University of Utah Research Foundation

Louis Ptacek

Ying-Hui Fu

H Steve White

Shana Skradski

The present invention relates to methods for assessing the risk of a patient for developing a potentially fatal cardiac dysrhythmia and for diagnosing Andersen's Syndrome. A tissue sample from a patient is obtained and the DNA or proteins of the sample isolated. From the DNA and protein isolates the sequence of the KCNJ2 gene or the Kir2.1 polypeptide can be obtained. The KCNJ2 gene or the Kir2.1 can be screened for alteration as compared to the wile-type sequence. An alteration in a copy of the KCNJ2 gene or a Kir2.1 polypeptide indicates that the patient has a high risk for developing a cardiac dysrhythmia and can be diagnosed with Andersen's Syndrome. The invention also related to isolated nucleic acid molecules with one or more alterations as compared to the wild-type sequence.

Methods for assessing risk for cardiac dysrythmia in a human subject

The present invention relates to a novel gene which is associated with audiogenic seizures in mice. The gene is known as the Monogenic Audiogenic Seizure-susceptible gene or mass1. The product of the mass1 gene is designated MASS1. Nucleic acid molecules that encode for MASS1 have been identified and purified. The sequence of murine mass1 can be found at SEQ ID NO: 1, and the sequence of human mass1 can be found at SEQ ID NO: 3. Mammalian genes encoding a MASS1 protein are also provided. The invention also provides recombinant vectors comprising nucleic acid molecules that code for a MASS1 protein. These vectors can be plasmids. In certain embodiments, the vectors are prokaryotic or eukaryotic expression vectors. The nucleic acid coding for MASS1 can be linked to a heterologous promoter. The invention also relates to transgenic animals in which one or both alleles of the endogenous mass1 gene is mutated.

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Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America

Louis Ptacek