Segregation analysis of NIDDM in Caucasian families.

Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) has a substantial genetic component, but the mode of inheritance and the molecular basis are unknown. We have undertaken segregation analysis of NIDDM after studying 247 subjects in 59 Caucasian nuclear pedigrees ascertained without regard to family history of the disorder. The analyses were performed using POINTER and COMDS, which are computer programs which apply statistical models to the data.

Family studies of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in South Indians.

Though a genetic basis for non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is clear, the likely mode of inheritance is not known. The segregation of NIDDM was studied in 64 nuclear South Indian pedigrees (449 individuals) ascertained through an affected proband having both parents and more than 1 sibling alive and available for oral glucose tolerance testing. A high proportion of parents were found to be of abnormal glucose tolerance [89 of 128 (70%) diabetic and 11 of 128 (9%) impaired].

Plasma elastase in venous disease.

The plasma elastase level was measured as a marker of neutrophil degranulation in three groups, each of 15 patients, with uncomplicated varicose veins, lipodermatosclerosis (LDS) and venous ulceration. The values obtained were compared with those in age- and sex-matched control subjects. Significantly higher levels of elastase were found in all patient groups compared with controls: median 25.

Role of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase-mediated glutathione transport on the radiosensitivity of B16 melanoma variant cell lines.

Purpose: To elucidate the role of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase-mediated glutathione transport on the radiosensitivity of B16 melanoma variant cell lines.

Methods And Materials: B16 melanoma variant cell lines were examined for their levels of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGTP; E.C.

Prosomatostatin processing in permeabilized cells. Endoproteolytic cleavage is mediated by a vacuolar ATPase that generates an acidic pH in the trans-Golgi network.

To investigate the relationship between prohormone processing and sorting of mature polypeptides into nascent secretory vesicles, we recently developed a permeabilized cell system that supports both these reactions (Xu, H., and Shields, D. (1993) J.

Combined segregation and linkage analysis of Graves disease with a thyroid autoantibody diathesis.

Combined segregation and linkage analysis is a powerful technique for modeling linkage to diseases whose etiology is more complex than the effect of a well-described single genetic locus and for investigating the influence of single genes on various aspects of the disease phenotype. Graves disease is familial and is associated with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele DR3. Probands with Graves disease, as well as close relatives, have raised levels of thyroid autoantibodies.

Prediction of genetic risks from segregation analyses of morbid risks.

Segregation analysis provides a genetic model of disease based upon morbid risks in age-specific classes, from which the model derives genotype-specific morbid risks. In the absence of disease-specific mortality each morbid risk is a cumulative incidence (age-specific penetrance). If disease-specific mortality reduces the number of affected in the older classes, the morbid risk is less than the corresponding penetrance.

Treatment of the critically ischaemic lower limb.

Medical therapy of PAOD is only indicated in patients unsuitable for vascular reconstruction or angioplasty. The approach includes early detection of subjects at risk, avoidance of known risk factors, and appropriate management of diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Vasodilators are of little use orally, though some drugs may have a part to play for short-term management and iloprost should be considered for patients unsuitable for revascularization.

Segregation analysis of complex phenotypes: an application to schizophrenia and auditory P300 latency.

Traditional models of the genetic transmission of human diseases have often assumed that the phenotype is a simple dichotomous trait, which is unrealistic for many psychiatric conditions, and may result in loss of valuable information. We describe a new model for complex phenotypes, implemented in the program COMDS, which subclassifies normal and affected individuals into polychotomies correlated with the underlying genetic liability to the disorder. The model is applied to 18 Scottish pedigrees ascertained for schizophrenia, in which auditory P300 latency had been measured as a possible correlate of the genetic predisposition to schizophrenia.

Prohormone processing in permeabilized cells: endoproteolytic cleavage of prosomatostatin in the trans-Golgi network.

Many peptide hormones are synthesized as larger precursors which undergo endoproteolytic cleavage at paired basic residues to generate a bioactive molecule. Morphological evidence has implicated either the trans-Golgi network (TGN) or immature secretory granules as the site of prohormone cleavage. To identify the site where prohormone cleavage is initiated, we have used retrovirally infected rat anterior pituitary GH3 cells which express high levels of prosomatostatin, proSRIF, (Stoller TJ, Shields D (1988) J Cell Biol 107, 2087-2095).

