Investigation of Genetic Alterations in Congenital Heart Diseases in Prenatal Period

The prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) is important because of mortality risk. The onset of CHD varies, and depending on the malformation type, the risk of aneuploidy is changed. To identify possible genetic alterations in CHD, G-banding, chromosomal microarray or if needed DNA mutation analysis and direct sequence analysis should be planned.In present study, to identify genetic alterations, cell culture, karyotype analysis, and single nucleotide polymorphism, array analyses were conducted on a total 950 samples. Interventional prenatal genetic examination was performed on 23 (2, 4%, 23/950) fetal CHD cases. Chromosomal abnormalities were detected in 5 out of 23 cases (21, 7%). Detected chromosomal abnormalities were 10q23.2 deletion, trisomy 18, 8p22.3-p23.2 deletion, 8q21.3-q24.3 duplication, 11q24.2q24.5 (9 Mb) deletion, and 8p22p12 (16.8 Mb) deletion. Our study highlights the importance of genetic testing in CHD.

So-Called Butcher’s Warts Appeared on the Hands of a Meat Handler

We present a case of so-called butcher’s warts in a meat handler with atopic dermatitis. PCR with direct sequence analysis confirmed the presence of HPV 7 in the hand warts of the patient. Histopathologically, the lesion contained vacuolated cells with centered nuclei, and there were no abundant keratohyalin granules in the granular layer. Clinically, HPV 7-induced warts tend to appear on the hands of meat/fish handlers or cutters in the world. Therefore, meat/fish had been thought to act as a vector for the transmission of HPV 7. In our case, the Japanese patient’s occupation required the handling of meat/fish products, and HPV 7 was found from his hand warts. This evidence indicated that HPV 7 was widely distributed in the world. However, this patient worked in a Japanese restaurant, which required the handling of meat/fish products with tools such as knives and chopping boards. Therefore, we suggested that HPV 7 might be correlated with specific reservoirs.

Identification of p53 gene alterations in canine mammary tumours using polymerase chain reaction and direct sequence analysis

Mammary tumours are mentioned as the most common tumours in female dogs and approximately half of them are detected malignant. p53 gene mutations are demonstrated to be the most common genetic alteration in canine mammary tumours. The present study was conducted to evaluate exon-1 of p53 gene mutations in tissue samples of canine mammary tumours by PCR and direct sequence analysis. After histopathological confirmation of the tissue sections by haematoxylin and eosin staining (10/26), deparaffinised samples were used for DNA extraction by silica gel method. Subsequently, p53 exon 1 was amplified through PCR assay using specific oligo nucleotide primers designed according to the canine DNA sequence available online. Microscopically, 10 out of 26 suspected tissue samples were recognised as malignant mammary gland tumours with various grades of malignancy. Surprisingly, one insertion of mutation was found in exon 1 of all examined samples corresponding to a sequence comprising 27 amino acids, between amino acids 30 to 57 in the p53 protein. Taken together, it seems that alteration of exon 1 p53 gene may lead to malignancy beha­viour, poor prognosis and short survival time in dogs with mammary carcinomas.

Primary hepatocellular adenoma due to biallelic HNF1A mutations and its co-occurrence with MODY 3: case-report and review of the literature

Purpose Maturity-onset diabetes of the young type 3 (MODY 3) is a consequence of heterozygous germline mutations in HNF1A, and a subtype of hepatocellular adenoma (HCA) is caused by biallelic somatic HNF1A mutations; rare HCA may be related to MODY 3. This study aimed to investigate the cosegregation of HNF1A mutations with diabetes and HCA in two families. Methods Two patients suffering from HCA and diabetes were screened for HNF1A germline and somatic mutations using direct sequence analysis and methylation-specific multiplex-ligation-dependent probe amplification (MS-MLPA) assay. Further, we screened eight relatives in the two independent families for diabetes, HCA and HNF1A variants. Additionally, we reviewed the literature concerning the phenotypes of MODY 3 and HCA at the background of HNF1A mutations. Results Here we reported two families (a total of six relatives) with two missense germline mutations of HNF1A identified initially using direct sequence analysis (c.686G>A in family A and c.526 + 1G>A in family B). Somatic deletion of the second allele of HNF1A was found in liver tumor tissues in both probands who were diagnosed with HCA. There are a total of ten cases of both MODY 3 and HCA phenotypes reported in the literature to date; incomplete penetrance for HCA was observed, and all the patients with HCA developed diabetes. The onset of diabetes and HCA was highly variable, the treatment of diabetes varied from diet to insulin, and the clinical expression of HCA ranged from silent to hemorrhage. Further, the severity of diabetes mellitus was not related to the occurrence of HCA. Conclusions This study describes the association of HCA and MODY 3 at the background of HNF1A mutations and highlights the importance of screening for HCA in MODY 3 families to avoid the possibility of severe complications. Further, the current study indicated that there may be a special mutational spectrum of HNF1A correlated with HCA in MODY 3 families.

