Project description:Lobular intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (LIN) is a recently recognized variant of intraepithelial lobular neoplasia of the breast composed of either uniform, generally small, cells (classic) with massive lobular distension, pleomorphic cells, signet-ring cells, or any cell type with necrosis. In contrast to classic forms of LIN, there is no consensus on therapeutic strategies for LIN3. In part this is due to the paucity of molecular data that could assist in defining the relationship of LIN3 to classic LIN and carcinomas. In this study we have employed array CGH to determine the patterns of chromosomal aberrations in 9 LIN3 lesions. By comparison to array CGH data of 13 classic LIN lesions, we demonstrate that LIN and LIN3 share several recurrent changes, in particular gains of 1q and losses of 16q. Both aberrations are known to appear early in tumorigenesis and to be associated with good prognosis. However, apart from this overlap, there were a number of karyotypic features that were observed exclusively in LIN3. Clearly, this lesion was characterized by a significantly higher number of DNA copy number changes (9 vs. 31 on average), a considerable complexity of chromosomal rearrangements with up to 16 breakpoints in one chromosome and overlapping high copy amplifications. The amplicons encompassed a number of known oncogenes such as ERBB2, CyclinD1 and FGF3 that have already been reported to be overexpressed in breast carcinomas. Our data suggest that, at the genetic level, LIN3 represents a highly advanced lesion with considerable resemblance to carcinomas and, therefore, reflects a lesion on the verge of invasion, and might represent the transition state from an intraepithelial neoplasm to breast carcinoma. In this study, nine cases of pleomorphic/necrotic LIN lesions as well as one classic LIN and the concurrent invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) were analyzed by array CGH. Sections of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens cut at 7-8Âµm were mounted on special foil-coated slides (Molecular Devices, San Diego, USA). The sections were then deparaffinized with Xylene, processed in decreasing concentrations of ethanol and stained with haematoxylin. Lasercapture microdissection for both lesions was performed at multiple sites using Veritas Arcturus. For reference-DNA, female mammary tissue without histomorphological changes obtained from reduction mammoplasty specimens was procecessed and laser-microdissected as explained above. Cells were digested in 10Âµl TE, pH 9, and 0.5Âµl proteinase K (20mg/ml) for 48h at 55Â°C. After inactivation of proteinase K at 99Â°C for 10min, the digest was stored at -20Â°C. Without any further purification, the complete digest was used for whole genome amplification by means of the WGA (Whole Genome Amplification) kit from Sigma following the manufacturerâs recommendations. Array CGH was performed as described previously. In brief, two Âµg of amplified tumor and reference DNA were labelled by random priming (BioPrimeÂ® Total Genomic Labeling System, Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) with Alexa FluorÂ® 3 and Alexa FluorÂ® 5, respectively, and hybridized onto a tiling path BAC array, consisting of the human 32k BAC Re-Array Set (BACPAC Resources Center; http://bacpac.chori.org/pHumanMinSet.htm; DNA kindly provided by Pieter de Jong) and a 1Mb Resolution BAC set (clones kindly provided by Nigel Carter, Wellcome Trust Sanger Centre). All protocols are provided in detail on our website (http://www.molgen.mpg.de/~abt_rop/molecular_cytogenetics/) and more information concerning this platform have been submitted to the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/; GLP: 5114). For the analysis and visualization of array CGH data, our software-package CGH-PRO was employed. No background subtraction was applied. Raw data were normalized by âSubgrid LOWESSâ. For the assessment of copy number gains and losses, we used circular binary segmentation in combination with log2 ratio thresholds of 0.15 and -0.15, respectively. High copy amplifications were defined by focal appearance and a log2 ratio exceeding 0.45. In order to statistically investigate the similarity of aberration profiles we applied Pearson's product-moment correlation to cbs ratios of each of the corresponding arrays.

