Novel mutation p.A64D in the Serpina7 gene as a cause of partial thyroxine-binding globulin deficiency associated with increases affinity in transthyretin by a known p.A109T mutation in the TTR gene.

Partial thyroxine-binding globulin deficiency (TBG-PD) is an endocrine defect with a prevalence of 1:4 000 in newborns. Due to the presence of a single TBG gene on the X chromosome, most familial TBG defects follow an X-linked inheritance pattern. Abnormal T4 binding to T4-binding prealbumin (TTR) is a rare cause of euthyroid hyperthyroxinemia, which is transmitted by autosomal dominant inheritance. The purpose of the present study was to identify and characterize new mutations in the Serpina7 and TTR genes in a complete family with typical TBG-PD. All patients underwent clinical and biochemical evaluation. Sequencing of DNA, population screening by (SSCP) analysis, and bioinformatics studies were performed. Molecular studies revealed a novel p.A64D mutation in the exon 1 of Serpina7 gene associated with the previously reported p.A109T mutation in the exon 4 of TTR gene. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a patient with a TBG-PD by a mutation in Serpina7 that was coincident with a mutation in TTR gene that increased affinity of TTR for T4. This work contributes to elucidate the molecular basis of the defects of thyroid hormone transport in serum and the improvement of the diagnosis avoiding unnecessary therapy.

Immunohistochemical expression of p53 in breast carcinoma is associated with the intron 1 BglII polymorphism of the p53 gene.

Breast carcinoma is a public health problem worldwide. It is known that both genetic and environmental factors are important for breast carcinogenesis and that structural and/or functional alterations at p53 gene are commonly observed in breast tumors. In addition, polymorphisms of several genes in either their coding or non-coding sequences have been found related to cancer risk and/or clinicopathological characteristics of tumors. In this study we have evaluated the intron 1 BglII polymorphism of the p53 gene with a PCR-based approach in 117 cases of breast cancer and 102 healthy women and its association with the immunohistochemical expression of p53 in the tumors. The results showed that the presence of the polymorphism (allele 2) is highly associated with the tumor expression of p53 (p<0.0001) and that there is a trend for increased frequency of allele 2 in cases than in controls (p=0.2376). These data suggest that the germ-line variation in the intron 1 of the p53 gene could produce functional or structural changes of the protein that is reflected by its abnormal expression.

Cyclosporin A decreases human macrophage interleukin-6 synthesis at post-transcriptional level.

In addition to its well-established effect on T cells, cyclosporin A (CsA) also inhibits inflammatory cytokine production by macrophages. However, little is known about the mechanism of action of CsA on macrophage cytokine production. We measured the effect of CsA on basal and phorbol-myristate-acetate (PMA)-stimulated production of interleukin-6 using the human monocyte cell line U937 differentiated with dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Interleukin-6 levels were measured in supernatant and cell lysates using specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. We found that CsA decreases not only IL-6 release but also cytokine synthesis. The concentration of CsA used did not affect either cell viability or proliferation. Three possibilities may be advanced to explain the CsA-due decrease in IL-6 production by macrophages: (a) inhibition of the synthesis of an early common regulatory protein, (b) inhibition of cytokine gene transcription, or (c) modulation of post-transcriptional events. The first possibility was tested by measuring the effect of cycloheximide on the experimental system during the first 3 hours of culture. Although cycloheximide decreased total cytokine synthesis, the pattern of cytokine modulation by CsA persisted. These data suggest that CsA-mediated macrophage cytokine inhibition is not mediated by an early common regulatory protein. To further explore the inhibition mechanism, we measured IL-6 mRNA levels by Northern blot. IL-6 mRNA levels were unaffected by CsA both in resting and PMA-stimulated cells. We conclude that in human macrophages CsA diminishes IL-6 production at post-transcriptional level.