A facility for cryogenic ion irradiation and in situ characterization of rare-earth barium copper oxide superconducting tapes.

Superconducting magnets based on Rare Earth Barium Copper Oxides (REBCO) offer transformative capabilities in the fields of fusion energy, high energy physics, and space exploration. A challenge shared by these applications is the limited lifetime of REBCO due to radiation damage sustained during operation. Here we present a new ion-beam facility that enables simultaneous cryogenic irradiation and in situ characterization of commercial REBCO tapes. The ion source provides spatially uniform fluxes up to 1018 protons/m2s with kinetic energies up to 3.4 MeV, in addition to helium and higher-Z species. Using this facility, we can induce uniform damage profiles in the first 10-20 µm of REBCO tapes with less than 0.25 appm of hydrogen implanted in REBCO after a dose of 1020 protons/m2. The tape can be held between 20 and 300 K with an accuracy of ±0.1 K and is connected to a four-point probe measuring the critical current, Ic, and critical temperature, Tc, before, during, and after irradiation with transport current ranging from 100 nA to 100 A, and a typical voltage noise less than 0.1 µV. These capabilities are presently used to study the effect of irradiation temperature on REBCO performance change during and after proton bombardment, to assess the possibility of Ic and Tc recovery after irradiation through thermal annealing, and to explore the instantaneous and recoverable suppression of Ic and Tc observed during irradiation.

A child with neurofibromatosis-1 and a lumbar epidural arteriovenous malformation.

A 10-year-old child with neurofibromatosis-1 was evaluated for progressive lumbar scoliosis, back pain, and foot numbness. Magnetic resonance imaging showed several lumbar intraspinal and extraspinal masses consistent with neurofibromas. The mass at L3-L5 compressed the thecal sac and was thought to be the source of the symptoms. On operative exploration, a lumbar epidural arteriovenous malformation was found, which was removed in its entirety. The child's back pain and foot numbness resolved. Epidural arteriovenous malformations in patients with neurofibromatosis-1 are rare and have been reported only in the cervical spine. Our finding of a lumbar epidural arteriovenous malformation in a child with neurofibromatosis-1 demonstrates that vascular anomalies can be present throughout the spine of patients with neurofibromatosis-1 and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any neurofibromatosis-1-related epidural mass.

Descriptive analysis of tibial pseudarthrosis in patients with neurofibromatosis 1.

Five percent of individuals with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) present with congenital long bone pseudarthrosis (PA). In large series, 50-80% of patients with congenital long bone PA also have NF1. Very little information exists on the natural history and pathogenesis of PA in NF1. This report is a descriptive analysis of a large series of patients with NF1 and tibial bowing or PA. Study A is a case-control study using the National Neurofibromatosis Foundation International Database (NNFFID). Eighty-five patients with PA were compared to a control group from the same database. There was a statistically significant male predominance of NF1 cases with PA (54 males to 31 females), compared to controls (85 males to 87 females) (chi2 = 4.0, P = 0.046, using a two-tailed test with Yates' correction). There was no significant difference in the clinical presentation of NF1 manifestations in NF1 patients with PA than in NF1 patients without PA. Of the affected individuals with PA, there were 24 de novo cases and 21 familial cases (9 through maternal and 12 through paternal inheritance). Questions that could not be answered by Study A were addressed by a partially overlapping case-series report, Study B, in which data on 75 cases ascertained through questionnaires completed by NF center directors were collected. From Study B we determined that half of the patients who had a fracture sustained it before age 2, and approximately 16% of the pseudarthrosis patients had an amputation. Our data indicate a male predominance and no parent-of-origin effect. Male gender may be a susceptibility factor for pseudarthrosis in NF1.

Issues in implementing prenatal screening for cystic fibrosis: results of a working conference.

PURPOSE: To summarize a conference convened to examine how cystic fibrosis screening might appropriately be introduced into routine prenatal practice. METHODS: Participants included experts from various relevant disciplines. Systematic reviews and data from individual trials were presented; issues were identified and discussed. RESULTS: Judged by published criteria, prenatal cystic fibrosis screening is suitable for introduction. Screening can be performed cost-effectively by identifying racial/ethnic groups at sufficient risk and then using either of two models for delivering laboratory services. Validated educational materials exist. Ethical issues are not unique. CONCLUSIONS: Once adequate facilities for patient and provider education, testing, counseling, quality control, and monitoring are in place, individual programs can begin prenatal screening for cystic fibrosis.

