Patent Application
20100317017
The present invention relates to novel cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) gene mutations and for detecting the presence of these mutations in the CFTR gene of individuals.
The following description of the background of the invention is provided simply as an aid in understanding the invention and is not admitted to describe or constitute prior art to the invention.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common severe autosomal recessive genetic disorder in the Caucasian population. It affects approximately 1 in 2,500 live births in North America (Boat et al, The Metabolic Basis of Inherited Disease, 6th ed, pp 2649-2680, McGraw Hill, NY (1989)). Approximately 1 in 25 persons are carriers of the disease. The responsible gene has been localized to a 250,000 base pair genomic sequence present on the long arm of chromosome 7. This sequence encodes a membrane-associated protein called the “cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator” (or “CFTR”). There are greater than 1000 different mutations in the CFTR gene, having varying frequencies of occurrence in the population, presently reported to the Cystic Fibrosis Genetic Analysis Consortium. These mutations exist in both the coding regions (e.g., ΔF508, a mutation found on about 70% of CF alleles, represents a deletion of a phenylalanine at residue 508) and the non-coding regions (e.g., the 5T, 7T, and 9T mutations correspond to a sequence of 5, 7, or 9 thymidine bases located at the splice branch/acceptor site of intron 8) of the CFTR gene.
The major symptoms of cystic fibrosis include chronic pulmonary disease, pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, and elevated sweat electrolyte levels. The symptoms are consistent with cystic fibrosis being an exocrine disorder. Although recent advances have been made in the analysis of ion transport across the apical membrane of the epithelium of CF patient cells, it is not clear that the abnormal regulation of chloride channels represents the primary defect in the disease.
A variety of CFTR gene mutations are known. The identity of additional mutations will further assist in the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis.
The inventors have discovered new mutations in the CFTR gene. These mutations, include 605G->C, 1198-1203del/1204G->A (deletes TGGGCT and replaces G with A at position 1204), 1484G->T, 1573A->G, 1604G->C, 1641-1642AG->T, 2949-2953del (deletes TACTC), 2978A->T, 3239C->A, and 3429C->A, are related to the function of the CFTR gene and, therefore, to cystic fibrosis. These mutations are associated with cystic fibrosis or are associated with conditions associated with cystic fibrosis. By “conditions associated with cystic fibrosis” is meant any clinical symptoms that may be found in a cystic fibrosis patient and are due to one or more CF mutations.
Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention provides a method of determining if a CFTR gene contains one or more mutations selected from the group consisting of 605G->C, 1198-1203del/1204G->A (deletes TGGGCT and replaces G with A at position 1204), 1484G->T, 1573A->G, 1604G->C, 1641-1642AG->T, 2949-2953del (deletes TACTC), 2978A->T, 3239C->A, and 3429C->A, comprising determining if CFTR nucleic acid contains one or more of the mutations.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of identifying if an individual has one or more mutations in the CFTR gene comprising determining if nucleic acid from the individual has one more mutations in one or both CFTR genes, the mutations selected from the group consisting of 605G->C, 1198-1203del/1204G->A (deletes TGGGCT and replaces G with A at position 1204), 1484G->T, 1573A->G, 1604G->C, 1641-1642AG->T, 2949-2953del (deletes TACTC), 2978A->T, 3239C->A, and 3429C->A.
In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method of determining if an individual is predisposed to cystic fibrosis or to a condition associated with cystic fibrosis comprising determining if nucleic acid from the individual has one more mutations in one or both CFTR genes, the mutations selected from the group consisting of 605G->C, 1198-1203del/12040->A (deletes TGGGCT and replaces G with A at position 1204), 14840->T, 1573A->G, 1604G->C, 1641-1642AG->T, 2949-2953del (deletes TACTC), 2978A->T, 3239C->A, and 3429C->A.
In still a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of counseling an individual on the likelihood of having an offspring afflicted with cystic fibrosis or a condition associated with cystic fibrosis, comprising determining if nucleic acid from the individual has one or more mutations in one or both CFTR genes, the mutations selected from the group consisting of 6050->C, 1198-1203del/1204G->A (deletes TGGGCT and replaces G with A at position 1204), 1484G->T, 1573A->G, 16040->C, 164′-1642A0->T, 2949-2953del (deletes TACTC), 2978A->T, 3239C->A, and 3429C->A.
In all of these aspects, the mutations may be 6050->C and 3239C->A. In some embodiments, 1198-1203del (deletes TGGGCT) and the missense 1204G->A may exist separately from the complex allele, 1198-1203del/1204G->A (deletes TGGGCT and replaces G with A at position 1204). In another embodiment, the mutations are selected from the group consisting of 1198-1203del/1204G->A (deletes TGGGCT and replaces G with A at position 1204), 14840->T, 16040->C, 1641-1642AG->T, 2949-2953del (deletes TACTC), 3239C->A, and 3429C->A. In another embodiment the mutations are selected from the group consisting of 6050->C, 1573A->G, and 2978A->T.
