An explanation for the phenotypic differences between patients bearing partial deletions of the DMD locus.
TL;DR: A molecular mechanism to explain the clinical difference in severity between DMD and BMD patients who bear partial deletions of the same gene locus is presented and is applicable to potential 5' and 3' intron splice mutations and their effect on protein production and clinical phenotype.
About: This article is published in Genomics.The article was published on 1988-01-01. It has received 1143 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Open reading frame & Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
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TL;DR: The complete sequence of the human Duchenne muscular dystrophy cDNA has been determined and dystrophin shares many features with the cytoskeletal protein spectrin and alpha-actinin and is likely to adopt a rod shape about 150 nm in length.
1,506 citations
TL;DR: Meryon’s observations were neglected for many years for various reasons, and the disorder became eponymously associated with Duchenne in Paris, who detailed the clinical and muscle histology some years later.
1,494 citations
TL;DR: The role of the dystrophin complex and protein family in muscle is discussed and the physiological processes that are affected in Duchenne muscular dystrophy are described.
Abstract: The X-linked muscle-wasting disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy is caused by mutations in the gene encoding dystrophin. There is currently no effective treatment for the disease; however, the complex molecular pathology of this disorder is now being unravelled. Dystrophin is located at the muscle sarcolemma in a membrane-spanning protein complex that connects the cytoskeleton to the basal lamina. Mutations in many components of the dystrophin protein complex cause other forms of autosomally inherited muscular dystrophy, indicating the importance of this complex in normal muscle function. Although the precise function of dystrophin is unknown, the lack of protein causes membrane destabilization and the activation of multiple pathophysiological processes, many of which converge on alterations in intracellular calcium handling. Dystrophin is also the prototype of a family of dystrophin-related proteins, many of which are found in muscle. This family includes utrophin and α-dystrobrevin, which are involved in the maintenance of the neuromuscular junction architecture and in muscle homeostasis. New insights into the pathophysiology of dystrophic muscle, the identification of compensating proteins, and the discovery of new binding partners are paving the way for novel therapeutic strategies to treat this fatal muscle disease. This review discusses the role of the dystrophin complex and protein family in muscle and describes the physiological processes that are affected in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
1,122 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The distribution and frequency of deletions spanning the entire locus suggests that many "in-frame" deletions of the dystrophin gene are not detected because the individuals bearing them are either asymptomatic or exhibit non-DMD/non-BMD clinical features.
Abstract: About 60% of both Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) is due to deletions of the dystrophin gene. For cases with a deletion mutation, the "reading frame" hypothesis predicts that BMD patients produce a semifunctional, internally deleted dystrophin protein, whereas DMD patients produce a severely truncated protein that would be unstable. To test the validity of this theory, we analyzed 258 independent deletions at the DMD/BMD locus. The correlation between phenotype and type of deletion mutation is in agreement with the "reading frame" theory in 92% of cases and is of diagnostic and prognostic significance. The distribution and frequency of deletions spanning the entire locus suggests that many "in-frame" deletions of the dystrophin gene are not detected because the individuals bearing them are either asymptomatic or exhibit non-DMD/non-BMD clinical features.
948 citations
TL;DR: Current understanding of the genotype-phenotype relation for mutations in the dystrophin gene and their implications for gene functions are focused on.
Abstract: Summary A large and complex gene on the X chromosome encodes dystrophin. Many mutations have been described in this gene, most of which affect the expression of the muscle isoform, the best-known protein product of this locus. These mutations result in the Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies (DMD and BMD). However, there are several other tissue specific isoforms of dystrophin, some exclusively or predominantly expressed in the brain or the retina. Mutations affecting the correct expression of these tissue-specific isoforms have been associated with the CNS involvement common in DMD. Rare mutations also account for the allelic disorder X-linked dilated cardiomyopathy, in which dystrophin expression or function is affected mostly or exclusively in the heart. Genotype definition of the dystrophin gene in patients with dystrophinopathies has taught us much about functionally important domains of the protein itself and has provided insights into several regulatory mechanisms governing the gene expression profile. Here, we focus on current understanding of the genotype–phenotype relation for mutations in the dystrophin gene and their implications for gene functions.
902 citations
References
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TL;DR: A new method for determining nucleotide sequences in DNA is described, which makes use of the 2',3'-dideoxy and arabinon nucleoside analogues of the normal deoxynucleoside triphosphates, which act as specific chain-terminating inhibitors of DNA polymerase.
Abstract: A new method for determining nucleotide sequences in DNA is described. It is similar to the “plus and minus” method [Sanger, F. & Coulson, A. R. (1975) J. Mol. Biol. 94, 441-448] but makes use of the 2′,3′-dideoxy and arabinonucleoside analogues of the normal deoxynucleoside triphosphates, which act as specific chain-terminating inhibitors of DNA polymerase. The technique has been applied to the DNA of bacteriophage ϕX174 and is more rapid and more accurate than either the plus or the minus method.
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TL;DR: This paper describes a method of transferring fragments of DNA from agarose gels to cellulose nitrate filters that can be hybridized to radioactive RNA and hybrids detected by radioautography or fluorography.
30,291 citations
TL;DR: A series of plasmid vectors containing the multiple cloning site (MCS7) of M13mp7 has been constructed and a kanamycin-resistance marker has been inserted into the center of the symmetrical MCS7 to yield a restriction-site-mobilizing element (RSM).
5,719 citations
TL;DR: In vitro recombination techniques were used to construct a new cloning vehicle, pBR322, which is a relaxed replicating plasmid, does not produce and is sensitive to colicin E1, and carries resistance genes to the antibiotics ampicillin (Ap) and tetracycline (Tc).
5,235 citations
TL;DR: The identification of the mdx mouse as an animal model for DMD has important implications with regard to the etiology of the lethal DMD phenotype, and the protein dystrophin is named because of its identification via the isolation of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy locus.
4,357 citations