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Loci linkage to prion incubation time
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that those with low levels of B12 or folate were twice as likely to develop AD. It is believed as many as 10% of people over the age of 65 are affected by this neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss of cognitive functions. The results of this study, published in the May edition of Neurology, suggest that monitoring, and possibly supplementation, of vitamin levels in the elderly could be beneficial in the prevention of AD. PoN
Breakthrough in HIV dementia Dementia caused by HIV infection can be a devastating complication of the disease. Preliminary investigations by neurologists from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, USA offer new hope for advancement in this field. A team led by Avindra Nath has discovered that anti-oxidant drugs can reverse the damage caused to the mitochondria of healthy brain cells by HIV-infected cerebrospinal fluid in vitro. Nath, presenting her results at the American Academy of Neurology’s 53rd Annual Meeting in May (Philadelphia, PA, USA), explained that even subtle damage to the mitochondria of neuronal cells could lead to cognitive defects. The team hope that anti-oxidant therapy will be equally effective in HIV dementia patients. PoN
SNP-ping away at disease Genome researchers have shown that the human genome contains large blocks of linkage disequilibrium that will be useful in the analysis of human disease and evolution. Scientists at the Whitehead Institute Center for Genome Research (Cambridge, MA, USA) performed a large-scale analysis of 19 randomly selected regions of the human genome by looking at single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). They found that blocks of SNPs in European populations might be as much as eight times longer than previous estimations. Their results, published in May in Nature, have implications for future disease gene mapping studies. Eric Lander, a leading genomic expert, explained that the large blocks in northern European populations will help map the approximate location of disease genes. The presence of smaller blocks in other populations will allow researchers to hone in on the single nucleotide differences responsible for the disease. JW
TRENDS in Molecular Medicine Vol.7 No.7 July 2001
Mouse race The joint winners of the race to sequence the human genome are battling again to complete the mouse genome. Celera was the first to cross the finishing line when it announced six times coverage of the mouse genome derived from three experimental strains (129/Sv, DBA/2J and A/J). Celera’s April announcement was followed 11 days later by similar claims from the publicly funded Mouse Sequencing Consortium, which has achieved three times coverage of the sequence from the common C57BL/6J strain. The mouse sequence is expected to provide invaluable information that will contribute to efforts to decipher the human genome sequence and the creation of new animal models for human diseases. JW
Australian cure for resistant bugs A new weapon in the continuous battle against resistant strains of infectious bacteria has been ‘discovered’ in Australia. The ancient aboriginal concoction, composed of eucalyptus, tea tree, lemon, thyme, cloves and alcohol, has been found to be remarkably effective in controlling Staphylococcus aureus infections in which conventional antibiotics have proven ineffective. Eugene Sherry (University of Sydney, Australia) has been studying the mixture, now patented as ‘Polytoxinol’ and has found it to be effective at preventing and curing infection in patients. Staphylococcus aureus, although often harmless, can rapidly develop resistance to new antibiotics and is responsible for numerous post-operative deaths. Sherry’s work was presented in a lecture to the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in May (Canberra, Australia). PoN
Everybody is Wellcome The Wellcome Trust has launched an advertising campaign to promote scientific use of the public human genome databases, with the strapline ‘free unrestricted access for all’. The Trust, which is the world’s largest medical research charity, ploughed more than £200 million into the British contribution to the Human Genome Project and has invested £8 million to create Ensembl, a UK-based
287
genome database. A recent survey conducted by the Trust revealed that only 50% of biomedical researchers are familiar with the freely accessible database services. Describing the genome data as a ‘treasure chest’ of potential targets for new drug treatments, Mike Dexter, the Trust’s director said ‘it is incumbent upon us to ensure that the public resources are fully utilized, in order to deliver the health benefits that will undoubtedly flow from the use of this information’. JW
Cholesterol-lowering drugs An X-ray crystallography study has revealed the structural mechanics by which the widely prescribed statin drugs, such as Lipitor and Zocor, lower serum cholesterol levels. Eva Istvan and Johann Deisenhofer of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (TX, USA) solved the structure of the catalytic domain of HMG-CoA reductase (HMGR) complexed with six different statins. The statins fit into the active site of HMGR, a crucial enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis, and induce a conformational change, as shown in May in Science. These structural insights suggest that new statin drugs might be developed which are even more effective in lowering cholesterol levels and treating hypercholesterolemia disease. JW
Loci linkage to prion incubation time Linkage analysis from John Collinge’s group (Imperial College, London, UK) has shown multiple loci that have a profound effect on incubation time of prion disease in mice. These loci, on mouse chromosomes 2, 11 and 12, could provide answers to the differences in incubation time observed in animals with identical prion sequences. The report, published in the May issue of Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, suggests that given the sequence conservation between the mouse and human genomes, the observed major genetic effects imply the need for ‘extreme caution in estimates of variant Creutzfeld–Jacob disease epidemic size’. AR Jonathan Weitzman [email protected] Paul O’Neill [email protected] Adam Rutherford [email protected]
