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Levy G, Levin B, Engelhardt E. Echoes of William Gowers's concept of abiotrophy. JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF THE NEUROSCIENCES 2022; 31:425-449. [PMID: 34905460 DOI: 10.1080/0964704x.2021.1989649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Among William Gowers's many contributions to neurology, the concept of abiotrophy ("an essential failure of vitality") has been relatively overlooked. In this article, we review the echoes of Gowers's concept in neurology, ophthalmology, and aging research. We also argue that abiotrophy is broader than both heredodegeneration and neurodegeneration. Unlike the common view that it simply means premature aging, abiotrophy currently can be understood as a progressive degenerative process of a mature specialized tissue, which is nonsynchronous with normal aging and may affect organs or systems early in life, resulting from the age-dependent effects of genetic mutations or variants, even if environmental factors may also causally contribute to the process. Although the term has largely fallen out of use, there are likely to be everlasting echoes of Gowers's concept, through which he is to be considered a source of the modern thinking about the etiology and nosology of neurological diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bruce Levin
- Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Eliasz Engelhardt
- Instituto de Neurologia Deolindo Couto and Instituto de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Manandhar M, Lowery MG, Boulware KS, Lin KH, Lu Y, Wood RD. Transcriptional consequences of XPA disruption in human cell lines. DNA Repair (Amst) 2017; 57:76-90. [PMID: 28704716 PMCID: PMC5731452 DOI: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2017.06.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2017] [Revised: 06/26/2017] [Accepted: 06/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Nucleotide excision repair (NER) in mammalian cells requires the xeroderma pigmentosum group A protein (XPA) as a core factor. Remarkably, XPA and other NER proteins have been detected by chromatin immunoprecipitation at some active promoters, and NER deficiency is reported to influence the activated transcription of selected genes. However, the global influence of XPA on transcription in human cells has not been determined. We analyzed the human transcriptome by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). We first confirmed that XPA is confined to the cell nucleus even in the absence of external DNA damage, in contrast to previous reports that XPA is normally resident in the cytoplasm and is imported following DNA damage. We then analyzed four genetically matched human cell line pairs deficient or proficient in XPA. Of the ∼14,000 genes transcribed in each cell line, 325 genes (2%) had a significant XPA-dependent directional change in gene expression that was common to all four pairs (with a false discovery rate of 0.05). These genes were enriched in pathways for the maintenance of mitochondria. Only 27 common genes were different by more than 1.5-fold. The most significant hits were AKR1C1 and AKR1C2, involved in steroid hormone metabolism. AKR1C2 protein was lower in all of the immortalized XPA-deficient cells. Retinoic acid treatment led to modest XPA-dependent activation of some genes with transcription-related functions. We conclude that XPA status does not globally influence human gene transcription. However, XPA significantly influences expression of a small subset of genes important for mitochondrial functions and steroid hormone metabolism. The results may help explain defects in neurological function and sterility in individuals with xeroderma pigmentosum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mandira Manandhar
- Department of Epigenetics & Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 389, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA; MD Anderson Cancer Center UT Health Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, TX, USA
| | - Megan G Lowery
- Department of Epigenetics & Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 389, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA
| | - Karen S Boulware
- Department of Epigenetics & Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 389, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA
| | - Kevin H Lin
- Department of Epigenetics & Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 389, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA
| | - Yue Lu
- Department of Epigenetics & Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 389, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA
| | - Richard D Wood
- Department of Epigenetics & Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 389, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA; MD Anderson Cancer Center UT Health Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, TX, USA.
