Papers by Ignacio Del Castillo
Journal of Medical Genetics, 2001
Audiology Research
Auditory Neuropathy (AN) is characterized by disruption of temporal coding of acoustic signals in... more Auditory Neuropathy (AN) is characterized by disruption of temporal coding of acoustic signals in auditory nerve fibers resulting in alterations of auditory perceptions. Mutations in several genes have been associated to the most forms of AN. Underlying mechanisms include both pre-synaptic and post-synaptic damage involving inner hair cell (IHC) depolarization, neurotransmitter release, spike initiation in auditory nerve terminals, loss of auditory fibers and impaired conduction. In contrast, outer hair cell (OHC) activities (otoacoustic emissions [OAEs] and cochlear microphonic [CM]) are normal. Disordered synchrony of auditory nerve activity has been suggested as the basis of both the alterations of auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and reduction of speech perception. We will review how electrocochleography (ECochG) recordings provide detailed information to help objectively define the sites of auditory neural dysfunction and their effect on receptor summating potential (SP) and...
This article cites 27 articles, 12 of which can be accessed free
ABSTRACTPURPOSEPathogenic variants in GJB2 are the most common cause of autosomal recessive senso... more ABSTRACTPURPOSEPathogenic variants in GJB2 are the most common cause of autosomal recessive sensorineural hearing loss. The classification of c.101T>C/p.Met34Thr and c.109G>A/p.Val37Ile in GJB2 are controversial. Therefore, an expert consensus is required for the interpretation of these two variants.METHODSThe ClinGen Hearing Loss Expert Panel (HL-EP) collected published data and shared unpublished information from participating laboratories regarding the two variants. Functional, computational, allelic, and segregation data were also obtained.RESULTSThe panel reviewed the synthesized information, and classified the Met34Thr and Val37Ile variants according to professional variant interpretation guidelines. We found that Met34Thr and Val37Ile are significantly overrepresented in hearing loss patients, compared to the general population. Met34Thr or Val37Ile homozygotes or compound heterozygotes typically manifest mild to moderate hearing loss. Several other types of evidence al...
The EMBO Journal, 1991
Communicated by M.Salas Microcin B17 (MccB17) is a bactericidal peptide antibiotic which inhibits... more Communicated by M.Salas Microcin B17 (MccB17) is a bactericidal peptide antibiotic which inhibits DNA replication. Two Escherichia coli MccB17 resistant mutants were isolated and the mutations were shown to map to 83 min of the genetic map. Cloning of the mutations and Tn5 insertional analysis demonstrated that they were located inside gyrB. The approximate location of the mutations within gyrB was determined by constructing hybrid genes, as a previous step to sequencing. Both mutations were shown to consist of a single AT-GC transition at position 2251 of the gene, which produces a Trp751-Arg substitution in the amino acid sequence of the GyrB polypeptide. The inhibitory effect of MccB17 on replicative cell-free extracts was assayed. In this in vitro system, interaction of MccB17 with a component of the extracts induced double-strand cleavage of plasmid DNA. In vivo treatment with MccB17 also induced a well-defined cleavage pattern on chromosomal DNA. These effects were not observed with a MccB17-resistant, gyrB mutant. Altogether, our results indicate that MccB17 blocks DNA gyrase by trapping an enzyme-DNA cleavable complex. Thus, the mode of action of this peptide antibiotic resembles that of quinolones and a variety of antitumour drugs currently used in cancer chemotherapy. MccB17 is the first peptide shown to inhibit a type II DNA topoisomerase.