Frequent progesterone receptor immunoreactivity in tuberous sclerosis-associated renal angiomyolipomas.

Angiomyolipomas can occur sporadically or in association with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). TSC is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by seizures, mental retardation, and benign tumors of the brain, heart, kidney, and skin. Angiomyolipomas are more common in women than in men, suggesting a possible hormonal influence on tumor growth. In this study, 35 angiomyolipomas from 23 patients were immunostained with antibodies to estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR). Eleven angiomyolipomas (31%) contained clusters of PR-immunoreactive smooth muscle cells. None contained ER-immunoreactive cells. Of the 21 tumors from patients with TSC, 11 (48%) were PR immunoreactive. All of the PR-immunoreactive angiomyolipomas were from women younger than 50 years of age, and all except one of these women had TSC. This study suggests that hormonal factors play a role in the pathogenesis of TSC-associated angiomyolipomas.

CT imaging in adults with neurofibromatosis-1: frequent asymptomatic plexiform lesions.

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the incidence and radiologic characteristics of plexiform neurofibromas in neurofibromatosis-1 (NF-1) to define a cohort at greatest risk for malignant nerve-sheath tumors. BACKGROUND: Plexiform neurofibromas are a frequent complication of NF-1. They can impair function, produce disfigurement, and be the site for the development of malignant nerve-sheath tumors. The incidence and natural history of plexiform neurofibromas is unknown. METHODS: CT imaging of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis was performed in 91 of 125 consecutive adults (age, > or = 16 years) with NF-1. RESULTS: Twenty percent of patients had plexiform neurofibromas of the chest in the paraspinal, mediastinal, or supraclavicular area. Approximately 40% of patients had abnormal abdominal/pelvic scans. The paraspinal, sacral plexus, sciatic notch, and perirectal regions were the most common sites. Most plexiform neurofibromas were asymptomatic. Imaging also revealed a number of tumors, including malignant nerve-sheath tumors, adrenal tumors, carcinoids, and schwannomas. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of plexiform lesions and other tumors in NF-1 indicates that clinicians should monitor young adults carefully; however, imaging characteristics alone cannot reliably distinguish benign from malignant lesions.

Comprehensive mutational analysis of the TSC1 gene: observations on frequency of mutation, associated features, and nonpenetrance.

We performed a comprehensive analysis for mutations in the TSC1 gene using Southern blot analysis, and SSCP and heteroduplex analysis of amplified exons in 13 families with genetic linkage to the TSC1 region, 22 small families without linkage information, and 126 sporadic patients. 17 unique mutations were identified in 21 patients. Mutations were found in 7/13 (54%) TSC1-linked families, 1/22 (5%) small families without linkage, and 13 of 126 (10%) sporadic cases. The mutations were all chain-terminating, with 14 small deletions, 1 small insertion, and 6 nonsense mutations. In families with mutations, all individuals carrying a mutation met formal diagnostic criteria for TSC, apart from a 3-year-old girl who had inherited a deletion mutation, and who had no seizures, normal intelligence, normal abdominal ultrasound, and hypomelanotic macules only on physical exam. We assessed the incidence and severity of mental retardation in the 13 sporadic patients with TSC1 mutations versus the entire sporadic cohort, and found no significant difference. The observations indicate that TSC1 mutations are all inactivating, suggest that TSC1 disease occurs in only 15-20% of the sporadic TSC population, and demonstrate that presymptomatic TSC does occur.

Molecular analysis of the NF2 tumor-suppressor gene in schwannomatosis.

Patients with multiple schwannomas without vestibular schwannomas have been postulated to compose a distinct subclass of neurofibromatosis (NF), termed "schwannomatosis." To compare the molecular-genetic basis of schwannomatosis with NF2, we examined the NF2 locus in 20 unrelated schwannomatosis patients and their affected relatives. Tumors from these patients frequently harbored typical truncating mutations of the NF2 gene and loss of heterozygosity of the surrounding region of chromosome 22. Surprisingly, unlike patients with NF2, no heterozygous NF2-gene changes were seen in normal tissues. Examination of multiple tumors from the same patient revealed that some schwannomatosis patients are somatic mosaics for NF2-gene changes. By contrast, other individuals, particularly those with a positive family history, appear to have an inherited predisposition to formation of tumors that carry somatic alterations of the NF2 gene. Further work is needed to define the pathogenetics of this unusual disease mechanism.

Human XPMC2H: cDNA cloning, mapping to 9q34, genomic structure, and evaluation as TSC1.