Molecular basis and clinical presentation of classic galactosemia in a Croatian population

Background:Classic galactosemia is an autosomal recessive disorder of galactose metabolism caused by severely decreased activity of galactose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase (GALT) due to pathogenic mutations in theGALTgene. To date more than 330 mutations have been described, with p.Q188R and p.K285N being the most common in Caucasian populations. Although acute manifestations can be fully avoided by a galactose-restricted diet, chronic complications, such as neurological ones, cannot be prevented in a significant number of patients despite compliance with the dietary treatment.Methods:A cohort of 16 galactosemic Croatian patients, including one pair of siblings, was studied. Molecular characterization was performed by direct sequence analysis of theGALTgene.Results:Sixteen patients were analyzed and only four different mutations were detected. As expected, p.Q188R and p.K285N were common, accounting for 40% and 37% of unrelated alleles, respectively. The third mutation accounting for 20% of mutant alleles was p.R123X causing a premature stop codon, is thus considered to be severe, which is in accordance with the phenotype presented by the homozygous patient described here. The fourth mutation p.E271D was found in a single allele. More than half of our patients manifested some chronic neurological complications.Conclusions:This is the first report on mutational and phenotypic spectra of classic galactosemia in Croatia that expands the knowledge on the mutational map of theGALTgene across Europe and reveals the genetic homogeneity of the Croatian population.

