Further delineation of the chromosome 14q terminal deletion syndrome.

A patient with hypotonia, blepharophimosis, ptosis, a bulbous nose, a long philtrum, upturned corners of the mouth, and mild developmental delay was found to have a small subtelomeric deletion of the long arm of chromosome 14 (q32.31-qter). In comparing her phenotype with previously reported patients with similar 14q deletions, due to either a linear deletion or to a ring chromosome 14, a clinically recognizable terminal 14q microdeletion syndrome was evident.

Reactive oxygen species mediate Rac-induced loss of cell-cell adhesion in primary human endothelial cells.

The integrity of the endothelium is dependent on cell-cell adhesion, which is mediated by vascular-endothelial (VE)-cadherin. Proper VE-cadherin-mediated homotypic adhesion is, in turn, dependent on the connection between VE-cadherin and the cortical actin cytoskeleton. Rho-like small GTPases are key molecular switches that control cytoskeletal dynamics and cadherin function in epithelial as well as endothelial cells.