Faculty Bibliography

Hirschsprung disease, or congenital aganglionic megacolon, is commonly assumed to be a sex-modified multifactorial trait. To test this hypothesis, complex segregation analysis was performed on data on 487 probands and their families. Demographic information on probands and the recurrence risk to relatives of probands are presented. An increased sex ratio (3.9 male:female) and an elevated risk to sibs (4%), as compared with the population incidence (0.02%), are observed, with the sex ratio decreasing and the recurrence risk to sibs increasing as the aganglionosis becomes more extensive. Down syndrome was found at an increased frequency among affected individuals but not among their unaffected sibs, and the increase was not associated with maternal age. Complex segregation analysis was performed on these family data. The families were classified into separate categories by extent of aganglionosis. For cases with aganglionosis beyond the sigmoid colon, the mode of inheritance is compatible with a dominant gene with incomplete penetrance, while for cases with aganglionosis extending no farther than the sigmoid colon, the inheritance pattern is equally likely to be either multifactorial or due to a recessive gene with very low penetrance. A model of gene action with random effects during morphogenesis is compatible with our observations.

A (GT)n repeat in intron 4 of the functional human HMG14 gene on chromosome 21 was used as polymorphic marker to map this gene relative to the genetic linkage map of human chromosome 21. Variation in the length of the (GT)n repeat was detected by electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels of DNA amplified by the polymerase chain reaction using primers flanking the repeat. The observed heterozygosity of this polymorphism in 40 CEPH families was 58% with six different alleles. Linkage analysis localized the HMG14 gene close to the ETS2 gene and locus D21S3 in chromosomal band 21q22.3.

A (GT)n repeat within the anonymous DNA sequence D21S156 was shown to be highly polymorphic in DNA from members of the 40 CEPH families. At least 12 alleles of this locus were recognized by electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels of DNA amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers flanking the (GT)n repeat. The polymorphism information content was 0.82. PCR amplification of DNA from somatic cell hybrid lines mapped D21S156 to human chromosome 21 and linkage analysis localized this marker close to the loci ETS2, D21S3, and HMG14 on chromosomal band 21q22.3. This polymorphism is highly informative and can serve as an anchor locus for human chromosome 21.

We report the isolation of a new marker (S6.1) from band p11.2 of human chromosome 17 by differential Alu-polymerase chain reaction (Alu-PCR) of both a monochromosomal hybrid retaining a single human chromosome 17 and a hybrid retaining a del(17)(p11.2p11.2) in addition to other human chromosomes. The method is based on the preferential PCR amplification of human DNA in rodent/human hybrids when primers specific to the human Alu repeat element are used. MspI and SstI RFLPs associated with S6.1 were identified and used in linkage analysis of both a previously reported and a newly identified French-Acadian kindred segregating autosomal dominant Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). A cumulative peak lod score of 3.41 at a peak recombination fraction of .12 indicates that this marker is linked to the CMT 1A locus but is at a distance from the disease gene. Thus, the marker S6.1 will be useful in further delineating the candidate region for the CMT gene when its location with respect to pA10-41 and 1516, two other markers from 17p11.2 which have previously demonstrated close linkage to the CMT locus, has been determined.

We have performed linkage analysis in a large French-Acadian kindred segregating one form of autosomal dominant Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMTD) (type IA) using 17 polymorphic DNA markers spanning human chromosome 17 and demonstrate linkage to several markers in the pericentromeric region, including DNA probes pA10-41, EW301, S12-30, pTH17.19, c11-2B, and p11-2c11.5. Linkage of markers pA10-41 and EW301 to CMTD type IA has been reported elsewhere. Four new markers, 1516, 1517, 1541, and LL101, which map to chromosome 17 have been identified. The marker 1516 appears to be closely linked to the CMTD locus on chromosome 17 as demonstrated by a maximum lod score of 3.42 at theta (recombination fraction) = 0. This marker has been mapped to 17p11.2 using a somatic cell hybrid constructed from a patient with Smith-Magenis syndrome [46,XY, del(17)(p11.2p11.2)]. A lod score of 6.16 has been obtained by multipoint linkage analysis with 1516 and two markers from 17q11.2, pTH17.19, and c11-2B. The markers 1517 and 1541 have been mapped to 17p12-17q11.2 and demonstrate maximum lod scores of 2.35 and 0.63 at recombination values of .1 and .2, respectively. The marker LL101 has been mapped to 17p13.105-17p13.100 and demonstrates a maximum lod score of 1.56 at a recombination value of .1. Our study confirms the localization of CMTD type IA to the pericentromeric region of chromosome 17.

Approximately 70 percent of the mutations in cystic fibrosis patients correspond to a specific deletion of three base pairs, which results in the loss of a phenylalanine residue at amino acid position 508 of the putative product of the cystic fibrosis gene. Extended haplotype data based on DNA markers closely linked to the putative disease gene locus suggest that the remainder of the cystic fibrosis mutant gene pool consists of multiple, different mutations. A small set of these latter mutant alleles (about 8 percent) may confer residual pancreatic exocrine function in a subgroup of patients who are pancreatic sufficient. The ability to detect mutations in the cystic fibrosis gene at the DNA level has important implications for genetic diagnosis.

The gene for von Recklinghausen neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) has recently been mapped to the pericentromeric region of human chromosome 17. To further localize the NF1 gene, linkage analysis using chromosome 17 DNA markers was performed on 11 multigeneration families with 175 individuals, 57 of whom were affected. The markers used were D17Z1 (p17H8), D17S58 (EW301), D17S54 (EW203), D17S57 (EW206), D17S73 (EW207), CRI-L946, HOX-2, and growth hormone. Tight linkage was found between NF1 and D17Z1, D17S58, and D17S57 with a recombination fraction of zero. One recombinant was detected between NF1 and D17S73, showing linkage with a 10% recombination fraction. No linkage was detected between NF1 and CRI-L946 or between HOX-2 and growth hormone. Our data are consistent with the proposed gene order pter D17S58-D17Z1-NF1-D17S57-D17S73 qter.

Mutations in the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor gene result in the autosomal dominant disorder familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). Many different LDL receptor mutations have been identified and characterized, demonstrating a high degree of allelic heterogeneity at this locus. The ability to identify mutant LDL receptor genes for prenatal diagnosis of homozygous FH or to study the role of the LDL receptor gene in polygenic hypercholesterolemia requires the use of closely linked RFLPs. In the present study we used 10 different RFLPs, including three newly described polymorphisms, to construct 123 independent haplotypes from 20 Caucasian American pedigrees. Our sample contained 31 different haplotypes varying in frequency from 0.8% to 29.3%; the five most common haplotypes account for 67.5% of the sample. The heterozygosity and PIC of each site were determined, and these values disclosed that eight of the RFLPs were substantially polymorphic. Linkage-disequilibrium analysis of the haplotype data revealed strong nonrandom associations among all 10 RFLPs, especially among those sites clustered in the 3' region of the gene. Evolutionary analysis suggests the occurrence of both mutational and recombinational events in the generation of the observed haplotypes. A strategy for haplotype analysis of the LDL receptor gene in individuals of Caucasian American descent is presented.