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Promoter Gene (promoter + gene)
Selected AbstractsParadoxical roles for lysyl oxidases in cancer,A prospectJOURNAL OF CELLULAR BIOCHEMISTRY, Issue 6 2007Stacey L. Payne Abstract Lysyl oxidase (LOX) is an extracellular matrix (ECM) enzyme that catalyzes the cross-linking of collagens or elastin in the extracellular compartment, thereby regulating the tensile strength of tissues. However, recent reports have demonstrated novel roles for LOX, including the ability to regulate gene transcription, motility/migration, and cell adhesion. These diverse functions have led researchers to hypothesize that LOX may have multiple roles affecting both extra- and intracellular cell function(s). Particularly noteworthy is aberrant LOX expression and activity that have been observed in various cancerous tissues and neoplastic cell lines. Both down and upregulation of LOX in tumor tissues and cancer cell lines have been described, suggesting a dual role for LOX as a tumor suppressor, as well as a metastasis promoter gene,creating a conundrum within the LOX research field. Here, we review the body of evidence on LOX gene expression, regulation, and function(s) in various cancer cell types and tissues, as well as stromal,tumor cell interactions. Lastly, we will examine putative mechanisms in which LOX facilitates breast cancer invasion and metastasis. Taken together, the literature demonstrates the increasingly important role(s) that LOX may play in regulating tumor progression and the necessity to elucidate its myriad mechanisms of action in order to identify potentially novel therapeutics. J. Cell. Biochem. 101: 1338,1354, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Cloning and molecular dissection of the 8.8 kb pig uroplakin II promoter using transgenic mice and RT4 cellsJOURNAL OF CELLULAR BIOCHEMISTRY, Issue 2 2006Deug-Nam Kwon Abstract Uroplakin II (UPII) gene expression is highly tissue and cell specific, with mRNA present in the suprabasal cell layers of the bladder and urethra. Previous reports described the mouse UPII (mUPII) promoter as primarily urothelium selective. However, ectopic expression of a transgene under the 3.6 kb mUPII promoter was also detected in brain, kidney, and testis in some transgenic mouse lines. Here, we have cloned an 8.8 kb pig UPII (pUPII) promoter region and investigated which cells within the bladder and urethra express a transgene consisting of the pUPII promoter fused to human erythropoietin (hEPO) or a luciferase gene. pUPII-luciferase expression vectors with various deletions of the promoter region were introduced into mouse fibroblast (NIH3T3), Chinese hamster ovary (CHO), and human bladder transitional carcinoma (RT4). A 2.1 kb pUPII promoter fragment displayed high levels of luciferase activity in transiently transfected RT4 cells, whereas the 8.8 kb pUPII promoter region displayed only low levels of activity. The pUPII-hEPO expression vector was injected into the pronucleus of zygotes to make transgenic mice. To elucidate the in vivo molecular mechanisms controlling the tissue- and cell-specific expression of the pUPII promoter gene, transgenic mice containing 2.1 and 8.8 kb pUPII promoter fragments linked to the genomic hEPO gene were generated. An erythropoietin (EPO) assay showed that all nine transgenic lines carrying the 8.8 kb construct expressed recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) only in their urethra and bladder, whereas two transgenic lines carrying the 2.1 kb pUPII promoter displayed hEPO expression in several organs including bladder, kidney, spleen, heart, and brain. These studies demonstrate that the 2.1 kb promoter contains the DNA elements necessary for high levels of expression, but lacks critical sequences necessary for tissue-specific expression. We compared binding sites in the 2.1 and 8.8 kb promoter sequences and found five peroxisome proliferator responsive elements (PPREs) in the 8.8 kb promoter. Our data demonstrated that proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-, activator treatment in RT4 cells induced the elevated expression of hEPO mRNA under the control of the 8.8 kb pUPII promoter, but not the 2.1 kb promoter. Collectively, our data suggested that all the major trans-regulatory elements required for bladder- and urethra-specific transcription are located in the 8.8 kb upstream region and that it may enhance tissue-specific protein production and be of interest to clinicians who are searching for therapeutic modalities with high efficacy and low toxicity. J. Cell. Biochem. 