After the Klinefelter syndrome, Y chromosomal microdeletions are the second most frequent genetic cause of male infertility. The European Academy Andrology (EAA) and the European Molecular genetics Quality Network (EMQN) revised the new 2014 laboratory guidelines on Sep 2013 based on 1999 and 2004 editions according to 12 years clinical accumulation and specialist consensus. The new guideline e...

AIM To evaluate the occurrence of classical azoospermia factor (AZF) deletions of the Y chromosome as a routine examination in azoospermic subjects with Klinefelter syndrome (KS). METHODS Blood samples were collected from 95 azoospermic subjects with KS (91 subjects had a 47,XXY karyotype and four subjects had a mosaic 47,XXY/46,XY karyotype) and a control group of 93 fertile men. The values ...

In whole cell patch-clamp recordings, we characterized the L-type Ca(2+) currents in bovine adrenal zona fasciculata (AZF) cells and explored their role, along with the role of T-type channels, in ACTH- and angiotensin II (ANG II)-stimulated cortisol secretion. Two distinct dihydropyridine-sensitive L-type currents were identified, both of which were activated at relatively hyperpolarized poten...

UNLABELLED The chromosome 15q13.3 microdeletion is a pathogenic copy number variation conferring epilepsy, intellectual disability, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We generated mice carrying a deletion of 1.2 Mb homologous to the 15q13.3 microdeletion in human patients. Here, we report that mice with a heterozygous deletion on a C57BL/6 background (D/+ mice) demonstrated phen...

Microdeletion syndromes are due to submicroscopic chromosomal deletions and display a complex clinical and behavioral phenotype. This occurs because of an imbalance of normal dosage of genes that are present in that segment of chromosome. Many clinical characteristics of the well-known microdeletion syndromes are very specific and have been well defined. It is not always possible to detect thes...

Genetic screening is being widely applied to trace the origin of global developmental delay or intellectual disability. The 5q14.3 microdeletion has recently been uncovered as a clinical syndrome presenting with severe intellectual disability, limited walking ability, febrile convulsions, absence of speech, and minor brain malformations. MEF2C was suggested as a gene mainly responsible for the ...

We describe a novel, inherited 16q13 microdeletion that removes cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) and several nearby genes. The proband was originally referred for severe childhood-onset obesity and moderate developmental delay, but his fasting lipid profile revealed relatively high levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and relatively low levels of low density lipoprote...

Since the introduction of West Nile virus (WNV) into North America in 1999 a number of passerine bird species have been found to play a role in the amplification of the virus. Arbovirus surveillance, observational studies and experimental studies have implicated passerine birds (songbirds, e.g., crows, American robins, house sparrows, and house finches) as significant reservoirs of WNV in North...

Enyeart JJ, Enyeart JA. Adrenal fasciculata cells express T-type and rapidly and slowly activating L-type Ca channels that regulate cortisol secretion. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 308: C899–C918, 2015. First published March 18, 2015; doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00002.2015.—In whole cell patch-clamp recordings, we characterized the L-type Ca currents in bovine adrenal zona fasciculata (AZF) cells and expl...