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Mitotic Arrest (mitotic + arrest)
Selected AbstractsTwo DM domain genes, DMY and DMRT1, involved in testicular differentiation and development in the medaka, Oryzias latipesDEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 3 2004Tohru Kobayashi Abstract The recent discovery of the DMY gene (DM domain gene on Y chromosome and one of the DMRT1 family genes) as a key determinant of male development in the medaka (Oryzias latipes) has led to its designation as the prime candidate gene for sex-determination in this species. This study focused on the sites and pattern of expression of DMY and DMRT1 genes during gonadal differentiation of medaka to further determine their roles in testis development. DMY mRNA and protein are expressed specifically in the somatic cells surrounding primordial germ cells (PGCs) in the early gonadal primordium, before morphological sex differences are seen. However, somatic cells surrounding PGCs never express DMY during the early migratory period. Expression of DMY persists in Sertoli cell lineage cells, from PGC-supporting cells to Sertoli cells, indicating that only DMY -positive cells enclose PGCs during mitotic arrest after hatching. DMRT1 is expressed in spermatogonium-supporting cells after testicular differentiation (20,30 days after hatching), and its expression is much higher than that of DMY in mature testes. In XX sex-reversed testes, DMRT1 is expressed in the Sertoli cell lineage, similar to the expression of DMY in XY testes. These results suggest strongly that DMY regulates PGC proliferation and differentiation sex-specifically during early gonadal differentiation of XY individuals and that DMRT1 regulates spermatogonial differentiation. Developmental Dynamics 231:518,526, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Cell cycle execution point analysis of ORC function and characterization of the checkpoint response to ORC inactivation in Saccharomyces cerevisiaeGENES TO CELLS, Issue 6 2006Daniel G. Gibson Chromosomal replication initiates through the assembly of a prereplicative complex (pre-RC) at individual replication origins in the G1-phase, followed by activation of these complexes in the S-phase. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the origin recognition complex (ORC) binds replication origins throughout the cell cycle and participates in pre-RC assembly. Whether the ORC plays an additional role subsequent to pre-RC assembly in replication initiation or any other essential cell cycle process is not clear. To study the function of the ORC during defined cell cycle periods, we performed cell cycle execution point analyses with strains containing a conditional mutation in the ORC1, ORC2 or ORC5 subunit of ORC. We found that the ORC is essential for replication initiation, but is dispensable for replication elongation or later cell cycle events. Defective initiation in ORC mutant cells results in incomplete replication and mitotic arrest enforced by the DNA damage and spindle assembly checkpoint pathways. The involvement of the spindle assembly checkpoint implies a defect in kinetochore-spindle attachment or sister chromatid cohesion due to incomplete replication and/or DNA damage. Remarkably, under semipermissive conditions for ORC1 function, the spindle checkpoint alone suffices to block proliferation, suggesting this checkpoint is highly sensitive to replication initiation defects. We discuss the potential significance of these overlapping checkpoints and the impact of our findings on previously postulated role(s) of ORCs in other cell cycle functions. [source] Infancy is not a quiescent period of testicular developmentINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY, Issue 1 2001Héctor E. Chemes Postnatal evolution of the testis in most laboratory animals is characterized by the close continuity between neonatal activation and pubertal development. In higher primates, infancy, a long period of variable duration, separates birth from the beginning of puberty. This period has been classically considered as a quiescent phase of testicular development, but is actually characterized by intense, yet inapparent activity. Testicular volume increases vigorously shortly after birth and in early infancy due to the growth in length of seminiferous cords. This longitudinal growth results from active proliferation of infantile Sertoli cells which otherwise display a unique array of functional capabilities (oestrogen and anti-müllerian hormone secretion, increase of FSH receptors and maximal response to FSH). Leydig cells also show recrudescence after birth, possibly determined by an active gonadotrophic-testicular axis which results in increased testosterone secretion of