35/56, 95% CI, 48.5%-74.7%). False-positive rate for stress testing was 75% and 66.7% for perfusion and stress echo respectively. False-positive rate for CCTA was 42.9%. It must be acknowledged that while these findings do not directly impugn the utility of stress testing or CCTA, it may indicate the need for more appropriate patient selection to avoid unnecessary cardiac catheterization among EDOU chest pain patient cohorts.

Desiccation resistance in embryos of the killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus: single embryo measurements.

Northern killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus macrolepidotus, spawn in estuaries at high tides. Embryos may be stranded in air at stream margins as the water recedes. These aerially incubated embryos are exposed to desiccation stress and may survive and develop normally to hatching at ∼14 days post-fertilization (dpf). We developed a technique to quantitatively measure the kinetics of water loss at various developmental stages from single embryos in controlled relative humidities (RHs). Embryos were able to tolerate short periods (2 hr) of severe desiccation and survive to hatching. Mid-stage (7 dpf) embryos showed the highest degree of desiccation tolerance compared to early-stage (2 dpf) and late-stage (14 dpf) embryos. We classified the patterns of water loss into four phases, the perivitelline space (PVS) phase, the resistance phase, the desiccation phase, and the equilibration phase. In the PVS phase, water loss was rapid at all developmental stages and all RHs (∼25% of total embryo weight). The water loss rate was slower during the resistance phase. It decreased as RH increased and length of this phase was longer in mid-stage than in early- and late-stage embryos. The water loss rate and length of the desiccation phase also depended on RH. These data support the hypothesis that low permeability embryonic compartment surface membranes retard water loss significantly and promote prolonged survival of these embryos during desiccation. We also show this mechanism cannot completely account for the survival of severely desiccated embryos (especially in 23% RH) and that there must also be complementary cellular responses.

When is death inevitable after emergency laparotomy? Analysis of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database.

BACKGROUND: In an era of increasing demands to provide high-quality health care, surgeons need an accurate preoperative risk assessment tool to facilitate informed decision-making for themselves and their patients. Emergency laparotomy procedures have a high risk profile, but the currently available risk-assessment models for emergency laparotomy are either unreliable (eg, small sample size or single center study), difficult to calculate preoperatively, or are specific to the geriatric population. STUDY DESIGN: The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database (2005 to 2009) was used to develop logistic regression models for 30-day mortality after emergency laparotomy. Two models were created, one with the knowledge of the postoperative diagnosis and one without. Models' calibration and discrimination were judged using the receiver operating characteristics curves and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test. RESULTS: There were 37,553 patients who had undergone emergency laparotomy, with a 14% mortality rate. The American Society of Anesthesiologists classification system, functional status, sepsis, and age were the variables most significantly associated with mortality. Patients older than 90 years of age, with an American Society of Anesthesiologists class V, septic shock, dependent functional status, and abnormal white blood cell count have a <10% probability of survival. CONCLUSIONS: The models developed in this study have a high discriminative ability to stratify the operative risk in a broad range of acute abdominal emergencies. These data will assist surgeons, patients, and their families in making end-of-life decisions in the face of medical futility with greater certainty when emergency surgery is being contemplated.

Overcoming the genotoxicity of a pyrrolidine substituted arylindenopyrimidine as a potent dual adenosine A(2A)/A(1) antagonist by minimizing bioactivation to an iminium ion reactive intermediate.

