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Query: UMLS:C0025362 (mental retardation)
 15,878 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Fragile X syndrome is one of the most common genetic causes of mental retardation, yet the mechanisms controlling expression of the fragile X mental retardation gene FMR1 are poorly understood. To identify sequences regulating FMR1 transcription, transgenic mouse lines were established using a fusion gene consisting of an E.coli beta-galactosidase reporter gene (lacZ) linked to a 2.8 kb fragment spanning the 5'-region of FMR1. Five transgenic mouse lines showed lacZ expression in brain, in particular in neurons of the hippocampus and the granular layer of the cerebellum. Expression of the reporter gene was also detected in Leydig cells and spermatogonia in the testis, in many epithelia of adult mice, and in the two other steroidogenic cell types, adrenal cortex cells and ovarian follicle cells. Embryonic tissues which showed strong activity of the reporter gene included the telencephalon, the genital ridge, and the notochord. This expression pattern closely resembles the endogenous one, indicating that the 5' FMR1 gene promoter region used in this study contains most cis-acting elements regulating FMR1 transcription.
Hum Mol Genet 1995 Mar
PMID:Tissue-specific expression of a FMR1/beta-galactosidase fusion gene in transgenic mice. 779 88

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is accompanied by varying degrees of mental retardation. The molecular basis for this is unknown, although at least four dystrophin transcripts regulated by specific promoters and undergoing elaborate splicing control are present in brain areas associated with cognitive function. In muscle the absence of dystrophin causes instability of a dystrophin-associated protein complex (DAPC) linking the cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix; this disruption is accompanied by muscle necrosis. The laminin-binding component of DAPC, dystroglycan, in contrast to other components of DAPC, has been found in brain homogenates. This suggests that the link between the membrane cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix mediated by dystrophin-dystroglycan may play a functional role in brain. We have cloned a mouse dystroglycan partial cDNA and have mapped this gene in the mouse to chromosome 9. Further, in situ hybridisation to mouse brain sections shows that the dystroglycan gene is expressed in relatively few structures and co-localises with dystrophin mRNA in hippocampus, dentate gyrus, olfactory bulb and Purkinje neurons but, surprisingly, not in the cortex. Dystroglycan is also expressed in those brain areas where the dystrophin-related protein (utrophin) is present. Our results provide a basis for a future characterisation of the role of dystrophin-dystroglycan association in the brain.
Hum Mol Genet 1994 Sep
PMID:Dystroglycan: brain localisation and chromosome mapping in the mouse. 783 16

The Wilms tumour (WT1) gene was first localized through its deletion in individuals with the WAGR syndrome (Wilms tumour, aniridia, genitourinary abnormalities and mental retardation). Such individuals have a 30-50% lifetime risk of developing Wilms tumour and carry constitutional interstitial deletions of chromosome 11p13, including the WT1 gene. Second primary tumours occurring in such individuals might also be related to their genetic predisposition to cancer, as shown for hereditary retinoblastoma. We have found a mutation in the zinc finger region of the remaining WT1 allele in a case of acute myeloid leukaemia developing in a Wilms tumour survivor with the WAGR syndrome. This mutation would be predicted to disrupt DNA binding by this developmentally regulated transcription factor. This finding implicates the WT1 gene in the regulation of myelopoiesis and suggests that WT1 mutations may be found in some sporadic leukaemias.
Hum Mol Genet 1994 Sep
PMID:The Wilms tumour (WT1) gene is mutated in a secondary leukaemia in a WAGR patient. 783 22

Congenital muscular dystrophies (CMD) are autosomal recessive, heterogeneous disorders. The commonest forms are the Fukuyama CMD (FCMD), associated with mental retardation and structural brain anomalies, and classical (occidental) CMD, with pure muscle expression. FCMD has been localized to chromosome 9q31-q33. Following the discovery of merosin deficiency in some CMD cases, we have localized, by homozygosity mapping and linkage analysis (Zmax = 5.6; theta = 0.0 for marker AFM127xb2) in four merosin-negative families a CMD gene in a 16 cM region of chromosome 6q2 in the region of the laminin M chain gene. In three consanguineous, merosin-positive, CMD families there was no linkage to either chromosome 6q2 or 9q31-q33.
Hum Mol Genet 1994 Sep
PMID:Localization of merosin-negative congenital muscular dystrophy to chromosome 6q2 by homozygosity mapping. 783 25

The mutation observed in the fragile X syndrome, an X-linked inherited disorder causing mental retardation, is almost exclusively an expanded CGG repeat in the first exon of the FMR1 gene. Here we describe a daughter of a female carrier, who inherited the fragile X premutation chromosome based on haplotype analysis using flanking markers. However, the CGG repeat sequence and the intragenic polymorphic marker FMRb showed the normal maternal alleles, while two other intragenic markers, FMRa and FRAXAC2 and other, more distant markers, showed the risk haplotype. Since FMRa and FRAXAC2 are located in between the markers CGG and FMRb, this results in patches of normal and fragile X sequences in the FMR1 gene of the daughter. This observation is very likely due to gene conversion. As this daughter received a normal CGG repeat region, we expect that her risk to have affected offspring is the same as the population risk. The observed phenomenon would therefore represent a back mutation at the FMR1 locus.
Hum Mol Genet 1994 Oct
PMID:Loss of mutation at the FMR1 locus through multiple exchanges between maternal X chromosomes. 784 7