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Melkani GC. Huntington's Disease-Induced Cardiac Disorders Affect Multiple Cellular Pathways. REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (APEX, N.C.) 2016; 2:325-338. [PMID: 29963642 PMCID: PMC6022757 DOI: 10.20455/ros.2016.859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a rare, inherited, progressive, and fatal neurological disorder resulting from expanded polyglutamine repeats in the huntingtin protein. While HD is predominately characterized as a disease of the central nervous system, mortality surveys and epidemiological studies reveal heart disease as one of the leading causes of death in HD patients. Emerging evidence supports a link between HD and cardiovascular disease, such as cardiac amyloidosis (accumulation of aggregates in the heart). Experimental animal and clinical studies have attempted to explain the mechanisms of HD-induced cardiac pathology in the association of protein misfolding, autophagic defects, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and cell death. HD is increasingly understood as a complex disease with peripheral components of cardiac and skeletal muscle pathophysiology. While the discovery of these linkages and apparent pathological markers is promising, the mechanism of HD-induced cardiac pathology and the nature of its cell autonomy remain elusive. Further study of the wide-ranging cardiac function in HD patients is needed. This review highlights published literature on the pathological factors associated with HD-induced cardiac amyloidosis and other cardiovascular diseases, and addresses gaps in this expanding area of study. Through comprehensive experimental and clinical studies, potential drugs can be tested to attenuate and/or ameliorate HD-induced cardiac pathology and mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Girish C Melkani
- Department of Biology, Molecular Biology and Heart Institutes, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
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Iijima K, Gatt A, Iijima-Ando K. Tau Ser262 phosphorylation is critical for Abeta42-induced tau toxicity in a transgenic Drosophila model of Alzheimer's disease. Hum Mol Genet 2010; 19:2947-57. [PMID: 20466736 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddq200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The amyloid-beta 42 (Abeta42) peptide has been suggested to promote tau phosphorylation and toxicity in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis; however, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Using transgenic Drosophila expressing both human Abeta42 and tau, we show here that tau phosphorylation at Ser262 plays a critical role in Abeta42-induced tau toxicity. Co-expression of Abeta42 increased tau phosphorylation at AD-related sites including Ser262, and enhanced tau-induced neurodegeneration. In contrast, formation of either sarkosyl-insoluble tau or paired helical filaments was not induced by Abeta42. Co-expression of Abeta42 and tau carrying the non-phosphorylatable Ser262Ala mutation did not cause neurodegeneration, suggesting that the Ser262 phosphorylation site is required for the pathogenic interaction between Abeta42 and tau. We have recently reported that the DNA damage-activated Checkpoint kinase 2 (Chk2) phosphorylates tau at Ser262 and enhances tau toxicity in a transgenic Drosophila model. We detected that expression of Chk2, as well as a number of genes involved in DNA repair pathways, was increased in the Abeta42 fly brains. The induction of a DNA repair response is protective against Abeta42 toxicity, since blocking the function of the tumor suppressor p53, a key transcription factor for the induction of DNA repair genes, in neurons exacerbated Abeta42-induced neuronal dysfunction. Our results demonstrate that tau phosphorylation at Ser262 is crucial for Abeta42-induced tau toxicity in vivo, and suggest a new model of AD progression in which activation of DNA repair pathways is protective against Abeta42 toxicity but may trigger tau phosphorylation and toxicity in AD pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koichi Iijima
- Laboratory of Genetics and Neurobiology, Farber Institute for Neurosciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.
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Iijima-Ando K, Zhao L, Gatt A, Shenton C, Iijima K. A DNA damage-activated checkpoint kinase phosphorylates tau and enhances tau-induced neurodegeneration. Hum Mol Genet 2010; 19:1930-8. [PMID: 20159774 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddq068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Hyperphosphorylation of the microtubule associated protein tau is detected in the brains of individuals with a range of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD). An imbalance in phosphorylation and/or dephosphorylation of tau at disease-related sites has been suggested to initiate the abnormal metabolism and toxicity of tau in disease pathogenesis. However, the mechanisms underlying abnormal phosphorylation of tau in AD are not fully understood. Here, we show that the DNA damage-activated Checkpoint kinase 2 (Chk2) is a novel tau kinase and enhances tau toxicity in a transgenic Drosophila model. Overexpression of Drosophila Chk2 increases tau phosphorylation at Ser262 and enhances tau-induced neurodegeneration in transgenic flies expressing human tau. The non-phosphorylatable Ser262Ala mutation abolishes Chk2-induced enhancement of tau toxicity, suggesting that the Ser262 phosphorylation site is involved in the enhancement of tau toxicity by Chk2. In vitro kinase assays revealed that human Chk2 and a closely related checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) directly phosphorylate human tau at Ser262. We also demonstrate that Drosophila Chk2 does not modulate the activity of the fly homolog of microtubule affinity regulating kinase, which has been shown to be a physiological tau Ser262 kinase. Since accumulation of DNA damage has been detected in the brains of AD patients, our results suggest that the DNA damage-activated kinases Chk1 and Chk2 may be involved in tau phosphorylation and toxicity in the pathogenesis of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanae Iijima-Ando
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Pathobiology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.