2-Amino-4-phenyl-8-pyrrolidin-1-ylmethyl-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one (1) is a novel and potent selective dual A(2A)/A(1) adenosine receptor antagonist from the arylindenopyrimidine series that was determined to be genotoxic in both the Ames and Mouse Lymphoma L5178Y assays only following metabolic activation. Compound 1 was identified as a frame-shift mutagen in Salmonella typhimurium tester strain TA1537 as indicated by a significant dose-dependent increase in revertant colonies as compared to the vehicle control. The metabolic activation-dependent irreversible covalent binding of radioactivity to DNA, recovery of 1 and its enamine metabolite from acid hydrolysis of covalently modified DNA, and protection of covalent binding to DNA by both cyanide ion and methoxylamine suggest that the frame-shift mutation in TA1537 strain involved covalent binding instead of simple intercalation to DNA. Compound 1 was bioactivated to endocyclic iminium ion, aldehyde, epoxide, and α,ß-unsaturated keto reactive intermediates from the detection of cyano, oxime, and glutathione conjugates by data-dependent high resolution accurate mass measurements. Collision-induced dissociation of these conjugates provided evidence for bioactivation of the pyrrolidine ring of 1. The epoxide and α,ß-unsaturated keto reactive intermediates were unlikely to cause the genotoxicity of 1 because the formation of their glutathione adducts did not ameliorate the binding of compound related material to DNA. Instead, the endocyclic iminium ions and amino aldehydes were likely candidates responsible for genotoxicity based on, first, the protection afforded by both cyanide ion and methoxylamine, which reduced the potential to form covalent adducts with DNA, and, second, analogues of 1 designed with low probability to form these reactive intermediates were not genotoxic. It was concluded that 1 also had the potential to be mutagenic in humans based on observing the endocyclic iminium ion following incubation with a human liver S9 preparation and the commensurate detection of DNA adducts. An understanding of this genotoxicity mechanism supported an evidence-based approach to selectively modify the structure of 1 which resulted in analogues being synthesized that were devoid of a genotoxic liability. In addition, potency and selectivity against both adenosine A(2A) and A(1) receptors were maintained.

The effect of evacuation on the number of victims following hazardous chemical release.

OBJECTIVE: In response to chemical releases, evacuation is considered an important strategy to limit victim exposure. To our knowledge, no previous studies have provided evidence-based information on the effect of evacuation on limiting the number of victims following a hazardous chemical release (HCR). This study attempts to evaluate the impact of evacuation on the number of victims resulting from different types of HCR. METHODS: The Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) database was used to test the hypothesis that evacuation is associated with a reduced risk of victims resulting from a HCR. A series of logistic regression models were developed in which the presence or absence of a victim was the primary outcome, with the specific chemical agent as the predictor. Where possible, the dataset was adjusted for confounding factors. The analysis was then stratified by presence or absence of evacuation, and odds ratios were compared for specific hazardous chemicals across strata. RESULTS: Of the recorded HCR events in our sample, 7.77% (2, 930 total evacuations) resulted in evacuation. Compared to no evacuation order, evacuation was associated with a significantly lower number of victims, per HCR, when the chemical involved was acid, ammonia, or chlorine. CONCLUSIONS: Evacuation remains the mainstay for prehospital care to limit victims of a HCR. Our analysis suggests that some types of HCR events are associated with fewer victims when evacuation is ordered.

Extensive genomic plasticity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa revealed by identification and distribution studies of novel genes among clinical isolates.

The distributed genome hypothesis (DGH) states that each strain within a bacterial species receives a unique distribution of genes from a population-based supragenome that is many times larger than the genome of any given strain. The observations that natural infecting populations are often polyclonal and that most chronic bacterial pathogens have highly developed mechanisms for horizontal gene transfer suggested the DGH and provided the means and the mechanisms to explain how chronic infections persist in the face of a mammalian host's adaptive defense mechanisms. Having previously established the validity of the DGH for obligate pathogens, we wished to evaluate its applicability to an opportunistic bacterial pathogen. This was accomplished by construction and analysis of a highly redundant pooled genomic library containing approximately 216,000 functional clones that was constructed from 12 low-passage clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 6 otorrheic isolates and 6 from other body sites. Sequence analysis of 3,214 randomly picked clones (mean insert size, approximately 1.4 kb) from this library demonstrated that 348 (10.8%) of the clones were unique with respect to all genomic sequences of the P. aeruginosa prototype strain, PAO1. Hypothetical translations of the open reading frames within these unique sequences demonstrated protein homologies to a number of bacterial virulence factors and other proteins not previously identified in P. aeruginosa. PCR and reverse transcription-PCR-based assays were performed to analyze the distribution and expression patterns of a 70-open reading frame subset of these sequences among 11 of the clinical strains. These sequences were unevenly distributed among the clinical isolates, with nearly half (34/70) of the novel sequences being present in only one or two of the individual strains. Expression profiling revealed that a vast majority of these sequences are expressed, strongly suggesting they encode functional proteins.