Project description:Copy number variations (CNVs) account for a substantial proportion of human genomic variation, and have been shown to cause neurodevelopmental disorders. We sought to determine the relevance of CNVs to the aetiology of schizophrenia. Whole genome, high resolution, tiling path BAC array comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) was employed to test DNA from 91 individuals with DSM-IV schizophrenia. Common DNA copy number changes that are unlikely to be directly pathogenic in schizophrenia were identified by comparison to a reference dataset of 372 control individuals analysed in our laboratory, and a screen against the Database of Genomic Variants. The remaining aberrations were tested for inheritance from the parents, and validated with Affymetrix 250K SNP arrays or 244K Agilent oligo-arrays. Thirteen aberrations satisfied our criteria. Two of them are very likely to be pathogenic. A deletion at 2p16.3 disrupts NRXN1 and was present in an affected sibling. A de novo duplication at 15q13.1 spans APBA2. The proteins of these two genes interact directly and play a role in synaptic development and function. Both genes have been affected by CNVs in other neurodevelopmental disorders. Keywords: Array CGH We undertook a systematic search for CNVs in patients with schizophrenia using high resolution, whole genome tiling path BAC arrays. We selected 45 male and 48 female unrelated proband-parent trios from our sample of ~600 Bulgarian SZ trios recruited as described previously. In all cases IQ was > 70. The mean age of probands was 33.8 years (SD = 10.1, range 13-57 years). The mean age at onset of psychotic symptoms was 22.1 years (SD = 6.6, range 11-44 years). Sonicated patient and reference DNA was labelled by random priming (Bioprime Array CGH, Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) with Cy3 and Cy5 (Amersham Biosciences, Piscataway, NJ), respectively, and hybridized onto a tiling path BAC array, consisting of ~36,000 BAC clones obtained from several sources as described on our website (http://www.molgen.mpg.de/~abt_rop/molecular_cytogenetics/). All protocols are also provided on that website. For the analysis and visualization of array CGH data, our software-package CGHPRO was employed. For the assessment of copy number gains and losses, we used conservative log2 ratio thresholds of 0.3 and -0.3, respectively. Deviant signal intensity ratios involving three or more neighboring BAC clones were considered to be potentially pathogenic, unless they were covered by more than one known DNA copy number variant, as listed in the Database of Genomic Variants. No dye swap was done. Array CGH analysis was successful in 91 cases.

Project description:Several recent reports show that the cerebral cortex in humans and animals with altered expressions of Wnt/cadherin network-associate molecules display cytoarchitectural abnormalities reminiscent of cortical dysplasias seen in some (mouse-, rat-, and monkey-based) animal models of prenatal cocaine exposure. Therefore, we employed oligo microarrays followed by real-time RT-PCR to compare expressions of genes involved in Wnt and cadherin systems in the cerebral wall of 18-day-old (E18) fetuses from cocaine-treated (20 mg/kg cocaine, s.c., b.i.d., E8-18) and drug-naive (saline, s.c.) mice. The pregnant mice chronically treated with cocaine in the above-described manner represent one of the animal models producing offspring with widespread cortical dysplasias. Out of more than 150 relevant genes in the arrays, 32 were upregulated and 9 were downregulated in cocaine-exposed fetuses. The majority of these genes (30 out of 41) were similarly affected in the frontal and occipital regions of the cerebral wall. We also used Western immunoblotting to examine the ability of cocaine to regulate the protein levels of beta-catenin, the key functional component of both Wnt and cadherin systems. While the total cell levels of beta-catenin were increased throughout the cerebral wall of cocaine-exposed fetuses, its nuclear (gene-transcription driving) levels remained unaltered. This suggests a transcription-unrelated role for cocaine-induced upregulation of this protein. Overall, our findings point to an intriguing possibility that that cerebral cortical dysplasias observed in several animal models of prenatal cocaine exposure may be at least in part related to alterations in the Wnt/cadherin molecular network. It has been demonstrated that exposure to cocaine increases cell death in the fetal CNS. To examine the molecular mechanisms of this effect, we employed mouse oligo microarrays followed by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT-PCR) to compare expressions of apoptosis-related genes in the cerebral wall of 18-day-old (E18) fetuses from cocaine-treated (20 mg/kg cocaine, s.c., b.i.d., E8th-E18th) and drug-naive (saline, s.c.) mice. Out of approximately 400 relevant genes in the arrays, 53 showed alterations in expression in cocaine-exposed fetuses. Upregulation was observed in 35 proapoptotic and 8 antiapoptotic