Tuberous sclerosis (TSC) is an autosomal dominant trait characterized by the widespread development of benign tumours classified as hamartoma, and is often associated with seizures and mental retardation. The patchy distribution and focal nature of the growths suggests that they might result from inactivation of a tumour suppressor gene by a two-hit process. Over the last 2 years, studies designed to investigate both germline and somatic TSC mutations have lent support to this hypothesis. Analysis of TSC-associated hamartomas has shown loss of heterozygosity for the regions of chromosomes 9 and 16 known to harbour TSC genes, consistent with the occurrence of somatic 'second-hit' mutations. Parallel investigations using pulse field gel electrophoresis have identified constitutional deletions representing 'first-hit' mutations at 16p13.3, leading to the rapid identification of one of the causative genes, TSC2. Intriguingly, the TSC2 product, tuberin, has an area of sequence homology with the GTPase activating protein rap1GAP, suggesting a possible mechanism for its role in regulating cellular growth.
Hum Mol Genet 1994
PMID:The molecular genetics of tuberous sclerosis. 784 41

Three fragile sites, FRAXA, FRAXE and FRAXF lie in the Xq27-28 region of the human X chromosome. The expression of FRAXA is associated with the fragile X syndrome, the most prevalent form of inherited mental retardation whilst the expression of FRAXE is associated with a rarer and comparatively milder form of mental handicap. Both the FRAXA and FRAXE sites have been cloned and the fragile site expression found to be due to the expansion of analogous CGG/GCC trinucleotide repeat arrays. We describe here the cloning of the third fragile site, FRAXF, and demonstrate that it involves the expansion of a (GCCGTC)n(GCC)n compound array. PCR analyses across the repeat of normal individuals show that the number of triplets in the array ranges from 12-26 and the most common allele consists of 14 triplet units. Sequencing analyses show that 95% of normal individuals have three copies of the GCCGTC motif and in these individuals, the size variation observed by PCR is due to copy number alterations in the GCC array. In a cytogenetically positive male with developmental delay, the array is expanded by > 900 triplets and the adjacent CpG-rich region is methylated. The array is also expanded in cytogenetically positive carrier females from the family originally used to define the FRAXF site. We conclude that the expanded array corresponds to the FRAXF fragile site.
Hum Mol Genet 1994 Dec
PMID:The cloning of FRAXF: trinucleotide repeat expansion and methylation at a third fragile site in distal Xqter. 788 7

Cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) deficiency is the major cause of homocystinuria in humans. The most frequent symptoms of homocystinuria include: dislocated optic lenses, vascular disorders, skeletal abnormalities and mental retardation. Patients with this deficiency have elevated levels of homocyst(e)ine, methionine and low cysteine in their body fluids. These abnormal levels often partially or fully normalize upon treatment with pharmacological doses of vitamin B6. To investigate the molecular and biochemical basis for these conditions, it was necessary to determine the nucleotide and polypeptide sequence of CBS. We report here the human CBS cDNA sequence of 2,554 nucleotides encoding the CBS subunit of 551 amino acids. An intron of 214 bp appears to be retained in the 3'-untranslated region of most of the fibroblast and liver mRNA. We also report a frequent Mspl polymorphism in the 3'-untranslated sequence and two synonymous mutations in the coding region: 699C/T (Y233Y) and 1080C/T (A360A). The amino acid sequence similarity of human and rat CBS is greater than 90%; the enzyme also exhibits 52% similarity to O-acetylserine(thiol)-lyase from bacteria and plants. Lastly, we demonstrate that expression of the human enzyme in CHO cells yields enzymatically active protein of the expected size with a half-life of approximately 14 hrs.
Hum Mol Genet 1993 Oct
PMID:Human cystathionine beta-synthase cDNA: sequence, alternative splicing and expression in cultured cells. 790 80

A deazaguanine-substituted DNA PCR product from FMR-1 (the fragile X mental retardation syndrome gene) can be efficiently visualized with ethidium bromide on standard agarose gels. Normal-sized alleles (less than 54 CGG repeats) generated strong, easily visible bands in the expected size range of 491-635 bp. Southern blot analysis and radioactive PCR on sequencing gels were used to verify that the 74 males (out of 245 total tested) whose DNA failed to generate a visible band contained premutations or full mutations. This technique can be used as an inexpensive screen for fragile X syndrome among developmentally delayed males.
Mol Cell Probes 1994 Apr
PMID:A simple fragile X PCR assay with 7-deazaguanine-substituted DNA visualized by ethidium bromide. 793 15

Molecular genetic analysis of five cases of 3p- syndrome (del(3)(qter-->p25:)) was performed to investigate the relationship between the molecular pathology and clinical phenotype. Fluorescence in situ hybridization studies and analysis of polymorphic DNA markers from chromosome 3p25-p26 demonstrated that all four informative cases had distal deletions. However, the extent of the deletion was variable: in two patients with the most extensive deletions the deletion breakpoint mapped between RAF1 and D3S1250, in one patient the deletion breakpoint was between D3S1250 and D3S601, and in two patients the deletion commenced telomeric to D3S601 (and telomeric to D3S1317 in one of these). All five patients displayed the classical features of 3p- syndrome (mental retardation, growth retardation, microcephaly, ptosis and micrognathia) demonstrating that loss of sequences centromeric to D3S1317 is not required for expression of the characteristic 3p- syndrome phenotype. The three patients with the most extensive deletions had cardiac septal defects suggesting that a gene involved in normal cardiac development is contained in the interval D3S1250 and D3S18. The PMCA2 gene is contained within this region and deletion of this gene may cause congenital heart defects. At least three patients were deleted for the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease gene although none had yet developed evidence of VHL disease. We conclude that molecular analysis of 3p- syndrome patients enhances the management of affected patients by identifying those at risk for VHL disease, and can be used to elucidate the critical regions for the 3p- syndrome phenotype.
Hum Mol Genet 1994 Jun
PMID:Molecular genetic analysis of the 3p- syndrome. 795 Dec 34


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