Intracellular degradation of prohormone-chloramphenicol-acetyl-transferase chimeras in a pre-lysosomal compartment.

Small peptide hormones (less than 50 amino acids) are synthesized as larger inactive precursors. Work from several laboratories, including our own, has implicated the propeptide of various precursors in mediating intracellular transport and targeting to secretory granules. We previously demonstrated that the proregion of prosomatostatin, one of the simplest peptide hormone precursors, when fused to alpha-globin, enabled the globin polypeptide to be transported to the regulated secretory pathway.

Thrombolysis in acute lower limb ischaemia.

For the past three decades balloon embolectomy has been the treatment of choice for acute lower limb occlusion. However, although usually successful in emboli, results are often disappointing in thrombotic atherosclerotic vessels. Attempted dissolution of the clot is accordingly attractive, and has theoretically been possible since the introduction of streptokinase in 1933.

Prohormone processing in the trans-Golgi network: endoproteolytic cleavage of prosomatostatin and formation of nascent secretory vesicles in permeabilized cells.

Many peptide hormones are synthesized as larger precursors which undergo endoproteolytic cleavage at paired basic residues to generate a bioactive molecule. Morphological evidence from several laboratories has implicated either the TGN or immature secretory granules as the site of prohormone cleavage. To identify the site where prohormone cleavage is initiated, we have used retrovirally infected rat anterior pituitary GH3 cells which express high levels of prosomatostatin (proSRIF) (Stoller, T.

Complex segregation analysis of thyroid autoantibodies: are they inherited as an autosomal dominant trait?

The presence of circulating autoantibodies (Abs) to the thyroid antigens thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and thyroglobulin (Tg) is a marker for autoimmune thyroid disease. Recent studies have suggested that the tendency to produce these Abs is inherited as an autosomal dominant characteristic. In order to confirm or refute these observations, we have carried out a complex segregation analysis using POINTER on Ab data in 86 unselected pedigrees (172 nuclear families).

Peripheral nerve function in chronic venous insufficiency.

Abnormalities of vasomotion, impairment of the venoarteriolar reflex and increased skin blood flow reported in the liposclerotic skin of patients with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) suggest altered nervous control of the skin microcirculation. The aim of this study was to determine whether patients with CVI have a peripheral neuropathy. Forty patients with CVI and lipodermatosclerosis (LDS) and 35 age and sex-matched controls were examined for neuropathy using three modalities of testing.

Does venous function deteriorate in patients waiting for varicose vein surgery?

We have looked at the deterioration in the condition of the lower limbs in a group of 36 patients who were waiting for a median time of 20 months for varicose vein surgery, using clinical examination, colour Duplex scanning and photoplethysmograph (95% refilling times). We found a significant deterioration in this group of patients, with four limbs initially unaffected developing reflux on Duplex scanning, of which three had clinical varicose veins (all four were offered surgery), and of the initial 56 involved limbs, 10 further sources of reflux were found (18%), necessitating alteration of the initial planned surgical procedure. No patient developed deep venous insufficiency or ulceration while on the waiting list, although there was one new case of lipodermatosclerosis.

2-Alkylsulfonyloxy-3-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinones: a novel class of radio- and chemosensitizers of V79 cells.

Four 2-alkysulfonyloxy-3-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives, VH(1-4), have been synthesized as a novel class of bioreductive alkylating agents and tested as hypoxic cytotoxins, radiosensitizers, and chemosensitizers of V79 cells. In this series, the naphthoquinone is the bioreductive moiety while the sulfonyloxy group, as a good leaving group, could lead to alkylations of nucleophilic substrates in the cells. All VH-compounds are moderately selective cytotoxins of V79 cells with a differential aerobic-hypoxic toxicity of approximately 2, i.

The CEPH consortium linkage map of human chromosome 2.

This paper describes the Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH) consortium linkage map of chromosome 2. The map contains 36 loci defined by genotyping generated from the CEPH family DNAs. A total of 73 different markers were typed by 14 contributing laboratories; of these, 36 loci are ordered on the map with likelihood support of at least 1000:1.