Langerhan’s cells (LCs) are the immune sentinels of the skin, sampling the cutaneous microenvironment and presenting captured antigen to T cells. A sheet-like proliferation of LCs is termed Langerhan’s cell histiocytosis (LCH), an enigmatic and poorly understood disorder with a widely varied clinical spectrum and disease course. In non-pulmonary LCH all cases reported to date have been monoclonal. Clonality argues for LCH as a neoplastic rather than reactive disorder. After initial investigation of the limitations of formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissues for downstream analysis, lesions of LCH were collected from 4 sites across Scotland. To further define the spectrum of LCH, clonality was assessed using an X inactivation assay based on the polymorphous region of the Human Androgen Receptor. To improve understanding of the assay, a study on post-mortem material was undertaken. This demonstrated a unique insight into patterns of X inactivation across different tissues of the same individual and highlighted potential pitfalls in interpretation. An important question was whether lesions of LCH associated with haematopoietic neoplasms were polyclonal or monoclonal proliferations? For the first time, associations of LCH with B-cutaneous lymphoid hyperplasia (B-CLH), lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) and mycosis fungoides (MF) are reported. In two female cases, the LCs were polyclonal providing some reassurance that such lesions are reactive in nature and should not be regarded as potential second neoplasms. In a more expanded study a wide variety of primary LCH lesions were assessed for clonality. Significant limitations were posed by the quality of the material available; in 2 cases the lesions were found to be polyclonal. This is the first time such a result has been reported. Monoclonality was identified in 2 other cases including one of pulmonary LCH. The findings reported herein suggest that clonality and hence neoplasia cannot be assumed in all cases of primary non-pulmonary LCH. The possible functions of LCs in cutaneous lymphoma were explored. In T-cell lymphoma 2 cases reported here suggest a role for LCs in disease progression. In contrast, LCs play no significant part in the development or progression of cutaneous B-cell proliferations although other types of dendritic cells probably have an important role. By studying proliferations of LCs in a variety of settings, this work has extended knowledge of the spectrum of LCH. Displaying similar histopathological appearances, lesions of LCH may be best defined by clonality as well as cytokine expression and level of maturation. In future, such markers may be employed as prognostic indicators allowing individualised and targeted management.

<p>Mechanisms of sex chromosome dosage compensation vary widely between different vertebrate species. All eutherians, including humans, other primates, and rodents, undergo random X chromosome inactivation in early female embryos, a process by which the majority of the genes on one X chromosome in the female are silenced (inactive X, Xi) to create a transcription level matching that of the single X chromosome in males. Random inactivation of the placental embryo is initiated from a region on the X chromosome called the X-inactivation center (XIC in humans and Xic in mice), thus implicating this region as the key chromosomal element in distinguishing random from imprinted X inactivation during mammalian evolution. This invites a comparative genomic approach to explore the organization and evolution of this region throughout mammalian lineages</p><p>Patterns of X inactivation are genetically determined, as indicated by non-random patterns of inactivation in mice heterozygous for the X-linked X controlling element (Xce) locus, the molecular and genomic basis of which is unknown. Using QTL mapping in Xce heterozygous mice, we previously identified a 1.85Mb candidate region for Xce. This candidate region contains the X inactivation center (Xic), including the critical X inactivation genes Xist and Tsix. To explore the genomic organization of this region in C57BL/6J (B6), we identified extensive large (>5Kb) inverted and non-inverted segmental duplications lying greater than 350Kb proximal to Xist. Investigating these segmental duplications further, we then compared copy number and sequence variant differences among strains carrying different Xce alleles to identify candidate variants in a subportion of the interval that correlate with specific Xce alleles. </p><p>The Xce candidate region was then compared to the corresponding region of the X chromosome from several other species. Notably, the segmental duplications within the mouse Xce region are maintained positionally through the other species over at least 105 MYA, although they do not share the same DNA in the copy variant. </p><p>These and future experiments should provide detailed characterization of the Xce candidate region and an opportunity to address the role that these sequence signatures may play in the earliest stages of X inactivation when the two X chromosomes are distinguished from one another.</p> / Dissertation

No description available.