In some embodiments, one more mutations are evaluated for both alleles of the CFTR gene in the individual. By this approach the genotype of the individual can be determined at the position of each mutation.
The presence of the mutation in the CFTR gene may be determined by any of a variety of well known methods used to detect single base changes (transitions and/or small deletions/insertions). Thus, genomic DNA may be isolated from the individual and tested for the CF mutations. In another approach, mRNA can be isolated and tested for the CF mutations. Testing may be performed on mRNA or on a cDNA copy.
Genomic DNA or in cDNA may be subject to amplification by the polymerase chain reaction or related methods using primers directed to specific portions of the CFTR gene which contain a mutation to be detected. The sequence of primers suitable for PCR amplification of portions of the CFTR gene in which contain the CF mutations are also provided.
The presence CF mutations can be determined in a nucleic acid by sequencing appropriate portions of the CFTR gene containing the mutations sought to be detected. In another approach. CF mutations that change susceptibility to digestion by one or more endonuclease restriction enzymes may be used to detect the mutations. In another embodiment, the presence of one or more CF mutations can be determined by allele specific amplification. In yet another embodiment, the presence of one or more CF mutations can be determined by primer extension. In yet a further embodiment, the presence of one or more CF mutations can be determined by oligonucleotide ligation. In another embodiment, the presence of one or more CF mutations can be determined by hybridization with a detectably labeled probe containing the mutant CF sequence.
The methods of the invention also may include detection of other CF mutations which are known in the art and which are described herein.
The present invention also provides oligonucleotide probes that are useful for detecting the CF mutations. Accordingly, provided is a substantially purified nucleic acid comprising 8-20 nucleotides fully complementary to a segment of the CFTR gene that is fully complementary to a portion of the CFTR gene and encompasses a mutant CFTR sequence selected from the group consisting of 605G->C, 1204G->A, 1198-1203del (deletes TGGGCT), 1484G->T, 1573A->G, 1604G->C, 1641-1642AG->T, 2949-2953del (deletes TACTC), 2978A->T, 3239C->A, and 3429C->A, or a complementary nucleic acid sequence thereof. In one embodiment, the purified nucleic acid is no more than 50 nucleotides in length. The invention CF mutant probes may be labeled with a detectable label, which may include any of a radioisotope, a dye, a fluorescent molecule, a hapten or a biotin molecule.
In another aspect the present invention provides kits for one of the methods described herein. In various embodiments, the kits contain one or more of the following components in an amount sufficient to perform a method on at least one sample: one or more primers of the present invention, one or more devices for performing the assay, which may include one or more probes that hybridize to a mutant CF nucleic acid sequence, and optionally contain buffers, enzymes, and reagents for performing a method of detecting a genotype of cystic fibrosis in a nucleic acid sample.
CF mutations and PCR primer pairs for amplifying segments of the CFTR gene containing the mutation are shown in Table 1.
Further information relating to the CF mutations and the CFTR gene are found in
By “mutations of the CFTR gene” or “mutant CF sequence” is meant one or more CFTR nucleic acid sequences that are associated or correlated with cystic fibrosis. Additional CF mutations are disclosed in Table 3-17 may be correlated with a carrier state, or with a person afflicted with CF. Thus, the nucleic acid may be tested for CF mutations described in any of Tables 1-17. The nucleic acid sequences containing CF mutations are preferably DNA sequences, and are preferably genomic DNA sequences; however, RNA sequences such as mRNA or hnRNA may also contain nucleic acid mutant sequences that are associated with cystic fibrosis.
By “carrier state” is meant a person who contains one CFTR allele that is a mutant CF nucleic acid sequence, but a second allele that is not a mutant CF nucleic acid sequence. CF is an “autosomal recessive” disease, meaning that a mutation produces little or no phenotypic effect when present in a heterozygous condition with a non-disease related allele, but produces a “disease state” when a person is homozygous, i.e., both CFTR alleles are mutant CF nucleic acid sequences.
By “primer” is meant a sequence of nucleic acid, preferably DNA, that hybridizes to a substantially complementary target sequence and is recognized by DNA polymerase to begin DNA replication.
By “substantially complementary” is meant that two sequences hybridize under stringent hybridization conditions. The skilled artisan will understand that substantially complementary sequences need not hybridize along their entire length. In particular, substantially complementary sequences comprise a contiguous sequence of bases that do not hybridize to a target sequence, positioned 3′ or 5′ to a contiguous sequence of bases that hybridize under stringent hybridization conditions to a target sequence.
