To explore the pathogenic mechanism of dominant mutations affecting the carboxyl terminus of rhodopsin that cause retinitis pigmentosa, we generated five lines of transgenic mice carrying the proline-347 to serine (P347S) mutation. The severity of photoreceptor degeneration correlated with the levels of transgene expression in these lines. Visual function as measured by the electroretinogram was approximately normal at an early age when there was little histologic evidence of photoreceptor degeneration, but it deteriorated as photoreceptors degenerated. Immunocytochemical staining showed the mutant rhodopsin predominantly in the outer segments prior to histologically evident degeneration, a finding supported by quantitation of signal intensities in different regions of the photoreceptor cells by confocal microscopy. A distinct histopathologic abnormality was the accumulation of submicrometer-sized vesicles extracellularly near the junction between inner and outer segments. The extracellular vesicles were bound by a single membrane that apparently contained rhodopsin as revealed by ultrastructural immunocytochemical staining with anti-rhodopsin antibodies. The outer segments, although shortened, contained well-packed discs. Proliferation of the endoplasmic reticulum as reported in Drosophila expressing dominant rhodopsin mutations was not observed. The accumulation of rhodopsinladen vesicles likely represents aberrant transport of rhodopsin from the inner segments to the nascent disc membranes of the outer segments. It is possible that photoreceptor degeneration occurs because of a failure to renew outer segments at a normal rate, thereby leading to a progressive shortening of outer segments, or because of the loss of cellular contents to the extracellular space, or because of both.

Somatic mutation accumulation has been implicated as a major cause of cancer and aging. By using a transgenic mouse model with a chromosomally integrated lacZ reporter gene, mutational spectra were characterized at young and old age in two organs greatly differing in proliferative activity, i.e., the heart and small intestine. At young age the spectra were nearly identical, mainly consisting of G⅐C to A⅐T transitions and 1-bp deletions. At old age, however, distinct patterns of mutations had developed. In small intestine, only point mutations were found to accumulate, including G⅐C to T⅐A, G⅐C to C⅐G, and A⅐T to C⅐G transversions and G⅐C to A⅐T transitions. In contrast, in heart about half of the accumulated mutations appeared to be large genome rearrangements, involving up to 34 centimorgans of chromosomal DNA. Virtually all other mutations accumulating in the heart appeared to be G⅐C to A⅐T transitions at CpG sites. These results suggest that distinct mechanisms lead to organ-specific genome deterioration and dysfunction at old age.

Using a lacZ plasmid transgenic mouse model, spectra of spontaneous point mutations were determined in brain, heart, liver, spleen and small intestine in young and old mice. While similar at a young age, the mutation spectra among these organs were significantly different in old age. In brain and heart G:C-->A:T transitions at CpG sites were the predominant mutation, suggesting that oxidative damage is not a major mutagenic event in these tissues. Other base changes, especially those affecting A:T base pairs, positively correlated with increasing proliferative activity of the different tissues. A relatively high percentage of base changes at A:T base pairs and compound mutants were found in both spleen and spontaneous lymphoma, suggesting a possible role of the hypermutation process in splenocytes in carcinogenesis. The similar mutant spectra observed at a young age may reflect a common mutation mechanism for all tissues that could be driven by the rapid cell division that takes place during development. However, the spectra of the young tissues did not resemble that of the most proliferative aged tissue, implying that replicative history per se is not the underlying causal factor of age-related organ-specific differences in mutation spectra. Rather, differences in organ function, possibly in association with replicative history, may explain the divergence in mutation spectra during aging.

Social workers and case managers have provided in-home services to families for some time. The field of Marriage and Family Therapy, however, has begun to do in-home work only recently. This paper describes the experiences of MFT interns who worked with families in their homes. Two university graduate MFT training programs conceptualized and practiced in-home therapy with families who had at least one child enrolled in the local Head Start program. This collaborative effort was part of the AAMFT-Head Start Training Partnership Project that had the goal of funding projects that demonstrated successful partnerships between MFT and Head Start. Six interns worked with 27 Head Start families in their homes. A model of the interns' transition from clinic-based to home-based therapy is discussed and applied to working with Head Start families. The framework of in-home therapy is expanded to conceptualizing larger systems and community-based interventions, and recommendations for family therapists in private practice and agency settings are made.