<p>Allelic imbalance, in which two alleles at a given locus exhibit differences in gene expression, chromatin composition and/or protein binding, is a widespread phenomenon in the human and other complex genomes. Most examples concern individual loci located more or less randomly around the genome and thus imply local and gene-specific mechanisms. However, genomic or chromosomal basis for allelic imbalance is supported by multi-locus examples such as those exemplified by domains of imprinted genes, spanning ~1-2 Mb, or by X chromosome inactivation, involving much of an entire chromosome. Recent studies have shown that genes on the two female X chromosomes exhibit a breadth of expression patterns ranging from complete silencing of one allele to fully balanced biallelic expression. Although evidence for heritability of allele-specific chromatin and expression patterns exists at individual loci, it is unknown whether heritability is also reflected in the chromosome-wide patterns of X inactivation.</p><p>The aim of this thesis is to elucidate the extent to which the widespread variable patterns of allelic imbalance on the human X chromosome in females are under genetic control and how access of the transcription machinery to the human inactive X chromosome in females is determined at a genomic level. For the set of variable genes examined in this study, the absence or presence of expression appears to be stochastic with respect to the population rather than abiding by strict genetic rules. Furthermore, variable gene expression that I have detected even among multiple clonal cell lines derived from a single individual suggests fluctuation in transcriptional machinery engagement. I find that, although expression at most genes on the human inactive X chromosome is repressed as a result of X inactivation, a number of loci are accessible to the transcriptional machinery. It appears that RNA Polymerase II is present at alleles on the inactive X even at the promoters of several silenced genes, indicating a potential for expression. </p><p>This thesis embodies a transition in the field of human X chromosome inactivation from gene by gene approaches used in the past to utilizing high-throughput technologies and applying follow-up analytic techniques to draw upon the vast data publicly available from large consortia projects.</p> / Dissertation

Abstract The influence of the X and Y chromosomes on the size and shape of the dental arches and occlusion as well as on craniofacial cephalometric dimensions, angles and dimensional ratios is studied. The material consists of Finnish patients with sex chromosome aneuploidies and normal population controls from the "Kvantti Study" series, which was collected in the 1970's and 1980's at the Institute of Dentistry, University of Turku. The patients are five individuals with complete testicular feminization (CTF), eight 47,XYY males, and fourteen 45,X/46,XX females. The controls are population female and male controls, as well as five first degree relatives of the individuals with CTF, three of the 47,XYY males and nine of the 45,X/46,XX females studied. Dental arch dimensions and occlusion as well as craniofacial cephalometric dimensions, angles and dimensional ratios are measured from dental study casts and standardized lateral cephalograms. The results show that the presence of the Y chromosome in 46,XY females and the supernumerary Y chromosomal gene(s) in 47,XYY males result in the enlargement of the dental arches and craniofacial dimensions without substantial effects on dimensional ratios and plane angles, but with special influence on the growth of the mandibular corpus. The reduction of X chromosomal genetic material in 45,X/46,XX females results in the reduction of craniofacial dimensions, affecting dimensional ratios and especially plane angles of the cranial base.

Skewed X chromosome inactivation has been often studied as a possible factor that influences manifestation of X-linked diseases in heterozygous women. Yet the association between phenotype and degree of skewing stays unclear for most disorders. Current works rely mostly on methods that are based on methyl-sensitive restriction while determining the X inactivation pattern and mainly the HUMARA assay which investigates the methylation profile in the AR gene. However those methods have some known disadvantages and therefore we are still seeking new methodical approaches. We used DNA isolated from whole blood and in some cases also buccal swabs to asses X inactivation patterns in 54 women using methylation-based methods for loci AR, CNKSR2 and RP2. Transcription-based assay was utilized to evaluate skewing of X inactivation in 32 of those women, whose samples were available for RNA extraction, using massive parallel sequencing and polymorphisms LAMP2 c.156A>T, IDS c.438C>T and ABCD1 c.1548G>A. Partly thanks to almost no stuttering during PCR the RP2 locus was the most informative in our study (71 % of women) and approximately the same number of women (69 %) were informative for the HUMARA assay. However when comparing the results of those two methods we determined difference greater than 10 % in...

