Furthermore, genetic analysis for parental origin
of the supernumerary X-chromosome, skewed X-chromosome inactivation and androgen receptor (AR) CAG repeat length was done. Main Outcome Measure: Anthropometry and body composition in KS and the effect of genotype hereon. Results: KS males were taller (absolute difference: 5.1 cm, P smaller than .001) with longer legs (5.7 cm, P smaller than .001) compared with controls. Furthermore, 2D:4D was increased in KS males(relative effect size: Cohen’sd = 0.40), reflecting reduced fetal testosterone exposure. Also, bi-iliac width (0.41), waist (0.52), and hip circumference (0.47) (P smaller than .02 for all), as well as total fat mass (0.74), abdominal fat mass (0.67), and total body fat percentage (0.84) was increased in KS males (P smaller than .001 for all), while bitesticular volume was reduced (4.6). ARCAG repeat length was comparable in KS and controls, and among AZD6094 Protein Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor KS CAG correlated to arm length (P = .04), arm span (P = .01), and leg length (P = .04). Effects of parental origin of the supernumerary X-chromosome and skewed X-chromosome inactivation were negligible. Conclusions: Anthropometry and body composition in KS is specific and dysmorphic and affected by AR CAG repeat length and decreased exposure to testosterone already during
BLZ945 mouse fetal life.”
“Borrelia burgdorferi invasion of mammalian joints results in genesis of Lyme arthritis. Other than spirochete lipids, existence of protein antigens, which are abundant in joints and participate in B. burgdorferi-induced host inflammatory response, is unknown. Here, we report that major products of the B. burgdorferi basic membrane protein (bmp) A/B operon that are induced in murine and human joints, possess inflammatory properties. Compared to the wild type B. burgdorferi, an isogenic bmpA/B mutant induced significantly lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta in cultured
human synovial cells, which could be restored using bmpA/B-complemented mutants, and more directly, upon addition of recombinant BmpA, but not BmpB or control spirochete proteins. Non-lipidated and lipidated versions of BmpA induced similar levels of cytokines, and remained unaffected by treatment with lipopolysaccharide inhibitor, Selleckchem JNK-IN-8 polymyxin B. The bmpA/B mutant was also impaired in the induction of NF-kappa B and p38 MAP kinase signaling pathways in synovial cells, which were activated by non-lipidated BmpA. These results show that a protein moiety of BmpA can induce cytokine responses in synovial cells via activation of the NF-kappa B and p38 MAP kinase pathways and thus, could potentially contribute to the genesis of Lyme arthritis. (C) 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.”
“It is supposed that humans are genetically predisposed to be able to recognize sequences of context-free grammars with centre-embedded recursion while other primates are restricted to the recognition of finite state grammars with tail-recursion.