XPMC2 is a Xenopus gene identified on the basis of its ability to correct a mitotic defect in fission yeast. Here we report the identification of cDNA clones for human XPMC2H, its mapping to the tuberous sclerosis gene TSC1 region on 9q34, determination of genomic structure, and identification of several coding region polymorphisms. The predicted protein has strong sequence similarity to the Xenopus gene. Through SSCP and heteroduplex analysis of genomic DNA, we found two intragenic polymorphisms but no evidence for significant mutations in patients with tuberous sclerosis in this gene.

Identification of the tuberous sclerosis gene TSC1 on chromosome 9q34.

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by the widespread development of distinctive tumors termed hamartomas. TSC-determining loci have been mapped to chromosomes 9q34 (TSC1) and 16p13 (TSC2). The TSC1 gene was identified from a 900-kilobase region containing at least 30 genes. The 8.6-kilobase TSC1 transcript is widely expressed and encodes a protein of 130 kilodaltons (hamartin) that has homology to a putative yeast protein of unknown function. Thirty-two distinct mutations were identified in TSC1, 30 of which were truncating, and a single mutation (2105delAAAG) was seen in six apparently unrelated patients. In one of these six, a somatic mutation in the wild-type allele was found in a TSC-associated renal carcinoma, which suggests that hamartin acts as a tumor suppressor.

Human fetal astrocytes as an ex vivo gene therapy vehicle for delivering biologically active nerve growth factor.

The therapeutic use of neurotrophic factors for neurodegenerative diseases is promising, however, optimal methods for continuous delivery of these substances to the human central nervous system (CNS) remains problematic. One approach would be to graft genetically engineered human cells that continuously secrete high levels of a biologically produced and processed neurotrophic factor. This ex vivo gene therapy approach has worked well in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases using a variety of nonneuronal cell types to deliver the transgene. In our studies, we have been investigating the potential of astrocytes, a cell type normally present in the CNS, as a vehicle for ex vivo gene therapy. Here, we demonstrate that astrocytes in the human fetal cortex can be isolated and efficiently infected with an amphotropic retrovirus harboring mouse beta-nerve growth factor (NGF). These transduced astrocytes express high levels of NGF mRNA and secrete bioactive NGF protein as demonstrated by stimulation of neurite outgrowth from adrenal chromaffin cells. NGF ELISA showed that these astrocytes secrete NGF protein at a rate of 41 ng/day per 10(5) cells after 2 weeks in vitro, whereas NGF is undetectable in medium conditioned by normal astrocytes. These data suggest that human fetal astrocytes can be used for delivering biologically produced neurotrophic factors to the human CNS.

Do NF1 gene deletions result in a characteristic phenotype?

Neurofibromatosis-1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant disorder with marked variability of expression. Analysis of the NF1 gene (NF1) has detected a variety of mutations without any clear correlation with phenotype. However, deletions which remove all of NF1 have been reported in a small number of patients who have minor facial abnormalities, mental retardation, learning disabilities, and early or excessive burden of cutaneous or plexiform neurofibromas. The purpose of this study was to determine whether these phenotypic traits are associated with whole gene deletions. Out of 406 of our NF1 patients, 70 patients had manifestations previously associated with gene deletions. Thirty-five of these patients from 26 families were available for study. By fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis, 4 were found to have deletions of the entire gene, including 2 sporadic cases, 1 familial case, and 1 case where family history could not be verified. In addition, the mother of the familial case was found to be mosaic for the deletion. Our results suggest that although large NF1 deletions occur with relatively high frequency in patients with certain findings, the presence of a deletion cannot be predicted solely on the basis of clinical phenotype.

Tuberous sclerosis-associated renal cell carcinoma. Clinical, pathological, and genetic features.

The tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a multisystem autosomal dominant disorder characterized by seizures, mental retardation, and hamartomas. Patients with TSC have been reported to develop renal cell carcinomas (RCC) with increased frequency, an observation that is supported by the Eker rat model. To address the role of the tuberous sclerosis tumor suppressor genes in the pathogenesis of RCC, we studied six TSC-associated RCCs. Our findings suggest that some TSC-associated RCCs have clinical, pathological, or genetic features distinguishing them from sporadic RCC. Clinically, the TSC-associated tumors occurred at a younger age (mean, 36 years) than sporadic tumors and occurred primarily in women. Four of the six patients died of metastatic disease. Pathologically, five tumors displayed clear cell morphology. Of those five, two had high-grade spindle cell areas and one had granular cell histology in addition to the clear cell areas. A sixth tumor was anaplastic throughout. Four of the six tumors immunostained positively for a melanocyte-associated marker, HMB-45. HMB-45 positivity has been seen in two other TSC lesions: renal angiomyolipomas and pulmonary lymphangiomyomatosis. Five tumors were analyzed for loss of heterozygosity. Two had loss of heterozygosity on chromosome 9q34 and one had loss of heterozygosity on chromosome 16p13. We conclude that TSC-associated RCCs occur at an earlier age than sporadic RCCs, that some TSC-associated renal carcinomas have a different immunophenotype than sporadic RCCs, and that the TSC tumor suppressor genes may play a specific pathogenic role in these tumors.

