Structural Mutations (structural + mutation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


LIBERALIZATION OF EUROPEAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS: SECTORAL DYNAMICS AND STRUCTURAL MUTATIONS

ANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2007
Philippe BANCE
ABSTRACT,:,This contribution intends to draw up an assessment of structural changes in the telecommunications sector impelled by the European policy of liberalization. Deep transformations with contrasted results have occurred. A strong differentiation in offer of services and a considerable fall in cost appears. After a strong growth, however, investment sharply decreased with the financial crisis. Employment has become a variable of adjustment for companies subjected to strong risks due to the economic situation. Lastly, the assertion of the universal service of telecommunications is accompanied by an important reduction of public service missions. [source]


Today's multiple choice exam: (a) gene duplication; (b) structural mutation; (c) co-option; (d) regulatory mutation; (e) all of the above

EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2007
Todd H. Oakley
No abstract is available for this article. [source]


THE LOCUS OF EVOLUTION: EVO DEVO AND THE GENETICS OF ADAPTATION

EVOLUTION, Issue 5 2007
Hopi E. Hoekstra
An important tenet of evolutionary developmental biology ("evo devo") is that adaptive mutations affecting morphology are more likely to occur in the cis -regulatory regions than in the protein-coding regions of genes. This argument rests on two claims: (1) the modular nature of cis -regulatory elements largely frees them from deleterious pleiotropic effects, and (2) a growing body of empirical evidence appears to support the predominant role of gene regulatory change in adaptation, especially morphological adaptation. Here we discuss and critique these assertions. We first show that there is no theoretical or empirical basis for the evo devo contention that adaptations involving morphology evolve by genetic mechanisms different from those involving physiology and other traits. In addition, some forms of protein evolution can avoid the negative consequences of pleiotropy, most notably via gene duplication. In light of evo devo claims, we then examine the substantial data on the genetic basis of adaptation from both genome-wide surveys and single-locus studies. Genomic studies lend little support to the cis -regulatory theory: many of these have detected adaptation in protein-coding regions, including transcription factors, whereas few have examined regulatory regions. Turning to single-locus studies, we note that the most widely cited examples of adaptive cis -regulatory mutations focus on trait loss rather than gain, and none have yet pinpointed an evolved regulatory site. In contrast, there are many studies that have both identified structural mutations and functionally verified their contribution to adaptation and speciation. Neither the theoretical arguments nor the data from nature, then, support the claim for a predominance of cis -regulatory mutations in evolution. Although this claim may be true, it is at best premature. Adaptation and speciation probably proceed through a combination of cis -regulatory and structural mutations, with a substantial contribution of the latter. [source]


Consortium for osteogenesis imperfecta mutations in the helical domain of type I collagen: regions rich in lethal mutations align with collagen binding sites for integrins and proteoglycans,,

HUMAN MUTATION, Issue 3 2007
Joan C. Marini
Abstract Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a generalized disorder of connective tissue characterized by fragile bones and easy susceptibility to fracture. Most cases of OI are caused by mutations in type I collagen. We have identified and assembled structural mutations in type I collagen genes (COL1A1 and COL1A2, encoding the pro,1(I) and pro,2(I) chains, respectively) that result in OI. Quantitative defects causing type I OI were not included. Of these 832 independent mutations, 682 result in substitution for glycine residues in the triple helical domain of the encoded protein and 150 alter splice sites. Distinct genotype,phenotype relationships emerge for each chain. One-third of the mutations that result in glycine substitutions in ,1(I) are lethal, especially when the substituting residues are charged or have a branched side chain. Substitutions in the first 200 residues are nonlethal and have variable outcome thereafter, unrelated to folding or helix stability domains. Two exclusively lethal regions (helix positions 691,823 and 910,964) align with major ligand binding regions (MLBRs), suggesting crucial interactions of collagen monomers or fibrils with integrins, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), fibronectin, and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP). Mutations in COL1A2 are predominantly nonlethal (80%). Lethal substitutions are located in eight regularly spaced clusters along the chain, supporting a regional model. The lethal regions align with proteoglycan binding sites along the fibril, suggesting a role in fibril,matrix interactions. Recurrences at the same site in ,2(I) are generally concordant for outcome, unlike ,1(I). Splice site mutations comprise 20% of helical mutations identified in OI patients, and may lead to exon skipping, intron inclusion, or the activation of cryptic splice sites. Splice site mutations in COL1A1 are rarely lethal; they often lead to frameshifts and the mild type I phenotype. In ,2(I), lethal exon skipping events are located in the carboxyl half of the chain. Our data on genotype,phenotype relationships indicate that the two collagen chains play very different roles in matrix integrity and that phenotype depends on intracellular and extracellular events. Hum Mutat 28(3), 209,221, 2007. Published 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Photoprotein aequorin as a novel reporter for SNP genotyping by primer extension,application to the variants of mannose-binding lectin gene,

