Association between exposure to dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls and miR-191 expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Accumulating evidence shows an association between deregulation of miRNAs and exposure to environmental chemicals; miRNAs play a unique regulatory role in gene expression. Among environmental pollutants, dioxins are a family of compounds that are known to have multiple hazardous effects. Also, in utero exposure of the fetus to dioxins has been shown to cause impaired psychomotor development, decreased immune function and skin disease.

A miRNA signature in leukocytes from sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive and seriously disabling adult-onset neurological disease. Accumulating evidence indicates that various miRNAs, expressed in a spatially and temporally controlled manner in the brain, play a key role in neuronal development. In addition, misregulation of microRNAs contributes to some mental disorders and neurodegeneration diseases.

Beta-spectrinBari: a truncated beta-chain responsible for dominant hereditary spherocytosis.

We describe a beta-spectrin variant, named beta-spectrin Bari, characterized by a truncated chain and associated with hereditary spherocytosis. The clinical phenotype consists of a moderately severe hemolytic anemia, splenomegaly, and spherocytes and acanthocytes in the blood smear. The occurrence of the truncated protein, that represents about 8% of the total beta-spectrin occurring on the membrane, results in a marked spectrin deficiency.