We have studied the effect of the Ca(2+) antagonist mibefradil on low voltage-activated T-type Ca(2+) channels in whole-cell patch clamp recordings from bovine adrenal zona fasciculata (AZF) cells. AZF cells are distinctive in expressing only T-type Ca(2+) channels, allowing the mechanism of pharmacological agents to be explored without interference from other Ca(2+) channels. The inhibition of...

background: the sperm count and function may be affected by karyotype abnormalities or microdeletion in y chromosome. these genetic abnormalities can probably transmit to the children. objective: in this study, we tried to determine the frequency of karyotype abnormalities and y chromosome microdeletions in severe oligospermic or azoospermic men who fathered sons by icsi. materials and methods:...

Despite genetic evidence implicating MBD5 as the only overlapping gene between various 2q23.1 microdeletions, the function of MBD5 and its causality to 2q23.1 microdeletion syndrome, a disorder characterized by developmental delay and autistic features, has yet to be determined. In this issue of EMBO Molecular Medicine, Camarena et al generate an Mbd5 genetrap mouse model and show for the first...

this study was designed to determine the frequency of y chromosome azf (azoospermia factor ) subregions, microdeletions in patients with idiopathic nonobstructive azoospermia and severe oligozoospermia. subjects included 40 men who had been referred to infertility clinics for assisted reproduction, 37 were azoospermic and 3 had severe oligospermia. medical history and physical exam revealed no ...

1. Talkowski ME, Mullegama SV, Rosenfeld JA et al. Assessment of 2q23.1 microdeletion syndrome implicates MBD5 as a single causal locus of intellectual disability, epilepsy, and autism spectrum disorder. Am J Hum Genet 2011: 89: 551–563. 2. van Bon BW, Koolen DA, Brueton L et al. The 2q23.1 microdeletion syndrome: clinical and behavioural phenotype. Eur J Hum Genet 2010: 18: 163–170. 3. Laget S...

We report on a patient carrying a 17q21.31 microdeletion and exhibiting many common syndrome features, together with other clinical signs which have rarely or never been described to date. The detected 695-kb 17q21.31 deletion is larger than in most previously reported cases but is still probably the result of recombination between flanking low-copy repeats. Due to the complexity of the patient...

Individuals with 22q11.2 microdeletions show behavioral and cognitive deficits and are at high risk of developing schizophrenia. We analyzed an engineered mouse strain carrying a chromosomal deficiency spanning a segment syntenic to the human 22q11.2 locus. We uncovered a previously unknown alteration in the biogenesis of microRNAs (miRNAs) and identified a subset of brain miRNAs affected by th...