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Transcription Factor Essential (transcription + factor_essential)
Selected AbstractsThe X-box binding protein-1 transcription factor is required for plasma cell differentiation and the unfolded protein responseIMMUNOLOGICAL REVIEWS, Issue 1 2003Neal N. Iwakoshi Summary:, X-box binding protein-1 (XBP-1) is a transcription factor essential for plasma cell differentiation. XBP-1 transcripts are found at high levels in plasma cells from rheumatoid synovium and myeloma cell lines. Lymphoid chimeras deficient in XBP-1 have a profound defect in plasma cell differentiation, with few plasma cells in their periphery and severely reduced serum immunoglobulin levels. When introduced into B-lineage cells, XBP-1 initiates plasma cell differentiation. XBP-1 is also the mammalian homologue of the yeast transcription factor Hac1p, an important component of the unfolded protein response (UPR). The UPR allows cells to tolerate conditions of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress caused by misfolded proteins. Studies examining the relationship between plasma cell differentiation, XBP-1, and the UPR demonstrate that this novel signaling system is vital for plasma cell differentiation. Signals that induce plasma cell differentiation and the UPR cooperate via XBP-1 to induce terminal B-cell differentiation. Additionally, XBP-1 plays an important role in the regulation of interleukin-6 production, a cytokine essential for plasma cell survival. [source] Dopaminergic neurons intrinsic to the striatumJOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 6 2007Philippe Huot Abstract The striatum , the largest integrative component of the basal ganglia , harbors a population of neurons that express the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), a faithful marker of dopaminergic neurons. The dopaminergic nature of these neurons is further supported by the fact that they express the dopamine (DA) transporter (DAT) and the nuclear orphan receptor Nurr1, a transcription factor essential for the expression of the DA phenotype by midbrain neurons. The vast majority of these neurons are morphologically similar to the medium-sized aspiny striatal interneurons and they all express the enzyme GAD65. The striatal TH-positive neurons increase markedly in number in animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD), where striatal DA concentrations are low, but this increase is abolished by L-dopa treatment. Hence, local DA concentrations appear to regulate the numerical density of this ectopic neuronal population, a phenomenon that is more likely the result of a shift in the phenotype of preexistent striatal interneurons rather than the recruitment of newborn neurons that will develop a DA phenotype. Altogether, these findings suggest that striatal TH-positive neurons act as a local source of DA and, as such, are part of a compensatory mechanism that could be artificially enhanced to alleviate or delay PD symptoms. [source] Genetic fate mapping of Olig2 progenitors in the injured adult cerebral cortex reveals preferential differentiation into astrocytesJOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 16 2008Kouko Tatsumi Abstract Olig2 is a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor essential for development of motoneurons and oligodendrocytes. It is known that Olig2+ cells persist in the central nervous system (CNS) from embryonic to adult stages and that the number of Olig2+ progenitors increases in the injured adult CNS. Recent studies have demonstrated an inhibitory action of Olig2 on neurogenesis in adult CNS, but the fate of Olig2+ cells in the injured state remains largely unknown. To trace directly the fate of Olig2 cells in the adult cerebral cortex after injury, we employed the CreER/loxP system to target the olig2 locus. In this genetic tracing study, green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter-positive cells labeled after cryoinjury coexpressed glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), an astrocytic marker. Electron microscopy also showed that GFP+ cells have the ultrastructural characteristics of astrocytes. Furthermore, GFP+ cells labeled before injury, most of which had been NG2 cells, also produced bushy astrocytes. Here we show direct evidence that Olig2+ cells preferentially differentiate into astrocytes, which strongly express GFAP, in response to injury in the adult cerebral cortex. These results suggest that reactive astrocytes, known to be the main contributors to glial scars, originate, at least in part, from Olig2+ cells. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The transcription factor CREM, and cAMP regulate promoter activity of the Na,K-ATPase ,4 isoformMOLECULAR REPRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 11 2006Marianna Rodova Abstract The Na,K-ATPase is an essential enzyme of the plasma membrane that plays a key role in numerous cell processes that depend on the transcellular gradients of Na+ and K+. Among the various isoforms of the catalytic subunit of the Na,K-ATPase, ,4 exhibits the most limited pattern of expression, being restricted to male germ cells. Activity of ,4 is essential for sperm function, and ,4 is upregulated during spermatogenesis. The present study addressed the transcriptional control of the human Na,K-ATPase ,4 gene, ATP1A4. We describe that a 5, untranslated region of the ATP1A4 gene (designated ,339/+480 based on the ATP1A4 transcription initiation site) has promoter activity in luciferase reporter assays. Computer analysis of this promoter region revealed consensus sites (CRE) for the cyclic AMP (cAMP) response element modulator (CREM). Accordingly, dibutyryl cAMP (db-cAMP) and ectopic expression of CREM,, a testis specific splice variant of CREM were able to activate the ATP1A4 promoter driven expression of luciferase in HEK 293 T, JEG-3 and GC-1 cells. Further characterization of the effect of db-cAMP and CREM, on deleted constructs of the ATP1A4 promoter (,339/+80, and +25/+480), and on the ,339/+480 region carrying mutations in the CRE sites showed that db-cAMP and CREM, effect required the CRE motif located 263 bp upstream the transcription initiation site. EMSA experiments confirmed the CRE sequence as a bonafide CREM, binding site. These results constitute the first demonstration of the transcriptional control of ATP1A4 gene expression by cAMP and by CREM,, a transcription factor essential for male germ cell gene expression. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 73: 1435,1447, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Epigenetics and T helper 1 differentiationIMMUNOLOGY, Issue 3 2009Thomas M. Aune Summary Naïve T helper cells differentiate into two subsets, T helper 1 and 2, which either transcribe the Ifng gene and silence the Il4 gene or transcribe the Il4 gene and silence the Ifng gene, respectively. This process is an essential feature of the adaptive immune response to a pathogen and the development of long-lasting immunity. The ,histone code' hypothesis proposes that formation of stable epigenetic histone marks at a gene locus that activate or repress transcription is essential for cell fate determinations, such as T helper 1/T helper 2 cell fate decisions. Activation and silencing of the Ifng gene are achieved through the creation of stable epigenetic histone marks spanning a region of genomic DNA over 20 times greater than the gene itself. Key transcription factors that drive the T helper 1 lineage decision, signal transducer and activator 4 (STAT4) and T-box expressed in T cells (T-bet), play direct roles in the formation of activating histone marks at the Ifng locus. Conversely, STAT6 and GATA binding protein 3, transcription factors essential for the T helper 2 cell lineage decision, establish repressive histone marks at the Ifng locus. Functional studies demonstrate that multiple genomic elements up to 50 kilobases from Ifng play critical roles in its proper transcriptional regulation. Studies of three-dimensional chromatin conformation indicate that these distal regulatory elements may loop towards Ifng to regulate its transcription. We speculate that these complex mechanisms have evolved to tightly control levels of interferon-, production, given that too little or too much production would be very deleterious to the host. [source] | |||||||||||||