99: 462,477, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Pathological Role of Aquaporin-2 in Impaired Water Excretion and HyponatremiaJOURNAL OF NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY, Issue 4 2004S. Ishikawa Abstract In the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH), inappropriately elevated secretion of vasopressin can result in a reduction of antidiuretic efficacy: a phenomenon known as ,vasopressin escape'. We compared experimental SIADH with 1-deamino-8- d -arginine vasopressin (dDAVP)-excess rats, where both groups received continuous subcutaneous administration of dDAVP by osmotic minipump but the SIADH rats also received a liquid diet that induced hyponatraemia. The SIADH rats, but not the dDAVP excess rats, showed a marked attenuation of urinary concentrating ability. Vasopressin V2 receptor binding capacity and mRNA expression were similar between the two groups, but the SIADH rats showed a diminished up-regulation of aquaporin-2 (AQP-2) mRNA and protein expression. These findings indicate the presence of tonicity-response regions in the AQP-2 promoter gene, and that either hypervolemia or hypotonicity may attenuate the postreceptor signalling of vasopressin in renal collecting duct cells in SIADH rats. [source] Evolution of hepatitis B virus precore/basal core promoter gene in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients receiving lamivudine therapyLIVER INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2004Chih-Lin Lin Abstract: Aim: Lamivudine is effective in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B, but the relapse rate after cessation of treatment is high. The evolution of viral genome may contribute to the viral replication under antiviral pressure of lamivudine. We therefore determined the evolution of hepatitis B virus (HBV) precore/basal core promoter and polymerase genes in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patient during lamivudine therapy. Method: Thirteen patients with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis who had received short-term lamivudine therapy (mean, 30 weeks) during 1999,2001 were enrolled. The precore/basal core promoter region and polymerase gene were amplified and directly sequenced before, during and post lamivudine treatment. Result: HBeAg loss or seroconversion occurred in 11, but eight relapsed after stopping therapy and five had reversion of HBeAg. Before treatment, basal core promoter mutation was found in 1. In the first 3 months of therapy, a rapid decline of serum HBV DNA level accompanied with basal core promoter mutation appeared in 11 of 13 patients (vs. before therapy; P=0.003). However, this mutant was replaced by wild-type virus in four of eight patients who relapsed after treatment. There was no significant change of precore sequences before and during therapy. Conclusions: Lamivudine therapy may result in the rapid development of basal core promoter mutation of HBV, but this mutation may revert to wild type gradually after cessation of therapy. [source] The story of O , is oxytocin the mediator of the placebo response?NEUROGASTROENTEROLOGY & MOTILITY, Issue 4 2009P. Enck Abstract, While the placebo responses in various medical conditions have been shown to follow a few basic principles such as expectancies, reward learning and Pavlovian conditioning, the underlying neurobiology and the mediating hormonal and/or neuromodulating processing have remained obscure. We here report the collected evidence that oxytocin (OXT), a 389-amino acid polypeptide located on chromosome 3p25 that is released in the brain (hypothalamus) and in peripheral tissue, is the central mediator of the placebo response: we hypothesize that exogenous OXT via an OXT agonist will enhance the placebo response, while exogenous OXT blockade by an antagonist will reduce the placebo response in placebo analgesia and other placebo models. It is furthermore proposed that the placebo response in trials may be predicted by circulating plasma OXT levels, the OXT receptor density in the brain and/or the presence of one or more of the single nucleotide polymorphisms of the OXT promoter gene. [source] ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Are Polymorphisms in the ACE and PAI-1 Genes Associated with Recurrent Spontaneous Miscarriages?AMERICAN JOURNAL OF REPRODUCTIVE IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 6 2009Chelsi Goodman Problem, To determine whether the ACE D/D genotype or the combination of PAI-1 4G/4G and ACE D/D genotypes may serve as a risk factor for recurrent pregnancy loss. Method of study, Buccal swabs were obtained from 120 women experiencing recurrent pregnancy loss and from 84 fertile control women. DNA was extracted from the buccal swab samples using the Qiagen DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen), followed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR products were analyzed for the ACE gene polymorphism, which consists of the insertion or deletion (I/D) of a 287-bp fragment in intron 16, and the PAI-1 4G/4G genotype. Results, No significant differences in specific ACE gene mutations were observed when patients experiencing recurrent miscarriage were compared with control women. When the frequencies of homozygous mutations for ACE D/D and PAI-I 4G/4G were compared between recurrent aborters and controls, again no significant differences in the prevalence of the combination of these gene mutations were noted. Conclusion, Homozygosity for the D allele of the ACE gene and the combination of the D/D genotype with two 4G alleles of the PAI-1 promoter gene are not associated with a significant increase in the risk of recurrent miscarriage. [source] Genetic analysis of shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli isolates from cattle in a limited regionANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 3 2004Kenichi OTAWA ABSTRACT The ecology of shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) is important in the animal production environment. We investigated fecal shedding of STEC in one town in Miyagi, Japan by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting shiga toxin gene 1 (stx1), gene 2 (stx2) and malB promoter gene, and analyzed the PCR products of stx1 or stx2 (54 samples) by direct sequencing. Three of 46 (6.5%) beef cattle in the University Farm of Tohoku University (Kawatabi Farm) and 11 of 70 (15.7%) calves in neighboring dairy farms carried STEC. Rate of detecting genes of stx1, stx2 and stx1+2 was 3.4% (4/116), 8.6% (10/116) and 0.9% (1/116), respectively. Serotyping indicated that STEC contaminated farms at different times or through different routes. Isolates harbored no mutation among stx1, but six (Kawatabi Farm) and 38 (neighboring farms) base substitutions among stx2, respectively. The diversity of substitutions of stx2 was observed among farms or even in a farm. Phylogenic analysis revealed that STEC detected in the area were classified into three clusters by the variety of stx2. Sequence analysis of stx2 will be one of the tools for clarifying the source of outbreaks and the route of contamination of STEC. [source] Polymorphism in the stromelysin 1 (matrix metalloproteinase 3) promoter gene and severity of rheumatoid arthritis: Comment on the article by Constantin et alARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 9 2003Marco Massarotti MD No abstract is available for this article. [source] The role of host organism, transcriptional switches and reporter mechanisms in the performance of Hg-induced biosensorsJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2004M. Harkins Abstract Aims:, The purpose of this study was to comprehensively compare the response of nine biosensors capable of being induced by Hg. Induction by Hg was based upon the insertion of merR, merB, zntA and zntR promoter genes. LuxCDABE or lucFF reporter genes expressed luminescence, and host organisms were Escherichia coli, Vibrio anguillarum and Pseudomonas fluorescens. The role of transcriptional switches, reporter mechanism and host organism was to be investigated. Methods and Results:, All biosensors were subjected to the same assay conditions. Sensors had their own individual growth characteristics and response to the doses of Hg tested. Maximum bioluminescence response was induced by concentrations of Hg between 2·5 nm and 5 ,m. E. coli pRB28 was found to detect levels of Hg as low as 1·6 nm and yet was capable of operating in a concentration range of up to 12·5 ,m. Conclusions:, The response of the sensors demonstrated their suitability for analysis under environmentally relevant concentrations. The sensitivity of the sensors, the optimum range and the expediency of the assay could not be related to a single sensor trait. It may be concluded that biosensor performance is dependent on more than one of the single factors studied. Significance and Impact of the Study:, The results show that comparative testing of sensors is an important step in evaluating the relevance and performance of biosensors prior to routine environmental application. [source] Differences of YMDD mutational patterns, precore/core promoter mutations, serum HBV DNA levels in lamivudine-resistant hepatitis B genotypes B and CJOURNAL OF VIRAL HEPATITIS, Issue 11 2007X. P. Pan Summary., The aims of this study were to investigate the viral differences among lamivudine-resistant hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes B and C in vivo. Fifty-three patients carrying lamivudine-resistant HBV were enrolled in this study. HBV genotypes, Levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), HBV DNA levels were monitored during therapy. The polymerase and precore/core promoter genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and their products were sequenced directly. Among 53 patients resistant HBV genotypes B and C accounted for 41.50% and 58.50%, respectively. The occurrence of reverse transcriptase rt204I mutants was lower in genotype B (36.36%) than that in genotype C (87.10%), whereas rt204V mutants was higher in genotype B (63.64%) than that in genotype C (12.90%). The occurrence of precore mutation (nt1896A) was higher in genotype B (77.27%) than that in genotype C (32.26%). Serum HBV DNA levels after emergence of lamivudine resistance were higher in genotype C (7.71 ± 0.80 Log copies/mL) compared with genotype B (6.97 ± 0.77 Log copies/mL). Multivariate analysis identified pretreatment HBV DNA levels, HBeAg status and HBV genotype as independent factors associated with a shorter time to lamivudine resistance(P = 0.035, P = 0.006 and P = 0.001, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that HBV genotype (P = 0.004) and pretreatment ALT levels (P = 0.01) was independently associated with YMDD mutational patterns. The results showed that the YMDD mutational patterns, precore mutation and serum HBV DNA levels differ between lamivudine-resistant HBV genotypes B and C in vivo. It is valuable for treatment of lamivudine-resistant HBV in clinic. [source] | |||||||||||||