Journal of Bacteriology, 1990
Microcins B17 and C7 are plasmid-determined, peptide antibiotics produced by Escherichia coli whe... more Microcins B17 and C7 are plasmid-determined, peptide antibiotics produced by Escherichia coli when cells enter the stationary phase of growth. Microcinogenic strains are immune to the action of the microcin they synthesize. A well-characterized deficient-immunity phenotype is exhibited by microcin B17-producing cells in the absence of the immunity gene mcbG (M.C. Garrido, M. Herrero, R. Kolter, and F. Moreno, EMBO J. 7:1853-1862, 1988). A 14.6-kilobase-pair EcoRI chromosomal fragment was isolated by its ability to suppress this phenotype when cloned into a multicopy vector. This fragment was mapped to 57.5 min on the E. coli genetic map. The position of the gene responsible for suppression, designated mprA, was determined by insertional mutagenesis and deletion analysis. mprA was shown to be transcribed clockwise on the E. coli chromosome, and its product was identified as a 19-kilodalton polypeptide. Suppression was shown to be achieved by decreasing microcin B17 production. Increa...
Journal of Bacteriology, 1991
In high copy number, the Escherichia coli mprA gene reduces the synthesis of peptide microcins B1... more In high copy number, the Escherichia coli mprA gene reduces the synthesis of peptide microcins B17 and C7 (MccB17 and MccC7) and blocks the osmoinduction of the proU operon at the transcriptional level. mprA has been sequenced and shown to encode a polypeptide of 176 amino acids (Mr, 20,563). Insertion and deletion mutant mprA alleles were constructed and then transferred to the chromosome by allelic replacement. In these mutants, expression of two mcb-lacZ fusions was fivefold derepressed, indicating a negative regulatory role of mprA on the mcb operon (MccB17). In contrast, no effect of the MprA- mutations on the expression of mcc operon (MccC7) or on the osmoinduction of proU operon was observed.
Revista Cubana De Investigaciones Biomedicas, Sep 1, 2001
Revista de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas (Córdoba, Argentina), 2004
Recent advances in molecular genetics as well as improved strategies for the prevention and contr... more Recent advances in molecular genetics as well as improved strategies for the prevention and control of non-syndromic hearing loss (NSHL) have contributed to the rising importance of their inherited causes. In this study we report 32 families from Argentine with one (sporadic) or more (familial) individuals affected. All the families were initially screened for mutations in three autosomal nuclear genes and one mutation in mitochondrial DNA. These genes have been found in a great number of familial or sporadic cases of congenital deafness in Caucasians. The mutant allele 35 del G of connexin 26 (GJB2, locus DFNB1 on 13q12) was present in three families. We have investigated the gene encoding otoferlin (OTOF, locus DFNB9 on 2p22-p23) and we found the Q829X mutation in heterocigosity in two families. We have also identified in heterocigosity the 342-kb deletion of connexin 30 (GJB6, locus DFNB1 on 13q12) in one family. On the other hand, we have not found any patient with mitochondrial...
Neuromuscular Disorders, 2008
Mohr-Tranebjaerg syndrome is a rare X-linked condition characterized by the association of dyston... more Mohr-Tranebjaerg syndrome is a rare X-linked condition characterized by the association of dystonia and progressive postlingual sensorineural hearing impairment. Here we report the clinical and genetic findings in a Spanish patient with MTS carrying a novel mutation in the DDP1 (deafness-dystonia peptide 1) gene, which encodes TIMM8a, a component of the mitochondrial protein translocation system. The phenotypic variability observed in patients with Mohr-Tranebjaerg syndrome suggests the involvement of modifier factors which may modulate the clinical manifestations of the syndrome.
Genetics Research International, 2012
Medicina Clínica, 2003
Fundamento y objetivo: La mutación A1555G del genoma mitocondrial causa hipoacusia neurosensorial... more Fundamento y objetivo: La mutación A1555G del genoma mitocondrial causa hipoacusia neurosensorial y ototoxicidad familiar por aminoglucósidos. Pacientes y método: Se estudió la mutación A1555G en 72 pacientes con hipoacusia neurosensorial. Resultados: Quince pacientes (20,8%) ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1991
Bacterial DNA gyrases are type II topoisomerases made up of two A subunits and two B subunits. Co... more Bacterial DNA gyrases are type II topoisomerases made up of two A subunits and two B subunits. Coumarins are carbohydrate-containing antibiotics that inhibit topoisomerases II by competing with ATP for binding to the enzymes. High resistance to coumarins is produced in bacterial species by mutations in gyrB, the gene encoding subunit B. We have found an unusual mechanism of resistance to coumarins in Escherichia coli. This mechanism is exhibited by cells containing the wild-type gyrB, or its 5' half, in high copy number. Since homologous mutant gyrB (coumermycin resistant) truncated genes did not confer drug resistance at all under the same conditions, we propose that this mechanism of resistance is due to drug sequestration by the overproduced wild-type GyrB polypeptides. A corollary of this is that the amino half of GyrB is required and sufficient to fashion the ATP-binding domain of DNA gyrase, a conclusion that was further supported by mapping three independent coumarin-resi...