uncertain functional role. This postnatal activation slowly subsides during late infancy when periodic phases of activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-testicular axis are paralleled by incomplete spermatogenic spurts. The beginning of puberty is marked by the simultaneous reawakening of Leydig cell function and succeeding phases of germ cell differentiation/degeneration which ultimately lead to final spermatogenic maturation. The marked testicular growth in this stage is due to progressive increase at seminiferous tubule diameter. Sertoli cells, which have reached mitotic arrest, develop and differentiate, establishing the seminiferous tubule barrier, fluid secretion and lumen formation, and acquiring cyclic morphological and metabolic variations characteristic of the mature stage. All of these modifications indicate that, far from being quiescent, the testis in primates experiences numerous changes during infancy, and that the potential for pubertal development and normal adult fertility depends on the successful completion of these changes. [source] Functional potential of P2P-R: A role in the cell cycle and cell differentiation related to its interactions with proteins that bind to matrix associated regions of DNA?JOURNAL OF CELLULAR BIOCHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2003Robert E. Scott Abstract P2P-R is the alternately spliced product of the P2P-R/PACT gene in that P2P-R lacks one exon encoding 34 amino acids. The 250 kDa P2P-R protein is the predominate product expressed in multiple murine cell lines. It is a highly basic protein that contains multiple domains including an N-terminal RING type zinc finger, a proline rich domain, an RS region, and a C-terminal lysine-rich domain. P2P-R binds the p53 and the Rb1 tumor suppressors and is phosphorylated by the cdc2 and SRPK1a protein kinases. P2P-R also interacts with scaffold attachment factor-B (SAF-B), a well characterized MARs (for matrix attachment regions) binding factor, and may interact with nucleolin, another MARs binding factor. In addition, P2P-R binds single strand DNA (ssDNA). The expression of P2P-R is regulated by differentiation and cell cycle events. P2P-R mRNA is markedly repressed during differentiation, whereas immunoreactive P2P-R protein levels are >10-fold higher in mitotic than in G0 cells. The localization of P2P-R also is modulated during the cell cycle. During interphase, P2P-R is present primarily in nucleoli and nuclear speckles whereas during mitosis, P2P-R associates with the periphery of chromosomes. Overexpression of near full length P2P-R induces mitotic arrest in prometaphase and mitotic apoptosis, and overexpression of selected P2P-R segments also can promote apoptosis. This compendium of data supports the possibility that P2P-R may form complexes with the Rb1 and/or p53 tumor suppressors and MARs-related factors, in a cell cycle and cell differentiation-dependent manner, to influence gene transcription/expression and nuclear organization. J. Cell. Biochem. 90: 6,12, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] DOSE-DEPENDENT EFFECT OF LUMINAL BUTYRATE ON EPITHELIAL PROLIFERATION IN THE DISTAL COLON OF RATSJOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, Issue 2001S Sengupta Butyrate, a major product of bacterial fermentation of dietary fibre, is trophic to the colonic epithelium, when deprived of dietary fibre or faecal stream. However, the dose,response relationship of butyrate to this trophic effect is not known. The mechanism of this effect is still debated and how it relates to the antitumorigenic action of butyrate is unclear. Aim, To characterise the dose,response relationship of the effect of butyrate delivered topically to the distal colon on fibre-deprived atrophic colonic epithelium in rats. Methods, Sixty-four male Sprague,Dawley rats were maintained on a fibre-free AIN 93G diet for 3 weeks to induce mucosal atrophy in the colon. The rats then underwent laparotomy for colonic intubation, in which a polyethylene tube was positioned at the proximal end of the distal colon via a caecotomy. After recovering from surgery, they were randomly divided into five groups, which were given for 4 days twice daily infusions of 0.5 mL butyrate at doses of 0, 10, 20, 40 or 80 mm (at which complete reversal of atrophy has been previously observed). Prior to sacrifice, the rats were injected intraperitoneally with vincristine to induce mitotic arrest. Crypt column heights and mitotic arrests were quantified by light microscopy. Results, All treatment groups were healthy and stress-free. The mucosa of vehicle-infused rats was atrophic (mean 38 cells/crypt). Effects of twice daily infusions of butyrate were first observed on cell proliferation (number