Linkage of a nasopharyngeal carcinoma susceptibility locus to the HLA region
Article Abstract:
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NCP), a cancer which is suspected by some to be related to infection with the Epstein-Barr virus, is almost 100 times as common in Southern China as in Europe. There has always been some suspicion that certain genes of the major histocompatibility comples (MHC) may contribute to susceptibility to this form of cancer. To more precisely determine the relationship between the histocompatibility genes and nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a total of 34 families were identified in which two or more siblings had developed this cancer. A careful analysis of the HLA haplotypes, the specific genes of the MHC possessed by an individual, was performed for the family members. The result confirmed a strong linkage between the MHC and the susceptibility to nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Although the results do not establish with certainty that susceptibility to NPC is conferred by the major histocompatibility complex, they do confirm that such a gene (or genes) must be located close to the MHC on chromosome 6. The results also reveal an increased likelihood of an association between nasopharyngeal carcinoma and the HLA haplotypes A2, Bw46, and the antigen B17. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1990
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Damage-limitation exercises
Article Abstract:
Cloned complementary DNA (cDNA) rectifies the DNA defects that cause two diseases, Fanconi's anemia (FA) and xeroderma pigmentosum (XP). FA and XP belong to the DNA-repair class of inherited diseases defined by a heightened sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents that increases the risk of cancer. The achievement of DNA repair through cDNA cloning, by C.A. Strathdee and colleagues for FA and by Randy Legerski and Carolyn Peterson for XP, is important because it may help physicians diagnose these diseases and place them in genetic complementation groups more quickly.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1992
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Molecular mimicry in liver disease
Article Abstract:
Primary biliary cirrhosis (PCB), an autoimmune chronic cholestatic liver disease occurring chiefly among women, results from the interaction of peptides with T-cell epitopes of microbial proteins. Abnormally expressed HLA-DR antigens produce the peptides, which then mimic the microbial proteins' T-cell epitopes. This immunological mechanism explains why people with PCB have anti-mitochondrial antibodies in their serum and why 60% of these patients were afflicted with recurrent urinary tract infections.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1992
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