By “flanking” is meant that a primer hybridizes to a target nucleic acid adjoining a region of interest sought to be amplified on the target. The skilled artisan will understand that preferred primers are pairs of primers that hybridize 3′ from a region of interest, one on each strand of a target double stranded DNA molecule, such that nucleotides may be add to the 3′ end of the primer by a suitable DNA polymerase. Primers that flank mutant CF sequences do not actually anneal to the mutant sequence but rather anneal to sequence that adjoins the mutant sequence.
By “isolated” a nucleic acid (e.g., an RNA, DNA or a mixed polymer) is one which is substantially separated from other cellular components which naturally accompany such nucleic acid. The term embraces a nucleic acid sequence which has been removed from its naturally occurring environment, and includes recombinant or cloned DNA isolates, oligonucleotides, and chemically synthesized analogs or analogs biologically synthesized by heterologous systems.
By “substantially pure” a nucleic acid, represents more than 50% of the nucleic acid in a sample. The nucleic acid sample may exist in solution or as a dry preparation.
By “complement” is meant the complementary sequence to a nucleic acid according to standard Watson/Crick pairing rules. For example, a sequence (SEQ ID NO: 1) 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAG-3′ has the complement (SEQ ID NO: 2) 5′-CTTTTGGGACCGC-3′. A complement sequence can also be a sequence of RNA complementary to the DNA sequence or its complement sequence, and can also be a cDNA.
By “coding sequence” is meant a sequence of a nucleic acid or its complement, or a part thereof, that can be transcribed and/or translated to produce the mRNA for and/or the polypeptide or a fragment thereof. Coding sequences include exons in a genomic DNA or immature primary RNA transcripts, which are joined together by the cell's biochemical machinery to provide a mature mRNA. The anti-sense strand is the complement of such a nucleic acid, and the encoding sequence can be deduced therefrom.
By “non-coding sequence” is meant a sequence of a nucleic acid or its complement, or a part thereof, that is not transcribed into amino acid in vivo, or where tRNA does not interact to place or attempt to place an amino acid. Non-coding sequences include both intron sequences in genomic DNA or immature primary RNA transcripts, and gene-associated sequences such as promoters, enhancers, silencers, etc.
Nucleic acid suspected of containing mutant CF sequences are amplified using one or more primers that flank the mutations under conditions such that the primers will amplify CFTR fragments containing the mutations, if present. The oligonucleotide sequences in Table 2 are useful for amplifying segments of the CFTR gene which contain the mutations in Table 1. Nucleic acid from an individual also could be tested for CFTR mutations other than those in Table 1. Such mutations include, for example, any of those listed in Tables 4-18. Primers for these latter CFTR mutations include
The method of identifying the presence or absence of mutant CF sequence by amplification can be used to determine whether a subject has a genotype containing one or more nucleotide sequences correlated with cystic fibrosis. The presence of a wildtype or mutant sequence at each predetermined location can be ascertained by the invention methods.
By “amplification” is meant one or more methods known in the art for copying a target nucleic acid, thereby increasing the number of copies of a selected nucleic acid sequence. Amplification may be exponential or linear. A target nucleic acid may be either DNA or RNA. The sequences amplified in this manner form an “amplicon.” While the exemplary methods described hereinafter relate to amplification using the polymerase chain reaction (“PCR”), numerous other methods are known in the art for amplification of nucleic acids (e.g., isothermal methods, rolling circle methods, etc.). The skilled artisan will understand that these other methods may be used either in place of, or together with, PCR methods.
The nucleic acid suspected of containing mutant CF sequence may be obtained from a biological sample. By “biological sample” is meant a sample obtained from a biological source. A biological sample can, by way of non-limiting example, consist of or comprise blood, sera, urine, feces, epidermal sample, skin sample, cheek swab, sperm, amniotic fluid, cultured cells, bone marrow sample and/or chorionic villi. Convenient biological samples may be obtained by, for example, scraping cells from the surface of the buccal cavity. The term biological sample includes samples which have been processed to release or otherwise make available a nucleic acid for detection as described herein. For example, a biological sample may include a cDNA that has been obtained by reverse transcription of RNA from cells in a biological sample.
By “subject” is meant a human or any other animal which contains as CFTR gene that can be amplified using the primers and methods described herein. A subject can be a patient, which refers to a human presenting to a medical provider for diagnosis or treatment of a disease. A human includes pre and post natal forms. Particularly preferred subjects are humans being tested for the existence of a CF carrier state or disease state.
By “identifying” with respect to an amplified sample is meant that the presence or absence of a particular nucleic acid amplification product is detected. Numerous methods for detecting the results of a nucleic acid amplification method are known to those of skill in the art.