Journal of Bacteriology, 2001
Microcin B17 is a peptide antibiotic that inhibits DNA replication in Escherichia coli by targeti... more Microcin B17 is a peptide antibiotic that inhibits DNA replication in Escherichia coli by targeting DNA gyrase. Previously, two independently isolated microcin B17-resistant mutants were shown to harbor the same gyrB point mutation that results in the replacement of tryptophan 751 by arginine in the GyrB polypeptide. We used site-directed mutagenesis to construct mutants in which tryptophan 751 was deleted or replaced by other amino acids. These mutants exhibit altered DNA gyrase activity and different levels of resistance to microcin B17.
Human Mutation, 2011
The prevalence of DFNA8/DFNA12 (DFNA8/12), a type of autosomal dominant nonsyndromic hearing loss... more The prevalence of DFNA8/DFNA12 (DFNA8/12), a type of autosomal dominant nonsyndromic hearing loss (ADNSHL), is unknown as comprehensive population-based genetic screening has not been conducted. We therefore completed unbiased screening for TECTA mutations in a Spanish cohort of 372 probands from ADNSHL families. Three additional families (Spanish, Belgian, and English) known to be linked to DFNA8/12 were also included in the screening. In an additional cohort of 835 American ADNSHL families, we preselected 73 probands for TECTA screening based on audiometric data. In aggregate, we identified 23 TECTA mutations in this process. Remarkably, 20 of these mutations are novel, more than doubling the number of reported TECTA ADNSHL mutations from 13 to 33. Mutations lie in all domains of the a-tectorin protein, including those for the first time identified in the entactin domain, as well as the vWFD1, vWFD2, and vWFD3 repeats, and the D1-D2 and TIL2 connectors. Although the majority are private mutations, four of them-p.Cys1036Tyr, p.Cys1837Gly, p.Thr1866Met, and p.Arg1890Cys-were observed in more than one unrelated family. For two of these mutations founder effects were also confirmed. Our data validate previously observed genotype-phenotype correlations in DFNA8/12 and introduce new correlations. Specifically, mutations in the N-terminal region of a-tectorin (entactin domain, vWFD1, and vWFD2) lead to mid-frequency NSHL, a phenotype previously associated only with mutations in the ZP domain. Collectively, our results indicate that DFNA8/12 hearing loss is a frequent type of ADNSHL.