of mitotic arrests per crypt column) at 10 mm, and increased linearly to 80 mm. Crypt column height increased linearly from 20 mm to 80 mm, at which a mean of 45 cells/crypt were observed (the number usually observed in chow-fed healthy rats). The mitotic index (number of mitotic arrests per 100 crypt cells) also increased linearly from 10 mm. Conclusions, Butyrate's trophic effect showed a linear dose,dependent relationship. Although a maximal effect was not convincingly demonstrated, the results indicate that very small amounts of butyrate are required to affect epithelial proliferation. Since much higher luminal delivery is required to suppress tumorigenesis in this model, the mechanism by which butyrate exerts its trophic and antitumorigenic effects are likely to be different. [source] Cytotoxic and antimitotic effects of N -containing Monascus metabolites studied using immortalized human kidney epithelial cellsMOLECULAR NUTRITION & FOOD RESEARCH (FORMERLY NAHRUNG/FOOD), Issue 4-5 2006Anja Knecht Abstract Recently the first Monascus metabolites with a pyridine ring were detected, the monascopyridines A and B. They are formally dehydrogenated derivatives of the red rice pigments rubropunctamine and monascorubramine. Because of their structural similarity, the toxicological effects of these secondary metabolites were studied using immortalized human kidney epithelial cells. The cytotoxicity was determined with the following different endpoint detection methods: metabolic activity, trypan blue exclusion, and electronic cell counting. The compounds led to EC50 values between 11 and 31 ,mol/L but the pigments caused a stronger reduction of the cell viability. Also, the apoptotic potential was examined by measuring caspase 3 activity and detecting apoptotic bodies, but none of the tested compounds induced apoptosis. All four substances caused a rise of the mitotic index to about 9% (100 ,mol/L monascopyridine A and B) and 20% (25 ,mol/L rubropunctamine and monascorubramine). The significant decrease of the ratio of cells in the ana- and telophase to cells in the prometa- and metaphase proved a stop of the mitosis at the meta- to anaphase control point. The compounds caused mitotic arrest and the formation of structural damages like c-mitosis through interaction with the mitotic spindle. These effects point to an aneuploidy inducing potential, which is linked to cancer formation. [source] Proteome analysis of apoptosis signaling by S -trityl- L -cysteine, a potent reversible inhibitor of human mitotic kinesin Eg5PROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 2 2008Frank Kozielski Abstract Mitotic kinesins represent potential drug targets for anticancer chemotherapy. Inhibitors of different chemical classes have been identified that target human Eg5, a kinesin responsible for the establishment of the bipolar spindle. One potent Eg5 inhibitor is S -trityl- L -cysteine (STLC), which arrests cells in mitosis and exhibits tumor growth inhibition activity. However, the underlying mechanism of STLC action on the molecular level is unknown. Here, cells treated with STLC were blocked in mitosis through activation of the spindle assembly checkpoint as shown by the phosphorylated state of BubR1 and the accumulation of mitosis specific phosphorylation on histone H3 and aurora A kinase. Using live cell imaging, we observed prolonged mitotic arrest and subsequent cell death after incubation of GFP-,-tubulin HeLa cells with STLC. Activated caspase-9 occurred before cleavage of caspase-8 leading to the accumulation of the activated executioner caspase-3 suggesting that STLC induces apoptosis through the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. Proteome analysis following STLC treatment revealed 33 differentially regulated proteins of various cellular processes, 31 of which can be linked to apoptotic cell death. Interestingly, four identified proteins, chromobox protein homolog, RNA-binding Src associated in mitosis 68,kDa protein, stathmin, and translationally controlled tumor protein can be linked to mitotic and apoptotic processes. [source] Cysteine enhances clastogenic activity of dimethylarsinic acidAPPLIED ORGANOMETALLIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 7 2002Mari Kitamura Abstract The effects of cysteine on dimethylarsinic acid (DMA)-induced cytotoxicity and chromosomal aberration were studied using Chinese hamster V79 cells. The IC 50 of DMA, i.e. the concentration resulting in a 50% decrease in cell population of viable cells, was 130,µg,ml,1 (0.94 mM), whereas that in the presence of 50,µg,ml,1 (0.28 mM) cysteine was 20,µg,ml,1 (0.14 mM). The mitotic index with co-administration of 50,µg,ml,1 (0.36 mM) DMA and 50,µg,ml,1 cysteine was 1.4 times that with 