The present invention provides specific primers that aid in the detection of mutant CF genotype. Such primers enable the amplification of segments of the CFTR gene that are known to contain mutant CF sequence from a nucleic acid containing biological sample. By amplifying specific regions of the CFTR gene, the invention primers facilitate the identification of wildtype or mutant CF sequence at a particular location of the CFTR gene. Primers for amplifying various regions of the CFTR gene include the following: SEQ ID NO: 3, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTTGTAGGAAGTCACCAAAG-3′ (g4e1F), and SEQ ID NO: 4,5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTCGATACAGAATATATGTGCC-3′ (g4e2R), are preferably used together as forward (F) and reverse (R) primers; SEQ ID NO: 5,5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTGAATCATTCAGTGGGTATAAGCAG-3′ (g19i2F), and SEQ ID NO: 6, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTCTTCAATGCACCTCCTCCC-3′ (q19i3R), are preferably used together as forward (F) and reverse (R) primers; SEQ ID NO: 7, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTAGATACTTCAATAGCTCAGCC-3′ (g7e1F), and SEQ ID NO: 8,5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTGGTACATTACCTGTATTTTGTTT-3′ (g7e2R), are preferably used together as forward (F) and reverse (R) primers; SEQ ID NO: 9, 5″-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTGTGAATCGATGTGGTGACCA-3′ (s12e1F), and SEQ ID NO: 10, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTCTGGTTTAGCATGAGGCGGT-3′(s12e1R), are preferably used together as forward (F) and reverse (R) primers; SEQ ID NO: 11, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTTTGGTTGTGCTGTGGCTCCT-3′ (g14be1F), and SEQ ID NO: 12, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTACAATACATACAAACATAGTGG-3′ (g14be2R), are preferably used together as forward (F) and reverse (R) primers; SEQ ID NO: 13, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTGAAAGTATTTATTTTTTCTGGAAC-3′ (q21e1F), and SEQ ID NO: 14 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTGTGTGTAGAATGATGTCAGCTAT-3′ (q21e2R), are preferably used together as forward (F) and reverse (R) primers; SEQ ID NO: 15, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTCAGATTGAGCATACTAAAAGTG-3′ (g11 e1F), and SEQ ID NO: 16, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTTACATGAATGACATTTACAGCA-3′ (g11e2R), are preferably used together as forward (F) and reverse (R) primers; SEQ ID NO: 17, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTAAGAACTGGATCAGGGAAGA-3′ (g20e1F), and SEQ ID NO: 18, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTTCCTTTTGCTCACCTGTGGT-3′ (g20e2R), are preferably used together as forward (F) and reverse (R) primers; SEQ ID NO: 19, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTGGTCCCACTTTTTATTCTTTTGC-3′ (q3e2F), and SEQ ID NO: 20 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTTGGTTTCTTAGTGTTTGGAGTTG-3′ (q3e2R), are preferably used together as forward (F) and reverse (R) primers; SEQ ID NO: 21, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTTGGATCATGGGCCATGTGC-3′ (g9e9F), and SEQ ID NO: 22, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTACTACCTTGCCTGCTCCAGTGG-3′ (g9e9R), are preferably used together as forward (F) and reverse (R) primers; SEQ ID NO: 23, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTAGGTAGCAGCTATTTTTATGG-3′ (g13e2F), and SEQ ID NO: 24, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTTAAGGGAGTCTTTTGCACAA-3′ (g13c2R), are preferably used together as forward (F) and reverse (R) primers; SEQ ID NO: 25
5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTGCAATTTTGGATGACCTTC-3′ (q16i1F), and SEQ ID NO: 26 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTTAGACAGGACTTCAACCCTC-3′ (q16i2R), are preferably used together as forward (F) and reverse (R) primers; SEQ ID NO: 27, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTGGTGATTATGGGAGAACTGG-3′ (q10e10F), and SEQ ID NO: 28, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTATGCTTTGATGACGCTTC-3′ (q10e11R), are preferably used together as forward (F) and reverse (R) primers; SEQ ID NO: 29, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTTTCATTGAAAAGCCCGAC-3′ (q19e12F), and SEQ ID NO: 30, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTCACCTTCTGTGTATTTTGCTG-3′ (q19e13R) are preferably used together as forward (F) and reverse (R) primers; and SEQ ID NO: 31, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTAAGTATTGGACAACTTGTTAGTCTC-3′ (q5e12F), and SEQ ID NO: 32, 5′-GCGGTCCCAAAAGGGTCAGTCGCCTTTCCAGTTGTATAATTT-3′ (q5e13R), are preferably used together as forward (F) and reverse (R) primers. These pairs of primers, which may been used in multiplex amplifications, can amplify the regions of the CFTR gene shown in Table 3.
The nucleic acid to be amplified may be from a biological sample such as an organism, cell culture, tissue sample, and the like. The biological sample can be from a subject which includes any eukaryotic organism or animal, preferably fungi, invertebrates, insects, arachnids, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, marsupials and mammals. A preferred subject is a human, which may be a patient presenting to a medical provider for diagnosis or treatment of a disease. The biological sample may be obtained from a stage of life such as a fetus, young adult, adult, and the like. Particularly preferred subjects are humans being tested for the existence of a CF carrier state or disease state.