Energetics of osmoregulation: I. Oxygen consumption by Fundulus heteroclitus.

We have developed a flow-through method for measuring oxygen consumption in fish which allows continuous monitoring over periods of days with good accuracy. Our goal was to determine the changes in basal metabolic rate in estuarine fish as a function of salinity. We show that in Fundulus heteroclitus, the oxygen consumption drops by 50% during the first 12 hr in the respirometer, as the fish cease exploratory movements. We have determined the influence of temperature and body size on resting respiratory rate, but failed to find any circadian or tidal rhythm in aerobic respiration. With these variables controlled, we determined that changing from 10 to 30 ppt water had no demonstrable effect on oxygen uptake. Since there must be a large change in osmotic flux due to this change in salinity, it appears that the fish might be diverting energy from other uses rather than increasing aerobic energy production to meet the increased osmoregulatory work load.

Energetics of osmoregulation: II. Water flux and osmoregulatory work in the euryhaline fish, Fundulus heteroclitus.

Teleost fish experience passive osmotic water influx in fresh water (FW) and water outflux in salt water, which is normally compensated by water flow driven by active ion transport mechanisms. Euryhaline fish may also minimize osmotic energy demand by "behavioral osmoregulation", seeking a medium isotonic with their body fluids. Our goal was to evaluate the energy requirement for osmoregulation by the euryhaline fish Fundulus heteroclitus, to determine whether it is of sufficient magnitude to favor behavioral osmoregulation. We have developed a method of weighing small fish repetitively for long periods without apparent damage, which was used to assess changes in water content following changes in external salinity. We found that cold (4 degrees C) inhibits osmoregulatory active transport mechanisms in fish acclimated to warmer temperatures, leading to a net passive water flux which is reversed by rewarming the fish. A sudden change of salinity at room temperature triggers a transient change in water content and the initial slope can be used to measure the minimum passive flux at that temperature. With some reasonable assumptions as to the stoichiometry of the ion transport and ATP-generating processes, we can calculate the amount of respiration required for ion transport and compare it to the oxygen uptake measured previously under the same conditions. We conclude that osmoregulation in sea water requires from 6% to 10% of the total energy budget in sea water, with smaller percentages in FW, and that this fraction is probably sufficient to be a significant selective driving force favoring behavioral osmoregulation under some circumstances.

Four mutations in Epidermodysplasia verruciformis 1 (EVER1) gene are not contributors to susceptibility in RRP.

OBJECTIVE: Epidermodysplasia verruciformis is a skin disease characterized by abnormal susceptibility to human papilloma viruses. Recently four mutations in the Epidermodysplasia verruciformis 1 gene (EVER1, also known as TMC6) have been associated with the disease. Because of the phenotypic similarity between Epidermodysplasia verruciformis and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, we decided to investigate whether any of these mutations accounts for the susceptibility to human papilloma viruses in subjects with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP). METHODS: Allele-specific PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) were employed for genotyping a cohort of 101 patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. RESULTS: None of these four mutations were found in the studied subjects. CONCLUSION: The absence of these mutations in RRP patients might indicate that EVER 1 alleles are not associated with susceptibility to RRP, or that other, as yet unidentified, mutations in the Epidermodysplasia verruciformis 1 gene, might account for the susceptibility to RRP.