Analysis of Genetic Mutation of the Elderly Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Backgrounds: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disease whose onset involves a variety of chromosomal abnormalities and genetic mutations. To improve the outcome of AML treatment, it is very important to establish a prognosis from cytogenetic and genetic analysis and provide accordingly differentiated treatment. However, the treatment strategy has not been clear in elderly patients with AML due to intolerance of treatment and its adverse characteristics such as concomitant comorbidity and poor performance status. To clarify the prognostic impact of genetic abnormalities in elderly AML, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of recurrently mutated 28 genes in AML. Method: We retrospectively analyzed newly diagnosed 128 AML patients excluding M3 who were more than 65 years old at Nippon Medical School Hospital or its associated facilities between 1990 and 2014. Mutation analyses were performed by direct sequence analysis, Mutation Biased PCR, direct sequence analysis, and the next-generation sequencer Ion PGMTM. Results: Average age was 70.5 years (65-91years). The patients from 65 years old to 74 years old (early elderly) were 92 (71.9%)cases, the patients 75 years or older (late elderly) were 36 (28.1%)cases. Chromosomal analysis according to the prognostic risk classification of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) classified into 14 of the favorable cytogenetic risk group (10.9%), 80 of the intermediate cytogenetic risk group (62.5%), and 24 of the poor cytogenetic risk group (18.8%). Gene mutations were observed in 112 cases (87.5%). The most frequent gene mutations were NPM1 (89 cases/28.9%), FLT3/ITD (25 cases/19.5%), TET2 (20 cases/15.6%), and DNMT3A (19 cases/14.8%). CEBPA double mutation was detected at low frequency in elderly patients (younger patients: 15/311 (4.8%) vs elderly patients: 1/128 (0.8%)). There were no significant differences in gene mutations between early elderly and late elderly patients). Of 102 patients who received induction therapy, 52 patients (51.0%) achieved first hematological complete remission (CR), but primary refractory and early death were observed in 50 patients (49.0%). There was no significant difference in CR rate between the two groups in the early elderly patients and late elderly patients (early elderly: 53.8% vs late elderly: 41.7%. p= 0.354). In addition, there was no difference in CR rate in the standard chemotherapy and low dose chemotherapy group (standard chemotherapy: 48.7% vs low dose chemotherapy: 38.9%. p= 0.601). Median overall survival (OS) was 287days, OS at 3years was 35.9%. Prognostic stratification was possible for CR rate on the chromosomal classification (favorable cytogenetic risk 92.9%, intermediate cytogenetic risk 50.0%, poor cytogenetic risk 12.5%, p< 0.001). For total cohort of patients, rates of relapse free survival (RFS) at 3 years are significantly lower in patients with FLT3ITD (p=0.006) and TP53 abnormality (p< 0.001) compared to without it. Rates of overall survival (OS) at 3 years are significantly lower in patients with DNMT3A mutation (p=0.004), FLT3ITD (p=0.003), and TP53 abnormality compared to without it. Also late elderly patients (p=0.010) and high white blood cell count (≥ 20,000/μl) (p=0.023) were powerful factors for unfavorable prognosis. In stratified analysis of FLT3ITD-negative cases aged below 75 years with intermediate cytogenetic prognosis, TP53 abnormality was associated with unfavorable prognosis (RFS: p=0.062, OS: p< 0.001). Finally multivariate analysis demonstrated that FLT3ITD (p=0.014) and TP53 abnormality (p=0.015) were an independent poor prognostic factor for RFS, and poor cytogenetic risk (p=0.002), Flt3ITD (p=0.014), TP53 abnormality (p=0.015), and DNMT3A mutation (p=0.001) were an independent poor prognostic factor for OS. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the genetic abnormalities have a prognostic importance in elderly patients, as well as younger patients with AML. FLT3ITD mutation is an important factor for unfavorable prognosis, but going forward TP53 mutation may also serve as a clinically important gene mutation marker in elderly patients with AML. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

