Simultaneous and independent detection of C9ORF72 alleles with low and high number of GGGGCC repeats using an optimised protocol of Southern blot hybridisation

Buchman, Vladimir L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7631-8352, Cooper-Knock, Johnathan, Connor-Robson, Natalie, Higginbottom, Adrian, Kirby, Janine, Razinskaya, Olga D., Ninkina, Natalia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8570-5648 and Shaw, Pamela J. 2013. Simultaneous and independent detection of C9ORF72 alleles with low and high number of GGGGCC repeats using an optimised protocol of Southern blot hybridisation. Molecular Neurodegeneration 8 (1) , 12. 10.1186/1750-1326-8-12

Preview

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (950kB) | Preview

Abstract

Background: Sizing of GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeat expansions within the C9ORF72 locus, which account for approximately 10% of all amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cases, is urgently required to answer fundamental questions about mechanisms of pathogenesis in this important genetic variant. Currently employed PCR protocols are limited to discrimination between the presence and absence of a modified allele with more than 30 copies of the repeat, while Southern hybridisation-based methods are confounded by the somatic heterogeneity commonly present in blood samples, which might cause false-negative or ambiguous results. Results: We describe an optimised Southern hybridisation-based protocol that allows confident detection of the presence of a C9ORF72 repeat expansion alongside independent assessment of its heterogeneity and the number of repeat units. The protocol can be used with either a radiolabeled or non-radiolabeled probe. Using this method we have successfully sized the C9ORF72 repeat expansion in lymphoblastoid cells, peripheral blood, and post-mortem central nervous system (CNS) tissue from ALS patients. It was also possible to confidently demonstrate the presence of repeat expansion, although of different magnitude, in both C9ORF72 alleles of the genome of one patient. Conclusions: The suggested protocol has sufficient advantages to warrant adoption as a standard for Southern blot hybridisation analysis of GGGGCC repeat expansions in the C9ORF72 locus.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences
Subjects:	Q Science > Q Science (General)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	C9ORF72; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Southern hybridisation
Publisher:	BioMed Central
ISSN:	1750-1326
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	10 Apr 2024 07:02
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/49893

Citation Data

Cited 49 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item