Menarcheal age in celiac disease may not be delayed and may be irrespective of age at diagnosis and dietary management.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role played by age at diagnosis of celiac disease (CD), dietary management and menarcheal familiar antecedents in conditioning menarcheal age (MA) in CD. This study covers a population of 94 menarcheal adolescents with untreated CD, whose MA was compared with that of 3 control populations: the 1st consisting of 117 early-treated and compliant CD girls, the 2nd represented by their non-celiac mothers, and the 3rd consisting of 280 healthy adolescents. Average MA of the girls with post-menarcheal diagnosis of CD was superimposable to that of the patients with pre-menarcheal diagnosis and was no different from the one of their mothers or that of healthy controls. The prevalence of delayed menarche was similar in the patients with either pre-menarcheal or post-menarcheal diagnosis of CD. A direct correlation between patients' MA and that of their mothers was detected in both groups of CD patients. We conclude that: a) untreated CD may not be associated with menarcheal retardation; b) MA in CD is significantly affected by maternal MA and may be irrespective of age at diagnosis and dietary management.

Expression of the human cytomegalovirus 65K tegument phosphoprotein in insect cells by baculovirus vectors.

The gene encoding the 65K tegument phosphoprotein (pp65) of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) was cloned into pAc373 to construct a recombinant baculovirus (Acpp65-3) expressing pp65 in insect Sf9 cells. A baculovirus that carried a fragment of the gene, corresponding to the first 442 amino acids of pp65, was also developed, using vector pVL941 (Acpp65-2). Recombinant proteins migrating in SDS-polyacrylamide gels with an M(r) of either 65K (Acpp65-3) or 56K (Acpp65-2) were detected in cytoplasmic and nuclear extracts of infected Sf9 cells. The 56K and 65K proteins were recognized in immunoblots by monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) 28-77 and 28-19, which are specific for pp65. The insect cell-expressed antigens were also analysed on Western blots using MAbs 4D11, 7D2, 8E3, 7B4 and 8E10, which recognize the HCMV antigen GP66 in immunoblots. The truncated pp65 antigen of Acpp65-2 was reactive with MAbs 4D11, 7D2, 8E10 and 7B4. The protein expressed by Acpp65-3 reacted only with MAb 4D11. The data proved that the epitopes recognized by MAbs 4D11, 7D2, 8E3 and 7B4 mapped in the region of pp65, comprising amino acids 1 to 442, and also that GP66 and pp65 represent the same HCMV antigen. Immunoblot analysis of human sera from individuals seropositive for HCMV showed that the recombinant pp65 products were as antigenic as the native 65K phosphoprotein produced in HCMV-infected human embryonic fibroblasts.

Characterization of the 5'-end region and the first two exons of the beta-protein precursor gene.

Human genomic clones encoding the promoter region and the first two exons of the beta-amyloid protein precursor (beta-APP) gene were isolated. The first exon is 205 base pairs (bp) long and encodes 19 amino acids. The second exon is 168 bp long and encodes 56 amino acids. The 5'-flanking sequence of the beta-APP gene was found to display promoter activity in several cell lines including PC12 cells where the highest activity was detected. The promoter region of this gene lacks the typical "TATAA" and "CAAT" boxes usually associated with eukaryotic promoters. Five copies of the GGGCGC sequence are located between positions -107 and -188 and one copy is located within the first exon of the beta-APP gene. Consensus sequences recognized by the transcription factors Sp1 and AP-1 are located upstream from the RNA start site. Palindromic sequences capable of forming stable hairpin-like structures are found around the main transcription initiation site. The structural characteristics of the beta-APP promoter indicate that multiple elements participate in the regulation of the expression of this gene.