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HUMAN GENETIC DISEASES Edited by Dijana Plaseska-Karanfilska Human Genetic Diseases Edited by Dijana Plaseska-Karanfilska Published by InTech Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2011 InTech All chapters are Open Access articles distributed under the Creative Commons Non Commercial Share Alike Attribution 3.0 license, which permits to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt the work in any medium, so long as the original work is properly cited. After this work has been published by InTech, authors have the right to republish it, in whole or part, in any publication of which they are the author, and to make other personal use of the work. Any republication, referencing or personal use of the work must explicitly identify the original source. Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the published articles. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damage or injury to persons or property arising out of the use of any materials, instructions, methods or ideas contained in the book. Publishing Process Manager Davor Vidic Technical Editor Teodora Smiljanic Cover Designer Jan Hyrat Image Copyright Booka, 2011. Used under license from Shutterstock.com First published September, 2011 Printed in Croatia A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from [email protected] Human Genetic Diseases, Edited by Dijana Plaseska-Karanfilska p. cm. ISBN 978-953-307-936-3 free online editions of InTech Books and Journals can be found at www.intechopen.com Contents Preface IX Chapter 1 Signalling Pathways in Development and Human Disease: A Drosophila Wing Perspective 1 Cristina Molnar, Martín Resnik-Docampo, María F. Organista, Mercedes Martín, Covadonga F. Hevia and Jose F. de Celis Chapter 2 The FGF Family in Humans, Mice, and Zebrafish: Development, Physiology, and Pathophysiology 37 Sayaka Sasaki, Hiroya Ohta, Yoshiaki Nakajima, Morichika Konishi, Ayumi Miyake and Nobuyuki Itoh Chapter 3 Osteoclast Genetic Diseases 57 Andrea Del Fattore and Anna Teti Chapter 4 MRE11A Gene Mutations Responsible for the Rare Ataxia Telangiectasia-Like Disorder 79 Ghazi Alsbeih Chapter 5 Neuronopathic Forms in Subjects with Mutations in GBA Gene 91 Pilar Giraldo, Jose-Luis Capablo and Miguel Pocovi Chapter 6 The Role of Gene Mutations Detection in Defining the Spectrum of ß – Thalassemia in Various Ethnic Regions 109 Fakher Rahim, Najmaldin Saki and Mohammad Ali Jalalai far Chapter 7 CCL Chemokines Levels in Tear Fluid of Patients with Cystic Fibrosis 121 Malgorzata Mrugacz Chapter 8 The Genetic Makeup of Azoreans Versus Mainland Portugal Population 129 Cláudia Castelo Branco and Luisa Mota-Vieira VI Contents Chapter 9 Double-Factor Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis: Preliminary Results 161 Obradors A, Rius M, Daina G, Cuzzi JF, Martínez-Pasarell O, Fernández E, López O, Polo A, Séculi JL, Gartner S, Oliver-Bonet M, Benet J and Navarro J Chapter 10 Preimplantation HLA Typing 179 Semra Kahraman and Cagri Beyazyurek Chapter 11 The Contribution of Molecular Techniques in Prenatal Diagnosis and Post mortem Fetus with Multiple Malformation 191 Rejane Gus Kessler, Sandra Leistner-Segal, Maria Teresa Sanseverino, Jose Antonio de Azevedo Magalhaes, Mariluce Riegel and Roberto Giugliani Chapter 12 Detection of the Most Common Genetic Causes of Male Infertility by Quantitative Fluorescent (QF)-PCR Analysis 203 Dijana Plaseska-Karanfilska, Predrag Noveski and Toso Plaseski Chapter 13 High-Throughput Screening for Highly Functional RNA-Trans-Splicing Molecules: Correction of Plectin in Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex 223 Verena Wally, Ulrich Koller and Johann W. Bauer Chapter 14 Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery Strategies for Treatment of Genetic Diseases 241 Janet Hsu and Silvia Muro Chapter 15 Consanguinity and Its Effect on Morbidity and Congenital Disorders Among Arabs in Israel 267 Sharkia Rajech, Athamny Esmael, Khatib Mohamad, Sheikh-Muhammad Ahmad, Azem Abdussalam and Mahajnah Muhammad Chapter 16 Genethical Aspects of Research and Medical Services in Islamic Countries 277 Mohsen A.F. El-Hazmi Preface The genetics science is less than 150 years old, but its accomplishments have been astonishing. Genetics has become an indispensable component of almost all research in modern biology and medicine. Human genetic variation is associated with many, if not all, human diseases and disabilities. Nowadays, studies investigating any biological