Mutations of mitochondrial 12S rRNA in gastric carcinoma and their significance

AIM: To detect the variations of mitochondrial 12S rRNA in patients with gastric carcinoma, and to study their significance and the relationship between these variations and the genesis of gastric carcinoma.METHODS: PCR amplified mitochondrial 12S rRNA of 44 samples including 22 from gastric carcinoma tissues and 22 from adjacent normal tissues, was detected by direct DNA sequencing. Then laser capture microdissection technique (LCM) was used to separate the cancerous cells and dysplasia cells with specific mutations. Denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) plus allele-specific PCR (ASPCR), nest-PCR and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE)were used to further evaluate this mutant property and quantitative difference of mutant type between cancerous and dysplasia cells. Finally, RNAdraw biosoft was used to analyze the RNA secondary structure of mutant-type 12S rRNA.RESULTS: Compared with Mitomap database, some new variations were found, among which np652 G insertion and np716 T-G transversion were found only in cancerous tissues.There was a statistic difference in the frequency of 12S rRNA variation between intestinal type (12/17, 70.59%) and diffusive type (5/17, 29.41%) of gastric carcinoma (P＜0.05).DHPLC analysis showed that 12S rRNA np652 G insertion and np716 T-G transversion were heteroplasmic mutations.The frequency of 12S rRNA variation in cancerous cells was higher than that in dysplasia cells (P＜0.01). 12S rRNA np652 G insertion showed obviously negative effects on the stability of 12S rRNA secondary structure, while others such as T-G transversion did not.CONCLUSION: The mutations of mitochondrial 12S rRNA may be associated with the occurrence of intestinal-type gastric carcinoma. Most variations exist both in gastric carcinomas and in normal tissues, and they might not be the characteristics of tumors. However, np652 G insertion and np716 T-G transversion may possess some molecular significance in gastric carcinogenesis. During the process from normality to dysplasia, then to carcinoma, 12S rRNA tends to convert from homoplasmy (wild type) to heteroplasmy,then to homoplasmy (mutant type, np717 T-G).

Taxonomic Status of the Spot-legged Treefrog in Southern Yunnan,Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA Sequences

Populations of the spot-legged treefrogs(Polypedates megacephalus) in China show significant morphological variation,but no has yet been conducted to investigate the correlation between morphological variation and genetic/ecological divergence.In this study,mitochondrial DNA sequences from the 12S rRNA gene(374 bp) were amplified from 25 individual spot-legged treefrogs from southern Yunnan,China.The phylogenetic analysis using Bayesian Inference determined two haplotype clades,different from those detected by Richards and Moore(1998).Our results suggest that the phylogenetic lineages reconstructed in this study are not correlated with morphology,thus indicating that the populations in southern Yunnan may be P.leucomystax rather than P.megacephalus.

Advances in cochlear implantation for hereditary deafness caused by common mutations in deafness genes

The pathogenic factors of deafness are complex;more than 50%of cases are caused by genetic factors.Between 75%and 80%of cases of hereditary hearing impairment are autosomal recessive,15%to 25%are autosomal dominant,and 1%to 2%are mitochondrial or X-linked.Cochlea implantation is the main method for treating severe and extremely severe bilateral sensorineural deafness and it is widely used in clinical treatment.As clinical cases of cochlea implantation accumulate,differences in the efficacy of implantation in individuals are emerging and attracting attention.In addition to residual hearing level,implantation age,and other factors,gene mutation is an important factor influencing postoperative rehabilitation in patients.With continuous progress in genetic testing technology for deafness,genetic diagnosis has become an important tool in preoperative evaluation and postoperative effect prediction in patients undergoing cochlear implantation.This article reviews the current status and future development of cochlear implantation in the treatment of hereditary deafness resulting from mutations in common deafness-causing genes.