50,µg,ml,1 DMA alone. Whereas 82% of cells divided twice with 25,µg,ml,1 (0.18 mM) DMA alone, most cells divided only once with co-administration of 25,µg,ml,1 DMA and 50,µg,ml,1 cysteine. These results indicated that the increase in mitotic index by cysteine was due to enhancement of mitotic arrest by DMA. With co-administration of 25,µg,ml,1 DMA and 50,µg,ml,1 cysteine, tetraploidy was 14.3% higher and fivefold by that with 25,µg,ml,1 DMA only. Cysteine at 50,µg,ml,1 enhanced induction of chromosomal aberrant cells by DMA. 100,µg,ml,1 (0.72 mM) DMA induced 91% chromosomal aberrant cells in the presence of cysteine, and 12% in the absence of cysteine. Chromatid breaks and chromatid gaps were the most frequent types of aberration induced by co-administration of DMA and cysteine or DMA alone. Co-administration of DMA and cysteine produced many attenuated chromosomal figures. The attenuated chromosomal figures always had several chromatid gaps and chromatid breaks. Our findings may provide clues to arsenic carcinogenesis in humans. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Cellular Analysis of Disorazole C1 and Structure,Activity Relationship of Analogs of the Natural ProductCHEMICAL BIOLOGY & DRUG DESIGN, Issue 1 2006Peter Wipf Structure,activity analyses of synthetic disorazole C1 and eight of its analogs indicate that the presence of a vinyl oxirane moiety or a tetraene sequence is not necessary for potent cytotoxic and antimitotic properties. Using an automated multiparameter fluorescence-based cellular assay to simultaneously probe the effects of disorazole analogs on cellular microtubules, mitotic arrest, and cytotoxicity, we found that disorazole C1 enhanced the mitotic index and chromatin condensation and arrested cells in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. All structural analogs and synthesis precursors of disorazole C1 were at least two orders of magnitude less potent than the parent compound, thus indicating that both the functional group array and the three-dimensional conformation of the parent compound are critical for interaction with the biological target. We conclude that disorazole C1 is a potent inducer of mitotic arrest and hypothesize that this biological activity may be mediated by microtubule perturbation. [source] DOSE-DEPENDENT EFFECT OF LUMINAL BUTYRATE ON EPITHELIAL PROLIFERATION IN THE DISTAL COLON OF RATSJOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, Issue 2001S Sengupta Butyrate, a major product of bacterial fermentation of dietary fibre, is trophic to the colonic epithelium, when deprived of dietary fibre or faecal stream. However, the dose,response relationship of butyrate to this trophic effect is not known. The mechanism of this effect is still debated and how it relates to the antitumorigenic action of butyrate is unclear. Aim, To characterise the dose,response relationship of the effect of butyrate delivered topically to the distal colon on fibre-deprived atrophic colonic epithelium in rats. Methods, Sixty-four male Sprague,Dawley rats were maintained on a fibre-free AIN 93G diet for 3 weeks to induce mucosal atrophy in the colon. The rats then underwent laparotomy for colonic intubation, in which a polyethylene tube was positioned at the proximal end of the distal colon via a caecotomy. After recovering from surgery, they were randomly divided into five groups, which were given for 4 days twice daily infusions of 0.5 mL butyrate at doses of 0, 10, 20, 40 or 80 mm (at which complete reversal of atrophy has been previously observed). Prior to sacrifice, the rats were injected intraperitoneally with vincristine to induce mitotic arrest. Crypt column heights and mitotic arrests were quantified by light microscopy. Results, All treatment groups were healthy and stress-free. The mucosa of vehicle-infused rats was atrophic (mean 38 cells/crypt). Effects of twice daily infusions of butyrate were first observed on cell proliferation (number of mitotic arrests per crypt column) at 10 mm, and increased linearly to 80 mm. Crypt column height increased linearly from 20 mm to 80 mm, at which a mean of 45 cells/crypt were observed (the number usually observed in chow-fed healthy rats). The mitotic index (number of mitotic arrests per 100 crypt cells) also increased linearly from 10 mm. Conclusions, Butyrate's trophic effect showed a linear dose,dependent relationship. Although a maximal effect was not convincingly demonstrated, the results indicate that very small amounts of butyrate are required to affect epithelial proliferation. Since much higher luminal delivery is required to suppress tumorigenesis in this model, the mechanism by which butyrate exerts its trophic and antitumorigenic effects are likely to be different. [source] |