Characterization, distribution, and expression of novel genes among eight clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Eight low-passage-number Streptococcus pneumoniae clinical isolates, each of a different serotype and a different multilocus sequence type, were obtained from pediatric participants in a pneumococcal vaccine trial. Comparative genomic analyses were performed with these strains and two S. pneumoniae reference strains. Individual genomic libraries were constructed for each of the eight clinical isolates, with an average insert size of approximately 1 kb. A total of 73,728 clones were picked for arraying, providing more than four times genomic coverage per strain. A subset of 4,793 clones were sequenced, for which homology searches revealed that 750 (15.6%) of the sequences were unique with respect to the TIGR4 reference genome and 263 (5.5%) clones were unrelated to any available streptococcal sequence. Hypothetical translations of the open reading frames identified within these novel sequences showed homologies to a variety of proteins, including bacterial virulence factors not previously identified in S. pneumoniae. The distribution and expression patterns of 58 of these novel sequences among the eight clinical isolates were analyzed by PCR- and reverse transcriptase PCR-based analyses, respectively. These unique sequences were nonuniformly distributed among the eight isolates, and transcription of these genes in planktonic cultures was detected in 81% (172/212) of their genic occurrences. All 58 novel sequences were transcribed in one or more of the clinical strains, suggesting that they all correspond to functional genes. Sixty-five percent (38/58) of these sequences were found in 50% or less of the clinical strains, indicating a significant degree of genomic plasticity among natural isolates.

Inhibition of Rho-kinase attenuates hypoxia-induced angiogenesis in the pulmonary circulation.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a common complication of chronic hypoxic lung diseases, which increase morbidity and mortality. Hypoxic PH has previously been attributed to structural changes in the pulmonary vasculature including narrowing of the vascular lumen and loss of vessels, which produce a fixed increase in resistance. Using quantitative stereology, we now show that chronic hypoxia caused PH and remodeling of the blood vessel walls in rats but that this remodeling did not lead to structural narrowing of the vascular lumen. Sustained inhibition of the RhoA/Rho-kinase pathway throughout the period of hypoxic exposure attenuated PH and prevented remodeling in intra-acinar vessels without enlarging the structurally determined lumen diameter. In chronically hypoxic lungs, acute Rho kinase inhibition markedly decreased PVR but did not alter the alveolar to arterial oxygen gap. In addition to increased vascular resistance, chronic hypoxia induced Rho kinase-dependent capillary angiogenesis. Thus, hypoxic PH was not caused by fixed structural changes in the vasculature but by sustained vasoconstriction, which was largely Rho kinase dependent. Importantly, this vasoconstriction had no role in ventilation-perfusion matching and optimization of gas exchange. Rho kinase also mediated hypoxia-induced capillary angiogenesis, a previously unrecognized but potentially important adaptive response.

Lack of major involvement of human uroplakin genes in vesicoureteral reflux: implications for disease heterogeneity.