The sample to be analyzed may consist of or comprise blood, sera, urine, feces, epidermal sample, skin sample, cheek swab, sperm, amniotic fluid, cultured cells, bone marrow sample and/or chorionic villi, and the like. A biological sample may be processed to release or otherwise make available a nucleic acid for detection as described herein. Such processing may include steps of nucleic acid manipulation, e.g., preparing a cDNA by reverse transcription of RNA from the biological sample. Thus, the nucleic acid to be amplified by the methods of the invention may be DNA or RNA.
Nucleic acid may be amplified by one or more methods known in the art for copying a target nucleic acid, thereby increasing the number of copies of a selected nucleic acid sequence. Amplification may be exponential or linear. The sequences amplified in this manner form an “amplicon.” In a preferred embodiment, the amplification by the is by the polymerase chain reaction (“PCR”) (e.g., Mullis, K. et al., Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 51:263-273 (1986); Erlich H. et al., European Patent Appln. 50,424; European Patent Appln. 84,796, European Patent Application 258,017, European Patent Appln. 237,362; Mullis, K., European Patent Appln. 201,184; Mullis K. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,202; Erlich, H., U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,788; and Saiki, R. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,194). Other known nucleic acid amplification procedures that can be used include, for example, transcription-based amplification systems or isothermal amplification methods (Malek, L. T. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,130,238; Davey, C. et al., European Patent Application 329,822; Schuster et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,169,766; Miller, H. I. et al., PCT appln. WO 89/06700; Kwoh, D. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 86:1173 (1989); Gingeras, T. R. et al., PCT Application WO 88/10315; Walker, G. T. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 89:392-396 (1992)). Amplification may be performed to with relatively similar levels of each primer of a primer pair to generate an double stranded amplicon. However, asymmetric PCR may be used to amplify predominantly or exclusively a single stranded product as is well known in the art (e.g. Poddar et al. Molec. And Cell. Probes 14:25-32 (2000)). This can be achieved for each pair of primers by reducing the concentration of one primer significantly relative to the other primer of the pair (e.g. 100 fold difference). Amplification by asymmetric PCR is generally linear. One of ordinary skill in the art would know that there are many other useful methods that can be employed to amplify nucleic acid with the invention primers (e.g., isothermal methods, rolling circle methods, etc.), and that such methods may be used either in place of, or together with, PCR methods. Persons of ordinary skill in the art also will readily acknowledge that enzymes and reagents necessary for amplifying nucleic acid sequences through the polymerase chain reaction, and techniques and procedures for performing PCR, are well known. The examples below illustrate a standard protocol for performing PCR and the amplification of nucleic acid sequences that correlate with or are indicative of cystic fibrosis.
In another aspect, the present invention provides methods of detecting a cystic fibrosis genotype in a biological sample. The methods comprise amplifying nucleic acids in a biological sample of the subject and identifying the presence or absence of one or more mutant cystic fibrosis nucleic acid sequences in the amplified nucleic acid. Accordingly, the present invention provides a method of determining the presence or absence of one or more mutant cystic fibrosis nucleic acid sequences in a nucleic acid containing sample, comprising: contacting the sample with reagents suitable for nucleic acid amplification including one or more pairs of nucleic acid primers flanking one or more predetermined nucleic acid sequences that are correlated with cystic fibrosis, amplifying the predetermined nucleic acid sequence(s), if present, to provide an amplified sample; and identifying the presence or absence of mutant or wildtype sequences in the amplified sample.
One may analyze the amplified product for the presence of absence of any of a number of mutant CF sequences that may be present in the sample nucleic acid. As already discussed, numerous mutations in the CFTR gene have been associated with CF carrier and disease states. For example, a three base pair deletion leading to the omission of a phenylalanine residue in the gene product has been determined to correspond to the mutations of the CF gene in approximately 70% of the patients affected by CF. The table below identifies preferred CF sequences and identifies which of the primer pairs of the invention may be used to amplify the sequence.
CF mutations including those known under symbols: 2789+5G>A; 711+1G>T; W1282X; 3120+1G>A; d1507; dF508; (F508C, 1507V, 1506V); N1303K; G542X, G551D, R553X, R560T, 1717-1G>A: R334W, R347P, 1078delT; R117H, 1148T, 621+1G>T; G85E; R1162X, 3659delC; 2184delA; A455E, (5T, 7T, 9T); 3849+10 kbC>T; and 1898+1G>A, are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 396,894, tiled Apr. 22, 1989, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 399,945, filed Aug. 29, 1989, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 401,609 filed Aug. 31, 1989. and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,001,588 and 5,981,178, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Any and all of these mutations can be detected using nucleic acid amplified with the invention primers as described herein.
