Purpose: About 10-15% of all pregnancies terminate as spontaneous miscarriages. In the first trimester, 50% of spontaneous miscarriages are the result of chromosomal aberrations, mostly chromosomal aneuploidies. Cytogenetic analyses are used to confirm aneuploidy in failed pregnancies. Culture failure or poor quality chromosomes are often problems in those cases. In such situations, methods that are independent of tissue culture areused, and we employed multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). We determined if MLPA is an appropriate and compatible method compared with classical cytogenetic analyses on fetal tissues. Methods: All fetal samples received from spontaneous abortions were cultured, karyotyped (if possible) and genomic DNA extracted. MLPA analyses were undertaken using subtelomeric probe kits. Additionally, comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) was used to confirm aneuploidy detected by MLPA in cases of failed culture growth. Results: MLPA analyses confirmed an unbalanced chromosome abnormality identified by cytogenetic analyses in all cases in which tissue culture was successful, and provided data in cases of failed culture growth. Several common numeric chromosome aberrations were detected, as well as rare trisomies and other unbalanced chromosome rearrangements. Conclusions: MLPA analyses can provide information about the karyotype of a DNA sample if cytogenetic analyses are not possible because of a lack of viable cells or if only a small amount of genomic DNA is available. These data indicate that MLPA may also be a very useful method for early prenatal aneuploidy screening.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4160831
Cathepsin B is a lysosomal enzyme thought to be involved in tumour cell invasion and metastasis. This study was designed to investigate the presence of a known leucine to valine mutation at position 26 (L26V) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the cathepsin B (CTSB) gene in a Slovenian Caucasian population, and to evaluate the association with risk of prostate adenocarcinoma (PCa). The VV genotype of the CTSB L26V SNP may indicate an increased risk for PCa and less differentiated cancer (higher Gleason score).
COBISS.SI-ID: 3455551
Background: Except for terminal deletions that lead to Jacobsen syndrome, interstitial deletions involving the long arm of chromosome 11 are not frequently reported. A clinically distinct phenotype is usually observed in these cases, and no clear genotype-phenotype correlation is proposed. Results: Here we present a case study of a 5-year-old girl with de novo submicroscopic deletion of chromosome 11q22.3 with mild mental retardation and facial dysmorphism. A standard cytogenetic analysis did not reveal any structural aberrations. A contrary array-CGH analysis indicated a small deletion of 11q22.3. Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the smallest 11q22.3 deletion reported in literature, containing nine RefSeq genes. Although none of the deleted genes are obvious candidates for the features observed in our patient, genes CUL5 and SLN could play a key role in the features described.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4029247
More than 2700 unrelated individuals from Europe, northern Africa and western Asia were analyzed for the marker M269, which defines the Y chromosome haplogroup R1b1b2. A total of 593 subjects belonging to this haplogroup were identified and further analyzed for two SNPs, U106 and U152, which define haplogroups R1b1b2g and R1b1b2h, respectively. These haplogroups showed quite different frequency distribution patterns within Europe, with frequency peaks in northern Europe (R1b1b2g) and northern Italy/France (R1b1b2h).
COBISS.SI-ID: 3699007
This retrospective study investigated tissue marker expression in prostate adenocarcinoma biopsy samples. Identifying mathematical model that would take into account the opposing nature of proliferation and apoptosis would be a useful adjunct for studying disease behaviour. A model was developed which combined staining intensity data for Bcl-2 and AgNOR, as markers of proliferation, and for p53, as a marker of apoptotis. The model significantly correlated with Gleason score, AJCC stage and serum PSA, whereas each tissue marker alone did not correlate with all these measures.
COBISS.SI-ID: 64405505