The Prognostic Impact of KIT D816 Mutations in Core Binding Factor Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Background: Core binding factor acute myeloid leukemia (CBF-AML) is a form of AML associated with the chromosomal abnormalities t(8;21)(q22;q22) (t(8;21)AML) and inv(16)(p13.1q22)/t(16;16)(p13.1;q22) (inv16 AML). It accounts for approximately 8% of AML cases and is considered to be a karyotype with a favorable prognosis. Mutations of c-kit gene which constitute type III tyrosine kinase receptor were found in approximately 30% of patients with CBF-AML. In CBF-AML, KIT mutation is observed mainly in two domains: the extracellular domain (exon8), and the tyrosine kinase domain (exon17), and has frequently been reported to be an unfavorable prognostic factor for early relapse and for shorter survival. On the other hand, some reports conclude that KIT mutation has no prognostic impact in CBF-AML, and in 2016's guidelines of NCCN, CBF-AML with KIT gene mutation was not assigned to the intermediate prognosis group. One potential reason why the reported prognostic impact of KIT mutation in CBF-AML differs between studies is that CBF-AML cases with t(8;21) and those with inv(16) have differing clinical profiles. Another reason is that KIT mutation occurs at various locations on the gene. We have previously reported that KIT D816 in CBF-AML is associated with a higher relapse rate than KIT N822K and has unfavorable prognosis. The aim of the present study was to clarify that these two types of KIT mutations have differing prognostic impacts in CBF-AML. Methods: We analyzed 138 cases of CBF-AML who achieved complete remission (CR), retrospectively. Mutation analyses were performed by direct sequence analysis Mutation Biased PCR, direct sequence analysis, and the next-generation sequencer Ion PGMTM. Results: Average age was 45 years (15-80 years). The inv16 AMLand t(8;21) AMLwere28 cases and 110 cases, respectively. KIT mutations were found in 62 (45%) cases of patients with CBF-AML. Patients with KIT mutations were significantly more frequently associated with male gender (p=0.029) and higher white blood cell count (>1×104/μl) (p=0.002) compared to KIT wild type cases. No significant differences were found in other clinical characteristics between those with and without KIT mutations. Analyzing all CBF-AML patients and inv16 AML, rates of relapse free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in those with KIT mutations were significantly lower than those in patients without c-kit mutations (All patients: RFS, 38% vs 58% at 3 years after CR1, p=0.040; OS, 61% vs 77%, p=0.033; inv16 AML: RFS, 46% vs 82%, p=0.044; OS, 75% vs 100%, p=0.045). However, there was no significant difference between t(8;21)AML with and without KIT mutations (RFS, 35% vs 51%, p=0.219, OS, 58% vs 70%, p=0.161). Next, we analyzed prognosis of CBF-AML according to the types of c-kit mutations. D816, N822K, co-expression of D816 and N822K, and other mutations of KIT gene were detected in 29 cases (21%, D816A:1 case, D816Y:2 cases, D816V:26 cases), 20 (14%), 7 (5%, D816H:1 case, D816V:6 cases), and 6 cases (4%), respectively. (RFS, 58.2% vs 21.6% vs 58.9% vs 14.3% vs 60.0%, p=0.005; OS,77.2% vs 40.0% vs 78.9% vs 60.0% vs 100.0%, p<0.001) Rates of RFS and OS in patients with D816 or both of D816 and N822K (D816-positive) were significantly lower than those in patients with KIT wild type or other KIT mutations (D816-negative) (RFS, 20% vs 59%, p<0.001; OS, 43% vs 79%, p<0.001). In stratified analysis of inv16 AML and t(8;21)AML, rates of RFS and OS in the D816-positive patients were significantly lower than those in D816-negative patients (inv16 AML: RFS, 25% vs 85%, p=0.001; OS, 60% vs 100%, p=0.005; t(8;21)AML: RFS, 18% vs 52%, p=0.019; OS, 38% vs 73%, p<0.001). Multivariate analyses for RFS and OS showed that D816 was an independent unfavorable prognostic factor (RFS, HR 2.06, p=0.014; OS, HR 3.12, p=0.003). Consolidation using high-dose AraC was shown to be independently associated with improved RFS. Conclusions: In ASH meeting of 2014, we showed that the D816V confers higher proliferation activity by JAK-STAT and Src family kinase compared to N822K by in vitro assay. In this study, we showed that patients with D816 had a significantly poorer prognosis than those with N822K or other mutations of KIT in CBF-AML. Going forward, a study is needed in which a trial of autologous stem cell transplantation in first CR or conventional chemotherapy with dasatinib or novel molecular target drug such as PKC 412 for CBF-AML with D816. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Investigation of androgen receptor gene mutations in a series of 21 patients with 46,XY disorders of sex development

Androgen receptor (We direct sequenced all eight exons of theWe detectedDespite the fact that T/DHT ratio is frequently used in diagnosis of AIS, lack of precisely determined cutoffs compromises correct diagnosis. Hence, depending on clinical and biochemical findings solely may delay correct diagnosis. Direct sequence analysis of the

Molecular Analysis of Twist1 and FGF Receptors in a Rabbit Model of Craniosynostosis: Likely Exclusion as the Loci of Origin

Craniosynostosis is the premature fusion of the cranial vault sutures. We have previously described a colony of rabbits with a heritable pattern of nonsyndromic, coronal suture synostosis; however, the underlying genetic defect remains unknown. We now report a molecular analysis to determine if four genes implicated in human craniosynostosis, TWIST1 and fibroblast growth factor receptors 1–3 (FGFR1–3), could be the loci of the causative mutation in this unique rabbit model. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified within the Twist1, FGFR1, and FGFR2 genes, and the allelic patterns of these silent mutations were examined in 22 craniosynostotic rabbits. SNP analysis of the Twist1, FGFR1, and FGFR2 genes indicated that none were the locus of origin of the craniosynostotic phenotype. In addition, no structural mutations were identified by direct sequence analysis of Twist1 and FGFR3 cDNAs. These data indicate that the causative locus for heritable craniosynostosis in this rabbit model is not within the Twist1, FGFR1, and FGFR2 genes. Although a locus in intronic or flanking sequences of FGFR3 remains possible, no direct structural mutation was identified for FGFR3.