Objective. To determine whether 7 candidate genes, including tumor necrosis factor receptor II, bcl-2, CTLA-4, interleukin-10 (IL-10), CD19, Fc receptor type IIA (CD32), and IL-1 receptor antagonist, may contribute to susceptibility to systemic lupus erythem-atosus (SLE) in the Italian population. Methods. The association with SLE of intragenic markers for each candidate gene, including either mic-rosatellites or dimorphisms, was analyzed. Gene frequencies of these gene markers were compared for patients and ethnically matched controls. Significance was tested by chi-square test on 2 2 tables and by Monte Carlo simulation on 2 N tables. Results. A significant increase was found in SLE patients (0.170 versus 0.095; 2 y 4.11, P 0.0425) in the frequency of the 140-basepair allele of the IL10.G microsatellite located in the promoter region of the IL-10 gene. This finding was confirmed in a second independent panel where, again, the frequency of the 140-bp allele was found to be significantly increased in SLE patients versus controls (0.176 versus 0.086; 2 y 3.95, P 0.0470). Considering the 2 panels together, the relative risk conferred by the presence of the 140-bp allele was 1.78 (95% confidence interval 1.19-2.66). Conversely, no significant association was detected for the remaining 6 candidate genes, even when the patients were stratified according to the presence of different clinical and immunologic features or according to the presence of the associated HLA-DR or IL-10 alleles. Conclusion. Of the 7 candidate genes tested, only IL-10 was significantly associated with SLE in Italian patients. This genetic marker represents, apart from HLA, the only genetic susceptibility factor for SLE found so far in the Italian population.

1999)Sex identification in the moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) by flow cytometry and morphometric analysisABSTRACT Sexing individuals in a population is important in many ecological and life-history studies. Since many bird species are monomorphic, non-invasive tools are necessary for sex determination. In this study we utilized flow cytometry to sex individuals in a moorhen population of northern Italy. By improving previous laboratory protocols, we were able to obtain clear and repeatable measures of DNA content from field blood samples. The per cent difference in nuclear content between male and female moorhens was among the highest values reported for birds. We also utilized a discriminant analysis of seven morphological measures to investigate whether birds can be sexed on the basis of biometry. Tarsus and foot lengths were the most influential variables in gender discrimination. However, only 13 females and 10 males (77%) were correctly sexed, while six females and two males were wrongly assigned. When juvenile moorhens were excluded the discriminant analysis correctly sexed 90% of the birds. Since morphometric comparisons with English moorhen populations showed that discriminant biometrical values are geographically different, and thus not useful as universal sexing tools, we recommend the use of the cytometry technique for sex determination.

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