genes; 4 proapoptotic and 6 antiapoptotic genes were down-regulated. The affected genes encode a wide range of apoptosis-related proteins, including death receptors (NTF-R1, NTF-R2, DR3, DR5, LTbeta-R, GITR, P57 TR-1) and their adaptor and regulatory proteins (MASGE-D1, TRAF-2, SIVA, MET, FLIP, FAIM, IAP1, ATFA), members of transcription regulatory pathways (JNK, NF-kappaB, P53), members of BCL-2 family of proteins (BID, BAD, BAX, BIK, NIP21, NIP3, NIX, BCL-2), DNA damage sensor (PARP-1), caspases and their substrates and regulatory proteins (caspases 8, 4, 9, and 3, ACINUS, CIDE-A, CIDE-B, GAS2), mitochondrially released factors (cytochrome c, AIF, PRG3), specific endoplasmic reticulum- and oxidative stress-associated factors (BACH2, ABL1, ALG2, CHOP), members of cell survival AKT and HSP70 pathways (PIK3GA, PTEN, HSP70, BAG1, BAG2), and others. This suggests that cocaine affects survival of developing cerebral cells via multiple apoptosis-regulating mechanisms. Experiment Overall Design: Animals Experiment Overall Design: Timed pregnant Swiss Webster (CFW; Charles River Experiment Overall Design: Lab. Wilmington, MA) dams were maintained in individual Experiment Overall Design: cages in a climate-controlled room on a 12/12-h light/ Experiment Overall Design: dark cycle. They were divided into two groups. The first Experiment Overall Design: (experimental) group received subcutaneous (at the dorsum Experiment Overall Design: of the neck) injections of 20 mg/kg cocaine hydrochloride Experiment Overall Design: (Research Technology Branch, National Institute Experiment Overall Design: of Drug Abuse, Rockville, MD) dissolved in 200 mkl of Experiment Overall Design: 0.9% saline, twice a day (at 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM) from Experiment Overall Design: 8th through 18th day of pregnancy (E8âE18). The second Experiment Overall Design: (control) group was subjected to the same schedule of Experiment Overall Design: 0.9% saline only injections. The cocaine treatment was Experiment Overall Design: designed to replicate the one capable of reducing cerebral Experiment Overall Design: cortical mass in mouse offspring. Also, the Experiment Overall Design: relatively protracted period the chronic treatment was Experiment Overall Design: chosen to maximize the changes in the tissue expression Experiment Overall Design: of cocaine-regulated genes of interest. Throughout the Experiment Overall Design: treatment, all mice were weighed daily, and, from E8, the Experiment Overall Design: control and experimental animals were pair-fed, with the Experiment Overall Design: daily amount of food (Mouse Chow; Ralston Purina Saint Experiment Overall Design: Louis, MO) provided to each control dam being matched Experiment Overall Design: to that consumed by the paired experimental dam. Water Experiment Overall Design: was available ad libitum. We found that this feeding Experiment Overall Design: regiment resulted in similar weight gains from E8 to E18 Experiment Overall Design: in both experimental and control animal groups Experiment Overall Design: (46.41F0.45% and 44.99F0.59% respectively). On E18, Experiment Overall Design: 1 h after the morning treatment, the animals were Experiment Overall Design: anesthetized by peritoneal injection of 50 mg/kg sodium Experiment Overall Design: pentobarbital (Abbott Lab., Abbott Park, IL) and their Experiment Overall Design: uteri were removed. The frontal cerebral wall (containing Experiment Overall Design: cerebral cortex and underlying transient cortical zones Experiment Overall Design: anterior to the striatal level) and the occipital cerebral wall Experiment Overall Design: (containing cerebral cortex and underlying transient Experiment Overall Design: cortical zones posterior to the level of the hippocampus) Experiment Overall Design: were dissected from the fetuses and stored in liquid Experiment Overall Design: nitrogen prior to analysis. The animal experimentations Experiment Overall Design: used in this study were approved by the University of Experiment Overall Design: Maryland Animal Care and Use Committee. Experiment Overall Design: Microarray Experiment Overall Design: Tissue from two control and two experimental fetuses Experiment Overall Design: were used in the processing of a single microarray slide Experiment Overall Design: (Part G4121A, Agilent Technol). Five slides were processed Experiment Overall Design: per region of the fetal cerebral wall. For a given region, the Experiment Overall Design: tissue for each microarray slide was obtained from a Experiment Overall Design: separate set of control and experimental litters. Total RNA Experiment Overall Design: was isolated using TRIzol Reagent (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Experiment Overall Design: CA). The yield of total RNA was determined by absorbance Experiment Overall Design: at 260 nm on a DU 640 Spectrophotometer (Beckman Experiment Overall Design: Coulter, Fullerton, CA). The 260/280 nm ratios of the Experiment Overall Design: samples were >1.8. For