Human Mutation, 2008
Autosomal recessive nonsyndromic deafness is genetically very heterogeneous with 53 mapped loci a... more Autosomal recessive nonsyndromic deafness is genetically very heterogeneous with 53 mapped loci and 29 identifi ed genes. One of these genes, OTOF, locus DFNB9, codifi es otoferlin, the intracytosolic-calcium binding protein which, anchored in the plasmatic membrane, participates in the exocytosis of synaptic vesicles in the internal ciliated cells of the cochlea. We enroled a cohort of 30 unrelated Argentinean subjects specifi cally selected because of having autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing impairment (NSHI), of varying degree, for the p.Gln829X mutation, the most prevailing in the Spanish populations. These patients make up the cohort of a multicenter study carried out by Spain, Colombia and Argentina. Only four (4) out of thirty (30) Argentinean patients present mutations in the OTOF gene. Three (3) of them are composed heterozygous: two (2) composed heterozygous for p.Gln829X/c.2905_2923delinsCTCCGAGCGCA mutations and one composed heterozygous for c.4227+1G>T/ c.2905_2923delinsCTCCGAGCGCA mutations. One (1) patient of the same cohort resulted homozygous for c.4227+1G>T/ c.4227+1G>T mutation. These last two, c.4227+1G>T/ c.2905_2923delinsCTCCGAGCGCA, resulted in new pathogenic mutations, not currently reported in literature. The c.4227+1G>T mutation is a change of G for T in the exon-intron border (G>T)in the intron 35 of the OTOF gene; while
FEMS Microbiology Letters, 2001
The Escherichia coli K-12 sheA gene encodes a pore-forming hemolysin that is secreted to the medi... more The Escherichia coli K-12 sheA gene encodes a pore-forming hemolysin that is secreted to the medium by a hitherto unidentified mechanism. To study SheA secretion, we constructed fusions between SheA and the mature form of the periplasmic enzyme L-lactamase, and performed site-directed mutagenesis on these constructs. The SheA-Bla and Bla-SheA hybrid proteins displayed hemolytic activity and were efficiently exported to the extracellular medium. Our results with mutant hybrid proteins show that secretion of SheA is independent of its cytolytic activity, that secretion is paralleled by a transient leakage of periplasmic contents to the extracellular medium, and that deletion of the 11 C-terminal residues of SheA has no effect on its secretion and cytolytic activity.
Clinical Genetics, 2010
Eleven affected members of a large German-American family segregating recessively inherited, cong... more Eleven affected members of a large German-American family segregating recessively inherited, congenital, non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) were found to be homozygous for the common 35delG mutation of GJB2, the gene encoding the gap junction protein Connexin 26. Surprisingly, four additional family members with bilateral profound SNHL carried only a single 35delG mutation. Previously, we demonstrated reduced expression of both GJB2 and GJB6 mRNA from the allele carried in trans with that bearing the 35delG mutation in these four persons. Using array comparative genome hybridization (arrayCGH), we have now identified on this allele a deletion of 131.4 kb whose proximal breakpoint lies more than 100 kb upstream of the transcriptional start sites of GJB2 and GJB6. This deletion, del(chr13:19,837,344-19,968,698), segregates as a completely penetrant DFNB1 allele in this family. It is not present in 528 persons with SNHL and monoallelic mutation of GJB2 or GJB6, nor have we identified any other candidate pathogenic copy number variation by arrayCGH in a subset of 10 such persons. Characterization of distant GJB2/GJB6 cis-regulatory regions evidenced by this allele may be required to find the 'missing' DFNB1 mutations that are believed to exist.
American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A, 2007
The American Journal of Human Genetics, 1999
The mtDNA variation of 50 Spanish and 4 Cuban families affected by nonsyndromic sensorineural dea... more The mtDNA variation of 50 Spanish and 4 Cuban families affected by nonsyndromic sensorineural deafness due to the A1555G mutation in the 12S rRNA gene was studied by high-resolution RFLP analysis and sequencing of the control region. Phylogenetic analyses of haplotypes and detailed survey of population controls revealed that the A1555G mutation can be attributed to у30 independent mutational events among the 50 Spanish families and that it occurs on mtDNA haplogroups that are common in all European populations. This indicates that the relatively high detection rate of this mutation in Spain is not due to sampling biases or to a single major founder event. Moreover, the distribution of these mutational events on different haplogroups is compatible with a random occurrence of the A1555G mutation and tends to support the conclusion that mtDNA backgrounds do not play a significant role in the expression of the mutation. Overall, these findings appear to indicate that the rare detection of this mutation in other populations is most likely due to inadequacy in patient ascertainment and molecular screening. This probable lack of identification of the A1555G mutation in subjects affected by sensorineural hearing loss implies that their maternally related relatives are not benefiting from presymptomatic detection and information concerning their increased risk of ototoxicity due to aminoglycoside treatments.
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Papers by Ignacio Del Castillo