HUMAN MUTATION, Issue 3 2006
Panayotis G. Zerefos
Abstract Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a key component of the innate immune system, and its deficiency is associated with increased susceptibility to various infections and autoimmune disorders. Since several nucleotide variations in the mannose-binding lectin 2 gene (MBL2) have been associated with the functional deficiency of MBL, there is a growing need to screen its allelic variants and develop genotyping methods for MBL2. In this context we propose a rapid, robust, cost-efficient, and automatable method for detecting all known allelic variants of MBL2. This report introduces for the first time the photoprotein aequorin as a reporter in genotyping by primer extension (PEXT) reactions. The method involves a single PCR amplification of a genomic region that spans all six variant nucleotide sites, i.e., three structural mutations in exon 1 (c.154C>T, pArg52Cys; c.161A>G, p.Gly54Asp; and c.170A>G, p.Gly57Glu), two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at positions c.,619G>C and c.,290G>C (promoter region), and one SNP at position c.,66C>T of the 5, untranslated region. PCR is followed by PEXT reactions for each site. Biotin-dUTP is incorporated in the extended primer. The genotyping primers contain a poly(dA) segment at their 5, end. The products are captured by hybridization on the surface of microtiter wells that are coated with a poly(dT)-albumin. The extended primers only are detected by reaction with a streptavidin-aequorin conjugate. The bound photoprotein aequorin is measured within 3,sec by simply adding Ca2+. We carried out extensive optimization studies of the PEXT reaction and genotyped the six nucleotide variant sites using blood specimens from 27 normal DNA samples. The results of the proposed method agreed entirely with the sequencing data. Hum Mutat 27(3), 279,285, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Functional allelic loss detected at the protein level in archival human tumours using allele-specific E-cadherin monoclonal antibodies

THE JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY, Issue 5 2002
Karl-Friedrich Becker
Abstract Immunohistochemical analysis has been used to show that expression of the homophilic cell-to-cell adhesion molecule, E-cadherin, is frequently altered in human cancers, including gastric and breast carcinoma. Besides genetic down-regulation, structural mutations such as in-frame deletions of exon 8 and exon 9 were frequently found; these may affect the binding of monoclonal antibodies used for immunohistochemical analysis. In this study it was found that antibodies HECD-1 and E9, two monoclonal antibodies often used in E-cadherin immunoanalysis, react with epitopes present at least in part in exon 8 and exon 9, respectively. This study generated and characterized a mutation-specific monoclonal antibody, E-cad delta 8-1, reacting with the mutant protein lacking exon 8 but not with the wild-type molecule. By using E-cad delta 8-1 and HECD-1, it was possible separately to analyse the immunoreactivity of mutant and normal E-cadherin proteins, respectively, in an allele-specific manner in archival material. A similar analysis was performed using E9 and the previously characterized mutation-specific antibody E-cad delta 9-1. Typically, in gastric and breast cancer harbouring E-cadherin splice site gene mutations, the mutant proteins were expressed but the wild-type protein was not detected in malignant tissues. These results indicate that variant-specific monoclonal antibodies can be used to identify differentially expressed E-cadherin proteins. For immunohistochemical analysis of E-cadherin, at least two different monoclonal antibodies should be used to exclude alterations of the epitopes resulting in failure to detect a mutant protein. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Familial transient erythroblastopenia of childhood is associated with the chromosome 19q13.2 region but not caused by mutations in coding sequences of the ribosomal protein S19 (RPS19) gene

BRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2002
Peter Gustavsson
Summary., Transient erythroblastopenia of childhood (TEC) is a rare condition, which at onset may be difficult to distinguish from Diamond,Blackfan anaemia (DBA). We have previously shown that mutations in the ribosomal protein S19 gene (RPS19) cause DBA. In order to clarify whether TEC and DBA are allelic, we investigated the segregation of markers spanning the RPS19 gene region on chromosome 19q13.2 and performed sequence analysis of all exons in the RPS19 gene in seven TEC sibling pairs. Linkage analysis supported allelism for TEC and DBA at the RPS19 gene locus and implies molecular mechanisms other than structural mutations in the RPS19 gene. [source]