CF mutations in the amplified nucleic acid may be identified in any of a variety of ways well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, if an amplification product is of a characteristic size, the product may be detected by examination of an electrophoretic gel for a band at a precise location. In another embodiment, probe molecules that hybridize to the mutant or wildtype CF sequences can be used for detecting such sequences in the amplified product by solution phase or, more preferably, solid phase hybridization. Solid phase hybridization can be achieved, for example, by attaching the CF probes to a microchip. Probes for detecting CF mutant sequences are well known in the art. See Wall et al. “A 31-mutation assay for cystic fibrosis testing in the clinical molecular diagnostics laboratory,” Human Mutation, 1995; 5(4):333-8, which specifies probes for CF mutations ΔF508 (exon 1), G542X (exon 11), G551D (exon 11), R117H (exon 4), W1282X (exon 20), N1303K (exon 21), 3905insT (exon 20), 3849+10 Kb (intron 19), G85E (exon 3), R334W (exon 7), A455E (exon 9), 1898+1 (exon 12), 2184delA (exon 13), 711+1 (exon 5), 2789+5 (exon 14b), Y1092x exon 17b), ΔI507 (exon 10), S549R(T-G) (exon 11), 621+1 (exon 4), R1162X (exon 19), 1717-1 (exon 11), 3659delC (exon 19), R560T (exon 11), 3849+4(A-G) (exon 19), Y122X (exon 4), R553X (exon 11), R347P (exon 7), R347H (exon 7), Q493X (exon 10), V520F (exon 10), and S549N (exon 11).
CF probes for detecting mutations as described herein may be attached to a solid phase in the form of an array as is well known in the art (see, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,403,320 and 6,406,844). For example, the full complement of 24 probes for CF mutations with additional control probes (30 in total) can be conjugated to a silicon chip essentially as described by Jenison et al Biosens Bioelectron, 16(9-12):757-63 (2001) (see also U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,355,429 and 5,955,377). Amplicons that hybridized to particular probes on the chip can be identified by transformation into molecular thin films. This can be achieved by contacting the chip with an anti-biotin antibody or streptavidin conjugated to an enzyme such as horseradish peroxidase. Following binding of the antibody (or streptavidin)-enzyme conjugate to the chip, and washing away excess unbound conjugate, a substrate can be added such as tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) {3,3′,5,5′Tetramethylbenzidine} to achieve localized deposition (at the site of bound antibody) of a chemical precipitate as a thin film on the surface of the chip. Other enzyme/substrate systems that can be used are well known in the art and include, for example, the enzyme alkaline phosphatase and 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate as the substrate. The presence of deposited substrate on the chip at the locations in the array where probes are attached can be read by an optical scanner. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,355,429 and 5,955,377, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety including all charts and drawings, describe preferred devices for performing the methods of the present invention and their preparation, and describes methods for using them.
The binding of amplified nucleic acid to the probes on the solid phase following hybridization may be measured by methods well known in the art including, for example, optical detection methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,355,429. In preferred embodiments, an array platform (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,288,220) can be used to perform the methods of the present invention, so that multiple mutant DNA sequences can be screened simultaneously. The array is preferably made of silicon, but can be other substances such as glass, metals, or other suitable material, to which one or more capture probes are attached. In preferred embodiments, at least one capture probe for each possible amplified product is attached to an array. Preferably an array contains 10, more preferably 20, even more preferably 30, and most preferably at least 60 different capture probes covalently attached to the array, each capture probe hybridizing to a different CF mutant sequence. Nucleic acid probes useful as positive and negative controls also may be included on the solid phase or used as controls for solution phase hybridization.
Another approach, variously referred to as PCR amplification of specific allele (PASA) (Sarkar et al., 1990 Anal. Biochem. 186:64-68), allele-specific amplification (ASA) (Okayama, et al., 1989 J. Lab. Clin. Med. 114:105-113), allele-specific PCR (ASPCR) (Wu, et al. 1989 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 86:2757-2760), and amplification-refractory mutation system (ARMS) (Newton, et al., 1989 Nucleic Acids Res. 17:2503-2516). The method is applicable for single base substitutions as well as micro deletions/insertions. In general, two complementary reactions are used. One contains a primer specific for the normal allele and the other reaction contains a primer for the mutant allele (both have a common 2nd primer). One PCR primer perfectly matches one allelic variant of the target, but is mismatched to the other. The mismatch is located at/near the 3′ end of the primer leading to preferential amplification of the perfectly matched allele. Genotyping is based on whether there is amplification in one or in both reactions. A hand in the normal reaction only indicates a normal allele. A hand in the mutant reaction only indicates a mutant allele. Bands in both reactions indicate a heterozygote. As used herein, this approach will be referred to as “allele specific amplification.”
In yet another approach, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), which refers to the digestion pattern of various restriction enzymes applied to DNA. RFLP analysis can be applied to PCR amplified DNA to identify CF mutations as disclosed herein.
