Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:1.10.3.1 (tyrosinase)
 9,065 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Previous work has shown that melanoma cell lines express a distinct octamer binding protein. Given the role of octamer-binding proteins in cell differentiation and development, the role this factor is a key issue in understanding melanocyte differentiation and transformation. Using a proteolytic clipping assay, we show that the melanoma-specific octamer factor is Brn-2/N-Oct3, a POU domain protein previously known to be expressed in adult brain and in the developing nervous system. N-Oct3 mRNA was detected in a range of human melanoma cell lines and was around 10-fold elevated compared to normal human melanocytes while mRNA for Brn-2 was also detected in a mouse melanoblast cell line. Expression of Brn-2/N-Oct3, in melanoma cells in cotransfection assays activated the expression of the MHC class II DR alpha promoter but repressed the activity of the melanocyte-specific tyrosinase promoter. Repression correlated with Brn-2/N-Oct3 binding in a mutually exclusive fashion with basic-helix-loop-helix-leucine-zipper (bHLH-LZ) transcription factor USF in vitro and with Brn-2 expression preventing activation of the tyrosinase promoter by the bHLH-LZ factor Microphthalmia in vivo. The potential role of Brn-2/N-Oct3 in melanocyte differentiation and gene expression is discussed.
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PMID:The POU domain transcription factor Brn-2: elevated expression in malignant melanoma and regulation of melanocyte-specific gene expression. 747 37