No abstract

We identified extensive protein degradation and differentially expressed proteins as biomarkers of inflammation relating to pulmonary exacerbations. Prediction of exacerbation onset and more precise evaluation of the extent of resolution with treatment could be achieved by including biomarkers in standard assessment.

Circulating antibodies can be used to probe protein arrays of body fluids, prepared by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, for antigenic biomarker detection. However, detected proteins, particularly low abundance antigens, often remain unidentifiable due to proteome complexity and limiting sample amounts. Using a novel enrichment approach exploiting patient antibodies for isolation of antigenic biomarkers, we demonstrate how immunoproteomic strategies can accelerate biomarker discovery. Application of this approach as a means of identifying biomarkers was demonstrated for cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease by isolation and identification of inflammatoryassociated autoantigens, including myeloperoxidase and calgranulin B from sputum of subjects with CF. The approach was also exploited for isolation of proteins expressed by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PA01. Capture of PA01 antigens using circulating antibodies from CF subjects implicated in vivo expression of Pseudomonas proteins. All CF subjects screened, but not controls, were immunoreactive against immunocaptured Pseudomonas proteins, representing stress (GroES and ferric iron-binding protein HitA), immunosuppressive (thioredoxin), and alginate synthetase pathway (nucleosidediphosphate kinase) proteins, implicating their clinical relevance as biomarkers of infection.

Background: Recent studies of referral-based samples indicate that a single mutation (G2019S) in exon 41 of the LRRK2 gene accounts for an unexpectedly large proportion of both familial and sporadic cases of Parkinson's disease (PD). If these data are representative of PD in the general population, then genetic testing for LRRK2 mutations might be useful in clinical settings. Methods: We resequenced exons 31, 35, and 41 of the LRRK2 gene in 371 PD patients consecutively recruited through five movement disorder clinics, and in 281 controls. Results: We found mutations in 6 (1.6%) PD patients, including two heterozygous for new putative pathogenic variants (R1441H, IVS31ϩ3A3 G). None of these mutations were observed in the control group. R1441H replaces a highly conserved amino acid, whereas IVS31ϩ3A3 G is predicted to disrupt splicing. We also found evidence of substantially reduced penetrance in a family with a previously reported pathogenic mutation (R1441C). Conclusions: Our findings in a clinic-based PD sample suggest that LRRK2 mutations are sufficiently common to justify testing in neurological practice. More data are needed, however, on the spectrum, frequency, and penetrance of pathogenic variants in the gene before such testing is implemented. We investigated the frequency of seven mutations in the gene that codes for leucine-rich repeat protein kinase 2 (LRRK2) in a large community-based population of 400 unrelated Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and 453 age-and gender-matched control subjects. The frequency of heterozygosity for the most common LRRK2 mutation, a glycine-to-serine amino acid substitution at codon 2019 (Gly2019Ser, G2019S), was 6 of 399 cases (1.5%, only one of whom had a positive family history), compared to 1 of Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley. com). DOI: 10.1002/mds.20664 Movement Disorders Vol. 20, No. 9, 2005, pp. 1235-1249 © 2005 Movement Disorder Society 453 controls (0.6%). The risk of parkinsonism was increased sevenfold among subjects with the G2019S mutation (odds ratio 6.9; 95% CI 0.8 -318.1; P ϭ 0.06). Another LRRK2 mutation (2378GϾT, R793M) was present in three control subjects and no cases. No other LRRK2 mutations were found. The frequency of G2019S heterozygotes was higher among cases who reported one or more first-degree family members affected with PD (2.3%; 1/43) than among cases without familial PD (1.4%; 5/356). The clinical features of parkinsonism in cases with G2019S mutations were largely typical of idiopathic Parkinson's disease, but one or more unusual features were observed in almost all cases. The wide range of age of onset (57-90 years) among cases with the G2019S mutation, and its occurrence in an 82-year-old unaffected control subject, suggests that other modifying genes or environmental factors influence the penetrance of this LRRK2 mutation. Mutations in six genes (SNCA, PRKN, PINK1, DJ-1, MAPT,and UCH-L1) have been identified in familial parkinsonism in the last 8 years. The PARK8 locus on chromosome 12p11.2-q13.1 was...