In still another approach, wildtype or mutant CF sequence in amplified DNA may be detected by direct sequence analysis of the amplified products. A variety of methods can be used for direct sequence analysis as is well known in the art. See, e.g., The PCR Technique: DNA Sequencing (eds. James Ellingboe and Ulf Gyllensten) Biotechniques Press, 1992; see also “SCAIP” (single condition amplification/internal primer) sequencing, by Flanigan et al. Am J Hum Genet. 2003 April; 72(4):931-9. Epub 2003 Mar. 11. Direct sequencing of CF mutations is also described in Strom et al., 2003 Genetics in Medicine 5(1):9-14.
In yet another approach for detecting wildtype or mutant CF sequences in amplified DNA is single nucleotide primer extension or “SNuPE.” SNuPE can be performed as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,819 to Goelet et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,710 to Bajaj, Piggee, C. et al. Journal of Chromatography A 781 (1997), p. 367-375 (“Capillary Electrophoresis for the Detection of Known Point Mutations by Single-Nucleotide Primer Extension and Laser-Induced Fluorescence Detection”); Hoogendoorn, B. et al., Human Genetics (1999) 104:89-93, (“Genotyping Single Nucleotide Polymorphism by Primer Extension and High Performance Liquid Chromatography”); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,775 to Haff et al. (analysis of single nucleotide polymorphism analysis by mass spectrometry). In SNuPE, one may use as primers such as those specified in Table 17.
Another method for detecting CF mutations include the Luminex xMAP system which has been adapted for cystic fibrosis mutation detection by TM Bioscience and is sold commercially as a universal bead array (Tag-It™)
Still another approach for detecting wildtype or mutant CF sequences in amplified DNA is oligonucleotide ligation assay or “OLA” or “OL”. The OLA uses two oligonucleotides which are designed to be capable of hybridizing to abutting sequences of a single strand of a target molecules. One of the oligonucleotides is biotinylated, and the other is detectably labeled. If the precise complementary sequence is found in a target molecule, the oligonucleotides will hybridize such that their termini abut, and create a ligation substrate that can be captured and detected. See e.g., Nickerson et al. (1990) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87:8923-8927, Landegren, U. et al. (1988) Science 241:1077-1080 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,617.
These above approaches for detecting wildtype or mutant CF sequence in the amplified nucleic acid is not meant to be limiting, and those of skill in the art will understand that numerous methods are known for determining the presence or absence of a particular nucleic acid amplification product.
In another aspect the present invention provides kits for one of the methods described herein. The kit optionally contain buffers, enzymes, and reagents for amplifying the CFTR nucleic acid via primer-directed amplification. The kit also may include one or more devices for detecting the presence or absence of particular mutant CF sequences in the amplified nucleic acid. Such devices may include one or more probes that hybridize to a mutant CF nucleic acid sequence, which may be attached to a bio-chip device, such as any of those described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,355,429. The bio-chip device optionally has at least one capture probe attached to a surface on the bio-chip that hybridizes to a mutant CF sequence. In preferred embodiments the bio-chip contains multiple probes, and most preferably contains at least one probe for a mutant CF sequence which, if present, would be amplified by a set of flanking primers. For example, if five pairs of flanking primers are used for amplification, the device would contain at least one CF mutant probe for each amplified product, or at least five probes. The kit also preferably contains instructions for using the components of the kit.
The following examples serve to illustrate the present invention. These examples are in no way intended to limit the scope of the invention
Whole Blood: 5 cc of whole blood is collected in a lavender-top (EDTA) tube or yellow-top (ACD) tube. Green-top (Na Heparin) tubes are acceptable but less desirable. DNA is extracted from blood. 100 ng or more DNA is prepared in TE or sterile water.
Amniotic Fluid: 10-15 cc of Amniotic Fluid is collected in a sterile plastic container.
Cultured Cells: Two T-25 culture flasks with 80-100% confluent growth may be used.
Chorionic 10-20 mg of Chorionic Villi are collected in a sterile container. 2-3 mL of sterile saline or tissue culture medium is added.
Transport: Whole Blood, Amniotic Fluid, Cultured Cells and Chorionic Villi can be shipped at room temperature (18°-26° C.). Amniotic Fluid, Cultured Cells or Chorionic Villi preferably is used without refrigeration or freezing. Whole Blood and Extracted DNA can be shipped at 2°-10° C.
Storage: Whole Blood, Amniotic Fluid and Extracted DNA are stored at 2°-10° C., Cultured Cells and Chorionic Villi are stored at room temperature (18°-26° C.).