BACKGROUND: Primary vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is a hereditary disorder characterized by the retrograde flow of urine into the ureters and kidneys. It affects about 1% of the young children and is thus one of the most common hereditary diseases. Its associated nephropathy is an important cause of end-stage renal failure in children and adults. Recent studies indicate that genetic ablation of mouse uroplakin (UP) III gene, which encodes a 47 kD urothelial-specific integral membrane protein forming urothelial plaques, causes VUR and hydronephrosis. METHODS: To begin to determine whether mutations in UP genes might play a role in human VUR, we genotyped all four UP genes in 76 patients with radiologically proven primary VUR by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequencing of all their exons plus 50 to 150 bp of flanking intronic sequences. RESULTS: Eighteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified, seven of which were missense, with no truncation or frame shift mutations. Since healthy relatives of the VUR probands are not reliable negative controls for VUR, we used a population of 90 race-matched, healthy individuals, unrelated to the VUR patients, as controls to perform an association study. Most of the SNPs were not found to be significantly associated with VUR. However, SNP1 of UP Ia gene affecting a C to T conversion and an Ala7Val change, and SNP7 of UP III affecting a C to G conversion and a Pro154Ala change, were marginally associated with VUR (both P= 0.08). Studies of additional cases yielded a second set of data that, in combination with the first set, confirmed a weak association of UP III SNP7 in VUR (P= 0.036 adjusted for both subsets of cases vs. controls). CONCLUSION: Such a weak association and the lack of families with simple dominant Mendelian inheritance suggest that missense changes of uroplakin genes cannot play a dominant role in causing VUR in humans, although they may be weak risk factors contributing to a complex polygenic disease. The fact that no truncation or frame shift mutations have been found in any of the VUR patients, coupled with our recent finding that some breeding pairs of UP III knockout mice yield litters that show not only VUR, but also severe hydronephrosis and neonatal death, raises the possibility that major uroplakin mutations could be embryonically or postnatally lethal in humans.

Fine mapping a gene for pediatric gastroesophageal reflux on human chromosome 13q14.

We previously mapped a gene for severe pediatric gastroesophageal reflux disease ( GERD1) to a 9-cM interval on chromosome 13q14. In this report, we present the results of DNA sequencing and allelic association analyses that were done in an attempt to clone the GERD1 gene. Using a candidate transcript approach, we screened affected individuals for mutations in all transcribed regions of all genes, putative genes, and ESTs identified within the 6.2-Mb GERD1 locus based on alignments with the GenBank cDNA databases. From a total of 50 identifiable genes and 99 EST clusters in the GERD1 locus, we identified 163 polymorphisms (143 SNPs and 20 INDELs) in 21 genes and 37 ESTs. The patterns of inheritance and/or the high population frequencies of all polymorphic alleles identified in this study argued against causative relationships between any of the alleles and the GERD phenotype. Using a subset of 51 SNPs distributed throughout the GERD1 locus, we performed case-control and family (TDT) allelic association analyses on two sets of samples. The case-control study was performed with 73 GERD cases and 93 controls, and the family study was performed using 22 small families. SNP 160 (position 38,925,329 Mb, UCSChg15 map) gave a significant P value prior to multiple test correction in both the case control and family studies, while SNP168 (at 40,442,903 Mb) showed significant association after multiple test correction in the case-control sample, but was uninformative in the family sample. The results suggest that the GERD1 gene might be located near SNP160 or SNP168.

Mouse lymphoma thymidine kinase gene mutation assay: International Workshop on Genotoxicity Tests Workgroup report--Plymouth, UK 2002.

The Mouse Lymphoma Assay (MLA) Workgroup of the International Workshop on Genotoxicity Tests (IWGT) met on June 28th and 29th, 2002, in Plymouth, England. This meeting of the MLA group was devoted to discussing the criteria for assay acceptance and appropriate approaches to data evaluation. Prior to the meeting, the group conducted an extensive analysis of data from both the microwell and soft agar versions of the assay. For the establishment of criteria for assay acceptance, 10 laboratories (6 using the microwell method and 4 using soft agar) provided data on their background mutant frequencies, plating efficiencies of the negative/vehicle control, cell suspension growth, and positive control mutant frequencies. Using the distribution curves generated from this data, the Workgroup reached consensus on the range of values that should be used to determine whether an individual experiment is acceptable. In order to establish appropriate approaches for data evaluation, the group used a number of statistical methods to evaluate approximately 400 experimental data sets from 10 laboratories entered into a database created for the earlier MLA Workshop held in New Orleans [Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 40 (2002) 292]. While the Workgroup could not, during this meeting, make a final recommendation for the evaluation of data, a general strategy was developed and the Workgroup members agreed to evaluate this new proposed approach using their own laboratory data. This evaluation should lead to a consensus global approach for data evaluation in the near future.