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Volume 27 Issue 2, February 2001

Artist: Anonymous graffiti artistPhotographer: Nicole FournierLocation: Manhattan, New York, USACover image modified

Volume 27 Issue 2

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Editorial

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News & Views

  • Dentinogenesis imperfecta (DGI) is characterized by discolored teeth with an opalescent sheen and dentin that fails to support enamel, causing it to easily chip. Two new studies show that DGI is associated with mutations in DSPP, a gene encoding dentin sialophosphoprotein that is processed into two proteins: dentin sialoprotein (DSP) and dentin phosphoprotein (DPP). These are key components of the dentin extracellular matrix (DECM). Notably, missense mutations in DSPP are also associated with progressive hearing loss.

    • Pragna I Patel
    News & Views

  • Interleukin 12 (IL-12) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes in the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse. Following this lead, a new locus associated with human type 1 diabetes, IDDM18, has been identified near the gene encoding the p40 subunit of interleukin 12 (IL12B). This finding has potential implications for the prediction of at-risk individuals and, perhaps, for the implementation of prevention strategies relevant to several autoimmune diseases.

    • Luciano Adorini
    News & Views

  • Haploinsufficiency of FOXL2, a new forkhead transcription factor, causes blepharophimosis/ptosis/epicanthus inversus syndrome (BPES), a rare developmental disorder affecting the eyelid and sometimes the ovary. A new study implicates FOXL2 as the first human gene required for the maintenance of ovarian follicles. The discovery of FOXL2 may provide insight into the causes of idiopathic premature ovarian failure, a disease that burdens many infertile couples.

    • Robyn L Prueitt
    • Andrew R Zinn
    News & Views

  • Prostate cancer is a complex disease to which a multitude of genetic and environmental factors contribute. Two new studies offer insights as to how the disease may arise and progress. The first describes mapping and cloning of a new candidate gene, ELAC2, whereas the second demonstrates how cooperation between Cdkn1b and Pten contribute to suppression of prostate tumors.

    • Mette A Peters
    • Elaine A Ostrander
    News & Views

  • An elegant set of mouse crosses has been used to identify a mitochondrial variant that interacts with a nuclear locus on chromosome 10, Ahl, to modify age-related hearing loss. This discovery sets the stage for the identification of factors that modify expression levels and variability of human hearing impairments.

    • Karen B Avraham
    News & Views
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