Allelic loss is frequent in tuberous sclerosis kidney lesions but rare in brain lesions.

Tuberous sclerosis (TSC) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by seizures, mental retardation, and hamartomatous lesions. Although hamartomas can occur in almost any organ, they are most common in the brain, kidney, heart, and skin. Allelic loss or loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in TSC lesions has previously been reported on chromosomes 16p13 and 9q34, the locations of the TSC2 and TSC1 genes, respectively, suggesting that the TSC genes act as tumor-suppressor genes. In our study, 87 lesions from 47 TSC patients were analyzed for LOH in the TSC1 and TSC2 chromosomal regions. Three findings resulted from this analysis. First, we confirmed that the TSC1 critical region is distal to D9S149. Second, we found LOH more frequently on chromosome 16p13 than on 9q34. Of the 28 patients with angiomyolipomas or rhabdomyomas, 16p13 LOH was detected in lesions from 12 (57%) of 21 informative patients, while 9q34 LOH was detected in lesions from only 1 patient (4%). This could indicate that TSC2 tumors are more likely than TSC1 tumors to require surgical resection or that TSC2 is more common than TSC1 in our patient population. It is also possible that small regions of 9q34 LOH were missed. Lastly, LOH was found in 56% of renal angiomyolipomas and cardiac rhabdomyormas but in only 4% of TSC brain lesions. This suggests that brain lesions can result from different pathogenic mechanisms than kidney and heart lesions.

Schwannomatosis: a clinical and pathologic study.

Schwannomas are benign nerve sheath tumors that most commonly occur singularly in otherwise normal individuals. Multiple schwannomas in a single patient are most often seen in neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2), but several recent reports suggest that schwannomatosis may also be a distinct clinical entity. We studied the clinical, radiographic, and pathologic features of 14 patients with multiple schwannomas who did not have vestibular schwannoma diagnostic of NF2. Most patients had peripheral nerve tumors that presented with pain. Many also had spinal nerve root and cranial nerve tumors. Three had multiple tumors limited to a single limb. We found that these 14 individuals did not exhibit phenotypic overlap with the neurofibromatoses. Only 1 of 14 patients had a positive family history. We conclude that patients with multiple schwannomas, who do not have vestibular schwannoma, comprise a distinct clinical problem, but further molecular genetic analysis is needed to define the pathophysiology of this disorder.

Novel mutations detected in the TSC2 gene from both sporadic and familial TSC patients.

Tuberous sclerosis (TSC) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by hamartomas in one or more organs, including the brain, skin, heart and kidneys. Linkage studies have shown locus heterogeneity with one TSC gene mapped to chromosome 9q34 and a second to 16p13.3. The gene on 16p13.3, TSC2, has been cloned and shown to encode a 5.5 kb transcript that is widely expressed. To facilitate the search for mutations in the TSC2 gene product, tuberin, we have designed an RT-PCR-based assay system to scan the expressed coding region of the TSC2 gene in lymphoblasts. Using 34 overlapping PCR assays we performed single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of DNA from 26 apparently sporadic TSC cases, two TSC families non-informative for linkage analysis and two confirmed chromosome 16-linked TSC families. Of the 60 chromosomes scanned, 14 showed abnormal SSCP mobility shifts. Using direct PCR sequencing we have identified five missense mutations, one 3 bp in-frame deletion and one 2 bp frameshift deletion, one nonsense mutation, one 29 bp tandem duplication and five silent nucleotide changes that are likely to be polymorphisms. There is no apparent clustering of mutations within TSC2. The diversity of mutation types argues that TSC2 may not act in a classic tumor suppressor fashion. In addition, we saw no specific correlation between the different mutations and clinical severity or expression. These data confirm that TSC2 is indeed the relevant gene, and that a substantial number of sporadic cases arise from mutations in the TSC2 gene.