Stability: Whole Blood is generally stable for 8 days at room temperature (18°-26° C.) or 8 days refrigerated at 2°-10° C. Amniotic Fluid, Cultured Cells, and Chorionic Villi are generally processed to obtain DNA within 24 hours of receipt. Extracted DNA is stable for at least 1 year at 2°-10° C.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primer pairs were designed using the CFTR gene sequences in EMBL/Genbank (Accession Nos. M55106-M55131). Each PCR primer for the 32 separate PCR reactions contains either an M13 forward linker sequence or an M13 reverse linker sequence as appropriate to allow universal sequence reaction priming. Individual PCR reactions are performed in 96-well microtiter plates under the same conditions for each amplicon. Subsequently, the PCR products are purified with the Millipore Montage™ PCR96 Cleanup kit (Millipore, Bedford, Mass.) on a Beckman BioMek 2,000 biorobot. Further details are provided in Strom et al., 2003 Genetics in Medicine 5(1):9-14.
In general, individual amplifications are prepared in a volume of 13.5 which is added to the 96 well microtiter plates. Each amplification volume contained 2 μl of the nucleic acid sample (generally 10-100 ng of DNA), 11.5 μl of PCR-Enzyme Mix (PCR-Enzyme mix stock is prepared with 11.3 μl master mix, 0.25 μl MgCl2 (from 25 mM stock), and 0.2 μl of FasStar Taq (source for last two reagents was Roche Applied science, Cat. No. 2 032 937).
Master mix contained primers, Roche PCR buffer with MgCl2, Roche GC rich solution (cat. No. 2 032 937), bovine serum albumin (BSA) (New England BioLabs, Cat no. B9001B), and NTPs (Amersham Biosciences, Cat no. 27-2032-01).
The final concentration in the PCR for MgCl2 was 2.859 mM, for BSA is 0.725 μg, and for each dNTP is 0.362 mM. Primer final concentrations varied from about 0.29 μM to about 0.036 μM
PCR is conducted using the following temperature profile: step 1: 96° C. for 15 minutes; step 2: 94° C. for 15 seconds; step 3: decrease at 0.5° C./second to 56° C.; step 4: 56° C. for 20 seconds; step 5: increase at 0.3° C./second to 72° C., step 6: 72° C. for 30 seconds; step 7: increase 0.5° C. up to 94° C.; step 8: repeat steps 2 to 7 thirty three times; step 9: 72° C. for 5 minutes; step 10: 4° C. hold (to stop the reaction).
The purified PCR products are diluted to approximately 10 ng/μL and cycle sequencing reactions are performed with an ABI Prism Big Dye™ Terminator v3.0 cycle sequencing reaction kit (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) according to the manufacturer's protocol. The DNA primers used for the sequencing reaction are M13 forward and reverse primers as appropriate. Big Dye™ Terminator reaction products are purified by the Millipore Montage™ Seq96 Sequencing Reaction Cleanup kit on a biorobot and analyzed on an ABI Prism 3100 Genetic Analyzer. Sequences obtained are examined for the presence of mutations by using ABI SeqScape v1.1 software. Both strands of DNA are sequenced.
All PCR reactions, purifications, and cycle sequencing reactions are performed in 96-well microtiter plates using biorobots to avoid errors introduced by manual setups. Loading of samples onto the capillary sequencer is also automated. One plate is sufficient to perform the entire sequencing reaction for a single patient. Theoretically, if all reactions were successful, the entire sequences for a single patient could be obtained in 24-48 hours after receipt of blood. In practice, however, one or more reactions must be repeated because of frequent polymorphisms in intron 8 and 6a and failed reactions.
The contents of the articles, patents, and patent applications, and all other documents and electronically available information mentioned or cited herein, are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
Applicants reserve the right to physically incorporate into this application any and all materials and information from any such articles, patents, patent applications, or other physical and electronic documents.
The inventions illustratively described herein may suitably be practiced in the absence of any element or elements, limitation or limitations, not specifically disclosed herein. Thus, for example, the terms “comprising”, “including,” containing”, etc. shall be read expansively and without limitation. Additionally, the terms and expressions employed herein have been used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed. Thus, it should be understood that although the present invention has been specifically disclosed by preferred embodiments and optional features, modification and variation of the inventions embodied therein herein disclosed may be resorted to by those skilled in the art, and that such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of this invention.
The invention has been described broadly and generically herein. Each of the narrower species and subgeneric groupings falling within the generic disclosure also form part of the invention. This includes the generic description of the invention with a proviso or negative limitation removing any subject matter from the genus, regardless of whether or not the excised material is specifically recited herein. Other embodiments are within the following claims. In addition, where features or aspects of the invention are described in terms of Markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the Markush group.
This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/015,467, filed Jan. 16, 2008 which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/074,903, filed Mar. 7, 2005, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/550,989, filed Mar. 5, 2004, each of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60550989 | Mar 2004 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12015467 | Jan 2008 | US |
| Child | 12845102 | US | |
| Parent | 11074903 | Mar 2005 | US |
| Child | 12015467 | US |
