Prodromal clinical manifestations of neuropathologically confirmed Lewy body disease

The mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage of dementia with Lewy bodies (MCI-DLB) has not yet been defined, but is likely to differ in the MCI stage of Alzheimer's disease (MCI-AD). To determine whether clinical features distinguish MCI-DLB and MCI-AD, 9 cases of neuropathologically confirmed MCI-DLB and 12 cases of MCI-AD were compared. No significant differences were found between MCI-DLB and MCI-AD cases in age at death, gender, ApoE status, education, time followed while clinically normal, or duration of MCI. MCI-DLB and MCI-AD cases differed clinically in the expression of Parkinsonism (P=0.012), provoked hallucinations or delirium (P=0.042), or the presence of any of these noncognitive symptoms of DLB (P<0.0001). Letter fluency (P=0.007) was significantly lower and Wechsler Logical Memory I (P=0.019) was significantly higher in MCI-DLB compared to MCI-AD cases. These data demonstrate the feasibility of differentiating underlying pathologic processes responsible for cognitive decline in the preclinical disease state and suggest that further refinement in diagnostic criteria may allow more accurate early detection of prodromal DLB and AD.

Hemorrhagic stroke associated with the Iowa amyloid precursor protein mutation

The authors searched for mutations in the beta-amyloid precursor protein in a Spanish family with a hereditary syndrome of hemorrhagic stroke, dementia, leukoencephalopathy, and occipital calcifications. DNA from two affected members demonstrated the Iowa amyloid precursor protein mutation previously identified as a cause of severe amyloid angiopathy without hemorrhagic stroke. These data point to other genetic or environmental factors that may determine the occurrence of symptomatic hemorrhage in amyloid angiopathy.

Event-by-event fluctuations of the Kaon-to-Pion ratio in central Pb+Pb collisions at 158 GeV per nucleon

We present the first measurement of fluctuations from event to event in the production of strange particles in collisions of heavy nuclei. The ratio of charged kaons to charged pions is determined for individual central Pb+Pb collisions. After accounting for the fluctuations due to detector resolution and finite number statistics we derive an upper limit on genuine nonstatistical fluctuations, which could be related to a first- or second-order QCD phase transition. Such fluctuations are shown to be very small.

Adult-onset Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome presenting as cortical dementia

The authors examined behavioral and pathophysiologic substrates in a patient with adult-onset Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome who presented with insidious cognitive decline but no motor impairment. The authors combined longitudinal case history and serial neuropsychologic testing with functional neuroimaging (positron emission tomography), structural neuroimaging (magnetic resonance imaging), and brain tissue analyses. Serial assessments of a 29-year-old woman showed progressive dementia. Marked cognitive and behavioral deficits were seen on neuropsychologic testing, corresponding to striking cortical abnormalities on positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and histopathologic studies. Typical motor manifestations of the disorder did not emerge until the patient was 34 years old, 5 years after the onset of cognitive symptoms. Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome should be considered in the differential diagnosis of progressive cortical dementia in a young adult, even in the absence of motor dysfunction.

Hemidemethylation is sufficient for chromatin relaxation and transcriptional activation of methylated aprt gene in mouse P19 embryonal carcinoma cell line

A series of clones displaying a high-frequency "switching" phenotype for expression of the adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (aprt) gene was previously isolated from the P19 mouse embryonal carcinoma stem cell line. In a subset of these clones, loss of aprt expression was correlated with increased DNA methylation, a nuclease-resistant chromatin conformation, and loss of RNA transcription; reactivation was associated with a reversal of these parameters. In this report, the role of DNA methylation in transcriptional inactivation was studied in the H22D3 clone. The cells of this clone contain a single inactive aprt allele that is methylated. Mass cultures of H22D3 were treated with 2-deoxy-5'-azacytidine (5aCdr) and found to reactivate aprt at frequencies ranging from 60 to 90%. Treated cultures were then assayed over time for aprt mRNA, chromatin conformation, and DNA methylation of the aprt gene. These studies demonstrated that 5aCdr treatment resulted in promoter region-specific hemidemethylation and chromatin relaxation starting at 12 h. This was followed by the appearance of RNA transcripts at 18 h and increasing levels of APRT enzymatic activity at 36 h after treatment. Complete demethylation occurred significantly later. Experiments in which cells were treated with 5aCdr for varying periods of time demonstrated that a single round of analog incorporation was sufficient for transcriptional reactivation of aprt in H22D3.

Region-specific rates of molecular evolution: a fourfold reduction in the rate of accumulation of "silent" mutations in transcribed versus nontranscribed regions of homologous DNA fragments derived from two closely related mouse species

We have sequenced homologous DNA fragments of 2.7 and 2.8 kbp derived from the closely related mouse species Mus musculus domesticus (M. domesticus) and Mus musculus musculus (M. musculus), respectively. These two species diverged approximately 1 million years ago. Each DNA fragment contains 1.35 kbp of the 3' end of the constitutively expressed 2.2-kbp aprt (adenine phosphoribosyltransferase) gene and a similarly sized nontranscribed region downstream of the aprt gene. The aprt gene region contains protein coding sequences (0.35 kbp), intronic sequences (0.75 kbp), and a 3' nontranslated sequence (0.25 kbp). Both the M. domesticus and M. musculus downstream regions share three partial copies of the B1 repetitive element with the M. musculus downstream region containing an additional complete copy of this element. A comparison of the 2.7- and 2.8-kbp DNA fragments revealed a total of 63 molecular alterations (i.e., mutations) that were approximately fourfold more abundant in the nontranscribed downstream region than in the transcribed aprt gene. Of the 11 mutations observed in the transcribed region, 7 were found in introns, 3 in the 3' untranslated sequence, and 1 was a synonymous change in an exon. A comparison of the human and M. domesticus aprt genes has previously revealed no homology in either the intronic or 3' nontranslated regions with the exception of a 26-bp sequence in intron 3 and sequences at the exon/intron boundaries necessary for correct mRNA splicing (Broderick et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 84:3349, 1987). Therefore, there does not appear to be selective pressure for sequences within these regions. We conclude that there is a lower rate of accumulation of "silent" mutations in the transcribed mouse aprt gene than in a contiguous nontranscribed downstream region. A possible molecular mechanism involving preferential DNA repair for the transcribed region is discussed.