process, from the molecular level to the population level, use the “genetic approach” to gain understanding of that process. This book contains many diverse chapters, dealing with human genetic diseases, methods to diagnose them, novel approaches to treat them and molecular approaches and concepts to understand them. The chapters have been written by contributors from thirteen different countries from four continents. Thus, population specific genetic variation and genetics practices in relation to the religion are part of the book chapters as well. The book is composed of 16 chapters. The first two chapters are devoted to signaling pathways. Chapter 1 describes the general structure of signalling pathways, the relevance of signalling for normal development and for the appearance of multitude of human diseases, and underlines several strategies that Drosophila genetics offers in biomedical research. Chapter 2 provides a review of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family in humans, mice, and zebrafish and their developmental physiological and pathophysiological roles. Chapter 3 deals with osteoclast biology and provides examples of genetic osteoclast diseases, including osteopetrosis, pycnodysostosis and Paget’s disease of bone. Chapter 4 gives an overview of the rare Ataxia telangiectasia like disorder (ATLD) caused by MRE11A gene mutations and describes the study initiated to assess the frequency of the c.630G>C mutation in the population of Saudi Arabia. The next three chapters deal with different aspects of three common monogenic diseases. Chapter 5 gives an overview of Gaucher disease and describes the glucocerebrosidase gene mutations associated with neurological forms of this genetic disease. Chapter 6 gives an overview of the different forms of thalassemias, methods used for their diagnosis and describes the spectrum of β-thalassemia mutations found in Iran. Chapter 7 describes a study that investigates the role of chemokines in the pathogenesis of ocular changes in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). X Preface Chapter 8 presents the genetic make-up of Azoreans in comparison with mainland Portugal population and emphasizes how this genetic research has allowed the implementation of molecular diagnosis in the hospital of the Azores archipelago. Chapters 9 and 10 are devoted to preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Chapter 9 evaluates the effect of Double-Factor Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (DF-PGD) on implantation in couples with monogenic diseases. Chapter 10 presents one of the world’s largest experiences on preimplantation HLA typing in families with genetic and acquired disorders. Chapters 11 and 12 describe molecular methods for diagnosis of the most common chromosomal abnormalities. Chapter 11 describes the usefulness of two rapid molecular techniques, Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA) and Quantitative Fluorescent-Polymerase Chain Reaction (QF-PCR) for prenatal diagnosis and post mortem fetuses with multiple malformations. Chapter 12 describes a multiplex QF-PCR method that allows simultaneous detection of the most common genetic causes of male infertility, i.e. sex chromosomal aneuploidies and azoospermia factor (AZF) deletions, and some potential risk factors such as partial AZFc deletions/duplications and androgen receptor CAG repeats. Chapters 13 and 14 deal with the treatment of genetic diseases. Chapter 13 describes a Spliceosome Mediated RNA Trans-splicing (SMaRT) as a promising tool for gene therapy of epidermolysis bullosa simplex. Chapter 14 discusses some of the technological advances regarding the application of nanomedicine in the treatment of genetic conditions. Chapters 15 and 16 are related to genetics in relation to Islamic religion. Chapter 15 examines the effect of consanguinity on selected multi-factorial diseases and congenital disorders in a target population of the Arab community in Israel. Chapter 16 presents the medical genetic practices in Islamic community of Iran in relation to the Islamic Teaching. Although this book does not give a comprehensive overview of human genetic diseases, I believe that the sixteen book chapters will be a valuable resource for researchers and students in different life and medical sciences. Dijana Plaseska-Karanfilska, MD, PhD Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Research Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology “Georgi D. Efremov”, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia