Copy number variation of beta-defensins and relevance to disease.

Beta-defensins are multifunctional proteins that have an important role in the innate immune system. A cluster of beta-defensin genes shows common and extensive variation in copy number in humans. This copy number has been associated with differing susceptibility to Crohn's disease and psoriasis. In this review, I summarise what is currently known about copy number variation (CNV) of beta-defensins, and discuss practical considerations when studying these genes, and copy number variation in general. I also suggest future directions for research, with an emphasis on improvement of methods for accurately typing CNV.

Extensive normal copy number variation of a beta-defensin antimicrobial-gene cluster.

Using a combination of multiplex amplifiable probe hybridization and semiquantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (SQ-FISH), we analyzed DNA copy number variation across chromosome band 8p23.1, a region that is frequently involved in chromosomal rearrangements. We show that a cluster of at least three antimicrobial beta-defensin genes (DEFB4, DEFB103, and DEFB104) at 8p23.1 are polymorphic in copy number, with a repeat unit >/=240 kb long. Individuals have 2-12 copies of this repeat per diploid genome. By segregation, microsatellite dosage, and SQ-FISH chromosomal signal intensity ratio analyses, we deduce that individual chromosomes can have one to eight copies of this repeat unit. Chromosomes with seven or eight copies of this repeat unit are identifiable by cytogenetic analysis as a previously described 8p23.1 euchromatic variant. Analysis of RNA from different individuals by semiquantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction shows a significant correlation between genomic copy number of DEFB4 and levels of its messenger RNA (mRNA) transcript. The peptides encoded by these genes are potent antimicrobial agents, especially effective against clinically important pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, and DEFB4 has been shown to act as a cytokine linking the innate and adaptive immune responses. Therefore, a copy number polymorphism involving these genes, which is reflected in mRNA expression levels, is likely to have important consequences for immune system function.

High throughput screening of human subtelomeric DNA for copy number changes using multiplex amplifiable probe hybridisation (MAPH).

BACKGROUND: Subtelomeric regions of the human genome are gene rich, with a high level of sequence polymorphism. A number of clinical conditions, including learning disability, have been attributed to subtelomeric deletions or duplications, but screening for deletion in these regions using conventional cytogenetic methods and fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) is laborious. Here we report that a new method, multiplex amplifiable probe hybridisation (MAPH), can be used to screen for copy number at subtelomeric regions. METHODS: We have constructed a set of MAPH probes with each subtelomeric region represented at least once, so that one gel lane can assay copy number at all chromosome ends in one person. Each probe has been sequenced and, where possible, its position relative to the telomere determined by comparison with mapped clones. RESULTS: The sensitivity of the probes has been characterised on a series of cytogenetically verified positive controls and 83 normal controls were used to assess the frequency of polymorphic copy number with no apparent phenotypic effect. We have also used MAPH to test a cohort of 37 people selected from males referred for fragile X syndrome testing and found six changes that were confirmed by dosage PCR. CONCLUSIONS: MAPH can be used to screen subtelomeric regions of chromosomes for deletions and duplications before confirmation by FISH or dosage PCR. The high throughput nature of this technique allows it to be used for large scale screening of subtelomeric copy number, before confirmation by FISH. In practice, the availability of a rapid and efficient screen may allow subtelomeric analysis to be applied to a wider selection of patients than is currently possible using FISH alone.

Intolerance to lactose and other dietary sugars.

Intolerance of dietary carbohydrate and sugars can result from a variety of genetically determined enzyme and transporter deficiencies. This article reviews this topic and discusses in more detail the current state of our own research on lactase.

Lactase haplotype diversity in the Old World.

Lactase persistence, the genetic trait in which intestinal lactase activity persists at childhood levels into adulthood, varies in frequency in different human populations, being most frequent in northern Europeans and certain African and Arabian nomadic tribes, who have a history of drinking fresh milk. Selection is likely to have played an important role in establishing these different frequencies since the development of agricultural pastoralism approximately 9,000 years ago. We have previously shown that the element responsible for the lactase persistence/nonpersistence polymorphism in humans is cis-acting to the lactase gene and that lactase persistence is associated, in Europeans, with the most common 70-kb lactase haplotype, A. We report here a study of the 11-site haplotype in 1,338 chromosomes from 11 populations that differ in lactase persistence frequency. Our data show that haplotype diversity was generated both by point mutations and recombinations. The four globally common haplotypes (A, B, C, and U) are not closely related and have different distributions; the A haplotype is at high frequencies only in northern Europeans, where lactase persistence is common; and the U haplotype is virtually absent from Indo-European populations. Much more diversity is seen in sub-Saharan Africans than in non-Africans, consistent with an "Out of Africa" model for peopling of the Old World. Analysis of recent recombinant haplotypes by allele-specific PCR, along with deduction of the root haplotype from chimpanzee sequence, allowed construction of a haplotype network that assisted in evaluation of the relative roles of drift and selection in establishing the haplotype frequencies in the different populations. We suggest that genetic drift was important in shaping the general pattern of non-African haplotype diversity, with recent directional selection in northern Europeans for the haplotype associated with lactase persistence.

