Objective To investigate the clinical application of multiplex allele-specific PCR assays for simultaneous detection of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA A1555G and C1494T mutations associated with aminoglycoside-induced hearing impairment.Methods Three standard plasmids of different genotypes (wild-type, A1555G mutant and C1494T mutant) were constructed for templates and allele-specific primers aiming directly at wild-type and mutant of mitochondrial DNA nt1555 and nt1494 were designed for developing a multiplex allele-specific PCR technique to detect the A1555G and C1494T mutations.Then the method was applied to clinical screening of 138 non-syndromic hearing loss subjects and confirmed by DNA sequencing.Results Multiplex allele-specific PCR was successfully applied to the detection of A1555G and C1494T mutations in a cohort of 138 Han Chinese genetically unrelated hearing-loss subjects.Finally, 11(7.97%) unrelated affected subjects harbored the A1555G and C1494T mutations in the 12S rRNA gene(10 cases for A1555G and 1 cases for C1494T), which was well consistent with results of DNA sequencing [7.97%(11/138), Kappa=1.000, P＜0.01].Conclusion This study indicates that the multiplex allele-specific PCR assay is useful, convenient and reliable in the detection of the A1555G and C1494T mutations, which could identify the subjects at risk and effectively prevent of aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss.

Protein kinase C (PKC) is a special kinase widely distributed in various tissues and cells of human body and involved in signal transduction of hormones and cytokines.It plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many diseases.Therefore,altering the activity of protein kinase C may be an effective treatment for many diseases.This article reviews the progress of protein kinase C in liver diseases.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical and molecular biological characteristics of a neonate with myeloid proliferation related to Down syndrome (DS). METHODS: The neonate, who was suspected for Down syndrome, was analyzed in terms of clinical feature, peripheral blood cell morphology, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), immunological classification and other laboratory tests. On hundred and fourteen leukemia-related genes were subjected to next-generation sequencing (NGS). RESULTS: Laboratory test revealed obvious abnormal liver function and coagulation function, anemia, and extreme leukocytosis. Cell smear indicated significantly increased progenitor cells, which conformed to proliferation of megakaryocytes. FISH showed trisomy 21. By NGS, c.220+dupT, a novel mutation, was identified in exon 2 of the GATA1 gene, which encodes a N-terminal activation domain and has a frequency of 95.8%. No mutation was identified among the remaining 113 genes. CONCLUSION The neonate had DS and GATA1 gene mutation. High percentage of circulating blasts should be considered as transient myelodysplasia but not congenital leukemia.
Down Syndrome ; genetics ; GATA1 Transcription Factor ; genetics ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; Infant, Newborn ; Mutation ; Trisomy