each assay, 5 mkg of RNA from Experiment Overall Design: control tissue and 5 mkg of RNA from experimental tissue Experiment Overall Design: were reverse transcribed using 3DNA Array Detection Kit Experiment Overall Design: (Genesphere, Hatfield, PA) with primers containing different Experiment Overall Design: dcaptureT sequences for control and experimental Experiment Overall Design: samples. SuperScript II Reverse Transcriptase for these Experiment Overall Design: reactions was purchased from Gibco BRL (Gaithersburg, Experiment Overall Design: MD). The resultant cDNAs were hybridized to microarray Experiment Overall Design: slides for 16 h in Agilent Hybridization Buffer (Agilent Experiment Overall Design: Technol) at 60 8C. Upon completion of the hybridization, Experiment Overall Design: the slides were washed for 10 min with 0.005% Triton in Experiment Overall Design: 6xsodium chloride/sodium citrate buffer (pH 7; SSC) at Experiment Overall Design: room temperature and then for five more min with 0.005% Experiment Overall Design: Triton in 0.1xSSC and 1 more minute in 0.1xSSC (pH 7), Experiment Overall Design: both at 4 8C. Washed slides were air-dried for 30 s. For Experiment Overall Design: fluorescent labeling of microarray-bound cDNA, the slides Experiment Overall Design: were incubated for 3 h at 65 8C with Capture Reagent Experiment Overall Design: Hybridization Mixture from 3DNA Array Detection Kit Experiment Overall Design: (Genesphere). In this mixture, Alexa 546 fluorochromeincorporating Experiment Overall Design: dendrimers contained single-stranded arms Experiment Overall Design: complimentary to the dcaptureT sequences used in the Experiment Overall Design: reverse transcription of RNA from control tissue, while Experiment Overall Design: Alexa 647 fluorochrome-incorporating dendrimers contained Experiment Overall Design: arms complimentary to the capture sequences used Experiment Overall Design: in reverse transcription of RNA from experimental tissue. Experiment Overall Design: The labeling reaction was terminated by washing of the Experiment Overall Design: microarray slides at room temperature for 10 min with Experiment Overall Design: 0.005% Triton in 2xSSC and for another 10 min with in Experiment Overall Design: 0.2xSSC. After that, the slides were air-dried for 30 s. The Experiment Overall Design: processed microarray slides were scanned at 10 Am Experiment Overall Design: resolution on a GenePix 4100A scanner (Axon Instr., Union Experiment Overall Design: City, CA) with the laser excitation at 532 nm [emission filter Experiment Overall Design: 575DF35 (green); photomultiplier voltage 550] for Alexa Experiment Overall Design: 546 (control samples) and the laser excitation at 635 nm Experiment Overall Design: [emission filter 670DF40 (red); photomultiplier voltage Experiment Overall Design: 695] for Alexa 647 (experimental samples). The signals Experiment Overall Design: were converted into 16-bits-per pixel resolution images, Experiment Overall Design: providing color depth of 65,536 levels. The densitometry Experiment Overall Design: was performed with GenePix Pro 4.1 software (Axon Instr.). Experiment Overall Design: Background was subtracted using the dlocal background Experiment Overall Design: correctionT procedure available in the software. Quality control utilized 255 positive controls, 161 negative controls Experiment Overall Design: and 646 QC-spots present on Agilentâs arrays. For Experiment Overall Design: replicates within a slide, median signal values were Experiment Overall Design: calculated. For each array, the data were normalized in Experiment Overall Design: Acuity 3.1 software (Axon Instr.) by applying locally Experiment Overall Design: weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOWESS) transformation. Experiment Overall Design: The between array scale normalization Experiment Overall Design: was done using intensity log10 ratio distribution box plots (GeneSight Experiment Overall Design: software, BioDiscovery, El Segundo, CA) for verification. Experiment Overall Design: Statistical analysis of the normalized data was conducted Experiment Overall Design: by the Significant Analyses for Microarray Algorithm Experiment Overall Design: (SAM) using Excel macros available at the Stanford SAM website. Experiment Overall Design: In the analyses of both frontal and occipital regions of the fetal cerebral wall, Experiment Overall Design: the cut-off thresholds were set to identify the maximum Experiment Overall Design: number of cocaine exposure-regulated genes at the minimal Experiment Overall Design: false discovery rate (FDR) allowed by SAM for a given set Experiment Overall Design: of microarray data. For both regions, the FDR rates were Experiment Overall Design: <0.5%. The apoptosis and Wnt pathway-related genes were identified with Pathway Assist 2.0 software (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA). Experiment Overall Design: This was followed by manual review of literature for each Experiment Overall Design: identified gene.