Common polymorphism in a highly variable region upstream of the human lactase gene affects DNA-protein interactions.

In most mammals lactase activity declines after weaning when lactose is no longer part of the diet, but in many humans lactase activity persists into adult life. The difference responsible for this phenotypic polymorphism has been shown to be cis-acting to the lactase gene. The causal sequence difference has not been found so far, but a number of polymorphic sites have been found within and near to the lactase gene. We have shown previously that in Europeans there are two polymorphic sites in a small region between 974 bp and 852 bp upstream from the start of transcription, which are detectable by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). In this study, analysis of individuals from five other population groups by the same DGGE method reveals four new alleles resulting from three additional nucleotide changes within this very small region. Analysis of sequence in four primate species and comparison with the published pig sequence shows that the overall sequence of this highly variable human region is conserved in pigs as well as primates, and that it lies within a 1kb region which has been shown to control lactase downregulation in pigs. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) studies were carried out to determine whether common variation affected protein-DNA binding and several binding activities were found using this technique. A novel two base-pair deletion that is common in most populations tested, but is not present in Europeans, caused no change in binding activity. However, a previously published C to T transition at -958bp dramatically reduced binding activity, although the functional significance of this is not clear.

Lactase haplotype frequencies in Caucasians: association with the lactase persistence/non-persistence polymorphism.

A genetic polymorphism is responsible for determining that some humans express lactase at high levels throughout their lives and are thus lactose tolerant, while others lose lactase expression during childhood and are lactose intolerant. We have previously shown that this polymorphism is controlled by an element or elements which act in cis to the lactase gene. We have also reported that 7 polymorphisms in the lactase gene are highly associated and lead to only 3 common haplotypes (A, B and C) in individuals of European extraction. Here we report the frequencies of these polymorphisms in Caucasians from north and south Europe and also from the Indian sub-continent, and show that the alleles differ in frequency, the B and C haplotypes being much more common in southern Europe and India. Allelic association studies with lactase persistence and non-persistence phenotypes show suggestive evidence of association of lactase persistence with certain alleles. This association was rather more clear in the analysis of small families, where haplotypes could be determined. Furthermore haplotype and RNA transcript analysis of 11 unrelated lactase persistent individuals shows that the persistence (highly expressed) allele is almost always on the A haplotype background. Non-persistence is found on a variety of haplotypes including A. Thus it appears that lactase persistence arose more recently than the DNA marker polymorphisms used here to define the main Caucasian haplotypes, possibly as a single mutation on the A haplotype background. The high frequency of the A haplotype in northern Europeans is consistent with the high frequency of lactase persistence.

The genetically programmed down-regulation of lactase in children.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Intestinal lactase activity is high in all healthy human babies, but in adults a genetic polymorphism, which acts in cis to the lactase gene, determines high or low messenger RNA (mRNA) expression and activity (lactase persistence and nonpersistence, respectively). Our aim was to investigate the onset of expression of this polymorphism in children. METHODS: Activities were analyzed in relation to age in normal biopsy specimens from a 20-year collection of diagnostic specimens. In a smaller set of 32 samples, aged 2-132 months, RNA was extracted for semiquantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Marker polymorphisms were used to determine the allelic origin of lactase mRNA transcripts. RESULTS: Analysis of 866 children showed evidence that the lactase persistence/nonpersistence polymorphism began before 5 years of age. The 32 children tested had high lactase mRNA and activity. Six children aged 2-16 months showed equal expression of two alleles, 2 children aged 7 and 14 months showed slightly asymmetric expression, and 7 children aged 22-132 months showed very asymmetric expression, the second allele being undetectable in the 11-year-old, as previously seen in lactase-persistent heterozygote adults. CONCLUSIONS: Genetically programmed down-regulation of the lactase gene is detectable in children from the second year of life, although the onset and extent are somewhat variable.