We report a de novo dup(X)(q23→q26) in a 3-year-old girl with growth retardation, developmental delay, and minor anomalies. X-inactivation in lymphocytes by BRDU labeling showed the abnormal X was late replicating. The androgen receptor assay (HAR) demonstrated a skewed methylation (88.8%) of the paternal allele and a 11.2% methylation of the maternal allele. These data, which suggest the duplication was paternally inherited, are the first parental-origin identification of a duplication Xq. The mild phenotype of the patient may be related to the size and region of the duplication, the low percentage of a dup(X) active detected by the HAR assay, or a combination of these mechanisms. .

We describe an 11 year old girl with a de novo unbalanced t(X;10) that resulted in a deletion of Xq26→Xqter and a trisomy of 10q21→10qter. Her clinical features were of distal trisomy 10q, but she lacked the cardiovascular and renal malformations observed in duplications of 10q24→10qter and had only moderate mental retardation. X inactivation was assessed on peripheral blood lymphocytes by late replication with BrdU (LR) and the human androgen receptor assay (HAR). By LR the der(X) was inactive without spreading to 10q21→10qter in all cells. The HAR assay showed skewed methylation of the paternal allele (90%). The correlation of HAR and LR suggests that the der(X) was paternally inherited and is consistent with data from other de novo balanced and unbalanced X;autosome translocations detected in females. This is the first report of parental origin of a de novo trisomy 10q.

Ctcf is a "master regulator" of the genome that plays a role in a variety of gene regulatory functions as well as in genome architecture. Evidence from studying the epigenetic process of X-chromosome inactivation suggests that, in certain cases, Ctcf might carry out its functions through interacting with RNA. Using mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells and a modified protocol for UV-crosslinking and immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing (CLIP-seq), Ctcf is found to interact with a multitude of transcripts genome-wide, both protein-coding mRNA (or noncoding transcripts therein) as well as many long-noncoding RNA (lncRNA). Examples of the latter include both well-characterized species from imprinted loci and previously unannotated transcripts from intergenic space. RNA binding targets of Ctcf are validated by a variety of biochemical methods, and Ctcf is found to interact with RNA through its C-terminal domain, distinct from its DNA-binding zinc-finger domain. Ctcf chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-seq done in parallel reveals distinct but correlated binding of Ctcf to DNA and RNA. In addition, allelic analysis of Ctcf ChIP pattern reveals significant differences between Ctcf binding to the presumptive inactive and active X chromosomes. Together, the current work reveals a further layer of complexity to Ctcf biology by implicating a role for Ctcf-RNA interactions in its recruitment to genomic binding sites.

