A male with a monocentric Yq isochromosome and presence of a Yp-specific DNA sequence

Tracking of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D during 21 years

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Our objective was to evaluate the degree of tracking for serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] over time, by using data from three previously conducted surveys of the Tromsø study collected in the years 1994/1995 (Tromsø 4), 2007/2008 (Tromsø 6), and 2015/2016 (Tromsø 7).

SUBJECTS/METHODS

Subjects with valid 25(OH)D measurements in all three surveys were included. 25(OH)D z-scores were used to adjust for seasonal variation. Z-scores and sextiles were used to illustrate tracking of 25(OH)D.

RESULTS

1702 subjects (572 males, 1130 females) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Median (5th, 95th percentiles) age for these subjects was 55 (33, 65) years in Tromsø 4, and mean (SD) 25(OH)D levels were 57 (18) nmol/L, 59 (19) nmol/L, and 72 (21) nmol/L for Tromsø 4, Tromsø 6, and Tromsø 7, respectively. There was significant tracking of serum 25(OH)D over the 21 years period between the surveys of the Tromsø study. The correlation coefficient r between 25(OH)D z-scores from Tromsø 4 and Tromsø 6 was 0.40, and declined to 0.29 for the correlation between Tromsø 4 and Tromsø 7. Twenty-six percent of the subjects in the lowest 25(OH)D z-score sextile in Tromsø 4 were in the three highest sextiles of 25(OH)D in Tromsø 7. Similarly, 35% of those in the highest sextile in Tromsø 4 were in the lowest three sextiles in Tromsø 7.

CONCLUSIONS

The degree of tracking for serum 25(OH)D declines over time, and the use of a single serum 25(OH)D measurement as an indicator of the vitamin-D status is questionable if used in long-lasting observational studies.

Genome-wide association study identifies 143 loci associated with 25 hydroxyvitamin D concentration

Vitamin D deficiency is a candidate risk factor for a range of adverse health outcomes. In a genome-wide association study of 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentration in 417,580 Europeans we identify 143 independent loci in 112 1-Mb regions, providing insights into the physiology of vitamin D and implicating genes involved in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism, dermal tissue properties, and the sulphonation and glucuronidation of 25OHD. Mendelian randomization models find no robust evidence that 25OHD concentration has causal effects on candidate phenotypes (e.g. BMI, psychiatric disorders), but many phenotypes have (direct or indirect) causal effects on 25OHD concentration, clarifying the epidemiological relationship between 25OHD status and the health outcomes examined in this study.

Trisomy 8 syndrome owing to isodicentric 8p chromosomes: regional assignment of a presumptive gene involved in corpus callosum development

Two patients with trisomy 8 syndrome owing to an isodicentric 8p;8p chromosome are described. Case 1 had a 46,XX/46,XX,-8,+idic(8)(p23) karyotype while case 2, a male, had the same abnormal karyotype without evidence of mosaicism. In situ hybridisation, performed in case 1, showed that the isochromosome was asymmetrical. Agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC), which is a feature of trisomy 8 syndrome, was found in both patients. Although ACC is associated with aneuploidies for different chromosomes, a review of published reports indicates that, when associated with chromosome 8, this defect is the result of duplication of a gene located within 8p21-pter. Molecular analysis in one of our patients led us to exclude the distal 23 Mb of 8p from this ACC region.

Mechanism of i(6p) formation in retinoblastoma tumor cells

Isochromosome (6p) represents a highly characteristic cytogenetic abnormality of human retinoblastoma (RB) cells and may be important for tumor progression. To elucidate the mechanism by which this abnormal chromosome is formed, 24 RB tumors and three cell lines were studied by means of DNA polymorphisms specific for the short arm and the long arm of chromosome 6. Our results indicate that mitotic nondisjunction leading to trisomy 6 precedes the isochromosome formation. The isochromosome may then be formed by transverse division of the centromere or intrachromosomal chromatid exchange.

A human Y-chromosomal DNA sequence expressed in testicular tissue

Clone pJA36B (DYS14) was isolated from a human Y chromosome enriched cosmid library. Southern blot analysis revealed a male-specific hybridization pattern. Deletion mapping with patients' DNA localized pJA36B to the median region of Yp, being present in the DNA of nine of fifteen XX-males tested so far and therefore localized in the region neighbouring the TDF-locus. Northern blot analysis showed a transcription signal in poly(A)+ RNA of human testis. Sequence analysis of the genomic DNA sequence revealed an open reading frame of 522 basepairs in the absence of control or signal sequences for the regulation of transcription or polyadenylation. This suggests that only one exon of a translatable sequence is present in clone pJA36B. A computer aided search revealed no significant homologies with known DNA or protein sequences.

Determining the origin of human X isochromosomes by use of DNA sequence polymorphisms and detection of an apparent i(Xq) with Xp sequences

The parental origin of five X isochromosomes were determined using 11 DNA markers. The isochromosome was derived from a maternal X chromosome in three cases and from a paternal X chromosome in two. Unexpected heterozygosity was detected for the proximal Xp region in one individual in whom the i(Xq) chromosome was paternally derived. This was confirmed by in situ hybridisation. A mode of formation of isochromosomes by breakage and reunion between the sister chromatids of the arms of an X chromosome is proposed to account for this. Sister chromatid breakage and reunion can be considered as a significant mechanism for the origin of i(Xq) chromosomes.

A fertile man with tdic(Y;22): how a stable neo-X1X2Y sex-determining mechanism could evolve in man

We describe a normal man with the karyotype: 45,X,dic(Y;22)(Ypter----Yq11.23::22p11.2----22qter+ ++). A brother and father of the propositus also had 45 chromosomes with the same dic(Y;22). Carriers of this chromosome are of normal phenotype, and the carrier of reproductive age had apparently normal fertility. A neo-X1X1X2X2/X1X2Y sex-determining mechanism can be considered to be operating in this family.