http://tmm.trends.com 1471-4914/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
that those with low levels of B12 or folate were twice as likely to develop AD. It is believed as many as 10% of people over the age of 65 are affected by this neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss of cognitive functions. The results of this study, published in the May edition of Neurology, suggest that monitoring, and possibly supplementation, of vitamin levels in the elderly could be beneficial in the prevention of AD. PoN
Breakthrough in HIV dementia Dementia caused by HIV infection can be a devastating complication of the disease. Preliminary investigations by neurologists from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, USA offer new hope for advancement in this field. A team led by Avindra Nath has discovered that anti-oxidant drugs can reverse the damage caused to the mitochondria of healthy brain cells by HIV-infected cerebrospinal fluid in vitro. Nath, presenting her results at the American Academy of Neurology’s 53rd Annual Meeting in May (Philadelphia, PA, USA), explained that even subtle damage to the mitochondria of neuronal cells could lead to cognitive defects. The team hope that anti-oxidant therapy will be equally effective in HIV dementia patients. PoN
SNP-ping away at disease Genome researchers have shown that the human genome contains large blocks of linkage disequilibrium that will be useful in the analysis of human disease and evolution. Scientists at the Whitehead Institute Center for Genome Research (Cambridge, MA, USA) performed a large-scale analysis of 19 randomly selected regions of the human genome by looking at single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). They found that blocks of SNPs in European populations might be as much as eight times longer than previous estimations. Their results, published in May in Nature, have implications for future disease gene mapping studies. Eric Lander, a leading genomic expert, explained that the large blocks in northern European populations will help map the approximate location of disease genes. The presence of smaller blocks in other populations will allow researchers to hone in on the single nucleotide differences responsible for the disease. JW
TRENDS in Molecular Medicine Vol.7 No.7 July 2001
Mouse race The joint winners of the race to sequence the human genome are battling again to complete the mouse genome. Celera was the first to cross the finishing line when it announced six times coverage of the mouse genome derived from three experimental strains (129/Sv, DBA/2J and A/J). Celera’s April announcement was followed 11 days later by similar claims from the publicly funded Mouse Sequencing Consortium, which has achieved three times coverage of the sequence from the common C57BL/6J strain. The mouse sequence is expected to provide invaluable information that will contribute to efforts to decipher the human genome sequence and the creation of new animal models for human diseases. JW
Australian cure for resistant bugs A new weapon in the continuous battle against resistant strains of infectious bacteria has been ‘discovered’ in Australia. The ancient aboriginal concoction, composed of eucalyptus, tea tree, lemon, thyme, cloves and alcohol, has been found to be remarkably effective in controlling Staphylococcus aureus infections in which conventional antibiotics have proven ineffective. Eugene Sherry (University of Sydney, Australia) has been studying the mixture, now patented as ‘Polytoxinol’ and has found it to be effective at preventing and curing infection in patients. Staphylococcus aureus, although often harmless, can rapidly develop resistance to new antibiotics and is responsible for numerous post-operative deaths. Sherry’s work was presented in a lecture to the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in May (Canberra, Australia). PoN
Everybody is Wellcome The Wellcome Trust has launched an advertising campaign to promote scientific use of the public human genome databases, with the strapline ‘free unrestricted access for all’. The Trust, which is the world’s largest medical research charity, ploughed more than £200 million into the British contribution to the Human Genome Project and has invested £8 million to create Ensembl, a UK-based
287
genome database. A recent survey conducted by the Trust revealed that only 50% of biomedical researchers are familiar with the freely accessible database services. Describing the genome data as a ‘treasure chest’ of potential targets for new drug treatments, Mike Dexter, the Trust’s director said ‘it is incumbent upon us to ensure that the public resources are fully utilized, in order to deliver the health benefits that will undoubtedly flow from the use of this information’. JW
Cholesterol-lowering drugs An X-ray crystallography study has revealed the structural mechanics by which the widely prescribed statin drugs, such as Lipitor and Zocor, lower serum cholesterol levels. Eva Istvan and Johann Deisenhofer of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (TX, USA) solved the structure of the catalytic domain of HMG-CoA reductase (HMGR) complexed with six different statins. The statins fit into the active site of HMGR, a crucial enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis, and induce a conformational change, as shown in May in Science. These structural insights suggest that new statin drugs might be developed which are even more effective in lowering cholesterol levels and treating hypercholesterolemia disease. JW
Loci linkage to prion incubation time Linkage analysis from John Collinge’s group (Imperial College, London, UK) has shown multiple loci that have a profound effect on incubation time of prion disease in mice. These loci, on mouse chromosomes 2, 11 and 12, could provide answers to the differences in incubation time observed in animals with identical prion sequences. The report, published in the May issue of Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, suggests that given the sequence conservation between the mouse and human genomes, the observed major genetic effects imply the need for ‘extreme caution in estimates of variant Creutzfeld–Jacob disease epidemic size’. AR Jonathan Weitzman [email protected] Paul O’Neill [email protected] Adam Rutherford [email protected]
http://tmm.trends.com 1471-4914/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.