Project description:Congenital Hypothyroidism occurs in 1:3500 live births and is therefore the most common congenital endocrine disorder. A spectrum of defective thyroid morphology, termed thyroid dysgenesis, represents 80% of permanent CH cases. Although several candidate genes have been implicated in thyroid development, comprehensive screens failed to detect mutation carriers in a significant number of patients with non-syndromic TD. Due to the sporadic occurrence of TD, de novo chromosomal rearrangements are conceivably representing one of the molecular mechanisms participating in its aetiology. Recently, the use of array CGH technique has provided the ability to map these variations genomewide with high resolution. We performed an array CGH screen of 74 TD patients to determine the role of copy number variants (CNV) in the aetiology of the disease. We identified novel CNVs in 8.75% of all patients that have not been described as frequent variations in the healthy population. Affected patients presented with athyreosis or thyroid hypoplasia and in one case with associated heart malformation. We selected 74 patients with thyroid dysgenesis for array CGH analysis. All individuals were detected in neonatal screening programs and abnormal thyroid gland morphology was subsequently confirmed by ultrasound examination. Intragenic mutations in NKX2-1, FOXE1 and NKX2.5 had been previously excluded in phenotype characteristic individuals. PAX8 mutations were excluded in all patients with hypoplastic thyroids by direct sequencing of the coding exons 1-11. The study was approved by the local ethics committee. Genomic DNA of all subjects as well as of healthy controls was isolated from peripheral blood leucocytes using the Qiagen DNA blood mini kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). Array-comparative genomic hybridization was carried as described previously {Erdogan, 2006 #142; Pinkel, 1998 #151}. In brief, sonicated patient- and control DNA was labeled by random priming with Cy3-dUTP and Cy5-dUTP (Bioprime Array CGH, Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA), respectively, and hybridized onto a submegabase resolution tiling path BAC array, consisting of ~ 36 000 BAC clones obtained from several sources as described elsewhere {Fiegler, 2003 #198; Ishkanian, 2004 #196; Krzywinski, 2004 #197} . Step-by-step protocols are also provided at http://www.molgen.mpg.de/~abt_rop/molecular_cytogenetics/. Arrays were scanned with the G2565BA Agilent Microarray Scanner System (resolution 10 µm; PMT 100 % for Cy3/Cy5, respectively) (Agilent Inc. Santa Clara, CA) and analyzed using GENEPIX Pro 5.0 Software. Analysis and visualization of array CGH data were performed with our software package CGHPRO {Chen, 2005 #143}. For the assessment of copy number gains and losses, we used conservative log2 ratio thresholds of 0.3 and -0.3, respectively. Deviant signal intensity ratios involving three or more consecutive BAC clones were considered to be potentially pathogenic, unless they were covered by more than one known DNA copy number variant, as listed in the Database of Genomic Variants (http://projects.tcag.ca/variation/) or covered by > 50% of their length at least once in our reference set of 600 samples. Potentially pathogenic CNVs were verified by array CGH on a 244k oligonucleotide array from Agilent following the manufacturer’s instructions (Protocol-No. G4410-90010). Confirmed CNVs were tested for inheritance by co-hybridization of parental DNA on BAC arrays as described above. All chromosome coordinates are referring to the UCSC Genome Browser Assembly May 2004 (hg17/ NCBI Build 35; available at: http://genome.ucsc.edu/cgi-bin/hgGateway?hgsid=99195739&clade=vertebrate&org=Human&db=hg17). Cytoscape {Shannon, 2003 #201} was used for the elucidation of potential interactions between genes within the intervals of interest.

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