As síndromes hipertensivas gestacionais estão entre as maiores causas de morte materna e fetal. Entre elas destaca-se a pré-eclâmpsia (PE), que caracteriza-se pelo aumento da pressão arterial e proteinúria, a partir da 20ª semana de gestação. Embora sua etiologia seja ainda discutida, o papel dos fatores genéticos é amplamente aceito. Alterações do padrão da inativação do cromossomo X, processo epigenético encontrado em mamíferos com placenta, têm sido encontradas em algumas doenças que ocorrem exclusivamente em mulheres. O XIST é um gene chave nesse processo. Por outro lado, muitos microRNAs (pequenos RNAs não codificantes) são expressos abundantemente na placenta humana e alguns estão mapeados no cromossomo X. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi a verificação do padrão de inativação do cromossomo X e da expressão dos genes XIST e dos microRNAs X-específicos miR-221, miR-222 e mir-223 em mulheres com PE. O ensaio de HUMARA (receptor de andrógeno humano) utilizando PCR convencional e digestão com a enzima sensível à metilação HpaII foi analisado de forma qualitativa (visualização em gel de poliacrilamida) e semi-quantitativa (sequenciamento), sendo realizado a partir de sangue periférico (todas as amostras) e de tecido placentário [apenas das placentas de fetos femininos (17 amostras)]. Para o estudo do padrão de expressão foi obtido cDNA por transcrição reversa, a partir de RNA total extraído do tecido placentário (30 amostras).. A análise foi realizada por meio de PCR em tempo real. Foram utilizados os testes de Qui-quadrado e de t-Student, além do modelo linear generalizado para a análise estatística. Não houve diferença estatisticamente significativa para o parâmetro de inativação do cromossomo X entre os grupos controle e de PE, independente do tipo de tecido estudado (sangue ou placenta) quando foram aplicados os ensaios de HUMARA qualitativo e semi-quantitativo. Para o gene XIST e o microRNA miR-221 não foi evidenciada diferença estatisticamente significativa entre os grupos controle e de PE. O microRNA miR-223 não apresentou transcritos detectáveis em nenhum dos grupos de estudo. Para o microRNA miR-222, houve diferença estatisticamente significativa, sendo que no grupo de PE a expressão foi mais elevada. Não foi encontrada associação entre o padrão de inativação do cromossomo X e a expressão do gene XIST e dos microRNAs estudados. Embora a inativação preferencial do cromossomo X tenha sido encontrada nos dois grupos, padrões de inativação preferencial extrema foram verificados em um número maior de casos com PE. Os resultados mostram que o miR-222 apresenta potencial para ser utilizado como marcador molecular da PE, sugerindo também que exista uma diminuição na expressão de seus genes-alvo que devem ser estudados como candidatos na patogênese da doença. / The gestational hypertensive syndromes are among the major causes of maternal and fetal death. The Preeclampsia (PE) is the most prevalent of those syndromes and it is characterized by the increase of blood pressure and proteinury, which start from to 20th week of gestation. Although its ethiology is argued actually the genetics factors have been accepted. Alterations in pattern of chromosome X inactivation, epigenetic process of mammals with placenta have been found in some diseases that occur exclusively in women. XIST is a key gene in this process. On the other hand very microRNAs (small RNAs no coding) are overexpressed in human placenta and someones are located at X choromosome. The subject of this research was verify the patterns of chromosome X inactivation and the expression of the XIST gene and X-specific microRNAs in women affected by PE. In the HUMARA (human androgen receptor) assay was carried out with peripheral blood (all samples) and placental tissue [only female fetuses placentas (17 samples)]. The conventional PCR and digestion methodology with HpaII enzyme were employed and the result was analysed to qualitative (polyacrilamide gel) and semi quantitative (sequencing) form. The cDNA was obtained to gene expression study by reverse transcription reaction from placenta total RNA (30 samples). Gene expression assay was carried out with real time PCR. To statistical analyze was used the Qui-square and t-Student tests besides the widespread lineal model. There was not statistical significant differences to chormosome X inactivation parameter among the groups control and PE independently of the tissue studied (blood or placenta) when the qualitative and semi quantitative HUMARA assay were applied. To XIST and miR-221 were not evidenced significant statistical differences among the groups control and of PE. The miR-223 did not show detectable transcripts to any group studied. The miR-222 expression was more elevated in the PE group than control group and this difference was significant statistically. In the present study was not found association among the chromosome X inactivation pattern and the gene expression of XIST and the microRNAs studied. Although the chromosome X inactivation have been found in the two groups the preferential chromosome X inactivation patterns were verified in a great number of cases in PE group. The results showed that miR-222 has a potential to be employed as molecular marker of PE also suggesting the existence of a decrease in expression of its target genes which have to be investigated like candidates to disease pathogenesis.