Molecular and biochemical elucidation of a cellular phenotype characterized by adenine analogue resistance in the presence of high levels of adenine phosphoribosyltransferase activity

A mouse embryonal carcinoma cell line isolated for resistance to the adenine analogue 2,6-diaminopurine (DAP) was found to have near-wild-type levels of adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) activity in a cell-free assay. This DAP-resistant (DAPr) cell line, termed H29D1, also exhibited near-wild-type levels of adenine accumulation and the ability to grow in medium containing azaserine and adenine. Growth in this medium requires high levels of intracellular APRT activity. Using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the dideoxy chain termination sequencing technique, an A-->G transition was discovered in exon 3 of the aprt gene in H29D1. This mutation resulted in an Arg-to-Gln change at amino acid 87 of the APRT protein that, in turn, resulted in a decreased affinity for adenine. An increased sensitivity of APRT to inhibition by AMP was observed when comparing H29D1 to P19, the parental cell line. Using a transgene containing the A-->G mutation, we demonstrated that this mutation is responsible for the biochemical and cellular phenotypes observed for the H29D1 cell line. The approach used in this study provides a definitive method for linking a mutation to a specific cellular phenotype.

At least two distinct epigenetic mechanisms are correlated with high-frequency "switching" for APRT phenotypic expression in mouse embryonal carcinoma stem cells

A series of clones displaying high frequency "switching" phenotypes for expression of the adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (aprt) gene were previously isolated from the P19 mouse embryonal carcinoma stem cell line. Most clones contained only one aprt allele. We report here the characterization of each of these clones with regards to enzymatic activity, mRNA steady state levels, DNA methylation, and chromatin conformation. When clones were selected for resistance to the purine analog 2,6-diaminopurine, which requires markedly reduced levels of APRT enzymatic activity, two distinct classes were observed. The first class was associated with reduced or undetectable levels of aprt mRNA, hypermethylation of the 5' CpG island, and a closed chromatin conformation within this region. When clones of this class were selected for reacquisition of APRT enzymatic activity they were found to have increased mRNA levels, a hypomethylated CpG island, and an open chromatin conformation. In contrast, the second class of clones displayed wild-type levels of mRNA, CpG island hypomethylation, and an open chromatin conformation regardless of whether they were selected for the presence or absence of APRT enzymatic activity. The implications of these results for general mechanisms of epigenetic change in somatic cells and the possibility that expression of the mouse aprt gene may be developmentally regulated are discussed.

Molecular analysis of APRT deficiency in mouse P19 teratocarcinoma stem cell line

We have used four gene probes specific for mouse chromosome 8, including adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (aprt), to demonstrate that the P19 teratocarcinoma stem cell line contains two distinct chromosome 8 homologs. One represents the common laboratory mouse C3H (Mus musculus domesticus) homolog while the second homolog was presumably contributed by a feral Mus musculus musculus animal. Six cell lines with APRT heterozygous deficiencies were isolated from P19 subclones. A molecular analysis of these heterozygotes demonstrated that three arose by deletion of the Mus musculus musculus aprt allele and three arose by aprt gene inactivation. APRT homozygous deficient cell lines were isolated from both classes of heterozygote; most contained little or no detectable APRT activity. When the heterozygous deficiency was due to deletion of the Mus musculus musculus aprt allele, the most frequent event yielding homozygous deficient cell lines was associated with loss of heterozygosity for all tested markers on the Mus musculus domesticus homolog indicating chromosome loss. In contrast, when the initial event resulting in APRT heterozygous deficiency was gene inactivation, homozygotes arose predominantly from gene deletion or a second inactivation event. These results suggest a potential relationship between the first- and second-step events resulting in APRT deficiencies.

Virulence plasmid-associated sensitivity to acid in Escherichia coli and its possible significance in human infections

Several strains of Escherichia coli were markedly sensitised to killing at pH 2.5 or 3.5 when the ColV,I-K94 virulence plasmid was introduced into them. For strain 1829, the effect on acid sensitivity was due to the presence of plasmid in the previously resistant strain rather than to its introduction into an acid-sensitive variant already in the population. Acid sensitivity was also conferred by the ColV-K30 and ColB-K98 plasmids and the resistance plasmid R124-F2; other plasmids tested had no marked effect. Studies of ColV+ strains carrying mutant plasmids indicated that it was the presence of ColV-encoded transfer components that made ColV,I-K94+ strains acid-sensitive. Organisms in the exponential phase of growth were more sensitive to acid than were those from stationary phase cultures and this difference was more marked for ColV,I-K94+ strains than for Col- ones. Moreover, ColV+ strains exposed to conditions of low pH for short periods subsequently grew less well than the Col- parent and appeared to be sensitised by the damage to the effects of H2O2. These results indicate that some ColV+ strains may be more sensitive to gastric acid and to phagocytic acidity than are Col- strains. ColV,I-K94+ strains grew as well as Col- ones in broth or urine at pH 4.5-6.0 which suggests that the presence of the plasmid would not be detrimental to bacterial growth in the urinary tract. The presence of transfer components in the outer membrane of ColV,I-K94+ bacteria may destabilize the lipopolysaccharide layer allowing increased penetration of hydrogen ions.