There have been threads on and off about Werner's syndrome, but no
mention of it for a while. On the other hand, a number of papers have
come out in the last year or so, each proposing a candidate for the
causative mutations. Among the possibilities suggested are F1-ATPase, DNA
polymerase and telomerase (references below). Have any of
the possiblities been definitely eliminated? What does the current
evidence point to? I'd be interested to hear any opinions.
j.
Oshima J. Campisi J. Tannock TC. Martin GM.
Regulation of c-fos expression in senescing Werner syndrome fibroblasts
differs from that observed in senescing fibroblasts from normal donors.
Journal of Cellular Physiology. 162(2):277-83, 1995 Feb.
Kruk PA. Rampino NJ. Bohr VA.
DNA damage and repair in telomeres: relation to aging.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America. 92(1):258-62, 1995 Jan 3.
Kroll J.
The mitochondrial F1-ATPase and the aging process.
Medical Hypotheses. 42(6):395-6, 1994 Jun.
Chang M. Burmer GC. Sweasy J. Loeb LA. Edelhoff S. Disteche CM. Yu
CE. Anderson L. Oshima J. Nakura J. et al.
Evidence against DNA polymerase beta as a candidate gene for Werner
syndrome.
Human Genetics. 93(5):507-12, 1994 May.
Sadakane Y. Maeda K. Kuroda Y. Hori K.
Identification of mutations in DNA polymerase beta mRNAs from patients
with Werner syndrome.
Biochemical & Biophysical Research Communications. 200(1):219-25, 1994
Liu S. Thweatt R. Lumpkin CK Jr. Goldstein S.
Suppression of calcium-dependent membrane currents in human fibroblasts by
replicative senescence and forced expression of a gene sequence
encoding a putative calcium-binding protein.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America. 91(6):2186-90, 1994 Mar 15
Jonathan Ewbank
Department of Biology ewbank at monod.biol.mcgill.ca
McGill University (514) 398 6278
1205 Dr Penfield Avenue fax 398 5069
Montreal PQ
Canada H3A 1B1
