ABSTRACT
Background: Spinocerebeller ataxia type 1 (SCA1) is a specific type of ataxia among a group of inherited diseases of the central nervous system. In SCA1, genetic defects lead to impairment of specific nerve fibers carrying messages to and from the brain, resulting in the degeneration of the cerebellum, the coordination center of the brain. We investigated 24 members of an extended family in Gwalior city, India, some of which were earlier clinically diagnosed to be suffering from yet unconfirmed type of SCA neurodegenerative disorder. Materials and Methods: All the family members from each age group were screened clinically and the characteristics of those resembling with ataxia were recorded for diagnosis by MRI. The confirmed patients of the family were genetically tested by PCR based molecular testing to identify the type of SCA (i.e., SCA 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 or 7). Family tree of the disease inheritance was constructed by pedigree based method. Result and Conclusion: We found the clinical (symptoms and MRI) and genetic (Pedigree and PCR) results to be correlated. The PCR result revealed the disease to be of SCA 1 type being inherited in the family.
ABSTRACT
The expression pattern of two major chaperones, the heat shock proteins (HSPs) HSP60 and HSP70 was studied in vitro in tissues of the housefly Musca domestica during larval and adult stages of development to identify their immunological relatives and understand their functional significance in normal cellular activities and during thermal stress. Fluorographs of labeled polypeptides and western blots demonstrated that both HSPs are expressed constitutively and heat-induced in all the larval and adult cell types examined. The pattern of whole tissue immunocytochemical staining using anti-HSP60 and anti-HSP70 antibodies corresponded well with the observations from western blots or fluorographs. In developing oocytes, both constitutive and heat inducible expression of HSP60 were regulated in an oocyte stage-specific manner. In unstressed ovaries the expression of these proteins was less pronounced in early stage oocytes (1st - 8th) than at later stages (9th and onward). The heat shock, however, induced both HSP70 and HSP60 to a significantly high level in early stage oocytes (1st-8th) as compared to their respective controls. Our findings indicate the involvement of the HSP60 and HSP70 proteins in the development, growth and differentiation of both somatic and germ line tissues. Furthermore, the enhanced co-expression of HSP70 and HSP60 upon heat shock in various larval and adult cell types suggests the possible role of HSP60 in thermoprotection.