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Petcu I, Savu D, Vral A, Thierens H, Nagels G, De Ridder L. Chromosomal Radiosensitivity in Secondary‐Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Patients. Int J Radiat Biol 2009; 80:663-72. [PMID: 15586886 DOI: 10.1080/09553000400007664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To investigate chromosomal radiosensitivity of secondary progressive (SP) multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in comparison to a group of healthy individuals. MATERIAL AND METHODS Chromosomal radiosensitivity was assessed in vitro with the G2 assay and the G0-micronucleus (MN) assay. For the G2 assay phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) stimulated blood cultures were irradiated with a dose of 0.4 Gy 60Co gamma rays in the G2 phase of the cell cycle. For the MN assay unstimulated diluted blood samples were exposed to 3.5 Gy 60Co gamma rays delivered at a high dose-rate (HDR = 1 Gy/min) or low dose-rate (LDR = 4 mGy/min). RESULTS No significant differences in the number of chromatid breaks were observed between MS patients and healthy individuals. With the G0-MN assay a higher spontaneous MN yield was found in MS patients. At HDR irradiation no significant differences were shown, while at LDR irradiation, MS patients were found less sensitive than healthy controls. The dose-rate sparing index was higher for MS patients, pointing to a better repair capacity. CONCLUSIONS MS patients are not characterised by an enhanced in vitro chromosomal radiosensitivity. The radioresistant response, which was only observed with the MN assay after LDR irradiation, may point to an adaptive response induced by in vivo oxidative stress in SPMS patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ileana Petcu
- Department of Environmental and Life Physics, National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering Horia Hulubei, 407 Atomistilor St., R-76900 Bucharest-Magurele, Romania
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Cui J, Liu PK. Neuronal NOS inhibitor that reduces oxidative DNA lesions and neuronal sensitivity increases the expression of intact c-fos transcripts after brain injury. J Biomed Sci 2001; 8:336-41. [PMID: 11455196 PMCID: PMC2727053 DOI: 10.1007/bf02258375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In response to oxidative stress, the ischemic brain induces immediate early genes when its nuclear genes contain gene damage. Antioxidant that reduces gene damage also reduces cell death. To study the mechanism of neuronal sensitivity, we investigated the transcription of the c-fos gene after brain injury of the ischemia-reperfusion type using focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in Long-Evans hooded rats. We observed a significant (p < 0.01) increase in c-fos mRNA in the ischemic cortex immediately after brain injury. However, the c-fos transcript was sensitive to RNase A protection assay (RPA) upon reperfusion. The transcript became significantly resistant to RPA (42%, p < 0.03) when 3-bromo-7-nitroindazole (25 mg/kg, i.p.), known to abolish nitric oxide, gene damage and neuronal sensitivity, was injected. Our data suggest that neuronal nitric oxide synthase and aberrant mRNA from genes with oxidative damage could be associated with neuronal sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Cui
- Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Tex 77030, USA
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Abstract
To determine whether oxidative stress after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion affects genetic stability in the brain, we studied mutagenesis after forebrain ischemia-reperfusion in Big Blue transgenic mice (male C57BL/6 strain) containing a reporter lacI gene, which allows detection of mutation frequency. The frequency of mutation in this reporter lacI gene increased from 1.5 to 7.7 (per 100,000) in cortical DNA after 30 min of forebrain ischemia and 8 hr of reperfusion and remained elevated at 24 hr reperfusion. Eight DNA lesions that are characteristic of DNA damage mediated by free radicals were detected. Four mutagenic lesions (2,6-diamino-4-hydroxy-5-formamidopyrimidine, 8-hydroxyadenine, 5-hydroxycytosine, and 8-hydroxyguanine) examined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and one corresponding 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine by a method of HPLC with electrochemical detection increased in cortical DNA two- to fourfold (p < 0.05) during 10-20 min of reperfusion. The damage to gamma-actin and DNA polymerase-beta genes was detected within 20 min of reperfusion based on the presence of formamidopyrimidine DNA N-glycosylase-sensitive sites. These genes became resistant to the glycosylase within 4-6 hr of reperfusion, suggesting a reduction in DNA damage and presence of DNA repair in nuclear genes. These results suggest that nuclear genes could be targets of free radicals.
