| Popis: |
Salivary agglutinin, encoded by the gene DMBT1, is a multifunctional high molecular mass glycoprotein (340 kDa) that acts as a pattern recognition receptor (PRRs) in innate immunity and mediates epithelial differentiation. The central region of the protein contains 13 tandemly-repeated scavenger receptor cysteine-rich (SRCR) domains that are copy number variable and bind to bacteria and viruses. The paralogue ratio test (PRT) was used to estimate the exact copy number of two distinct CNV (1 & 2) regions of DMBT1 gene and results were compared with other CNV estimation assays. Both CNV1 and CNV2 at DMBT1 were multiple allelic CNVs and diploid copy number varied in different populations. The de novo mutation rate at CNV1 and CNV2 of DMBT1 was estimated using a segregation study of 520 samples from 40 multigenerational CEPH families; a high mutation rate was found at both loci of DMBT1 (CNV1 - 1.4% and CNV2 - 3.3% per generation). The evolutionary basis of CNV at DMBT1 was examined using 971 samples from 52 populations from the Human Genome Diversity Panel (HGDP-CEPH). The study found that the subsistence history of human populations affected the frequency distribution of both CNVs at DMBT1. The increase in dental caries following the development of agriculture, and the likely causative role played by an increase in Streptococcus mutans following transition to a starch-rich diet, the present study suggests that this has favoured CNV1 and CNV2 alleles at DMBT1 with more S. mutans-binding SRCR domains in agricultural populations. Due to the functional importance of DMBT1, the study analysed association of DMBT1 copy number in different disease cohorts. The study found no evidence of the association between DMBT1 copy number with Crohn’s disease (n=2900), Urinary tract infection (UTI; n=405), vesicoureteral reflux (VUR; n=625), Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; n=241) and Asthma cohorts (n=850). A significant association was found between CNV2 copy number and base-line HIV (n=987) viral load just before anti-retroviral therapy. |
