Determination of recombination rates across the human genome has been constrained by the limited resolution and accuracy of existing genetic maps and the draft genome sequence. We have genotyped ...5,136 microsatellite markers for 146 families, with a total of 1,257 meiotic events, to build a high-resolution genetic map meant to: (i) improve the genetic order of polymorphic markers; (ii) improve the precision of estimates of genetic distances; (iii) correct portions of the sequence assembly and SNP map of the human genome; and (iv) build a map of recombination rates. Recombination rates are significantly correlated with both cytogenetic structures (staining intensity of G bands) and sequence (GC content, CpG motifs and poly(A)/poly(T) stretches). Maternal and paternal chromosomes show many differences in locations of recombination maxima. We detected systematic differences in recombination rates between mothers and between gametes from the same mother, suggesting that there is some underlying component determined by both genetic and environmental factors that affects maternal recombination rates.
Recent Icelandic studies have demonstrated linkage for common forms of stroke to chromosome 5q12 and association between phosphodiesterase4D (PDE4D) and ischemic stroke. Using a candidate region ...approach, we wanted to test the validity of these findings in a different population from northern Sweden.
A total of 56 families with 117 affected individuals were included in the linkage study. Genotyping was performed with polymorphic microsatellite markers with an average distance of 4.5 cM on chromosome 5. In the association study, 275 cases of first-ever stroke were included together with 550 matched community controls. Polymorphisms were tested individually for association of PDE4D to stroke.
Maximum allele-sharing lod score in favor of linkage was observed at marker locus D5S424 (lod score=2.06; P=0.0010). Conditional logistic regression calculations revealed no significant association of ischemic stroke to the defined at-risk allele in PDE4D (odds ratio, 1.1; 95% confidence interval, 0.84 to 1.45). A protective effect may though be implied for 2 of the polymorphisms analyzed in PDE4D.
Using a candidate region approach in a set of stroke families from northern Sweden, we have replicated linkage of stroke susceptibility to the PDE4D gene region on chromosome 5q. Association studies in an independent nested case-control sample from the same geographically located population suggested that different alleles confer susceptibility/protection to stroke in the Icelandic and the northern Swedish populations.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the major cause of dementia. During the development of AD, neurofibrillary tangles progress in a fixed pattern, starting in the transentorhinal cortex followed by the ...hippocampus and cortical areas. In contrast, the deposition of β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques, which are the other histological hallmark of AD, does not follow the same strict spatiotemporal pattern, and it correlates poorly with cognitive decline. Instead, soluble Aβ oligomers have received increasing attention as probable inducers of pathogenesis. In this study, we use microinjections into electrophysiologically defined primary hippocampal rat neurons to demonstrate the direct neuron-to-neuron transfer of soluble oligomeric Aβ. Additional studies conducted in a human donor-acceptor cell model show that this Aβ transfer depends on direct cellular connections. As the transferred oligomers accumulate, acceptor cells gradually show beading of tubulin, a sign of neurite damage, and gradual endosomal leakage, a sign of cytotoxicity. These observations support that intracellular Aβ oligomers play a role in neurodegeneration, and they explain the manner in which Aβ can drive disease progression, even if the extracellular plaque load is poorly correlated with the degree of cognitive decline. Understanding this phenomenon sheds light on the pathophysiological mechanism of AD progression. Additional elucidation will help uncover the detailed mechanisms responsible for the manner in which AD progresses via anatomical connections and will facilitate the development of new strategies for stopping the progression of this incapacitating disease.
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