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Kruk PA, Rampino NJ, Bohr VA. DNA damage and repair in telomeres: relation to aging. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1995; 92:258-62. [PMID: 7816828 PMCID: PMC42857 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.92.1.258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 214] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
We have established a method for the detection of DNA damage and its repair in human telomeres, the natural ends of chromosomes which are necessary for replication and critical for chromosomal stability. We find that ultraviolet light-induced pyrimidine dimers in telomeric DNA are repaired less efficiently than endogenous genes but more efficiently than inactive, noncoding regions. We have also measured telomeric length, telomeric DNA damage, and its repair in relation to the progression of aging. Telomeres are shorter in fibroblasts from an old donor compared to fibroblasts from a young donor, shortest in cells from a patient with the progeroid disorder Werner syndrome, and relatively long in fibroblasts from a patient with Alzheimer disease. Telomeric DNA repair efficiency is lower in cells from an old donor than in cells from a young donor, normal in Alzheimer cells, and slightly lower in Werner cells. It is possible that this decline in telomeric repair with aging is of functional significance to an age-related decline in genomic stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- P A Kruk
- Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224
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Hannan MA, Waghray M, Sigut D, Ozand PT. Increased radiosensitivity of cell lines derived from a Down's syndrome patient with ocular telangiectasia. J Child Neurol 1992; 7 Suppl:S83-7. [PMID: 1534094 DOI: 10.1177/08830738920070011311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Studies on radiosensitivity of cells from Down's syndrome (DS) patients were stimulated by the observation of their increased susceptibility to leukemia. While lymphocytes from DS patients were found to consistently show increased chromosomal aberrations after exposure to ionizing radiation, conflicting reports have been published on the radiosensitivity of fibroblasts and lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) derived from these patients. In the present study, cultured skin fibroblast lines developed from a DS patient with ocular telangiectasia and five normal subjects were compared for both cell killing and chromosomal aberrations (breaks, translocations, inversions, dicentrics, and rings) after low dose-rate gamma-irradiation. The LCLs developed from the patient and two normal persons were also compared for chromosomal radiosensitivity using the same irradiation protocol. A comparison of the D10 (radiation dose resulting in 10% survival) values estimated from the survival curves and the frequencies of induced chromosome aberrations in different cell lines showed that the DS cells were more radiosensitive than the respective controls. The increased cellular radiosensitivity of the DS patient reported here could be due to a combination of genetic factors (DS plus a gene for hypersensitivity to radiation) and, thus, may not be representative of all DS patients. Alternatively, the use of low dose-rate irradiation could be a factor in revealing the radiosensitivity of DS fibroblasts in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Hannan
- Department of Biological and Medical Research, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Hannan MA, Greer W, Smith BP, Sigut D, Ali MA, Amer MH. Skin fibroblast cell lines derived from non-Hodgkin's-lymphoma (NHL) patients show increased sensitivity to chronic gamma irradiation. Int J Cancer 1991; 47:261-6. [PMID: 1988369 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.2910470215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Cultured fibroblast cells from 19 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), 3 patients with ataxia telangiectasia (AT), 3 AT heterozygotes and 11 (presumed) normal subjects were studied for impaired colony-forming ability after chronic gamma irradiation. Five cell lines from the NHL patients were also examined for the sensitivity to acute gamma irradiation, as compared with those of normal subjects. To ascertain the degree of radiosensitivity of different cell lines, a comparison was made of the D10 values (radiation dose resulting in 10% survival) for each cell line, estimated "by eye" from the actual survival curves, and also from the calculated curves fitted to a log-linear model. It was observed that the acute gamma irradiation failed to show any appreciable difference in the radiation response of the cell lines from NHL patients as compared with those of normal subjects. However, chronic irradiation demonstrated significantly increased radiosensitivity in at least 10-12 NHL patients with a p value of less than 0.05, when the D10 values of each patient's cell line were compared with the calculated composite values for the normals. When the D10 values of the NHL patients and the normal subjects were compared as 2 groups, the former appeared to be significantly more sensitive to chronic gamma irradiation (p less than 0.0001). The same level of significant difference in radiosensitivity was found between the 2 groups when their D37 values (radiation dose resulting in 37% survival) were compared. In general, the radiation response of the NHL patients was similar to that of the AT homozygotes and heterozygotes used as a positive control group. Our data thus show that increased radiosensitivity is associated with the NHL patients studied, indicating an underlying abnormality of their DNA repair.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Hannan
- Department of Biological and Medical Research, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Abstract
DNA repair studies used to be confined to measurements representing an average over the entire mammalian genome. It is now possible to study repair processes at subgenomic levels including specific genes. We will describe such results and discuss the impact they may have on our understanding of important oncological processes. Also, we will describe and discuss some clinical conditions that may have some effect in DNA damage processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- V A Bohr
- National Cancer Institute, Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Division of Cancer Treatment, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
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Robbins JH. A childhood neurodegeneration due to defective DNA repair: a novel concept of disease based on studies xeroderma pigmentosum. J Child Neurol 1989; 4:143-6. [PMID: 2654275 DOI: 10.1177/088307388900400215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- J H Robbins
- Dermatology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892
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