Objective To reveal the association between the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of v-maf musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma oncogene homolog B (MAFB) gene rs17820943 locus and non-syndromic cleft l ip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) in the southern Chinese Han population. Methods Genotyping of MAFB gene rs17820943 polymorphism was carried out in 300 patients with NSCL/P, 354 normal controls, and an additional 168 case-parent trios with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-fl ight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. Then based on the genotypingresults, both a case-control association study and a case-parent trio association study were performed. Results Significant differences were found in the allele and genotype frequencies of rs17820943 locus between case and control groups (Pallele=0.001 and Pgenotype=0.002, respectively). To be specific, the odds radio (OR) values and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) of allele T (frequencies of cases ∶ controls = 0.358 ∶ 0.448) and genotype TT (frequencies of cases ∶ controls = 0.110 ∶ 0.195) were ORT = 0.69 (95%CI: 0.55-0.86) and ORTT = 0.43 (95%CI: 0.26-0.70), respectively. Subsequent case-parent trio analysis also indicated an association between MAFB rs17820943 variant and the risk of NSCL/P (ORT vs. C = 0.55, 95%CI: 0.41-0.75, P value of transmission disequilibrium test was 0.000). Conclusion Polymorphism of MAFB gene rs17820943 locus is associated with NSCL/P in the southern Chinese Han population; MAFB rs17820943 variant may be a susceptible gene of NSCL/P.
Objective To investigate the effects of Neuritin on the regeneration of the neural axons after acute spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats. Methods The model of acute SCI at T10 was establ ished in 54 adult healthy Wistar rats (half males and half females) weighing 250-300 g by using the improved Allen’s weight-drop method. The rats were randomly dividedinto 3 groups. 100 μL (6 μg) Neuritin and His protein was injected into group A (n=24) and group B (n=24), respectively,through subarachnoid catheter. Six rats from each group were killed 3, 7, 14, and 28 days after injury to receive Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scal ing, HE staining observation, and immunohistochemistry staining observation for neurofilament 200 (NF-200) and growth associated protein 43 (GAP-43). Group C (n=6) served as sham-operated group receiving laminectomy without spinal injury and with an empty catheter in the subarachnoid space and received the above observations 7 days after injury. Results BBB scale: after operation, the scale of groups A and B was increased over time; group A was significantly higher than group B from 14 days (P lt; 0.05); group C was higher than groups A and B at different time points after operation (P lt; 0.05). HE staining: in group C, the injured spinal tissue was normal after operation; from 7 days after operation, group A presented deeper-stained nissl body, less physal iferous cells, and more nerve synapses when compared with group B. NF-200 and GAP-43 immunohistochemistry observation: in group C, there was just l ittle positive expression; while in groups A and B, positive expression of NF-200 and GAP-43 was evident in the spinal cord from 7 days after operation. Mean density integral absorbency (IA) value of NF-200 and GAP-43: group A was higher than group B at each time point (P lt; 0.05) and group C was lower than groups A and B at each time point (P lt; 0.05). Conclusion Local application of exogenous Neuritin can promote the axonal regeneration after acute SCI in rats and the recovery of the locomotion function of hind-limbs in rats.
Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) is a knowledge source and data base for human genetic diseases and related genes. Each OMIM entry includes clinical synopsis, linkage analysis for candidate genes, chromosomal localization and animal models, which has become an authoritative source of information for the study of the relationship between genes and diseases. As overlap of disease symptoms may reflect interactions at the molecular level, comparison of phenotypic similarity may indicate candidate genes and help to discover functional connections between genes and proteins. However, the OMIM has used free text to describe disease phenotypes, which does not suit computer analysis. Standardization of OMIM data therefore has important implications for large-scale comparison of disease phenotypes and prediction of phenotype-genotype correlations. Recently, standard medical language systems, term frequency-inverse document frequency and the law of cosines for document classification have been introduced for mining of OMIM data. Combined with Gene Ontology and various comparison methods, this has achieved substantial successes. In this article, we have reviewed various methods for standardization and similarity comparison of OMIM data. We also predicted the trend for research in this direction.