Keratin-associated proteins (KAPs) are key constituents of wool and hair fibers. In this study, an ovine KAP gene encoding a HGT-KAP protein was identified. The gene was different from all of the HGT-KAP genes identified in sheep, but was closely related to the human KAP21-1 gene, suggesting that it represented the unidentified ovine KRTAP21-1. Four variants (named A to D) of ovine KRTAP21-1 were found in 360 Merino × Southdown-cross lambs from four sire lines. Three sequence variations were detected among these variants. Two of the sequence variations were located upstream of the coding region and the remaining one was a synonymous variation in the coding sequence. Six genotypes were found in the Merino-cross lambs, with only two of the genotypes (AA and AC) occurring at a frequency of over 5%. Wool from sheep of genotype AA had a higher yield than that from AC sheep (p = 0.014), but tended to have a lower greasy fleece weight (GFW) than that of genotype AC (P = 0.078). This suggests that variation in KRTAP21-1 affects wool yield and the gene may have potential for use as a genetic maker for improving wool yield.
This study aimed to analyze and compare the application of FISH and IHC in BC tissue Her-2 / neu gene amplification or expression. For this purpose, 110 patients with BC were selected. FISH and IHC were performed on the BC tissues that were surgically removed, and the results were compared and analyzed. The results showed that in 110 BC tissues, the expression of HER-2 protein was (+++) 25 cases (22.73%); (++) 44 cases (40%); (+) 26 cases (23.64%); (1) 15 cases (13.64%). There were 42 cases of HER-2 gene amplification in 110 BC tissues, and 68 cases had no amplification. IHC test positive (+++) is consistent with FISH positive coincidence rate, IHC test negative (+/-) is consistent with FISH negative coincidence rate, IHC test suspicious positive (++) compared with the FISH result, the difference is statistically significant. However, the total coincidence rate between IHC test results and FISH test results was 89.29 (25/28), and the two test methods were positively correlated. Generally, IHC positive and negative expressions are in good agreement with FISH test results. The suspected positive expression of IHC is inconsistent with the FISH test result, suggesting that the IHC test is suspicious, and the positive specimens need to be tested by FISH.
Keratin associated proteins (KAPs) are a class of proteins that associate with keratin intermediatefilamentproteinsthroughdisulphidelinkagestogivefibressuchashairand� wooltheiruniqueproperties.�Upto�90�proteinsfromsome�25�familieshavebeenidentified� and this does not include polymorphic variants of individual proteins within these families. The existence of this diverse group of proteins has been known for some 75 years but, despite this, there is still no universally accepted nomenclature for them. This paper sets out the case for revising the current system to deal with this nomenclature issue.
Most protein in hair and wool is of two broad types: keratin intermediate filament-forming proteins (commonly known as keratins) and keratin-associated proteins (KAPs).Keratin nomenclature was reviewed in 2006, but the KAP nomenclature has not been revised since 1993.Recently there has been an increase in the number of KAP genes (KRTAPs) identified in humans and other species, and increasingly reports of variation in these genes.We therefore propose that an updated naming system is needed to accommodate the complexity of the KAPs.It is proposed that the system is founded in the previous nomenclature, but with the abbreviation sp-KAPm-nL*x for KAP proteins and sp-KRTAPm-n(p/L)*x for KAP genes.In this system "sp" is a unique letter-based code for different species as described by the protein knowledge-based UniProt."m" is a number identifying the gene or protein family, "n" is a constituent member of that family, "p" signifies a pseudogene if present, "L" if present signifies "like" and refers to a temporary "place-holder" until the family is confirmed and "x" signifies a genetic variant or allele.We support the use of non-italicised text for the proteins and italicised text for the genes.This nomenclature is not that different to the existing system, but it includes species information and also describes genetic variation if identified, and hence is more informative.For example, GenBank sequence JN091630 would historically have been named KRTAP7-1 for the gene and KAP7-1 for the protein, but with the proposed nomenclature would be SHEEP-KRTAP7-1*A and SHEEP-KAP7-1*A for the gene and protein respectively.This nomenclature will facilitate more efficient storage and retrieval of data and define a common language for the KAP proteins and genes from all mammalian species.
The objective of this Research Communication was to use polymerase chain reaction-single stranded conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis to investigate a region of the bovine TLR4 gene (TLR4) in pasture-fed New Zealand (NZ) Holstein-Friesian × Jersey (HF × J) cross dairy cows and to determine whether gene variation was associated with milk production traits. Genetic variation was observed, with two variants (A and B) containing a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (c.2021C/T) that was non-synonymous and putatively results in a p.Thr674Ile substitution in the transmembrane/cytoplasmic domain of TLR4. Variant A was associated with higher milk yields, but lower milk fat percentages, whereas B was associated with lower milk yields, but higher fat and protein percentages. Cows of genotype AA produced more milk than AB or BB cows, but the milk produced by AA cows contained less fat than AB or BB cows.
Keratin-associated proteins are important components of wool fibers. The gene encoding the high-sulfur keratin-associated protein 2-1 has been described in humans, but it has not been described in sheep. A basic local alignment search tool nucleotide search of the Ovine Genome Assembly version 4.0 using a human keratin-associated protein 2-1 gene sequence revealed a 399-base pair open reading frame, which was clustered among nine previously identified keratin-associated protein genes on chromosome 11. Polymerase chain reaction–single strand conformation polymorphism analysis revealed four different banding patterns, with these representing four different sequences (A–D) in Chinese sheep breeds. These sequences had the highest similarity to human keratin-associated protein 2-1 gene, suggesting that they represent variants of ovine keratin-associated protein 2-1 gene. Nine single nucleotide variations were detected in the gene, including one non-synonymous nucleotide substitution. Differences in variant frequencies between fine-wool sheep breeds and coarse-wool sheep breeds were detected. The gene was found to be expressed in various tissues, with the highest expression level in skin, and moderate expression levels in heart and lung tissue. These results reveal that the ovine keratin-associated protein 2-1 gene is variable and suggest the gene might affect variation in mean fiber diameter.
The keratin-associated proteins (KAPs) are structural components of wool and hair fibres, with over 90 genes that encode these proteins having been identified in mammalian species. A KAP gene called KRTAP27-1 was recently identified in goats, but the gene has not been reported in the closely related ruminant species sheep. In this study, we used a polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis to find ovine KRTAP27-1 and investigate nucleotide sequence variation in the gene. Our analysis revealed four sequence variants (named A to D) in 399 New Zealand Merino × Southdown-cross sheep. Within these sequence variants there were five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the coding region, including two non-synonymous SNPs. Six genotypes (AA, AB, AC, BB, BC and BD) of KRTAP27-1 were detected, and for the three genotypes with a frequency of over 5.0%, sheep of genotypes AB and BB produced wool of higher mean staple length (MSL) and higher greasy fleece weight (GFW) than sheep of genotype AA. These results suggest that variation in ovine KRTAP27-1 may be affecting wool growth and thus production.